Oprah’s Book Club Pick  Ocean Vuong returns with a bighearted novel about chosen family, unexpected friendship, and the stories we tell ourselves in order to survive.   “Come in. But take off your shoes. My husband put down these floors.” The woman disappeared into the house. The boy hesitated, looking down the empty street. The

Acclaimed science writer Ferris Jabr reveals a radical new vision of Earth where lush forests spew water, pollen, and bacteria to summon rain; giant animals engineer the very landscapes they roam; microbes chew rock to shape continents; and microscopic plankton, some as glittering as carved jewels, remake the air and sea. Humans are one of

In this timely new book in Beacon’s renowned ReVisioning History series, professor Gloria Browne-Marshall delves into the history of protest movements and rebellion in the United States. Beginning with Indigenous peoples’ resistance to European colonization and continuing through to today’s climate change demonstrations, Browne-Marshall expands how to think about protest through sharing select historical moments

The Coming Wave is an urgent warning of the unprecedented risks that AI and other fast-developing technologies pose to global order, and how we might contain them while we have the chance—from a co-founder of the pioneering artificial intelligence company DeepMind and current CEO of Microsoft AI.     The Containment Problem Revenge Effects Alan

Daughters of Shandong is a propulsive, extraordinary novel about a mother and her daughters’ harrowing escape to Taiwan as the Communist revolution sweeps through China, by debut author Eve J. Chung, based on her family story.   1 Heirless Nai Nai said whores weren’t allowed in the house, so she kicked Mom out, slamming the

Through the “revelatory and gut-wrenching” (Associated Press) stories of five Atlanta families, this landmark work of journalism exposes a new and troubling trend—the dramatic rise of the working homeless in cities across America.   1 Britt scrutinized her face in the bathroom mirror, hoping she looked less tired than she felt. Sleep had been hard

Carbon is the only element that animates the entirety of the living world. Though comprising a tiny fraction of Earth’s composition, our planet is lifeless without it. Yet it is maligned as the driver of climate change, scorned as an errant element blamed for the possible demise of civilization. Here, Paul Hawken looks at the flow

The government is a vast, complex system that Americans pay for, rebel against, rely upon, dismiss, and celebrate. It’s also our shared resource for addressing the biggest problems of society. And it’s made up of people, mostly unrecognized and uncelebrated, doing work that can be deeply consequential and beneficial to everyone. Michael Lewis invited his

2024 recipient of the George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language given by the National Council of Teachers of English   Making Americans is a landmark work that weaves captivating stories about the past, present, and personal into an inspiring vision for how America can educate immigrant students. Setting

In Original Sins, University of Chicago professor Eve L. Ewing demonstrates that it’s in the DNA of American schools to serve as an effective and under acknowledged mechanism maintaining inequality in this country today. Ewing makes the case that we need a profound reevaluation of what schools are supposed to do, and for whom. This

One of America’s greatest storytellers sheds light on an American tragedy: the Wounded Knee Massacre, and the ‘cultural genocide’ experienced by the Native American children at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School. In September of 1890, the academic year begins at the Carlisle School, a military-style boarding school for Indians in Pennsylvania, founded and run by

How the World Really Works is an essential analysis of the modern science and technology that makes our twenty-first century lives possible—a scientist’s investigation into what science really does, and does not, accomplish. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material