Learn to put your life in perspective, take each day one step at a time and steal moments of calm amid the chaos.

This disturbing exposé describes a secret alliance forged at the close of World War II by the CIA, the Sicilian and US mafias, and the Vatican to thwart the possibility of a Communist invasion of Europe. Journalist Paul L. Williams presents evidence suggesting the existence of stay-behind units in many European countries consisting of five thousand to fifteen thousand military operatives. According to the author's research, the initial funding for these guerilla armies came from the sale of large stocks of SS morphine that had been smuggled out of Germany and Italy and of bogus British bank notes that had been produced in concentration camps by skilled counterfeiters. As the Cold War intensified, the units were used not only to ward off possible invaders, but also to thwart the rise of left-wing movements in South America and NATO-based countries by terror attacks. Williams argues that Operation Gladio soon gave rise to the toppling of governments, wholesale genocide, the formation of death squads, financial scandals on a grand scale, the creation of the mujahedeen, an international narcotics network, and, most recently, the ascendancy of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, a Jesuit cleric with strong ties to Operation Condor (an outgrowth of Gladio in Argentina) as Pope Francis I.In a new and lengthy epilogue to this paperback edition, the author continues the Gladio story into the 21st century, suggesting that the CIA is heavily involved in the US heroin trade to fund its operations in Central Asia, the Middle East, and Mexico. In addition, he presents troubling information about the creation and support of ISIS.Sure to be controversial, Operation Gladio connects the dots in ways the mainstream media often overlooks.

Revisiting Dr. Michael Stone's groundbreaking 22-level Gradations of Evil Scale, a hierarchy of evil behavior first introduced in the book The Anatomy of Evil, Stone and Dr. Gary Brucato, a fellow violence and serious psychopathology expert, here provide even more detail, using dozens of cases to exemplify the categories along the continuum. The New Evil also presents compelling evidence that, since a cultural tipping-point in the 1960s, certain types of violent crime have emerged that in earlier decades never or very rarely occurred. The authors examine the biological and psychiatric factors behind serial killing, serial rape, torture, mass and spree murders, and other severe forms of violence. They persuasively argue that, in at least some cases, a collapse of moral faculties contributes to the commission of such heinous crimes, such that evil should be considered not only a valid area of inquiry, but, in our current cultural climate, an imperative one. They consider the effects of new technologies and sociological, cultural, and historical factors since the 1960s that may have set the stage for the new evil. Further, they explain how personality, psychosis, and other qualities can meaningfully contribute to particular crimes, making for many different motives.Relying on their extensive clinical experience, and examination of writings and artwork by infamous serial killers, these experts offer many insights into the logic that drives horrible criminal behavior, and they discuss the hope that in the future such violence may be prevented.

The nature of the crimes, the sheer depth of evil makes this as terrifying a read as any thriller and worse, the villains are real. -- Monsters and Critics.com

For centuries, evil has been the domain of philosophers and priests. Now, science finally reveals its true anatomy.

Drawing from over 600 criminal cases, Stone unveils a groundbreaking 22-level hierarchy of evil behavior, examining how narcissism and aggression drive the most disturbing acts in human history. This isn't just theory--it's a practical tool that could help predict and prevent violent behavior before it takes root.

As the host of Discovery Channel's Most Evil and a distinguished Columbia University professor, Stone brings unprecedented clarity to humanity's darkest mystery. His research offers hope that by understanding evil's origins, we might one day prevent its worst manifestations.

Praised by experts and cited in major media worldwide, this essential work transforms our understanding of human nature's darkest side.

Psychiatrist Stone...provides an etymology of evil with case studies of over 600 violent criminals, giving readers a comprehensive picture of the nature and varieties of human evil.... useful to those seeking the neurological and psychiatric reasons people commit 'evil' crimes.--Library Journal

Powerhouse marketing expert, narrator of Netflix's Buy Now documentary, shows how today's biggest brands are using cult-like tactics to capture not just your wallet, but your devotion.

From viral leggings to must-have apps, Dr. Mara Einstein exposes the hidden parallels between cult manipulation and modern marketing strategies in this eye-opening investigation. Drawing from her unique background as both a former MTV marketing executive and a respected media studies professor, she reveals how companies weaponize psychology to transform casual customers into devoted followers.

