100 Best Public Books of All Time

We've ranked the best public books using expert recommendations, sales data, and millions of reader ratings. At Shortform, we know books. Our book guides are the best in the world. Learn why.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change book cover1

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Stephen R. Covey

5.0
When Stephen Covey first released The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, the book became an instant rage because people suddenly got up and took notice that their lives were headed off in the wrong direction; and more than that, they realized that there were so many simple things they could do in order to navigate their life correctly. This book was wonderful education for people, education
Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future book cover2

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future

Peter Thiel

5.0
If you want to build a better future, you must believe in secrets.

The great secret of our time is that there are still uncharted frontiers to explore and new inventions to create. In Zero to One, legendary entrepreneur and investor Peter Thiel shows how we can find singular ways to create those new things.

Thiel begins with the contrarian premise that we live in an age of technological stagnation,
When Breath Becomes Air book cover3

When Breath Becomes Air

Paul Kalanithi

5.0
At the age of thirty-six, on the verge of completing a decade’s worth of training as a neurosurgeon, Paul Kalanithi was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer. One day he was a doctor treating the dying, and the next he was a patient struggling to live. And just like that, the future he and his wife had imagined evaporated. When Breath Becomes Air chronicles Kalanithi’s transformation from a naïve me
The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses book cover4

The Lean Startup: How Today's Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses

Eric Ries

4.9
Most startups fail. But many of those failures are preventable. The Lean Startup is a new approach being adopted across the globe, changing the way companies are built and new products are launched.

Eric Ries defines a startup as an organization dedicated to creating something new under conditions of extreme uncertainty. This is just as true for one person in a garage or a group of seasoned profes
The Hot Zone book cover5

The Hot Zone

Richard Preston

4.9
A highly infectious, deadly virus from the central African rain forest suddenly appears in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. There is no cure. In a few days 90 percent of its victims are dead. A secret military SWAT team of soldiers and scientists is mobilized to stop the outbreak of this exotic "hot" virus. The Hot Zone tells this dramatic story, giving a hair-raising account of the appearance of r
Outliers: The Story of Success book cover6

Outliers: The Story of Success

Malcolm Gladwell

4.8
In this stunning new book, Malcolm Gladwell takes us on an intellectual journey through the world of "outliers"--the best and the brightest, the most famous and the most successful. He asks the question: what makes high-achievers different?

His answer is that we pay too much attention to what successful people are like, and too little attention to where they are from: that is, their culture, their
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity book cover7

Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity

David Allen

4.7
"The Bible of business and personal productivity" —Lifehack

"A completely revised and updated edition of the blockbuster bestseller from 'the personal productivity guru'"Fast Company


Since it was first published almost fifteen years ago, David Allen’s Getting Things Done has become one of the most influential business books of its era, and the ultimate book on personal organization. “GTD” is now sh
The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable book cover8

The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable

Nassim Nicholas Taleb

4.7
A black swan is a highly improbable event with three principal characteristics: It is unpredictable; it carries a massive impact; and, after the fact, we concoct an explanation that makes it appear less random, and more predictable, than it was.

The astonishing success of Google was a black swan; so was 9/11. For Nassim Nicholas Taleb, black swans underlie almost everything about our world, from t
1984 book cover9

1984

George Orwell

4.7
A PBS Great American Read Top 100 Pick

With extraordinary relevance and renewed popularity, George Orwell’s 1984 takes on new life in this hardcover edition.

“Orwell saw, to his credit, that the act of falsifying reality is only secondarily a way of changing perceptions. It is, above all, a way of asserting power.”—The New Yorker

In 1984, London is a grim city in the totalitarian state of Oceania
The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement book cover10

The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement

Eliyahu M. Goldratt, Jeff Cox

4.7
Written in a fast-paced thriller style, 'The Goal' contains a serious message for all managers in industry and explains the ideas which underline the Theory of Constraints developed by the author.
Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ book cover11

Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ

Daniel Goleman

4.7
Everyone knows that high IQ is no guarantee of success, happiness, or virtue, but until Emotional Intelligence, we could only guess why. Daniel Goleman's brilliant report from the frontiers of psychology and neuroscience offers startling new insight into our "two minds"—the rational and the emotional—and how they together shape our destiny.

Through vivid examples, Goleman delineates the five crucia
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything book cover12

Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

Steven D. Levitt

4.7
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? What kind of impact did Roe v. Wade have on violent crime? Freakonomics will literally redefine the way we view the modern world.

These may not sound like typical questions for an economist to ask. But Steven
How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease book cover13

How Not to Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease

Michael Greger and Gene Stone

4.7
From the physician behind the wildly popular website NutritionFacts.org, How Not to Die reveals the groundbreaking scientific evidence behind the only diet that can prevent and reverse many of the causes of disease-related death.

