Popular Nonfiction Books for Adults
Hundreds of books are added to the Library's collection each month. Here are the most popular Nonfiction books for adults.
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Some People Need Killing: A Memoir of Murder in My Country
"'My job is to go to places where people die. I pack my bags, talk to the survivors, write my stories, then go home to wait for the next catastrophe. I don't wait very long.' Journalist Patricia Evangelista came of age in the aftermath of a street revolution that forged a new future for the Philippines. Three decades later, in the face of mounting inequality, the nation discovered the fragility of its democratic institutions under the regime of strongman Rodrigo Duterte. Some People Need Killing is Evangelista's meticulously reported and deeply human chronicle of the Philippines' drug war and Duterte's assault on the country's struggling democracy. For six years, Evangelista had the distinctive beat of chronicling the killings carried out by police and vigilantes in the name of Duterte's war on drugs - a war that has led to the slaughter of thousands - immersing herself in the world of killers and survivors and capturing the atmosphere of fear created when an elected president decides that some lives are worth less than others"-- Provided by publisher.
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Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will
"One of our great behavioral scientists, the bestselling author of Behave, plumbs the depths of the science and philosophy of decision-making to mount a devastating case against free will, an argument with profound consequences. Robert Sapolsky's Behave, his now classic account of why humans do good and why they do bad, pointed toward an unsettling conclusion: We may not grasp the precise marriage of nature and nurture that creates the physics and chemistry at the base of human behavior, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Now, in Determined, Sapolsky takes his argument all the way, mounting a brilliant (and in his inimitable way, delightful) full-frontal assault on the pleasant fantasy that there is some separate self telling our biology what to do. Determined offers a marvelous synthesis of what we know about how consciousness works-the tight weave between reason and emotion and between stimulus and response in the moment and over a life. One by one, Sapolsky tackles all the major arguments for free will and takes them out, cutting a path through the thickets of chaos and complexity science and quantum physics, as well as touching ground on some of the wilder shores of philosophy. He shows us that the history of medicine is in no small part the history of learning that fewer and fewer things are somebody's "fault"; for example, for centuries we thought seizures were a sign of demonic possession. Yet, as he acknowledges, it's very hard, and at times impossible, to uncouple from our zeal to judge others and to judge ourselves. Sapolsky applies the new understanding of life beyond free will to some of our most essential questions around punishment, morality, and living well together. By the end, Sapolsky argues that while living our daily lives recognizing that we have no free will is going to be monumentally difficult, doing so is not going to result in anarchy, pointlessness, and existential malaise. Instead, it will make for a much more humane world"-- Provided by publisher.
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A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of A Jerusalem Tragedy
"Five-year-old Milad Salama is excited for the school trip to a theme park on the outskirts of Jerusalem. On the way, his bus collides with a semitrailer in a horrific accident. His father, Abed, gets word of the crash and rushes to the site. The scene is chaos-the children have been taken to different hospitals in Jerusalem and the West Bank; some are missing, others cannot be identified. Abed sets off on an odyssey to learn Milad's fate. It is every parent's worst nightmare, but for Abed it is compounded by the maze of physical, emotional, and bureaucratic obstacles he must navigate because he is Palestinian. He is on the wrong side of the separation wall, holds the wrong ID to pass the military checkpoints, and has the wrong papers to enter the city of Jerusalem. Abed's quest to find Milad is interwoven with the stories of a cast of Jewish and Palestinian characters whose lives and histories unexpectedly converge: a kindergarten teacher and a mechanic who rescue children from the burning bus; an Israeli army commander and a Palestinian official who confront the aftermath at the scene of the crash; a settler paramedic; ultra-Orthodox emergency service workers; and two mothers who each hope to claim one severely injured boy. Immersive and gripping, A Day in the Life of Abed Salama is an indelibly human portrait of the Jewish-Palestinian struggle that offers a new understanding of the tragic history and reality of one of the most contested places on earth"-- Provided by publisher.
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Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Greater Things
"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of Think Again illuminates how we can elevate ourselves and others to unexpected heights. We live in a world that's obsessed with talent. We celebrate gifted students in school, natural athletes in sports, and child prodigies in music. But admiring people who start out with innate advantages leads us to overlook the distance we ourselves can travel. We underestimate the range of skills that we can learn and the amount of ground that we can gain. When opportunity doesn't knock, there are ways to build a door. Hidden Potential offers a new framework for reaching aspirations and exceeding expectations. Realizing potential isn't about being a workaholic or a perfectionist. What matters most is not how hard we work, but how well we learn. It's not about being a genius-growth depends more on developing character skills than cognitive skills. The character skills that propel progress include the proactivity to absorb and adapt to new information, the courage to embrace discomfort, and the determination to find the beauty in imperfections. Mastering those skills doesn't require us to find the one perfect mentor or expert coach to guide us. Often we just need to borrow a compass to begin charting our own path. And we can clear the path for more people by building better systems of opportunity in our schools, teams, and workplaces. Many writers have chronicled the habits of superstars who accomplish great things. This book breaks new ground by revealing how anyone can rise to achieve greater things. The true measure of your potential isn't the height of the peak you reach, but how far you climb to get there"-- Provided by publisher.
