With schools opening up for a new year across the country, it’s the perfect time for adults of all backgrounds to join students in expanding their minds. Discover five of the best eye-opening, insightful, and engaging books to help you learn more about this fascinating world around us.
The 5 Best Books for Bookworms Who Love Learning Something New
What does it mean to be between cultures in the United States? If one is an immigrant or the child of immigrants, is it possible to be a patriotic American while still honoring your native culture? Actress and activist America Ferrera explores these issues with this moving collection of essays from a variety of artists, politicians, athletes, such as Roxane Gay, Kal Penn, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and more.
An integral part of Western history for thousands of years, Rome is explored in a thoroughly unique fashion in this vivid and deeply researched chronicle. From the Gauls to the Nazis and from floods to earthquakes, Matthew Kneale effortlessly examines the darkest times of Rome and reveals a new understanding of the Eternal City.
With technology changing as rapidly as it is, it’s not a surprise that AI and robotics are a major issue in our society. Rather than taking on a fearful tone, THE FOURTH AGE is an optimistic look at the upcoming AI revolution, from supercomputers, automation, and more. Whether or not you have any background in computers, you’ll find this nonfiction work accessible and absorbing.
“The Fourth Age not only discusses what the rise of A.I. will mean for us, it also forces readers to challenge their preconceptions. And it manages to do all this in a way that is both entertaining and engaging.” —The New York Times
As we approach a great turning point in history when technology is poised to redefine what it means to be human, The Fourth Age offers fascinating insight into AI, robotics, and their extraordinary implications for our species.
In The Fourth Age, Byron Reese makes the case that technology has reshaped humanity just three times in history:
- 100,000 years ago, we harnessed fire, which led to language.
- 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture, which led to cities and warfare.
- 5,000 years ago, we invented the wheel and writing, which lead to the nation state.
We are now on the doorstep of a fourth change brought about by two technologies: AI and robotics. The Fourth Age provides extraordinary background information on how we got to this point, and how—rather than what—we should think about the topics we’ll soon all be facing: machine consciousness, automation, employment, creative computers, radical life extension, artificial life, AI ethics, the future of warfare, superintelligence, and the implications of extreme prosperity.
By asking questions like “Are you a machine?” and “Could a computer feel anything?”, Reese leads you through a discussion along the cutting edge in robotics and AI, and, provides a framework by which we can all understand, discuss, and act on the issues of the Fourth Age, and how they’ll transform humanity.
Celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall uprising with this in-depth and expansive chronicle of the events leading up to this crucial moment in the fight for LGBTQ rights. From diary entries to articles and more from those who were there, THE STONEWALL READER is an essential volume for anyone who is interested in the history and future of the LGBTQ movement.
Groundbreaking and intelligent, this research-backed book proves that longtime beliefs in the differences of the genders and the inferiority of women are totally inaccurate. Learn how this vicious cycle has evolved—and at the cost of many overlooked female scientists—and how we can move forward as a society toward a more equal understanding of the genders.