This groundbreaking book uncovers:

• How social media platforms use anxiety-inducing algorithms to keep you trapped in a purchase-panic cycle
• The secret playbook marketers use to create brand religions around everyday products
• Why even the most rational consumers fall prey to scarcity marketing and manufactured FOMO
• Practical strategies to break free from manipulative digital marketing tactics

With compelling real-world examples and insights from industry insiders, Hoodwinked equips you with the knowledge to recognize and resist these sophisticated manipulation techniques. Dr. Einstein's expertise has been featured in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review, making her the perfect guide through the maze of modern marketing manipulation.

Break free from the cult of consumerism--discover how to make mindful choices in an increasingly manipulative digital marketplace.

Easy to read, and such a good peek behind the curtain of for-profit companies and the ways they influence and manipulate us, --Daniella Young, author of Uncultured

The Spirit of Laws is one of the most influential books of all time. This masterpiece of political philosophy was widely read throughout Europe, attracted an especially enthusiastic readership in England, and had a profound effect on the framers of the American Constitution. Montesquieu (1689-1755), already famous and controversial through his Persian Letters, a work of his youth in which he humorously satirized the foibles of French society, turned in his later years to this serious treatise on the nature of law. But though the subject itself was profound, this gravitas did not inhibit the famous Montesquieu wit. Master of the pithy bon mot, he managed to survey a great deal of political and philosophical territory while keeping his readers charmed with memorable and artfully turned phrases. Liberty, he says, consists in the ability to do what one ought to desire and in not being forced to do what one ought not to desire. Concerning the unpopularity of the English in France, he says it is due to their arrogance, which is such that even in peace they seem to negotiate with none but enemies.The scope of this masterful work is truly prodigious. Montesquieu explores the essentials of good government; compares and contrasts despotism, monarchy, and democracy; and discusses the factors that lead to corruption of governments. Among the many other topics considered are education of the citizenry, crime and punishment, abuse of power and of liberty, individual rights, taxation, slavery, the role of women, the influence of climate on the temper of a people and their form of government, commerce, religion, and a host of additional subjects.The Spirit of Laws is essential and genuinely enjoyable reading for anyone interested in the development of democracy.

Informative, authoritative, and eye-opening, this is the first full-length book devoted exclusively to uncovering the hidden history of how the Mafia came to dominate organized crime in New York City during the 1930s through 1950s. Based on exhaustive research of archives and secret files obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, author and attorney C. Alexander Hortis draws on the deepest collection of primary sources, many newly discovered, of any history of the modern mob. Shattering myths, Hortis reveals how Cosa Nostra actually obtained power at the inception. The author goes beyond conventional who-shot-who mob stories, providing answers to fresh questions such as: -Why did the Sicilian gangs come out on top of the criminal underworld? -Can economics explain how the Mafia families operated? -What was the Mafia's real role in the drug trade? -Why was Cosa Nostra involved in gay bars in New York since the 1930s? Drawing on an unprecedented array of primary sources, The Mob and the City is the most thorough and authentic history of the Mafia's rise to power in the early-to-mid twentieth century. This updated paperback edition includes a new chapter on noted gangster Joe Valachi based on recently opened files.

Quantum theory is the bedrock of contemporary physics and the basis of understanding matter in its tiniest dimensions and the vast universe as a whole. But for many, the theory remains an impenetrable enigma. Now, two physicists seek to remedy this situation by both drawing on their scientific expertise and their talent for communicating science to the general reader.

Two of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these men, separated in age by forty years, discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time.The authors, veteran science writers with expertise in physics and engineering, have created a lively narrative that interweaves rich biographical detail from each man's life with clear explanations of their scientific accomplishments. Faraday was an autodidact, who overcame class prejudice and a lack of mathematical training to become renowned for his acute powers of experimental observation, technological skills, and prodigious scientific imagination. Maxwell was highly regarded as one of the most brilliant mathematical physicists of the age and made numerous advances in his own right. But when he translated Faraday's ideas into mathematical language, thus creating field theory, this unified framework of electricity, magnetism and light became the basis for much of later, 20th-century physics.Their collaborative efforts gave rise to many of the technological innovations we take for granted today - from electric power generation to television, and more. Told with panache, warmth, and clarity, this captivating story of their greatest work, in which each played an equal part, and their inspiring lives will bring new appreciation to these giants of science.