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The In-between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments
"Passionate advocate for end-of-life care and TikTok star Nurse Hadley shares moving stories of joy, wisdom, and redemption from her patients' final moments, offering powerful lessons on facing death, recovering from loss, and how to live your life in this deeply personal memoir. Talking about death and dying is considered taboo in popular culture, even in the medical field. Our understanding of death is riddled with misconceptions: memories flashing before our eyes, cascading regrets, and chasing bright lights at the end of tunnels. But for most people, this will not be their experience. Rather, it will be a slower process requiring preparedness, good humor, and a bit of faith. At the forefront of changing attitudes around palliative care is TikTok personality Hadley Vlahos, whose videos collect and share the heartbreaking, remarkable, and uplifting stories of her patients. Vlahos was raised in a strict religious household, but began questioning her beliefs after she got pregnant at nineteen and was shunned by her community. A single mother on welfare, she went to nursing school with the sole purpose of keeping a roof over her and her son's head. Soon, however, nursing became more than a job, and she found her calling in palliative care and hospice work. Now, Vlahos is changing the conversation around death, showing that end-of-life care can teach us just as much about how to live as it does about how we die. In The In-Between, Vlahos recounts the most impactful stories from the people she's worked with-from the woman struggling with her religious beliefs despite her strict Catholic upbringing, to the older man seeing visions of his late daughter, to the young patient who laments that she spent so much of her short life worrying about what others thought of her-while also sharing her own fascinating journey. With profound insight, humility, and respect, The In-Between is a heart-rending memoir about how caring for others can transform a life, while also offering wisdom and comfort for those dealing with loss and providing inspiration for how to live now"-- Provided by publisher.
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Zero at the Bone: Fifty Entries Against Despair
"Christian Wiman, a thinker "at the very source of theology" (Marilynne Robinson), braids poetry, memoir, and criticism to create an inspired, career-defining work"-- Provided by publisher.
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Trail of the Lost: The Relentless Search to Bring Home the Missing Hikers of the Pacific Crest Trail
"From an award-winning former law enforcement park ranger and investigator, this female-driven true crime adventure follows the author's quest to find missing hikers along the Pacific Crest Trail by pairing up with an eclectic group of unlikely allies"-- Provided by publisher.
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How to Say Babylon: A Memoir
This stunning story of the author's struggle to break free of her strict Rastafarian upbringing ruled by a father whose rigid beliefs, rage and paranoia led to violence shows how found her own power and provides a unique glimpse into a rarefied world we know little about.
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Ultra-processed People: The Science Behind Food That Isn't Food
"We have entered a new age of eating. For the first time in human history, most of our calories come from an entirely novel set of substances called Ultra-Processed Food. There's a long, formal scientific definition, but it can be boiled down to this: if it's wrapped in plastic and has at least one ingredient that you wouldn't find in your kitchen, it's UPF. In this book, Chris van Tulleken, father, scientist, doctor, and award-winning BBC broadcaster, marshals the latest evidence to show how governments, scientists, and doctors have allowed transnational food companies to create a pandemic of diet-related disease. The solutions don't lie in willpower, personal responsibility, or exercise. You'll find no diet plan in this book--but join Chris as he undertakes a powerful self-experiment that made headlines around the world: under the supervision of colleagues at University College London he spent a month eating a diet of 80 percent UPF, typical for many children and adults in the United States. While his body became the subject of scientific scrutiny, he spoke to the world's leading experts from academia, agriculture, and--most important--the food industry itself"-- Provided by publisher
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Make It Japanese: Simple Recipes for Everyone
"Learn the building blocks of authentic Japanese home cooking with 85 satisfying, soulful, everyday recipes from the beloved BuzzFeed Tasty food personality Make It Japanese reflects Rie's journey living in the United States for over 15 years and learning to cook heartfelt recipes from home from scratch, often using only ingredients from her local supermarket. She draws inspiration from the nourishing food her mom cooked throughout her childhood and her extensive knowledge of Japanese cuisine and ingredients that she brought to life in an American kitchen. In her debut cookbook, Rie shares just how approachable Japanese home cooking can be, no matter where you are. She presents a collection of comforting, homestyle recipes that use just a handful of easy-to-find Japanese ingredients and simple, essential cooking techniques, like making rice bowls (donburi) and gently simmering vegetables and proteins to delicious effect. Each accompanied by bright, beautiful photography, recipes include traditional dishes with a twist, like Loaded Veggie Miso Soup with kale and sweet potatoes, Roasted Cauliflower Go-mae topped with a toasted sesame dressing, and umami-packed Miso Carbonara Pasta, alongside can't-miss classics like sticky Teriyaki Meatballs, ginger-spiked Japanese-Style Fried Chicken, and Katsudon, rice bowls topped with crispy pork cutlets and egg. Whether making dinner on a busy weeknight or hosting a multi-course banquet, Make It Japanese is the ideal resource and perfect introduction to the world of Japanese cuisine, ingredients, and cooking techniques"-- Provided by publisher.
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