The brain is a superb miracle of errors, and no one, except the brainless, is exempt.
David DiSalvo
Science writer David DiSalvo reveals a remarkable paradox: what your brain wants is frequently not what your brain needs. From this research-based platform, he draws out insights that we can use to identify our brains' foibles and turn our awareness into edifying action. Ultimately, he argues, the research does not serve up ready-made answers, but provides us with actionable clues for overcoming the plight of our advanced brains and, consequently, living more fulfilled lives.
28Dec11
David Deutsch argues that explanations have a fundamental place in the universe. They have unlimited scope and power to cause change, and the quest to improve them is the basic regulating principle not only of science but of all successful human endeavor. 23Dec11
This book takes you on an inward journey through the psyche – exploring the highest states of consciousness; the insights and theories of ancient and modern philosophers, psychologists, and mystics; the power of dreams, chi energy, tarot, kundalini yoga, parapsychology – to explain the mystery of consciousness and construct a comprehensive model of mind and its nearly infinite possibilities. 19Dec11
In In his new book, Clements weaves the wisdom of hundreds of the world's most creative and courageous thinkers – artists, activists, scientists, and risk-takers – in with his own most compelling life-lessons, questions, and discoveries, from his forty-year long pursuit of truth and freedom – an epic journey of world travel, spiritual exploration, scholarly study and political activism. 5Dec11
The author makes a powerful and provocative argument that counters the common wisdom that our lives are wholly determined by physical processes we cannot control. His well-reasoned case against the idea that we live in a "determined" world is fascinating and liberating. 25Nov11
Editor Max Brockman has talent-spotted 19 young scientists, working on leading-edge research across a wide range of fields. Nearly half of them are women, and all of them are great communicators: their passion and excitement makes this collection a wonderfully invigorating read. 15Nov11
An ambitious and groundbreaking book, offering a sweeping overview of key historical, philosophical and theological moments that have shaped our understandings of humanity. 1Nov11
This film is an antidote to environmental despair, a hopeful and practical look at a path to a viable, flourishing future. It introduces us to inspiring examples of projects, and includes interviews with key figures in the Permaculture movement. 23Oct11
The author shows how the universal information field connects every person, plant, animal, and mineral – a concept long known by shamans and expounded by perennial wisdom. 11Oct11
Your life has been designed by your Soul. The more you listen to your Soul and act on its values and urgings, the more graceful and joyous your life becomes. The Message is an indispensable source of wisdom for seasoned spiritual practitioners and new seekers alike. 3Oct11
Wilson blows the whistle on failed attempts to solve a broad range of problems and presents new solutions that work. His theories have been tested scientifically and found to have real results, towards both personal meaning and happiness and social progress. 21Sep11
In his final work, Argüelles informs about the nature and magnitude of an imminent "mind shift." He brings in the Mayan long-count calendar, radical theories on the nature of time, advanced states of consciousness, and the possible intervention of galactic intelligence. 13Sep11
Showing that the existence of life and the functioning of mind are the result of a naturally intelligent, self-organizing Universe, the author explains how sacred mushrooms provide a direct link to the wisdom of Nature and the meaning of life. 5Sep11
The author examines the extent of human influence on megafauna extinctions past and present, and explores innovative conservation efforts around the globe. The key to modern-day conservation may lie fossilized right under our feet. 24Aug11
This guide provides exercises with breath, tone, mantras, and seed sounds, and reveal specific ways the voice can resonate the physical and subtle bodies, including 7 powerful chanted bija mantras and sacred vowel sounds to balance and align the chakras. 20Aug11
Classics scholar Carl Ruck and friends reveal compelling evidence suggesting that psychedelic mushroom use was equally influential in early Europe, where it was central to initiation ceremonies for the Roman elite. 11Aug11
Looking at art through the lens of psychedelic experience and culture, New York Times critic Ken Johnson reveals an unexpected and illuminating dimension of art since the 1960s. Extensively illustrated in color, Johnson's pioneering study may change the way we see contemporary art. 1Aug11
Whether eating, taking drugs, engaging in sex, or doing good deeds, the pursuit of pleasure is a central drive of the human animal. In his new book Johns Hopkins neuroscientist David J. Linden explains how pleasure affects us at the most fundamental level: in our brain. 29July11
Is consciousness an epiphenomenal happenstance of this particular universe? Or does the very concept of a universe depend upon its presence? Does consciousness merely perceive reality, or does reality depend upon it? Did consciousness simply emerge as an effect of evolution? Or was it, in some sense, always "out there" in the world? These questions and more, are addressed in this exceptional work. 25July11
Recognized as one of the world's great visionary artists, Pablo Amaringo was renowned for his intricate, colorful paintings inspired by his shamanic visions. A master communicator of the ayahuasca experience where snakes, jaguars, subterranean beings, celestial palaces, aliens, and spacecraft all converge. 17July11
In a devastating critique Raymond Tallis exposes the exaggerated claims made for the ability of neuroscience and evolutionary theory to explain human consciousness, behaviour, culture and society. We are, shows Tallis, infinitely more interesting and complex than we appear in the mirror of biologism. 13July11
To explore the rhetoric of the psychedelic experience and its significance to evolution, Doyle takes his readers on an epic journey through the work of artists, ethnobotanists and anthropologists, and anonymous trip reports. The results offer surprising insights into evolutionary theory, the war on drugs, the internet, and the nature of human consciousness itself. 25June11
Today, quantum information theory is among the most exciting scientific frontiers, attracting billions of dollars in funding and thousands of talented researchers. But as MIT physicist and historian David Kaiser reveals, this cutting-edge field has a surprisingly psychedelic past. 21June11
"This publication could not be more timely; it coincides with a major renaissance of interest in psychedelic research worldwide. The information that it provides will thus be useful not only for the hundreds of thousands of people involved in self-experimentation but also for the new generation of psychedelic researchers," comments Stanislav Grof.
1June11
This book places humanity in context as part of the Earth system, using a new scientific synthesis to illustrate our debt to the deep past and our potential for the future. 28May11
Two pioneering experts in the field of virtual reality, reveal how the human brain behaves in virtual environments and examine where radical new developments in digital technology will lead us in five, fifty, and five hundred years. 16May11
For the first time in history, we are interacting with computers so sophisticated that we think they're human beings. This is a remarkable feat of human ingenuity, but what does it say about our humanity? Are we really no better at being human than the machines we've created? 5May11
The average reader is now well-versed – even inundated – with green lifestyle advice. In 2011, green is the starting point, not the destination. This second edition of the bestselling book is extensively revised to include the latest trends, technologies, and solutions in sustainable living. 25Apr11
With questionnaires that help you determine where you are heading on the longevity spectrum and advice about how to stay healthy, this book changes the conversation about living a long, healthy life. 17Apr11
Brooks illustrates a fundamental new understanding of human nature. A scientific revolution has occurred – we have learned more about the human brain in the last thirty years than we had in the previous three thousand. The unconscious mind, it turns out, is most of the mind – not a dark, vestigial place but a creative and enchanted one, where most of the brain's work gets done. 5Apr11
Finally the latest work by Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin, the world's most prolific explorer of the chemistry and effects of psychedelic drugs has been published. The Index is a comprehensive survey of the known psychedelics, and will become an invaluable source for researchers, physicians, chemists, and law enforcement. 28Mar11
A a new and provoking understanding of how we communicate, what we need to connect fully with one another, and how our addiction to email and texting can be countered with technologies that put us – literally – in each other's minds. 25Mar11
We are familiar with the periodic impact of El Nino on the earth's weather. Now Arnold Taylor unravels the much wider story of the connection between the world's atmosphere and oceans, demonstrating the scale and importance of this vast coupling, and its profound effect on the biosphere. 21Mar11
"Jahn and Dunnes's masterful book explains that objective reality is completely independent of consciousness. Their experimental evidence is persuasive, tanztalizing, and ultimately staggering in ist implications. Orthodox thinkers will protest, but the scientific revolution is charging ahead and this book blazes the trail," comments Dean Radin. 17Mar11
Peter Atkins is the shining exception to the rule that scientists make poor writers. Now he turns to the greatest – and most controversial – questions of human existence. Can the scientific method tell us anything of value about birth, death, the origin of reality – and its end? Are these questions best left to faith? 9Mar11
