Einstein and the Rabbi

Naomi Levy, 2017

“A human being is part of the whole, called by us ‘Universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts, and feelings as something separate from the rest―a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness...” ―Albert Einstein
When Rabbi Naomi Levy came across this poignant letter by Einstein it shook her to her core. His words perfectly captured what she has come to believe about the human condition: That we are intimately connected, and that we are blind to this truth. Levy wondered what had elicited such spiritual wisdom from a man of science? Thus began a three-year search into the mystery of Einstein’s letter, and into the mystery of the human soul. Levy leads us on a breathtaking journey full of wisdom, empathy and humor, challenging us to wake up and heed the voice calling from within―a voice beckoning us to become who we were born be.

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DL

Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

Elizabeth Gilbert, 2015

From the worldwide bestselling author of Eat Pray Love: the path to the vibrant, fulfilling life you’ve dreamed of.  Readers of all ages and walks of life have drawn inspiration and empowerment from Elizabeth Gilbert’s books for years. Now this beloved author digs deep into her own generative process to share her wisdom and unique perspective about creativity. With profound empathy and radiant generosity, she offers potent insights into the mysterious nature of inspiration. She asks us to embrace our curiosity and let go of needless suffering. She shows us how to tackle what we most love, and how to face down what we most fear. She discusses the attitudes, approaches, and habits we need in order to live our most creative lives. Big Magic cracks open a world of wonder and joy.

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MR

Life 3.0: Being Human in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Max Tegmark, 2017

How will Artificial Intelligence (AI) effect crime, war, justice, jobs, society and our very sense of being human?  The rise of AI has the potential to transform our future more than any other technology - and there's nobody better qualified to explore that future better than Max Tegmark, an MIT professor who has helped mainstream research on how to keep AI beneficial.  This book empowers you to join what may be the most important conversation of our time.  It does not shy away from the full range of viewpoints or from the most controversial issues - from superintelligence to meaning, consciousness and the ultimate physical limits on life in the cosmos.

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MR

Rising Strong

Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, - 2015

"The physics of vulnerability is simple : If we are brave enough, often enough, we will fall. The author of 'Daring Greatly' and 'The Gifts of Imperfection' tells us what it takes to get back up, and how owning our stories of disappointment, failure, and heartbreak gives us the power to write a daring new ending. Struggle, Brené Brown writes, can be our greatest call to courage, and rising strong our clearest path to a wholehearted life. For Brené, the conversation about vulnerability and shame naturally evolves into a discussion of bravery - its origins, its catalysts, its chemistry. How we are brave. What constitutes bravery. What activates the impulse to be brave. And how to recognize where our own 'hero's journey' begins - in the depths of failure, disappointment, heartbreak, and grief - and how, once we grapple with our story, we are able to rise from those depths and determine how we want our story to end."--from publisher 

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MR

Orchestra of Exiles

Josh Aronson & Denise George, 2016

Bronislaw Huberman is a gifted violinist born in Poland in 1882. In 1936, he founded the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra through incredible courage, tireless effort, persistence, and personal sacrifice, saving some of the greatest Jewish musicians and their families from the Nazis.
His famous quote: "The true artist does not create art as an end in itself. He creates art for human beings. Humanity is the goal." -- Huberman  

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MR

The Road Home: A Contemporoary Exploration of the Buddhist Path

Ethan Nichtern, 2015

This book is based on Buddhist thought and theory yet a follower of any religion will gain from reading The Road Home. You will receive a deeper understanding of the interrelation of all people, how our limited space on this earth is shared and how we need to value other people and the earth to gain a future that is better with less conflict. If you’re curious about Buddhism and meditation, but find the language of spiritual books too woo woo or impenetrable, this book is for you. It's smart, funny and a very accessible guide to contemporary Buddhism.

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DL

The Lives of a Cell: Notes of a Biology Watcher

Lewis Thomas, 1974

This is excellent reading for anyone interested in ideas about life and living. It inspires thought about how life functions. If there is one common theme, several chapters has to do with communication -- oral, chemical, behavioral, and genetic. Other possible themes include the fact that humans are part of the global system, not running it. Thomas poses the idea that everything can be an analogy of the way that a cell works -- organelles, membranes, cellular processes, products, and so forth.  Each chapter is a separate essay, elegantly written and way ahead of his time.

