Bent Northrop Memorial Library

"Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime? These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He is a much-heralded scholar who studies the riddles of everyday life...

Cancer researchers, Ireland's battlefields, and civil rights leaders help Gladwell demonstrate the hidden truths behind the weak and the powerful. Gladwell also heads into the classroom to examine common misconceptions about how we define advantages and disadvantages.

Directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today's children to some disturbing childhood trends, such as rises in obesity, Attention Deficit Disorder, and depression, arguing that children's obsession with the latest technology have led them to underappreciate nature.

"One of the very best scientific predictors for how any child turns out--in terms of happiness, academic success, leadership skills, and meaningful relationships--is whether at least one adult in their life has consistently shown up for them. In an age of scheduling demands and digital distractions, this might sound like a tall order. But as [the authors] reassuringly explain, showing up doesn't take a lot of time, energy, or money. Instead, showing...

Preparing to retire early from an unfulfilling teaching job, Liam Pennywell struggles to recall missing memories of the night before he awoke in the hospital with a head injury, an effort that leads to unexpected discoveries.

"Whether you listen to Bach or Bono, music has a significant role in your life--even if you never realized it. Why does music evoke such powerful moods? The answers are at last becoming clear, thanks to revolutionary neuroscience and the emerging field of evolutionary psychology. Both a cutting-edge study and a tribute to the beauty of music itself, this book unravels a host of mysteries that affect everything from pop culture to our understanding...

Elliott Cruz and Karen Ames find their marriage threatened by financial insecurity and colliding dreams until Elliott's brother's infidelity puts their seemingly irreconcilable differences into perspective.

From the author of the New York Times bestseller that defined nature-deficit disorder and launched the international children-and-nature movement, Vitamin N (for "nature") is a complete prescription for connecting with the power and joy of the natural world right now, with • 500 activities for children and adults • Dozens of inspiring and thought-provoking essays • Scores of informational websites • Down-to-earth advice In his landmark work...

"Today, more than 90 percent of the world's large animals are farm animals: cows, pigs, sheep, and chickens. Billions of animals with a rich world or feelings, emotions, sensations, needs, and fears pass their lives as machines for producing meat, milk, and eggs in industrial production lines. It is the responsibility of each and evry one of us to be aware of the immense suffering that we humans are causing these animals and to do our best to reduce...

Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart shows us that happiness doesn't come from any kind of acquisitiveness, be it material or psychological. Happiness comes from letting go. Weaving together the accumulated wisdom of his two worlds-Buddhism and Western psychotherapy-Mark Epstein shows how "the happiness that we seek depends on our ability to balance the ego's need to do with our inherent capacity to be." He encourages us to relax the ever-vigilant...