''There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you''
In this first volume of her seven books of autobiography, Maya Angelou beautifully evokes her childhood with her grandmother in the American south of the 1930s. Loving the world, she also knows its cruelty. As a Black woman she has known discrimination, violence and extreme poverty, but also hope, joy, achievement and celebration.
''Liberates the reader into life simply because Maya Angelou confronts her life with such a moving wonder, such a luminous dignity'' JAMES BALDWIN
''She moved through the world with unshakeable calm, confidence and a fierce grace . . . She will always be the rainbow in my clouds'' OPRAH WINFREY
''The poems and stories she wrote . . . were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and grace'' BILL CLINTON
***WINNER OF THE FINANCIAL TIMES BUSINESS BOOK OF THE YEAR AWARD 2024***
"Astonishing... [Olson has] exclusive access to a network of high-ranking sources" - Financial Times
"A riveting tale... Olson is a compelling storyteller" - New Scientist
From award-winning journalist Parmy Olson, Supremacy is the astonishing, untold, behind-the-scenes story of the battle between two AI companies, their struggles to use their tech for good, and the dangerous direction that they''re now going in.
When ChatGPT was released, the world changed overnight. Even as we all played with the new toy, a very real danger was quickly coming to light: that untested automations would undermine our way of life insidiously, sucking value out of our economy, replacing high-level creative jobs and enabling a new, terrifying era of disinformation.
It was never meant to be this way. The founders of the two companies behind the most advanced AIs in existence - Open AI (ChatGPT) and DeepMind (Bard) - started their journeys determined to solve humanity''s greatest problems. But they couldn''t develop their technologies without huge amounts of money - money that Microsoft and Google were more than happy to give them, in exchange for the most powerful seats at the table.
From award-winning journalist Parmy Olson, Supremacy is the astonishing, untold, behind-the-scenes story of the battle between two AI companies, their struggles to use their tech for good, and the dangerous direction that they''re now going in. Featuring a cast of larger-than-life characters, including Elon Musk, Larry Page, Sergey Brin and Peter Thiel, Supremacy is a story of manipulation, exploitation, secrecy and of ruthless, relentless human progress - progress that will impact all of us for years to come.
Take a literary stroll through the streets of Paris, visit its world-famous monuments, delve into its history and wander amongst its poets and artists.
Countless authors and poets have lived and worked in Paris and here are their first-hand accounts and personal reflections. Gustave Flaubert lived through the 1848 French Revolution and Edith Wharton witnessed mobilisation for the Great War. George Orwell describes gruelling work in the depths of Parisian kitchens, whilst American travel writer, F. Berkeley Smith, casts an amused eye over the city''s lavish restaurants. Honore de Balzac gives us Parisian intellectuals and Pablo Picasso is guest of honour at Gertrude Stein''s salon.
From the taking of the Bastille to a bookshop visit by Ernest Hemingway, this anthology celebrates the places, the people and the history of the magical, vibrant city of Paris.
The instant New York Times bestseller Financial Times Book of the Month A revolutionary system to get 1 per cent better every day People think when you want to change your life, you need to think big. But world-renowned habits expert James Clear has discovered another way. He knows that real change comes from the compound effect of hundreds of small decisions - doing two push-ups a day, waking up five minutes early, or holding a single short phone call.
He calls them atomic habits.
In this ground-breaking book, Clears reveals exactly how these minuscule changes can grow into such life-altering outcomes. He uncovers a handful of simple life hacks (the forgotten art of Habit Stacking, the unexpected power of the Two Minute Rule, or the trick to entering the Goldilocks Zone), and delves into cutting-edge psychology and neuroscience to explain why they matter. Along the way, he tells inspiring stories of Olympic gold medalists, leading CEOs, and distinguished scientists who have used the science of tiny habits to stay productive, motivated, and happy.
These small changes will have a revolutionary effect on your career, your relationships, and your life.
