Books published by Basic Books

Freud's theories demonstrates why they are still indispensable to understanding ourselves and the way we behave.

"For centuries, philosophers have debated the question of free will. Do we make our own choices? Or are we more like rudderless ships drifting on the ocean, buffeted by winds and currents outside ourselves? In TK, research psychologist Ken Sheldon reveals that the way we answer these questions has serious implications for our wellbeing. We may never know for certain whether free will exists, Sheldon argues, but recent studies have found that believing in free will matters-indeed, it's an essential component of psychological health. Freely Determined offers an argument for embracing our capacity to choose our own destiny, and a guide for how we might recognize our freedom and use it wisely. Drawing on his own groundbreaking work on motivation, as well as recent research in personality science and social psychology, Sheldon shows us that far from being in the thrall of animal urges and unconscious biases, we humans are constantly making conscious choices: whether to eat the nachos or the salad, whether to shoot the basketball or pass it to a teammate, whether to take that job or marry that person or write that novella. Indeed, over decades of research, Sheldon has established that seeing ourselves as change-makers in our own lives, and in the world, helps us feel happier and even behave more ethically. By identifying and pursuing our deepest values, he argues, we can set and achieve meaningful goals, ones that will help us and our communities flourish. Offering readers insight into how they can live a more self-directed, satisfying life, Freely Determined demystifies the science of choice and reveals that we are radically free to live with greater purpose"--

Fights about the fate of the state of Israel, and the Zionist movement that gave birth to it, have long been a staple of both Jewish and American political culture. But despite these arguments' significance to American politics, American Jewish life, and to Israel itself, no one has ever systematically examined their history and explained why they matter. In We Are Not One, historian Eric Alterman traces this debate from its nineteenth-century origins. Following Israel's 1948-1949 War of Independence (called the "nakba" or "catastrophe" by Palestinians), few Americans, including few Jews, paid much attention to Israel or the challenges it faced. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, however, almost overnight support for Israel became the primary component of American Jews' collective identity. Over time, Jewish organizations joined forces with conservative Christians and neoconservative pundits and politicos to wage a tenacious fight to define Israel's image in the US media, popular culture, Congress, and college campuses. Deeply researched, We Are Not One reveals how our consensus on Israel and Palestine emerged and why, today, it is fracturing.

One of our preeminent historians of race and democracy argues that the period since 2008 has marked nothing less than America's Third Reconstruction

A mathematician reveals the hidden beauty, power, and—yes—fun of algebra  What comes to mind when you think about algebra? For many of us, it’s memories of dull or frustrating classes in high school. Award-winning mathematics professor G. Arnell Williams is here to change that. Algebra the Beautiful is a journey into the heart of fundamental math that proves just how amazing this subject really is.  Drawing on lessons from twenty-five years of teaching mathematics, Williams blends metaphor, history, and storytelling to uncover algebra’s hidden grandeur. Whether you’re a teacher looking to make math come alive for your students, a parent hoping to get your children engaged, a student trying to come to terms with a sometimes bewildering subject, or just a lover of mathematics, this book has something for you. With a passion that’s contagious, G. Arnell Williams shows how each of us can grasp the beauty and harmony of algebra.

The horrors of the Nazi regime and the Holocaust still present some of the most disturbing questions in modern history: Why did Hitler's party appeal to millions of Germans, and how entrenched was anti-Semitism among the population? How could anyone claim, after the war, that the genocide of Europe's Jews was a secret? Did ordinary non-Jewish Germans live in fear of the Nazi state? In this unprecedented firsthand analysis of daily life as experienced in the Third Reich, What We Knew offers answers to these most important questions. Combining the expertise of Eric A. Johnson, an American historian, and Karl-Heinz Reuband, a German sociologist, What We Knew is the most startling oral history yet of everyday life in theThird Reich.