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MR

Brain Maker: The Power of Gut Microbes to Heal and Protect your Brain

David Perlmutter M.D., 2015

Brain Maker opens the door to unprecedented brain health between the gut and the brain working hand in hand together.  Dr. Perlmutter explains the potent interplay between intestinal microbes and the brain, describing how the microbiome develops from birth and evolves. Perlmutter explains how lifestyle choices, and nurturing gut health through a few easy strategies can alter your brain's destiny for the better. 

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MR

The Hare with Amber Eyes: A family's century of art and loss

Edmund de Waal, 2010

The ceramicist, Edmund de Waal traces his family’s history to nineteenth century Paris and Vienna and their exquisite collection of miniature netsuke Japanese ivory carvings.  He pastes a picture of the wealthy Ephrussi banking family of art collectors including Ephrussi's relationship with Marcel Proust and the impact of the Holocaust on his cosmopolitan family.

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MC

 

Double-Cross: The True Story of the D-Day Spies

Ben Macintyre, 2012

This amazing story details how double agents and spies duped the German army. As the author did in his previous two books, Operation Mincemeat and Agent Zigzag, Macintyre returns with the untold story of the grand final deception of World War II and the extraordinary men and women who helped save thousands of lives.

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JG

Just Send Me Word: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Gulag

Orland Figes, 2012

This moving and fascinating book tells the story of Lev Mishchenko--a man sentenced to the Soviet gulags in 1945, and his girlfriend Svetlana--who never gave up, reconstructed from a uniquely uncensored treasure trove of more than 2,000 love letters.

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JS

A Madman Dreams of Turing Machines

Janna Levin, 2006

Levin tells the stories of two of the 20th Century’s most influential scientists, logician Kurt Godel, who concluded that there are some theorems that can never be proven, and mathematician Alan Turing, who helped break the Nazi’s Enigma Code during World War II, and laid the groundwork for the invention of modern computers. Interweaving the lives, thoughts, discoveries, insights, and troubles of Godel and Turing, the novel is ultimately about the search for truth and how it can drive genius to madness.

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JA

Kayak Morning: Reflections on love, grief, and small boats

Roger Rosenblatt, 2012

As the author paddles his kayak near his home in Quoque, he has time to meditate about griefs evolution over time.  Part elegy, part quest, Kayak Morning explores the value of solitude, poignantly reminding us that grief is not apart from life but encompasses it. In recalling to us what we have lost, grief by necessity resurrects what we have had. So warmly written.

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CL

In the Lion's Shadow: Sardari, the Iranian Schindler

Dr. Fariborz L. Mokhtari, 2011

This book describes a fascinating chapter in 20th Century history, after the invasion of France in 1940. An aristocratic junior Iranian diplomat named Abdol-Hossein Sardari found himself in charge of Iran's legation in Paris. He set about cultivating relationships with German and Vichy officials, in order to protect members of the Persian-Jewish community in France.

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JA

The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook, 2001-2011

Editors at America's Test Kitchen, Carl Tremblay,
Keller + Keller, and Daniel J. Van Ackere, 2010

This newly revised edition captures 11 seasons (including 2011) of the hit TV show in a lively collection featuring more than 700 foolproof recipes and dozens of tips and techniques with product ratings along with a look behind the scenes.

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NC

Babel No More : The search for the world's most extraordinary language learners

Michael Erard, 2012

The author explores the upper limits of our ability to learn and to use languages and assesses historical linguistic high achievers. Erard explains the sources of such abilities and what it reveals about the nature of memory and language.

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SG

A History of Mistresses

Elizabeth Abbott, 2010

The"kept woman," the "fancy woman," and the "other woman." She exists as both a fictional character and as a flesh-and-blood human being. But who is she, really? Abbott's book explores the motives and morals of some of history's most infamous and fascinating women, from antiquity to today.

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MW

Iphigenia in Forest Hills: anatomy of a murder trial

Janet Malcolm, 2011

The author, a staff writer at the New Yorker, chisels away at the details of a recent New York trial. A Forest Hills woman was accused of planning the shooting death of her husband in a Queens park. Malcolm gives us a memorable look at New York's legal, judiciary and social services at work.

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MM

City of Falling Angels

John Berendt, 2005

Berendt records the intriguing social, political, architectural, and legal details of restoring the renowned Venetian opera house, the Fenice, after it was destroyed by fire and tells tales about some of its well known residents. He is the author of the bestseller, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

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LM

Reading the OED: one man, one year, 21,730 pages

Ammon Shea, 2008

An obsessive word lover provides an entertaining account of the year he spent reading the Oxford English Dictionary cover to cover, offering a colorful selection of obscure, hilarious, and offbeat vocabulary gems he discovered along the way

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MSK