"You swab your cheek or spit in a vial, then send it away to a lab somewhere. Weeks later you get a report that might tell you where your ancestors came from or if you carry certain genetic risks. Or the report could reveal long-buried family secrets and upend your entire sense of identity. Soon a lark becomes an obsession, a relentless drive to find answers to questions at the core of your being, like "Who am I?" and "Where did I come from?" Welcome...

Excerpt: "Of its eminently conservative and even upward tendency very little doubt can be reasonably entertained. We do fall in love, taking us in the lump, with the young, the beautiful, the strong, and the healthy; we do not fall in love, taking us in the lump, with the aged, the ugly, the feeble, and the sickly. The prohibition of the Church is scarcely, needed to prevent a man from marrying his grandmother. Moralists have always borne a special...

Those who predicted the death of libraries forgot to consider that in the automated maze of contemporary life, none of us--neither the experts nor the hopelessly baffled--can get along without human help. And not just any help--we need librarians, who won't charge us by the question or roll their eyes, no matter what we ask. Who are they? What do they know? And how quickly can they save us from being buried by the digital age? This book is a romp...

"Inspired by her popular Wild Thing podcast, journalist Laura Krantz incorporates the scientific method and her journalistic skills to determine if Bigfoot is real. When journalist Laura Krantz discovered that her long-lost cousin, Grover Krantz, a distinguished anthropologist and professor at Washington State University, had devoted much of his career to the search for Bigfoot, she couldn't quite believe it. A natural skeptic and a strong believer...

Offers a broad examination of the subject of longevity, looking at the current scientific understanding of aging, as well as simple things people can do to promote longevity and common myths, misconceptions, and scams on the subject. "From acclaimed journalist Bill Gifford comes a roaring journey into the world of anti-aging science in search of answers to a universal obsession: what can be done about getting old? SPRING CHICKEN: Stay Young Forever...

"Social media has been weaponized, as state hackers and rogue terrorists have seized upon Twitter and Facebook to create chaos and destruction. This urgent report is required reading, from defense expert P.W. Singer and Council on Foreign Relations fellow Emerson Brooking."-- Publisher information

In today's digitally driven world, disaster is only a click away. A rogue tweet could bring down a business; an army of trolls can run a celebrity off-line; and virtual harassment might cause real psychological damage. Shame Nation explores the fascinating phenomenon of online shaming and offers practical guidance and advice on how to prevent and protect against cyber blunders and faceless bullies. Internet safety expert Sue Scheff draws from the...

As a scholar and historian, Charles A. Beard transformed the teaching and study of American history by stressing the "whole man," including the relationship of economic interests, politics, and the public. This argument is reflected in a number of Beard's other books as well, such as An Economic Interpretation of the Constitution of the United States.

The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention. More than 2,500 years ago, long before medieval automata, and centuries before technology made self-moving devices possible, Greek mythology was exploring ideas about creating artificial life--and grappling with still-unresolved ethical concerns about biotechne, "life through craft."...

It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High-until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning. A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent...