Brian C. Muraresku’s ‘The Immortality Key’ explores the link between psychoactive sacraments and early Christianity, proposing a hidden continuity of shamanistic rituals and ecstatic experiences within Western religion.
In ‘Things That Matter’, Charles Krauthammer presents a collection of his most memorable essays and writings over thirty years, spanning from personal reflections to political ideology and the future of democracy.
Ray Dalio explores the patterns and causes behind the rise and fall of nations, drawing from historical examples and economic principles. He examines the current global financial situation, offering a framework for understanding and navigating the changes.
The Wright Brothers by David McCullough tells the remarkable story of Orville and Wilbur Wright, who overcame great odds to invent, build, and fly the first successful motor-operated airplane, changing the world of aviation forever.
Killing Jesus, co-authored by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard, dives into the historical and political contexts surrounding the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth. It explores the events leading up to the crucifixion, emphasizing the human struggles and societal factors at play.
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries. Beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, it moves through the ages to explore the lives of other scientists, writers, and artists who have pondered the universe and our place in it. Maria Popova weaves together biography, history, and science to tell the stories of people like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emily Dickinson, and Marie Curie, among others, showing how their quests for knowledge intersected with their personal lives in intricate and fascinating ways.
《Why Don’t We Learn from History?》 is a thought-provoking analysis by military historian and strategist B.H. Liddell Hart on the lessons that can be drawn from the study of history. Hart explores themes of power, morality, and the cyclical nature of human affairs, arguing that while history does not repeat itself in a literal sense, patterns and lessons recur. He delves into the reasons why societies and individuals often fail to learn from the past, including psychological barriers and the complexities of human nature. Hart provides insights into how a deeper understanding of history can inform future decisions in politics, military strategy, and personal life.
The Gulag Archipelago 1918-1956, authored by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, is a monumental work that combines history, memoir, and powerful literary investigation to expose the Soviet Union’s forced labor camp system. Through painstaking research and firsthand experience, Solzhenitsyn unveils the harsh realities of the camps, where millions of prisoners, from political dissidents to ordinary criminals, endured brutal conditions, arbitrary justice, and often death. This three-volume work not only chronicles the lives and suffering of these prisoners but also examines the societal and political structures that allowed such a system to exist. It’s a profound indictment of totalitarianism and a poignant reminder of the human cost of political ideology.
Walter Scheidel’s ‘The Great Leveler’ examines the history of inequality across different civilizations and points in time. The book argues that throughout history, significant reductions in inequality have been the result of catastrophic events, which Scheidel labels as ‘the Four Horsemen’: mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and plagues. He explores how these forces have periodically leveled the playing field, but at great human cost, and questions the possibility of reducing inequality through less violent means.