What Saints, Spies and Serial Killers Can Teach Us About Success
Kevin Dutton
Dutton’s book on his research into psychopaths is a fast, easy read with little academic jargon to bog the reader down. Clearly aimed for the armchair lookie-loo (hello!), Dutton amused and horrifies readers with stories of his …
Victoria Finlay
I first heard of Finlay’s brilliant book on an equally brilliant BBC 4 Radio Show called ‘The Museum of Curiosity,’ described as a “Panel show in which three distinguished guests donate fascinating exhibits to a vast imaginary museum.” This dry description totally fails to encompass the …
Jake Hobson
Do you have some scraggly, overgrown trees or looming bushes you’ve been meaning to trim back? Niwaki, the Japanese equivalent of topiary, is a fun alternative to the simple (often ruthless) trimming most Americans give their bushes. Cloud pruning, the simplest form, follows the contours of a bush’s …
Jeff Guin
There are some tragedies that are so mind-boggling and so bizarre that we can’t help going back to take yet another look. “Why would anyone choose to follow such an obvious, slimy charlatan like Jim Jones?” we wonder. But the story of Jones …
Lauren Greenfield
“I told my kids that they might have to go to college now. They might actually have to earn their own money…I really don’t understand the financial community, especially when they get all that money from the government. I thought that rescue money…was supposed to be passed on …
Clothes We Can’t Believe We Bought
Tom Coleman
Photography by Jerome Jakubiec
Everyone can relate to this book because everyone has had at least one fashion disaster in their life. Maybe it’s the “fashion forward” item you bought because you thought it would be cutting edge, only to discover that …
The Origins of the School Lunch in the United States
A.R. Ruis
Ruis’s book, adapted from his PhD thesis, gives a detailed overview of the history of U.S. School lunches. Attention to health and malnutrition in children started coming to the fore in the late 1880s. Schools found that their …
Michael Finkel
Ever had one of those days where you simply want to walk into the woods and just…disappear? Chris Knight, the most notorious hermit in modern times, did just this. One day he simply walked into the woods, and remained there for 27 years. His sole conversation with another …
Douglas Preston
Preston, part of the writing duo of Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, have brought us so many exciting titles: Utopia, Relic, Riptide, Thunderhead and all the fabulous Special Agent Pendergast stories (including the hair-raising Still Life with Crows). Now Preston brings us his own, real …
The Bizarre and Disturbing Adventures of Hitler’s Limousine in America
Robert Klara
T
hree generations after the Holocaust and WWII, Hitler still has the ability to fascinate and repulse us, as does nearly anything even vaguely related to him. His (or possibly his) car (or possibly cars) are no exception. …
…Micronations, sometimes also referred to as model countries and new country projects, are small, self-proclaimed entities that claim to be independent sovereign states but which are not acknowledged as such by any recognized sovereign state, or by any supranational organization. – Wikipedia
Alastair Bonnett
At first glance, Bonnett’s book may look like another interesting guide to off-the-beaten-track places. Unruly Places goes a step further. Divided into eight categories, Bonnett looks at truly unique geographical places and concepts. Lost Spaces include cities that have been …
Joshua Foer
Journalist Joshua Foer had no idea he’d being going down the rabbit hole himself when he first covered the U.S. Memory Championships. The contest, not one to draw large headlines or ecstatic crowds, is still an intense competition. Participants must memorize the order of a random decks of …
Claire Hoffman
As far as cults go, the Maharishi’s Transcendental Meditation (TM) community was, and still is, pretty benign. In fact, author Hoffman goes to great pains to avoid calling the group a true cult. There are plenty of the hallmarks though – separating members from the larger community, a …
Thomas Thwaites
Who hasn’t looked at their pet and thought “Damn pal, you have it good. Food, toys, naps and not a care in the world.” Inspired by similar ruminations while dog-sitting Noggin the dog, eater of horrid things, Thwaites decided to write an arts grant application to give being …
Marie Kondo
This is by far the most useful decluttering book I have ever read. “Decluttering” may not be quite the right term. I think “divesting” would be better. Rather than buying a new set of plastic bins, adding shelves, or finding clever ways to nest one item in another, …