A piercing examination of America's struggle with racism and why this now threatens the survival of the nation's democracy

When the U.S. Capitol was stormed in 2021, it was an attack on the very idea of America as a pluralist democracy. It was also a reminder that the worst threat to the United States today doesn't come from any foreign despot, but from domestic racism. In The White Storm, the journalist and author Martin Gelin looks back at two decades as a political correspondent and three centuries of American history to understand this moment of crisis. In the vein of Alexis de Tocqueville or Tony Judt, fellow Europeans who traveled America searching for answers to its political contradictions, this is a journey across time and space, from Thomas Jefferson's Monticello to the slave plantations of Louisiana, from mass prisons in rural Arizona to memorials for lynching victims in Alabama.

The book reveals how every step forward for Black Americans is met with a fierce backlash from white Americans, taking two recurring forms: violent extremism and a flight from the commons. The white backlash always grows in proportion to the black advances. After Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election, a Black man at a polling station in Detroit said: We used to pick cotton, now we pick presidents. It is precisely this Black agency that white nationalists refuse to accept.

The White Storm reveals how racism has permeated almost every significant conflict in America's past. Now it threatens American democracy itself.

The story of two brilliant nineteenth-century scientists who discovered the electromagnetic field, laying the groundwork for the amazing technological and theoretical breakthroughs of the twentieth centuryTwo of the boldest and most creative scientists of all time were Michael Faraday (1791-1867) and James Clerk Maxwell (1831-1879). This is the story of how these two men - separated in age by forty years - discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and devised a radically new theory which overturned the strictly mechanical view of the world that had prevailed since Newton's time.The authors, veteran science writers with special expertise in physics and engineering, have created a lively narrative that interweaves rich biographical detail from each man's life with clear explanations of their scientific accomplishments. Faraday was an autodidact, who overcame class prejudice and a lack of mathematical training to become renowned for his acute powers of experimental observation, technological skills, and prodigious scientific imagination. James Clerk Maxwell was highly regarded as one of the most brilliant mathematical physicists of the age. He made an enormous number of advances in his own right. But when he translated Faraday's ideas into mathematical language, thus creating field theory, this unified framework of electricity, magnetism and light became the basis for much of later, 20th-century physics.Faraday's and Maxwell's collaborative efforts gave rise to many of the technological innovations we take for granted today - from electric power generation to television, and much more. Told with panache, warmth, and clarity, this captivating story of their greatest work - in which each played an equal part - and their inspiring lives will bring new appreciation to these giants of science.

Presents evidence suggesting collusion between US and Israeli intelligence in the attack on a US naval surveillance vessel during the Six-Day War and the more than fifty-year long cover-up. On June 8, 1967, the USS Liberty, an unarmed intelligence ship reporting to the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the auspices of the National Security Agency, was positioned in international waters off the coast of Egypt when it was attacked with deadly violence by unmarked jet planes firing rockets and machine guns and throwing napalm onto its deck. This ambush was followed by a torpedo strike that blew a forty-foot hole in the starboard side of the ship. Lacking the capacity to defend themselves, thirty-four sailors were killed and 174 wounded, many for life. By the end of the day, Israel had confessed to having been the aggressor, simultaneously arguing that the attack had been an accident and a mistake. The facts said otherwise. So intense and sustained was the attack - it lasted for nearly an hour and a half - so specific was the aiming for the antennae and satellite dish on deck, that it was scarcely credible that Israel's aggression was not deliberate; such was the view of Marshall Carter, the director of the National Security Agency, his deputy director Louis Tordella, and Richard Helms, the Director of Central Intelligence. Based on interviews with more than forty survivors, knowledgeable political insiders, and Soviet archives of the period, investigative writer Joan Mellen presents evidence suggesting complicity between US and Israeli intelligence in the attack on Liberty and the more than fifty-year long cover-up. What were the underlying motives? Was this a false flag operation conducted in the midst of the Six-Day War? Was it conceivable that Israel would have initiated such an operation without a green light from the United States? For the sake of justice, truth and the murdered and surviving sailors, this is a story demanding to be told.