________________________________ 'A supremely practical and useful book.' Mark Manson, author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving A F*ck 'James Clear has spent years honing the art and studying the science of habits. This engaging, hands-on book is the guide you need to break bad routines and make good ones.' Adam Grant, author of Originals 'Atomic Habits is a step-by-step manual for changing routines.' Books of the Month, Financial Times 'A special book that will change how you approach your day and live your life.' Ryan Holiday, author of The Obstacle is the Way
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don''t know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.br>br>In this ambitious and thought-provoking book we see, for example, that globalization isn''t inevitable - the perils of allowing 70 per cent of the world''s rubber gloves to be made in just one factory became glaringly obvious in 2020 - and that our societies have been steadily increasing their dependence on fossil fuels, making their complete and rapid elimination unlikely. For example, each greenhouse-grown supermarket-bought tomato requires the equivalent of five tablespoons of diesel oil for its production, and we still lack any commercially viable ways of making steel, ammonia, cement or plastics at required global scales without fossil fuels. br>br>Vaclav Smil is neither a pessimist nor an optimist, he is a scientist; he is the world-leading expert on energy and an astonishing polymath. This is his magnum opus and is a continuation of his quest to make facts matter. Drawing on the latest science, including his own fascinating research, and tackling sources of misinformation head on - from Yuval Noah Harari to Noam Chomsky - ultimately Smil answers the most profound question of our age: are we irrevocably doomed or is a brighter utopia ahead? Compelling, data-rich and revisionist, this wonderfully broad, interdisciplinary masterpiece finds faults with both extremes. Looking at the world through this quantitative lens reveals hidden truths that change the way we see our past, present and uncertain future.>
The Japanese bestseller shows how you can find energy and clarity in the age of distractionWhat would happen if we learned to look instead of see, listen instead of hear and feel instead of touch? Ryunosuke Koike shares the ways we can incorporate Zen practice into our everyday activities, to overcome the frustration and anxiety of modern life. Whether it''s complacency in a romantic relationship, over-commitment at work or searching for approval from others The Practice of Not Thinking shows how every area of life can be improved by redirecting energy to our five senses and away from the constant - and often unnecessary - stream of thoughts. Filled with insights and practical advice, this book offers a refreshing tonic for tired minds.>
Renowned visionary and theorist bell hooks began her exploration of the meaning of love in American culture with the critically acclaimed All About Love: New Visions. She continued her national dialogue with the bestselling Salvation: Black People and Love . Now hooks culminates her triumphant trilogy of love with Communion: The Female Search for Love. Intimate, revealing, provocative, Communion challenges every female to courageously claim the search for love as the heroic journey we must all choose to be truly free. In her trademark commanding and lucid language, hooks explores the ways ideas about women and love were changed by feminist movement, by women''s full participation in the workforce, and by the culture of self-help. Communion is the heart-to-heart talk every woman -- mother, daughter, friend, and lover -- needs to have.
#1 New York Times bestseller Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose about survival. About the experience of violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.
The book is divided into four chapters, and each chapter serves a different purpose. Deals with a different pain. Heals a different heartache. Milk and Honey takes readers through a journey of the most bitter moments in life and finds sweetness in them because there is sweetness everywhere if you are just willing to look.
Tracing the history of capitalism in England and beyond, Karl Polanyi''s landmark 1944 classic brilliantly exposed the myth of laissez-faire economics. From the great transformation that occurred during the industrial revolution onwards, he showed, there has been nothing ''natural'' about the market state. Instead, the economy must always be embedded in society, and human needs and relations. Witnessing the ''avalanche of social dislocation'' of his time - from the Great Depression, to the rise of fascism and communism and the First and Second World Wars - Polanyi ends with a rallying cry for freedom, and a passionate vision to protect our common humanity.>
Identifies the qualities of successful people, posing theories about the cultural, family, and idiosyncratic factors that shape high achievers, in a resource that covers such topics as the secrets of software billionaires and why the Beatles earned their fame.
No-one knows a city like the people who live there - so who better to relate the history of Paris than its inhabitants through the ages? This is a collection of true stories, culled from the author's insatiable historical reading and is lit by his imagination.
Ryan Holiday shows us how and why ego is such a powerful internal opponent to be guarded against at all stages of our careers and lives. Drawing on an array of inspiring characters and narratives from literature, philosophy and history, the book explores the nature and dangers of ego to illustrate how you can be humble in your aspirations, gracious in your success and resilient in your failures.
Many modern knowledge workers now spend most of their brain power battling distraction and interruption, whether because of the incessant pinging of devices, noisy open-plan offices or the difficulty of deciding what deserves your attention the most. When Cal Newport coined the term 'deep work' on his popular blog, Study Hacks, in 2012, he found the concept quickly hit a nerve. Most of us, after all, are excruciatingly familiar with shallow work instead - distractedly skimming the surface of our workload and never getting to the important part. Newport began exploring the methods and mindset that foster a practice of distraction-free productivity at work, and now, in DEEP WORK, he shows how anyone can achieve this elusive state. Through revealing portraits of both historical and modern-day thinkers, academics and leaders in the fields of technology, science and culture, and their deep work habits, Newport shares an inspiring collection of tools to wring every last drop of value out of your intellectual capacity. He explains why mastering this shift in work practices is crucial for anyone who intends to stay ahead in a complex information economy, and how to systematically train the mind to focus. Put simply: developing and cultivating a deep work practice is one of the best decisions we can make in an increasingly distracted world.