The vast majority of premature deaths can be prevented through simple changes in diet and lifestyle. In How Not to Die, Dr. Michael Greger, the internationally-renowned nu
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World book cover14

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World

Cal Newport

4.6
One of the most valuable skills in our economy is becoming increasingly rare. If you master this skill, you'll achieve extraordinary results.

Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. Deep work will make you better at what you do and provide th
The Selfish Gene book cover15

The Selfish Gene

Richard Dawkins

4.6
Inheriting the mantle of revolutionary biologist from Darwin, Watson, and Crick, Richard Dawkins forced an enormous change in the way we see ourselves and the world with the publication of The Selfish Gene. Suppose, instead of thinking about organisms using genes to reproduce themselves, as we had since Mendel's work was rediscovered, we turn it around and imagine that "our" genes build and mainta
Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies book cover16

Guns, Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies

Jared Diamond

4.6
Explaining what William McNeill called The Rise of the West has become the central problem in the study of global history. In Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond presents the biologist's answer: geography, demography, and ecological happenstance. Diamond evenhandedly reviews human history on every continent since the Ice Age at a rate that emphasizes only the broadest movements of peoples and ide
In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto book cover17

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

Michael Pollan

4.5
Michael Pollan's last book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, launched a national conversation about the American way of eating; now In Defense of Food shows us how to change it, one meal at a time. Pollan proposes a new answer to the question of what we should eat that comes down to seven simple but liberating words: Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Pollan's bracing and eloquent manifesto shows us ho
To Kill a Mockingbird book cover18

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee, Sissy Spacek, et al

4.5
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mocki
Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal book cover19

Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal

Eric Schlosser

4.5
Fast food has hastened the malling of our landscape, widened the chasm between rich and poor, fueled an epidemic of obesity, and propelled American cultural imperialism abroad. That's a lengthy list of charges, but here Eric Schlosser makes them stick with an artful mix of first-rate reportage, wry wit, and careful reasoning.

Schlosser's myth-shattering survey stretches from California's subdivisio
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed book cover20

Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

Jared Diamond

4.4
In Jared Diamond’s follow-up to the Pulitzer-Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel, the author explores how climate change, the population explosion and political discord create the conditions for the collapse of civilization

Environmental damage, climate change, globalization, rapid population growth, and unwise political choices were all factors in the demise of societies around the world, but some
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone book cover21

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

J. K. Rowling

4.4
Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley - a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry’s room is a tiny closet at t
Jane Eyre book cover22

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

4.4

Orphaned as a child, Jane has felt an outcast her whole young life. Her courage is tested once again when she arrives at Thornfield Hall, where she has been hired by the brooding, proud Edward Rochester to care for his ward Adèle. Jane finds herself drawn to his troubled yet kind spirit. She falls in love. Hard.

But there is a terrifying secret inside the gloomy, forbidding Thornfield Hall. Is Roc

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty book cover23

Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty

Daron Acemoglu

4.4
Brilliant and engagingly written, Why Nations Fail answers the question that has stumped the experts for centuries: Why are some nations rich and others poor, divided by wealth and poverty, health and sickness, food and famine?

Is it culture, the weather, geography? Perhaps ignorance of what the right policies are?

Simply, no. None of these factors is either definitive or destiny. Otherwise, how t
The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer book cover24

The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer

Siddhartha Mukherjee

4.3
Alternate Cover Edition ISBN 1439107955 (ISBN13: 9781439107959)

The Emperor of All Maladies is a magnificent, profoundly humane “biography” of cancer—from its first documented appearances thousands of years ago through the epic battles in the twentieth century to cure, control, and conquer it to a radical new understanding of its essence.

Physician, researcher, and award-winning science writer, Sid
Capital in the Twenty-First Century book cover25

Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Thomas Piketty

4.3
What are the grand dynamics that drive the accumulation and distribution of capital? Questions about the long-term evolution of inequality, the concentration of wealth, and the prospects for economic growth lie at the heart of political economy. But satisfactory answers have been hard to find for lack of adequate data and clear guiding theories. In Capital in the Twenty-First Century, Thomas Piket
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch book cover26

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

Neil Gaiman, Terry Pratchett

4.3
‘Armageddon only happens once, you know. They don’t let you go around again until you get it right.’

People have been predicting the end of the world almost from its very beginning, so it’s only natural to be sceptical when a new date is set for Judgement Day. But what if, for once, the predictions are right, and the apocalypse really is due to arrive next Saturday, just after tea?

You could spend t
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World book cover27

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World

Tracy Kidder

4.3
This powerful and inspiring book shows how one person can make a difference, as Kidder tells the true story of a gifted man who is in love with the world and has set out to do all he can to cure it.

Tracy Kidder is a winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the author of the bestsellers The Soul of a New Machine, House, Among Schoolchildren, and Home Town. He has been described by the Baltimore Sun as the
Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability book cover28

Don't Make Me Think, Revisited: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability

Steve Krug

4.3
Since Don’t Make Me Think was first published in 2000, over 400,000 Web designers and developers have relied on Steve Krug’s guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design.

