One of the New Yorker's Best Books of 2022 Bill McKibben—award-winning author, activist, educator—is fiercely curious. “I’m curious about what went so suddenly sour with American patriotism, American faith, and American prosperity.” Like so many of us, McKibben grew up believing—knowing—that the United States was the greatest country on earth. As a teenager, he cheerfully led American Revolution tours in Lexington, Massachusetts. He sang “Kumbaya” at church. And with the remarkable rise of suburbia, he assumed that all Americans would share in the wealth. But fifty years later, he finds himself in an increasingly doubtful nation strained by bleak racial and economic inequality, on a planet whose future is in peril. And he is curious: What the hell happened? In this revelatory cri de coeur, McKibben digs deep into our history (and his own well-meaning but not all-seeing past) and into the latest scholarship on race and inequality in America, on the rise of the religious right, and on our environmental crisis to explain how we got to this point. He finds that he is not without hope. And he wonders if any of that trinity of his youth—The Flag, the Cross, and the Station Wagon—could, or should, be reclaimed in the fight for a fairer future.

The Cross in the Midst of Creation: Following Jesus, Engaging the Powers, Transforming the World links Christian understandings of creation, atonement, and the biblical principalities and powers. Sharon Delgado asserts that the crucifixion is ongoing as institutional powers diminish human life and destroy creation, and that the resurrection is ongoing as faith overcomes despair and the Spirit equips people to rise in courage and follow Jesus into the heart of the struggle for a transformed world. This book explores and critiques traditional doctrines and popular teachings about the cross and draws from various stories of Jesus and biblical metaphors to offer life-enhancing perspectives on this core symbol of Christian faith. It presents the cross as a symbol of God's presence throughout creation and undying love as revealed in Jesus; also explored are the path of discipleship, the moral bankruptcy of the dominating powers, engagement through nonviolent resistance, and above all, God's triumph over the powers, offering hope for the world. It also challenges followers of Jesus to throw off despair and complacency, exposes disempowering and hate-filled teachings that claim to be Christian, and reclaims the gospel as a force for healing, empowerment, and both personal and social transformation. By participating in the ongoing story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and experiencing the tangible presence of the Holy Spirit, we discover the creative power at the heart of this and every universe: the all-encompassing, infinite, eternal love of God.

Old friends--one a Jew, the other a Christian--Leonard (Lenny) Grob and John K. Roth are philosophers who have long studied the Holocaust. That experience makes us anxious about democracy, because we are also Americans living in perilous times. The 2020s remind us of the 1930s when Nazis destroyed democracy in Germany. Carnage followed. In the 2020s, Donald Trump and his followers endanger democracy in the United States. With Vladimir Putin's ruthless assault against Ukraine compounding the difficulties, democracy must not be taken for granted. Americans love democracy--except when we don't. That division and conflict mean that democracy will be on the ballot in the 2024 American elections. Probing the prospects, Warnings: The Holocaust, Ukraine, and Endangered American Democracy features exchanges between us that underscore the most urgent threats to democracy in the United States and show how to resist them. What's most needed is ethical patriotism that urges us Americans to be our best selves. Our best selves defend liberal democracy; they strive for inclusive pluralism. Our best selves resist decisions and policies like those that led to the Holocaust or genocidal war in Ukraine or conspiracies to overturn fair and free elections in the United States. Our best selves reject antisemitism and racism; they oppose hypocrisy and autocracy. Our best selves hold lying leaders accountable. Our best selves believe that, against all odds, democracy can win out if we never give up trying to be our best.

The future is uncertain. But flourishing doesn’t have to be. We know without a doubt the power of humans to change the earth in lasting ways. Climate change is not a niche issue: it is the unfolding story of our embodied lives. As we join in with the groaning of creation, we wonder, How will we and coming generations make our home in an inhospitable future? In the face of environmental and social upheaval, Tending Tomorrow lays out a path for Christians worried about our collective future and seeking courage and inspiration for the journey ahead. Drawing on metaphors from the natural world, author Leah Reesor-Keller offers foundational, transformative practices for leaders and communities to foster healthier cultures during a time of ecological devastation. When we dig into the roots of faith and culture, and envision new interactions and patterns, we plant seeds of change. Seeds that ignite courageous imagination. Seeds that repair injustice. Seeds that nurture a tomorrow where possibilities bloom and people and planet flourish. Like mycorrhizal networks of fungi in a forest, we can build nourishing webs of connection to sustain ourselves and future generations. As we bravely and humbly cultivate healing and reconciliation, good, liberating, and flourishing things will emerge.

We live under the illusion of progress: as long as GDP is going up and prices stay low, we accept poverty and pollution as unfortunate but inevitable byproducts of a successful economy. In fact, the infallibility of the free market and the necessity of endless growth are so ingrained in the public consciousness that they seem like scientific fact. Jon Erickson asks, why? With the planet in peril and humanity in crisis, how did we get duped into believing the fairytale of economics? And how can we get past the illusion to design an economy that is socially just and ecologically balanced? In The Progress Illusion, Erickson charts the rise of the economic worldview and its infiltration into our daily lives as a theory of everything. Drawing on his own experience as a young economist inoculated in the 1980s era of “greed is good,” Erickson shows how pseudoscience came to dominate economic thought. He pokes holes in the conventional wisdom of neo-classical economics, illustrating how flawed theories about financial decision-making and maximizing efficiency ignore human psychology and morality. Most importantly, he demonstrates how that thinking shaped our politics and determined the course of American public policy. The result has been a system that perpetually concentrates wealth in the hands of a few, while depleting the natural resources on which economies are based. While the history of economics is dismal indeed, Erickson is part of a vigorous reform effort grounded in the realities of life on a finite planet. This new brand of economics is both gaining steam in academia and supporting social activism. The goal is people over profit, community over consumption, and resilience over recklessness. Erickson shows crafting a new economic story is the first step toward turning away from endless growth and towards enduring prosperity.

