Deschutes Public Library

Pink argues that the secret to high performance and satisfaction in today's world is the deeply human need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world.

Ideas, products, messages and behaviors "spread just like viruses do." Behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world. Gladwell develops these and other concepts (such as the "stickiness" of ideas or the effect of population size on information dispersal) through simple, clear explanations and entertainingly illustrative anecdotes.

McKibben's earliest warnings about global warming went largely unheeded. In this book, he argues that we can meet the challenges of a new "Eaarth"--still recognizable but suddenly and violently out of balance--by building the kind of societies and economies that can hunker down, concentrate on essentials, and create the type of community that will allow us to weather trouble on an unprecedented scale.

In this epic, beautifully written masterwork, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson chronicles one of the great untold stories of American history: the decades-long migration of black citizens who fled the South for northern and western cities, in search of a better life. From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America.

Follows the lives of six North Koreans over fifteen years, a chaotic period that saw the rise to power of Kim Jong Il and the devastation of a famine that killed one-fifth of the population, illustrating what it means to live under the most repressive totalitarian regime today.

The author examines the causes of the U.S. stock market crash of 2008 and its relation to overpriced real estate, bad mortgages, shareholder demand for excessive profits, and the growth of toxic derivatives.

It was the mystery that gripped the nation during the summer of 2001: the sudden disappearance of Chandra Levy, a young, promising intern, and the possible involvement of Congressman Gary Condit. And then the case went cold. By 2007, satellite trucks and reporters had long since abandoned the story of the congressman and the intern in search of other news, fresh scandals. Across the country, Chandra's parents tried to resume their daily lives, desperately hoping that someday there might be a break in the investigation. And in Washington, the old game of who's up and who's down played on without interruption. But Chandra Levy haunted. Six years after the young intern's disappearance, investigative editors of the Washington Post pitched two Pulitzer Prize winning reporters their idea: revisit the unsolved case and find out what happened to Chandra, a task that had eluded police and the FBI.

Taut, intense narrative about the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the largest manhunt in American history--a sixty-five-day search that led investigators to Canada, Portugal, and England.

Reveals how major developments in different branches of fundamental theoretical physics--relativistic, quantum, cosmological, unified, computational--have all led us to consider one or another variety of parallel universe.

Presents a collection of stories about animals who have forged unlikely, abiding bonds with other animals of different species, from Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten to Owen the hippo and the tortoise Mzee.

The Oscar-winning actress, fitness expert, and political activist outlines a roadmap for seniors who are experiencing unprecedented rates of longevity, sharing practical advice on everything from fitness and sexuality to coming to terms with past mistakes and embracing a spiritual life.

A look at how the Internet is changing the way we think and how future generations will, or will not, think.

Tara Austen Weaver's memoir is the rollicking and relevant story of her quest to reconcile a nontraditional vegetarian upbringing with the carnal desires of eating meat.

Based on exhaustive research and interviews with driving experts and traffic officials around the globe, Traffic gets under the hood of the everyday activity of driving to uncover the surprisingly complex web of physical, psychological, and technical factors that explain how traffic works, why we drive the way we do, and what our driving says about us. Vanderbilt examines the perceptual limits and cognitive underpinnings that make us worse drivers than we think we are. He demonstrates why plans to protect pedestrians from cars often lead to more accidents. He shows how roundabouts, which can feel dangerous and chaotic, actually make roads safer--and reduce traffic in the bargain. He uncovers who is more likely to honk at whom, and why. He explains why traffic jams form, outlines the unintended consequences of our quest for safety, and even identifies the most common mistake drivers make in parking lots.--From publisher description.

A fresh look at the world of dogs--from the dog's point of view. Cognitive scientist, Alexandra Horowitz, introduces the reader to dogs' perceptual and cognitive abilities and then draws a picture of what it might be like to be a dog.

Bryson (A short history of nearly everything) takes readers on a tour of his house, a rural English parsonage, showing how each room has figured in the evolution of private life.

McDougall reveals the secrets of the world's greatest distance runners--the Tarahumara Indians of Copper Canyon, Mexico--and how he trained for the challenge of a lifetime: a fifty-mile race through the heart of Tarahumara country pitting the tribe against an odd band of super-athletic Americans.

The story of the men and women who risked everything to find the deepest cave on Earth, earning their place in history beside the likes of Peary, Amundsen, Hillary, and Armstrong. Tabor focuses particularly on the heroic efforts of Bill Stone in the vast Cheve Cave of southern Mexico and Alexander Klimchouk in the supercave Krubera of the Republic of Georgia.

Rooted in the values, lessons, and verities of generations past and of his South Dakota upbringing, he weaves together stories of Americans who are making a difference and personal stories from his own family history, to engage us in a conversation about our country and to offer ideas for how we can revitalize the promise of the American Dream. Inviting us to foster a rebirth of family, community, and civic engagement as profound as the one that won World War II, built our postwar prosperity, and ushered in the Civil Rights era, he traces the changes in modern life, in values, education, public service, housing, the Internet, and more, that have transformed our society in the decades since the age of thrift in which he was raised.