Health History

For readers of Hidden Valley Road and Patient H.M., an “intimate and compassionate portrait” (Grace M. Cho) of the Genain quadruplets, the harrowing violence they experienced, and its psychological and political consequences.​ In 1954, researchers at the newly formed National Institute...

Let's take stock of young America. Compared to previous generations, American youth have more schooling (college enrollments have never been higher); more money ($100 a week in disposable income); more leisure time (five hours a day); and more news and information (Internet, The Daily Show, RSS feeds). What do they do with all that time and money? They download, upload, IM, post, chat, and network. (Nine of their top ten sites are for social networking.) They watch television and play video games (2 to 4 hours per day).

When Johnson went to work for the US Antarctic Program (devoted to scientific research and education in support of the national interest in the Antarctic), he figured he'd find adventure, beauty, penguins, and lofty-minded scientists. Instead he found boredom, alcohol, and bureaucracy. As a dishwasher and garbage man at McMurdo Station, Johnson quickly shed his illusions about Antarctica.

Music can move us to the heights or depths of emotion. It can persuade us to buy something, or remind us of our first date. It can lift us out of depression when nothing else can. It can get us dancing to its beat. But the power of music goes much, much further. Indeed, music occupies more areas...

The year is 1925. It is sixty degrees below zero. The wind sweeps tons of snow over the deep-frozen Alaskan landscape. The nearest railhead is seven hundred miles away. Airplanes cannot fly. The way to Nome is blocked by a treacherous frozen sound, an icebound port, and mountains to the west...

This talk by Sam Shoemaker begins with a brief history of AA told by Sam. It contains some things which only Rev. Sam Shoemaker could tell correctly. Sam was the preeminent Oxford Group leader in the US at the time Bill Wilson and Ebby T. were affiliated with it. The mission that Ebby was livening and working at during his pivotal meetings with Bill around the time Bill sobered for life was a branch of Sam's church.

“A journey into the origins of COVID-19 and the discovery of vaccines and potential cures . . . I learned so much that I didn’t know before—above all, I met the subtle warriors of the laboratory who are working to save all of us from the horror of new pandemics.”—Richard Preston...

A noted neurologist challenges the widespread misunderstanding of brain disease and mental illness. How the Brain Lost Its Mind tells the rich and compelling story of two confounding ailments, syphilis and hysteria, and the extraordinary efforts to confront their effects on mental life. How does...

“Touching.” —The New York Times For fans of Humans of New York and PostSecret, a collection of raw, urgent, and heartfelt stories, shared anonymously. Helena Dea Bala was an exhausted and isolated DC lobbyist, suffocating under the weight of her student loan debt, when she decided to split...

An inspiring and profoundly enlightening exploration of one doctor’s discovery of how hope can change the course of illness Since the time of the ancient Greeks, human beings have believed that hope is essential to life. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Harvard Medical School professor and...

Virus of the Mind is the first popular work devoted to the science of memetics, a controversial new field that transcends psychology, biology, anthropology, and cognitive science. Memetics is the science of memes, the invisible but very real DNA of human society. Here, the author carefully...

"Narrator Saskia Maarleveld's enthusiasm makes Weller's exhaustive research as engaging as fiction." — AudioFile Magazine A remarkably candid biography of the remarkably candid—and brilliant—Carrie Fisher In her 2008 bestseller, Girls Like Us, Sheila Weller—with heart and a profound...

A timely anthology that explores power, privilege, and oppression and their relationship to marginalized bodies Asserting that the body is the main site of oppression in Western society, the contributors to this pioneering volume explore the complex issue of embodiment and how it relates to...

Rick Ward wants to go to war. And he's not sure why. Maybe he's running from his dad and his crazy temper. Maybe he's running from his girl, who seems to think he's more of a joke than a man. Or maybe he's just running - to find himself. After basic training, Rick enlists with the Charlie Rangers, a special unit that ambushes the enemy in secret jungle raids. It is the most dangerous front line duty, and Rick's six-man team will experience everything from horrifying enemy encounters to mourning the death of a comrade.

From the Whore of Babylon to The Happy Hooker, eminent historian Nils Johan Ringdal has written a masterly, extremely readable world history of the world's oldest profession, spanning a wide historical swathe armed with a lively wit. Beginning with The Epic of Gilgamesh, the Old Testament, and ancient cultures from Greece to India and beyond, Love for Sale takes the listener on a tour through the entire recorded history of prostitution up to the modern red-light district.

Shooting Up: A Short History of Drugs and War examines how intoxicants have been put to the service of states, empires, and their armies throughout history. Since the beginning of organized combat, armed forces have prescribed drugs to their members for two general purposes: to enhance performance during combat and to counter the trauma of killing and witnessing violence after it is over.

Вопросы старости и смерти всегда занимали важное место в исследованиях Мечникова. В своем труде "Этюды о природе человека" известный биолог в простой и изящной форме рассказывает о жизни и смерти живых существ, о строении тела человека и возможных причинах старения, о достоинствах, недостатках и "дисгармониях" человеческого организма, и о возможностях, которые изначально в нем заложены и должны помогать бороться со старостью, словно с любой другой болезнью.

Measles is an infectious rash that killed millions of people every year before a vaccine was created in 1963. Listen to this book to learn more about the history of this infectious disease.

This gripping book traces the evolution of brainwashing from its beginnings in torture and religious conversion into the age of neuroscience and social media. When Pavlov introduced scientific approaches, his research was enthusiastically supported by Lenin and Stalin, setting the stage for major breakthroughs in tools for social, political, and religious control.

"Challenging and readable...will help mothers understand the implications of pushing boys out of the family before they're ready to go."—The Los Angeles Times Book Review...