Why has so much of our recent attention been focused on AI while RI is all but forgotten? And why are we spending so much energy debating the future of AI rather than that of its human original? Why can’t those who are concerned about AI and those who care about RI talk to one another using a common language? iMind: Artificial and Real Intelligence is the first comprehensive popular science account of AI and RI. Unique in scope, it discusses the interdisciplinary science of AI, RI, smartphones, smart sensors, microchips, and the brain-mind connection. It explores what is beyond the physical, including mindfulness and spirituality, and how they can impact our wellbeing in the here and now, and how they can help us achieve a healthy and fulfilling old age. Mohamed I. Elmasry, PhD, FIEEE, FRSC, FCAE, FEIC, is Emeritus Professor of Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo.

Award-winning authors Marcy Houle and Elizabeth Eckstrom have teamed up again following the success of their critically acclaimed book The Gift of Caring, winner of the 2016 National Christopher Award. This new book blends frontline science with inspirational stories and insights from wise elders for aging with health, joy, and purpose. The book explains how our bodies and brains age, defining what can be expected with aging and what is unusual. It demonstrates ways we can significantly increase our chances for a positive aging experience into our 80s, 90s and 100s. It offers key strategies for meeting the challenges of aging, informs us of issues of inclusion and equity, and advises on handling legal and financial affairs. The Gift of Aging illustrates how we can make the third act of our lives meaningful and fulfilling, ensuring we as elders can make a difference in our world.

A photographic celebration of the landscapes that have influenced some of America’s most important nature writers—from John Muir to Terry Tempest Williams to Barbara Kingsolver. Since 2019, Donald S. Clark has documented the places that have been instrumental in influencing the lives and words of both historic and contemporary nature and environmental writers throughout the United States. While we have always felt their passionate connection to their own environments, no book has ever made this visual connection between writers and their land before—the relationship between prose and place. Featuring more than 40 of America’s most important writers, the content is as far-reaching as America itself: from sea to shining sea, forest to prairie, and mountain to coastline. Accompanying each gallery of stunning photography is a selected excerpt by the writer about their land. With the increasingly noticeable effects of climate change, the significance of these writers—and their personal connections to the environment—is even more timely. This unique and compelling story of the land and how it has inspired some of our greatest poets and authors will make a wonderful gift for budding environmentalists, students of nature writing, or anyone interested in conservation.

Fifteen climate experts combine forces to present a plan for slowing and ultimately preventing further destruction to our planet. As governments and businesses continue to set climate goals for reducing carbon emissions and slowing global warming, scientists, engineers, and policymakers are using cutting-edge research to introduce new climate technologies and strategies for achieving and potentially surpassing these goals. Presented by world-leading climate scientists and futurists, Proven Climate Solutions offers a dynamic, evidence-based action plan that uncovers the hard work, dedication, and best practices of climate heroes who are accelerating change and winning the battle to protect our environment. BF Nagy along with Bill McKibben, Mark Jacobson, Robert Howarth, Nancy Ryan, and ten other top climate leaders have synthesized a clear pathway for a rapid energy transition ramp-up. This includes game-changing climate emergency solutions and governing policies to supercharge deployment and finally retire old, obsolete systems and tired ideas. The essays included cover a wide range of environmental innovations from renewables and batteries to water technologies and biodiversity and much more, highlighting the strengths, weaknesses, and roles to be played by new technologies and offering readers encouragement for a climate-friendly future. It is long past time to halt the nonsense and destruction, instead embracing the crucial changes and bold actions needed to create an equitable, affordable, and healthy world for our children. This definitive guide provides the facts on proven, practical solutions now being deployed, and how these solutions can be accelerated to save our planet before it's too late.

#1 NATIONAL BESTELLER • Shortlisted for the 2024 Women's Prize for Non-Fiction • Finalist for the 2024 National Book Critics Circle Award for Criticism • Shortlisted for the 2024 Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize • A New York Times Notable Book of 2023 • Vulture’s #1 Book of 2023 •A Guardian Best Ideas Book of 2023 What if you woke up one morning and found you'd acquired another self—a double who was almost you and yet not you at all? What if that double shared many of your preoccupations but, in a twisted, upside-down way, furthered the very causes you'd devoted your life to fighting against? “If I had to name a single book that makes sense of these last few dark years, it would be this one.” ―Katie Roiphe, The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice) Not long ago, Naomi Klein had just such an experience—she was confronted with a doppelganger whose views she found abhorrent but whose name and public persona were similar enough to her own that many people confused her for the other. For a vertiginous moment, she lost her bearings. And then she got interested, in a reality that seems to be warping and doubling like a digital hall of mirrors. It’s happening in our politics as New Age wellness entrepreneurs turned anti-vaxxers find common cause with fire-breathing far right propagandists (all in the name of protecting “the children”). It’s happening in our culture as AI gobbles up music, paintings, fiction and everything in between and spits out imitations that threaten to overtake the originals. And it’s happening to many of us as individuals as we create digital doubles of ourselves, filtered and curated just so for all the other duplicates to see. An award-winning journalist, bestselling author, public intellectual and activist, Naomi Klein writes books that orient us in our time. She has offered essential accounts of what branding, austerity, and climate profiteering have done to our societies and souls. Now, as liberal democracies teeter on the edge, Klein takes aim at absurdist authoritarianism, using a keen sense of the ridiculous to face the doubles that haunt us. Part tragicomic memoir, part chilling reportage and cobweb-clearing analysis, Doppelganger invites readers on a wild ride, smashing through the mirror world, charting a path beyond despair towards true solidarity.