Knowledge = Power

Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains  shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient  faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the  God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on  democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and  scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned international  acclaim for the passion and clarity he has brought to these questions.  In No god but God, challenging the "clash of civilizations"  mentality that has distorted our view of Islam, Aslan explains this  critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion. Contrary  to popular perception in the West, Islam is a religion firmly rooted in  the prophetic traditions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Aslan  begins with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu in which  the Prophet Muhammad lived. The revelations that Muhammad received in  Mecca and Medina, which were recorded in the Quran, became the  foundation for a radically more egalitarian community, the likes of  which had never been seen before. According to Reza Aslan, we are now living in the era of "the Islamic Reformation". No god but God is a persuasive and elegantly written account of the roots of this reformation and the future of Islamic faith.

The surprising rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches story of how Michael Jackson grew a billion-dollar business. Michael  Jackson is known by many as the greatest entertainer of all time, but  he was also a revolutionary when it came to business. In addition to  famously buying the Beatles' publishing catalogue, Jackson was one of  the first pop stars to launch his own clothing line, record label,  sneakers, and video games - creating a fundamental shift in the  monetization of fame and paving the way for entertainer-entrepreneurs  like Jay Z and Diddy. All told, Jackson earned more than $1.1 billion in  his solo career, and the assets he built in life have earned more than  $700 million in the five years since his death - more than any other  solo music act over that time. Michael Jackson, Inc.  reveals the incredible rise, fall, and rise again of Michael Jackson's  fortune - driven by the unmatched perfectionism of the King of Pop. Forbes senior editor Zack O'Malley Greenburg uncovers never-before-told  stories from interviews with more than 100 people, including music  industry veterans Berry Gordy, John Branca, and Walter Yetnikoff;  artists 50 Cent, Sheryl Crow, and Jon Bon Jovi; and members of the  Jackson family. Other insights come from court documents and Jackson's  private notes, some of them previously unpublished. Through Greenburg's  novelistic telling, a clear picture emerges of Jackson's early years,  his rise to international superstardom, his decline - fueled by demons  internal and external, as well as the dissolution of the team that  helped him execute his best business moves - and, finally, his financial  life after death. Underlying Jackson's unique history is the  complex but universal tale of the effects of wealth and fame on the  human psyche. A valuable case study for generations of entertainers to  come and for anyone interested in show business, Michael Jackson, Inc. tells the story of a man whose financial feats, once obscured by his late-life travails, have become an enduring legacy.

Malcolm Gladwell, host of the podcast Revisionist History and author of the number-one New York Times best seller Outliers, reinvents the audiobook in this immersive production of Talking to Strangers, a powerful examination of our interactions with people we don’t know. How  did Fidel Castro fool the CIA for a generation? Why did Neville  Chamberlain think he could trust Adolf Hitler? Why are campus sexual  assaults on the rise? Do television sitcoms teach us something about the  way we relate to each other that isn't true? While tackling  these questions, Malcolm Gladwell was not solely writing a book for the  page. He was also producing for the ear. In the audiobook version of Talking to Strangers,  you’ll hear the voices of people he interviewed - scientists,  criminologists, military psychologists. Court transcripts are brought to  life with re-enactments. You actually hear the contentious arrest of  Sandra Bland by the side of the road in Texas. As Gladwell revisits the  deceptions of Bernie Madoff, the trial of Amanda Knox, and the suicide  of Sylvia Plath, you hear directly from many of the players in these  real-life tragedies. There’s even a theme song - Janelle Monae’s “Hell  You Talmbout”. Something is very wrong, Gladwell argues, with  the tools and strategies we use to make sense of people we don't know.  And because we don't know how to talk to strangers, we are inviting  conflict and misunderstanding in ways that have a profound effect on our  lives and our world. The audiobook edition of Talking to Strangers was an instant number-one best seller, and was one of the most  pre-ordered audiobooks in history. It seamlessly marries audiobooks and  podcasts, creating a completely new and real listening experience.

The general public has a glorified  view of the pursuit of scientific research. However, the idealized  perception of science as a rule-based, methodical system for  accumulating facts could not be further from the truth. Modern science  involves the idiosyncratic, often bumbling search for understanding in  uncharted territories, full of wrong turns, false findings, and the  occasional remarkable success. In his sequel to Ignorance (Oxford University Press, 2012), Stuart Firestein shows us that the  scientific enterprise is riddled with mistakes and errors - and that  this is a good thing! Failure: Why Science Is So Successful delves  into the origins of scientific research as a process that relies upon  trial and error, one which inevitably results in a hefty dose of  failure. In fact, scientists throughout history have relied on failure  to guide their research, viewing mistakes as a necessary part of the  process. Citing both historical and contemporary examples, Firestein  strips away the distorted view of science as infallible to provide the  public with a rare, inside glimpse of the messy realities of the  scientific process. An insider's view of how science is actually  carried out, this book will delight anyone with an interest in science,  from aspiring scientists to curious general listeners. Accessible and  entertaining, Failure illuminates the greatest and most productive adventure of human history, with all the missteps along the way.

