“One of the most profound and illuminating studies of this century to have been published in recent decades.”—John Gray, New York Times Book Review “A powerful, and in many [ways] insightful, explanation as to why grandiose programs of social reform, not to mention revolution, so often end in tragedy. . . .

An important critique of visionary state planning.”—Robert Heilbroner, Lingua Franca Hailed as “a magisterial critique of top-down social planning” by the New York Times...

The hidden costs of artificial intelligence—from natural resources and labor to privacy, equality, and freedom “This study argues that [artificial intelligence] is neither artificial nor particularly intelligent. . . .

A fascinating history of the data on which machine-learning systems are trained.”—New Yorker “A valuable corrective to much of the hype surrounding AI and a useful instruction manual for the future.”—John Thornhill, Financial Times “It’s a masterpiece, and ...

Offering an introduction to the New Testament, the author presents an historical study of the origins of Christianity by analyzing the literature of the earliest Christian movements. Focusing mainly on the New Testament, he also considers non-Biblical Christian writings of the era.

A penetrating look into the extreme plutocracy Vladimir Putin has created and its implications for Russia's future

A surprising assessment of the ways that virtual worlds are entangled with human psychology Proteus, the mythical sea god who could alter his appearance at will, embodies one of the promises of online games: the ability to reinvent oneself. Yet inhabitants of virtual worlds rarely achieve this liberty, game researcher Nick Yee contends. Though online games evoke freedom and escapism, Yee shows that virtual spaces perpetuate social norms and stereotypes from the offline world, transform play i...

A masterfully researched and compelling history of Iran from the sixteenth century to the twenty-first

A lively reimagining of how the distant medieval world of war functioned, drawing on the objects used and made by crusaders

Although much has been written about the political history of the Russian revolution, the human story of what the revolution meant to ordinary people has rarely been told. This book gives voice to the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the Russian people—workers, peasants, soldiers—as expressed in their own words during the vast political, social, and economic upheavals of 1917. The documents in the volume include letters from individuals to newspapers, institutions, or leaders; colle...

An illuminating study of the complex relationship between children and media in the digital age

An account of all the new and surprising evidence now available that contradicts the standard narrative for the beginnings of the earliest civilizations