Non-Fiction

"We are obsessed with the multiverse. From blockbuster movies Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Everything, Everywhere, All at Once to television's The Man in the High Castle and Rick and Morty, the idea that there could be an infinite number of universes holding an infinite number of possibilities captivates us. And this fascination is not new - the fascination with these repetitions dates back to the philosophers of ancient Greece. In The Allure of the Multiverse, physicist Paul Halpern examines the theory of the universe we can't seem to let go; in an infinite universe, finite components are bound to repeat their patterns again and again. Halpern traces the multiverse from the ancient Greek debate over cosmic building blocks, to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche's imagined eternal repetition of all events and lives in time, to Albert Einstein's special and general theories of relativity opening the door to the fourth dimension (another way of enlarging reality). All these ideas together culminated in Princeton graduate student Hugh Everett's "Many Words Interpretation," in which all possibilities of existence simultaneously exist. That imaginative idea led to numerous other multiverse notions, including the idea that the universe might be a collection of "bubble universes," each inflated from the primordial stuff of the cosmos. Yet the prospect of such a maddening labyrinth of parallel realities has led other researchers to propose alternatives, such as bouncing universes in multiple dimensions, that are every bit as perplexing. An epic through physics' history, The Allure of the Multiverse explores one of physics' most controversial - yet most persistent - ideas"-- Provided by publisher.

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Conflict is the top reason couples seek help - but it's also an opportunity for greater intimacy, deeper connection, and lasting love. Through decades of research, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, founders of the world-famous Love Lab, have identified the five common mistakes we make when we are at odds. Readers learn the five secrets to help get back on track and harness conflict to build stronger, healthier relationships. This is an essential resource that will help couples escape the win-or-lose mentality in favour of a collaborative approach.

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Algorithm: a network of mathematically determined choices. To have our tastes, behaviours, and emotions governed by computers, does nothing short of call the very notion of free will into question. Over the last decade, Kyle Chayka has studied the homogeneity of this curation of reality. Chayka lucidly examines how this deeply filtered aesthetic - spanning digital and physical spaces - creates an uncanny blend of work, home, and social life. Chayka shows us how to disconnect from the tyranny of the algorithms that continue to override our sensibilities, and inform even our most intimate, real-world interactions.

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A radical vision for setting impossible goals and being brave enough to see them through-no matter the risk or the challenge-from the creator of hit YouTube channel Ghost Town Living.

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Speaking out for the first time, and in unforgettable detail, about the traumatic events of August 12, 2022, Salman Rushdie answers violence with art, and reminds us of the power of words to make sense of the unthinkable. Knife is a gripping, intimate, and ultimately life-affirming meditation on life, loss, love, art--and finding the strength to stand up again.

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The dovekie is a stocky seabird the size of a child's heart. The polar bear is an apex predator. The North Atlantic right whale outweighs the humpback. Wildlife biologist Holly Hogan brings extraordinary life to the wonder and resilience of these creatures and many other birds, fish and marine mammals she has encountered in sea voyages from the Arctic to the Antarctic oceans. Bringing together nature, science, and adventure writing, Hogan shines a light on our plastic-addicted lifestyle and offers a compelling, eyewitness account of its devastating effects on the marine environment.

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Acclaimed historian and military expert Gwynne Dyer tells the story of war from its earliest origins up to the present age of atom bombs and algorithms. Dyer chronicles the advent of warfare in the first cities; the rise of inequality and tyranny as humans multiply; the thousand-year classical era of combat until the firearm and the Thirty Years' War. He traces how the brief interlude of limited war before the popular revolutions of the eighteenth century ushered in "total war" - and how the devastation was halted by the shock of Hiroshima.

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We all know people who seem capable of connecting with almost anyone. They are the ones we turn to for advice, the ones who ask deep questions but also seem to hear what we are trying to say. What do they know about conversation that makes them so special? And what can they tell us about how communication really works? Supercommunicators, Charles Duhigg argues, understand--some by intuition, some by hard-won experience--that there is a science to how human beings connect through words. They understand that whenever we speak, we're actually participating in one of three distinct conversations: What is this really about? How do we feel? And who are we? They know the importance of recognizing--and then matching--each kind of conversation, and how to hear the complex emotions, subtle negotiations and hidden beliefs that color and inform everything we say. Our pasts, our values, our affiliations-our identities-shape every discussion we have, from who will pick up the kids to how we want to be treated at work.

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Joining the ranks of Rebecca Skloot's The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and Zora Neale Hurston's rediscovered classic Barracoon, an immersive and revelatory history of the Clotilda, the last slave ship to land on US soil, told through the stories of its survivors-the last documented survivors of any slave ship-whose lives diverged and intersected in profound ways.

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Have you ever had a disproportionate emotional response that left you wondering, "Where did THAT come from? - and how can I keep it from happening again? Big feelings catch all of us off guard at times. Why is it that we so often feel tangled up in our emotions, maybe even paralyzed by them? Speaker and Bible teacher Jennie Allen uses scientific research, biblical insight, and her own story to show how, instead of striving to conceal or control your difficult emotions, you can notice and name them in ways that lead to deeper relationships, richer faith, and lasting health.

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Including essays by Lydia Millet, Alexandra Kleeman, Omar El Akkad and others, this collection from literary writers around the world offers timely, haunting first-person reflections on how climate change has altered their lives.

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