This program includes an introduction read by the author. No  recent scientific enterprise has proved as alluring, terrifying, and  filled with extravagant promise and frustrating setbacks as artificial  intelligence. The award-winning author Melanie Mitchell, a leading  computer scientist, now reveals its turbulent history and the recent  surge of apparent successes, grand hopes, and emerging fears that  surround AI. In Artificial Intelligence, Mitchell turns to  the most urgent questions concerning AI today: How intelligent - really  - are the best AI programs? How do they work? What can they actually  do, and when do they fail? How humanlike do we expect them to become,  and how soon do we need to worry about them surpassing us? Along the  way, she introduces the dominant methods of modern AI and machine  learning, describing cutting-edge AI programs, their human inventors,  and the historical lines of thought that led to recent achievements. She  meets with fellow experts like Douglas Hofstadter, the cognitive  scientist and Pulitzer Prize - winning author of the modern classic Gödel, Escher, Bach,  who explains why he is “terrified” about the future of AI. She explores  the profound disconnect between the hype and the actual achievements in  AI, providing a clear sense of what the field has accomplished and how  much farther it has to go. Interweaving stories about the science and the people behind it, Artificial Intelligence brims with clear-sighted, captivating, and approachable accounts of the  most interesting and provocative modern work in AI, flavored with  Mitchell’s humor and personal observations. This frank, lively book will  prove an indispensable guide to understanding today’s AI, its quest for  “human-level” intelligence, and its impacts on all of our futures. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

Lee Kuan Yew, founding father of modern Singapore and former prime minister, shares his insights on China's future, the United States' position as a superpower, India's rise, Islamic terrorism, and more. He provides unvarnished opinions on multiculturalism, the welfare state, education, and the free market. Lee emphasizes the importance of practical solutions, historical knowledge, and determined leadership for societal transformation. He explores the impact of stagnation on strategic thinking and leadership, as well as China's ambitions and challenges.

The special assistant to Boris Yeltsin radically alters the traditional  image of Lenin with a biography based on secret Soviet archives,  revealing the Founding Father as a cruel, totalitarian leader who was  responsible for the worst excesses of the Soviet state.

The first full account, based on access to key players who have never  before spoken, of the Munich Massacre and the Israeli response–a lethal,  top secret, thirty-year-long antiterrorism campaign to track down the  killers. 1972. The Munich Olympics. Palestinian members of the Black  September group murder eleven Israeli athletes. Nine hundred million  people watch the crisis unfold on television, witnessing a tragedy that  inaugurates the modern age of terror and remains a scar on the  collective conscience of the world. Back in Israel, Prime Minister  Golda Meir vows to track down those responsible and, in Menachem Begin’s  words, “run these criminals and murderers off the face of the earth.” A  secret Mossad unit, code named Caesarea, is mobilized, a list of  targets drawn up. Thus begins the Israeli response–a mission that  unfolds not over months but over decades. The Mossad has never spoken  about this operation. No one has known the real story. Until now. Award-winning  journalist Aaron Klein’s incisive and riveting account tells for the  first time the full story of Munich and the Israeli counterterrorism  operation it spawned. With unprecedented access to Mossad agents and an  unparalleled knowledge of Israeli intelligence, Klein peels back the  layers of myth and misinformation that have permeated previous books,  films, and magazine articles about the “shadow war” against Black  September and other terrorist groups. Spycraft, secret diplomacy, and  fierce detective work abound in a story with more drama than any  fictional thriller. Burning questions are at last answered, including  who was killed and who was not, how it was done, which targets were hit  and which were missed. Truths are revealed: the degree to which the  Mossad targeted nonaffiliated Black September terrorists for  assassination, the length and full scope of the operation (far greater  than previously suspected), retributive acts against Israel, and much  more. Finally, Klein shows that the Israeli response to Munich was  not simply about revenge, as is popularly believed. By illuminating the  tactical and strategic purposes of the Israeli operation, Striking Back  allows us to draw profoundly relevant lessons from one of the most  important counterterrorism campaigns in history.

The first comprehensive yet  accessible history of the state of Israel from its inception to present  day, from Daniel Gordis, "one of the most respected Israel analysts" (The Forward) living and writing in Jerusalem. Israel  is a tiny state, and yet it has captured the world's attention, aroused  its imagination, and lately, been the object of its opprobrium. Why  does such a small country speak to so many global concerns? More  pressingly: Why does Israel make the decisions it does? And what lies in  its future? We cannot answer these questions until we  understand Israel's people and the questions and conflicts, the hopes  and desires, that have animated their conversations and actions. Though  Israel's history is rife with conflict, these conflicts do not fully  communicate the spirit of Israel and its people: they give short shrift  to the dream that gave birth to the state, and to the vision for the  Jewish people that was at its core. Guiding us through the milestones of  Israeli history, Gordis relays the drama of the Jewish people's story  and the creation of the state. Clear-eyed and erudite, he illustrates  how Israel became a cultural, economic and military powerhouse - but  also explains where Israel made grave mistakes and traces the long  history of Israel's deepening isolation. With Israel,  public intellectual Daniel Gordis offers us a brief but thorough account  of the cultural, economic, and political history of this complex  nation, from its beginnings to the present. Accessible, levelheaded, and  rigorous, Israel sheds light on Israel's past so we can understand its future. The result is a vivid portrait of a people, and a nation, reborn.

In The Story of Christianity: Volume 1, Justo L. González, author of the highly praised three-volume History of Christian Thought,  presents a narrative history of Christianity, from the Early Church to  the Dawn of the Protestant Reformation. From Jesus’ faithful apostles to  the early reformist John Wycliffe, González skillfully traces core  theological issues and developments within the various traditions of the  church, including major events outside of Europe, such as the Spanish  and Portuguese conquest of the New World. This updated and expanded  edition incorporates recent archaeological discoveries about the life of  Early Christian Communities, as well as important contemporary research  revealing the significant role of women throughout the history of the  church. With lively storytelling, The Story of Christianity provides  a fascinating and panoramic history of the dramatic events, colorful  characters, and revolutionary ideas that shaped the first fifteen  centuries of the church.