Do antidepressants work? Of courseeveryone knows it. Like his colleagues, Irving Kirsch, a researcher and clinical psychologist, for years referred patients to psychiatrists to have their depression treated with drugs before deciding to investigate for himself just how effective the drugs actually were. Over the course of the past fifteen years, however, Kirschs researcha thorough analysis of decades of Food and Drug Administration datahas demonstrated that what everyone knew about antidepressants was wrong. Instead of treating depression with drugs, weve been treating it with suggestion.The Emperors New Drugs makes an overwhelming case that what had seemed a cornerstone of psychiatric treatment is little more than a faulty consensus. But Kirsch does more than just criticize: he offers a path society can follow so that we stop popping pills and start proper treatment for depression.

A contemporary guide to life inspired by the extraordinary artist Frida Kahlo

A respected physics professor and author breaks down the great debate over the Big Bang and the continuing quest to understand the fate of the universe. Today, the Big Bang is so entrenched in our understanding of the cosmos that to doubt it would seem crazy. But as Paul Halpern shows in Flashes of Creation, just decades ago its mere mention caused sparks to fly. At the center of the debate were Russian American physicist George Gamow and British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle. Gamow insisted that a fiery explosion explained how the elements of the universe were created. Attacking the idea as half-baked, Hoyle countered that the universe was engaged in a never-ending process of creation. The battle was fierce. In the end, Gamow turned out to be right -- mostly -- and Hoyle, despite his many achievements, is remembered for giving the theory the silliest possible name: "The Big Bang." Halpern captures the brilliance of both thinkers and reminds us that even those proved wrong have much to teach us about boldness, imagination, and the universe itself.

Empires on the Pacific is to be celebrated as one of the best accounts available of the war against Japan.--Toronto Globe and Mail.

A sweeping cultural history of American Modernism in the 1920s, viewed through the prismatic lens of jazz

A compelling investigation of the Jewish community's reaction -- or nonreaction -- to domestic violence

An inspiring story of gaining new senses in adulthood

A history of the founding of the American Constitution and its ever-shifting meaning, from the document's most respected scholar

Beijing presents a clear and gathering threat to Washington,but not for the reasons you think. China's challenge to the West stems from its transformative brand of capitalism and an entirely different conception of the international community. In The Beijing Consensus , a leading expert in international relations presents a coherent integration of the many sides of U.S.-China relations.

An account of the author's attempts to "cure" himself of his homosexuality through therapy, medical treatments and faith healers. For this new edition, Duberman has written a new preface chapter and an afterword, bringing his life (and, more broadly, the gay experience in America today) up to date.

"They come from different backgrounds and from professions as varied as medicine, education, and entertainment, but these ten women share one thing in common: They all have breast cancer. This book des"

An exploration of human adolescence, this book is unique because of its ethological perspective. The author presents a comprehensive treatment of adolescent development from a functional, evolutionary point of view, providing a research-based description of human adolescence. He also offers a comparative perspective, describing adolescence in other species, human cultures, and historical periods.

McKnight shows how the experts' best efforts to rebuild and revitalize communities can actually destroy them and celebrates the ability of neighborhoods to heal from within.

"In The Last Crusade, Gerald McKnight examines the Poor People's Campaign, the last large-scale demonstration of civil rights--era America, and the systematic efforts of FBI director J. Edgar Hoover and"

Three-quarters of a century ago Mustafa Kemal Ataturk launched a sweeping Cultural Revolution in the disintegrating Ottoman Empire, abolishing the Caliphate and Sufi orders and other Islamic institutions to create the modern secular Republic of Turkey.

"It would have been inconceivable," wrote Henry Kissinger in his best-selling book Diplomacy, "that the architects of NATO would have seen as the end result of victory in the Cold War greater diversit"

"Famous as a football star and prizewinning student, then acclaimed as a world-class concert singer and record-breaking actor on stage and screen, Paul Robeson became one of America's most controversia"

"According to commonly repeated reports, wages and personal incomes have stagnated in the U.S. over the last twenty-five years for average Americans. A corollary argument asserts that the combination o"