A memoir of medicine, scientific integrity, and the unwavering belief that disease knows no politics.

Disease Knows No Politics is an inspiring medical and political memoir that champions the American Dream and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) while recounting the extraordinary immigrant journey of Dr. Elias Zerhouni: former NIH director under President George W. Bush, presidential envoy under President Barack Obama, and treating physician for President Ronald Reagan.

Dr. Zerhouni, who was asked to consider directing President Trump's Operation Warp Speed to create a COVID vaccine, has crafted a memoir and manifesto emphasizing that disease knows no politics. He argues that science and public health must remain separate from partisan politics. As NIH director, he upheld this principle while navigating political storms, including the embryonic stem cell debate, ensuring the agency served all Americans, regardless of politics, race, religion, or gender.

Arriving in America from Algiers with his wife, Nadia, and just a few hundred dollars, Dr. Zerhouni built his career as a radiologist through groundbreaking research. His work, from using MRI to tag the beating heart to differentiating between benign and malignant lung nodules, embodied relentless innovation. Rising through academia, he transformed research at Johns Hopkins by fostering multidisciplinary collaboration--an approach he later championed at the NIH.

At the NIH, he spearheaded the NIH Roadmap, a blueprint for 21st-century medical research, institutionalized with bipartisan support through the 2006 NIH Reform Act. Following his tenure at NIH, Dr. Zerhouni traveled the world as a presidential envoy, forging crucial scientific collaborations worldwide. Later, in the pharmaceutical industry, he helped guide and accelerate the creation of transformative therapies for patients, which he continues into the present.
Dr. Zerhouni credits America for making his success possible. His memoir is both a tribute to the country that shaped him and an urgent call to protect scientific integrity from political interference. Disease knows no politics.

How Much Do You Believe That What Happens to You Is the Result of Your Own Actions-or Do Circumstances Beyond Your Control Largely Determine Your Fate? Locus of Control (LOC) is a phrase used by psychologists to describe a widely effective way of assessing an individual's potential for success-personal, social, and financial.LOC measures how much you believe what happens to you is the result of your own actions or, conversely, of forces and circumstances beyond your control. People who accept that they are largely in control of their lives tend to do better than those who feel that fate or external factors rule what they do, especially in novel and difficult situations. This book explains LOC research, until now mainly confined to academic circles, in terms easily understandable to the average person. The author, a clinical psychologist who has spent nearly five decades investigating and writing about LOC, helps the reader to explore his or her own locus of control and what those orientations might mean for how life is lived. He discusses the extensively documented relationship between LOC and academic achievement, personal and social adjustment, health, and financial success. Dr. Nowicki notes that there has been an increasing tendency among Americans to feel as though their lives are slipping out of their control, and he identifies ways to reverse this negative trend. He describes how the Locus of Control is learned and demonstrates ways in which it can be changed to yield higher levels of achievement, success, personal satisfaction, and better interactions with others.

Distorting Democracy will awaken Americans to the perils of our system by unveiling the Electoral College's origins, history, and present operations. This book demonstrates that the system has no principled foundation, that it has changed dramatically over its 230-year history, and that it threatens the legitimacy of our political system in the present.

In this illuminating book, Ellis provides a lively and insightful explanation of the differences between self-esteem and self-acceptance. Emphasizing the importance of self-acceptance, he examines this theme in the thinking of great religious teachers, philosophers, and psychologists. He then provides exercises for training oneself to change self-defeating habits to the healthy, positive approach of self-acceptance. These include specific thinking techniques as well as emotive and behavioral exercises.He concludes by stressing that unconditional self-acceptance is the basis for establishing healthy relationships with others, along with unconditional other-acceptance and a total philosophy of life anchored in unconditional life-acceptance.

The Ptolemaic system of the universe, with the earth at the center, had held sway since antiquity as authoritative in philosophy, science, and church teaching. Following his observations of the heavenly bodies, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543) abandoned the geocentric system for a heliocentric model, with the sun at the center. His remarkable work, On the Revolutions of Heavenly Spheres, stands as one of the greatest intellectual revolutions of all time, and profoundly influenced, among others, Galileo and Sir Isaac Newton.

A Next Big Idea Club Top 25 Non-Fiction Book of 2024​!

Maggie Jackson's incisive and timely book is a provocative exploration of the surprising benefits of not knowing. . . and shows how this state of mind can jolt us from intellectual complacency and foster creativity, resilience, and mutual understanding. Uncertain is a triumphant ode to the wisdom of being unsure. - Daniel H. Pink, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Power of Regret, Drive, and When

With cutting-edge science and insights both surprising and practical, Uncertain shows how cultivating an open and unsettled mindset can help us to spark curiosity, compassion, and creativity. - Gretchen Rubin, New York Times-bestselling author of The Happiness Project and Life in Five Senses

...remarkable and persuasive... --Library Journal

A Can't Miss, Must-Read. --Next Big Idea Club

A revolutionary guide to flourishing in times of flux and angst by harnessing the overlooked power of our uncertainty.

In an era of terrifying unpredictability, we race to address complex crises with quick, sure algorithms, bullet points, and tweets. How could we find the clarity and vision so urgently needed today by being unsure? Uncertain is about the triumph of doing just that. A scientific adventure tale set on the front lines of a volatile era, this epiphany of a book by award-winning author Maggie Jackson shows us how to skillfully confront the unexpected and the unknown, and how to harness not-knowing in the service of wisdom, invention, mutual understanding, and resilience.

Long neglected as a topic of study and widely treated as a shameful flaw, uncertainty is revealed to be a crucial gadfly of the mind, jolting us from the routine and the assumed into a space for exploring unseen meaning. Far from luring us into inertia, uncertainty is the mindset most needed in times of flux and a remarkable antidote to the narrow-mindedness of our day.

In laboratories, political campaigns, and on the frontiers of artificial intelligence, Jackson meets the pioneers decoding the surprising gifts of being unsure. Each chapter examines a mode of uncertainty-in-action, from creative reverie to the dissent that spurs team success. Step by step, the art and science of uncertainty reveal being unsure as a skill set for incisive thinking and day-to-day flourishing.

Follow the most riveting cases of an elite investigative team of volunteers brought together by a famed FBI Profiler dedicated to solving crimes no one else could

When Gregory M. Cooper, former head of the FBI's Behavioral Sciences Unit, founded the Cold Case Foundation in 2013, he had high expectations, but couldn't anticipate the level of response. What started with just a half-dozen or so retired FBI agents and homicide detectives has ballooned to more than 150 women and men who volunteer their time to help families of deceased or missing loved ones bring closure to cases that have gone cold.

The Cold Case Foundation shares the most riveting and rewarding cases the Foundation has helped solve, from high-profile missing persons cases to decades-old murders. In a fairly short time, the Cold Case Foundation has contributed to the solving of dozens of cases and is helping hundreds more homicide and missing persons investigations move forward. Police departments and victims' families from throughout the country have been supported by the Foundation's services, which are more than welcome for investigators that are increasingly finding themselves with fewer resources--and not enough time--to dedicate to the most difficult cases.

The Cold Case Foundation covers not only the investigative approaches the Foundation's investigators employ and recommend, but also the principles and activities that help communities and law enforcement agencies come together in a spirit of cooperation and trust to help solve cases that, for whatever reason, have gone unsolved--until now.

Do you know when you're being deceived? Can you trust the information coming from Washington, the media, and the Internet?This classic work on critical thinking uses a novel approach to teach the basics of informal logic. On the assumption that it takes one to know one, the authors have written the book from the point of view of someone who wishes to deceive, mislead, or manipulate others. Having mastered the art of deception, readers will then be able to detect the misuse or abuse of logic when they encounter it in others -- whether in a heated political debate or while trying to evaluate the claims of a persuasive sales person. Using a host of real-world examples, the authors show you how to win an argument, defend a case, recognize a fallacy, see through deception, persuade a skeptic, and turn defeat into victory. Whether you're evaluating a social media rumor or you just want to become more adept at making your points and analyzing others' arguments, The Art of Deception--now with an updated preface--will give you the intellectual tools to become a more effective thinker and speaker. Helpful exercises and discussion questions are also included.