In this 3rd edition, Steve returns with fresh perspective to reexamine the principles that made Don’t Make Me Think a classic-–with updated examples and a new chapter on mobile usabil
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2) book cover29

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Harry Potter, #2)

J.K. Rowling

4.3
The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and
Memoirs of a Geisha book cover30

Memoirs of a Geisha

Arthur Golden

4.3
A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel presents with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan's most celebrated geisha.

In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love
The Secret Garden book cover31

The Secret Garden

Frances Hodgson Burnett

4.3
"One of the most delightful and enduring classics of children's literature, The Secret Garden by Victorian author Frances Hodgson Burnett has remained a firm favorite with children the world over ever since it made its first appearance. Initially published as a serial story in 1910 in The American Magazine, it was brought out in novel form in 1911.

The plot centers round Mary Lennox, a young Engli
Dracula book cover32

Dracula

Bram Stoker

4.3
“Welcome to my house. Come freely. Go safely; and leave something of the happiness you bring.”
The Odyssey book cover33

The Odyssey

Homer

4.3

After enduring the Trojan War, Odysseus begins the treacherous journey home to Ithaca. On the way, he faces ravenous monsters and vengeful gods. But the real battle awaits, as his kingdom is under siege by unruly suitors vying for his wife’s hand—and his son’s head. To reclaim his throne and save his family, Odysseus must rely on his wits…and help from the unpredictable gods.

Homer’s The Odyssey wa

Pride and Prejudice book cover34

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Auste

4.3
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780679783268

Since its immediate success in 1813, Pride and Prejudice has remained one of the most popular novels in the English language. Jane Austen called this brilliant work "her own darling child" and its vivacious heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print." The romantic clash between the opinionated Elizabeth and her proud
Foundation (Foundation, #1) book cover35

Foundation (Foundation, #1)

Isaac Asimov

4.3
For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future -- to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire -- both scientists and scholars -- and br
Frankenstein book cover36

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

4.3
Mary Shelley began writing Frankenstein when she was only eighteen. At once a Gothic thriller, a passionate romance, and a cautionary tale about the dangers of science, Frankenstein tells the story of committed science student Victor Frankenstein. Obsessed with discovering the cause of generation and life and bestowing animation upon lifeless matter, Frankenstein assembles a human being from stole
The Picture of Dorian Gray book cover37

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Oscar Wilde

4.3
On its first publication The Picture of Dorian Gray was regarded as dangerously modern in its depiction of fin-de-siècle decadence. In this updated version of the Faust story, the tempter is Lord Henry Wotton, who lives selfishly for amoral pleasure; Dorian's good angel is the portrait painter Basil Hallward, whom Dorian murders. The book highlights the tension between the polished surface of high
The Count of Monte Cristo book cover38

The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas père, Robin Buss

4.3
Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. Dumas’ epic tale of suffering and retribution, in
The Vaccine-Friendly Plan: Dr. Paul's Safe and Effective Approach to Immunity and Health-from Pregnancy Through Your Child's Teen Years book cover39

The Vaccine-Friendly Plan: Dr. Paul's Safe and Effective Approach to Immunity and Health-from Pregnancy Through Your Child's Teen Years

Paul Thomas and Jennifer Margulis

4.3
An accessible and reassuring guide to childhood health and immunity from a pediatrician who's both knowledgeable about the latest scientific research and respectful of a family's risk factors, health history, and concerns

In The Vaccine-Friendly Plan, Paul Thomas, M.D., presents his proven approach to building immunity: a new protocol that limits a child's exposure to aluminum, mercury, and other
The Design of Everyday Things book cover40

The Design of Everyday Things

Don Norman

4.3
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious—even liberating—book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary r
North Carolina Notary Public Manual, 2016 book cover41

North Carolina Notary Public Manual, 2016

North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State

4.2
The office of notary public has a long and proud history in our society. Their work is rarely glamorous, but it is so important that the highest courts in the nation routinely accept properly notarized documents as evidence in legal matters. In fact, the law governing notaries gives them the same mission as sworn law enforcement officers, "to serve and protect."

This new 2016 edition of the North C
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure book cover42

The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure

William Goldman

4.2
A Tale of true love and high adventure, pirates, princesses, giants, miracles, fencing, and a frightening assortment of wild beasts - The Princess Bride is a modern storytelling classic.

As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devastated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince
The King of Torts book cover43

The King of Torts

John Grisham

4.2
The office of the public defender is not known as a training ground for bright young litigators. Clay Carter has been there too long and, like most of his colleagues, dreams of a better job in a real firm. When he reluctantly takes the case of a young man charged with a random street killing, he assumes it is just another of the many senseless murders that hit D.C. every week.

As he digs into the b
Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs book cover44

Deadliest Enemy: Our War Against Killer Germs

Michael T. Osterholm

4.2
A world-leading epidemiologist shares his stories from the front lines of our war on infectious diseases and explains how to prepare for epidemics that can challenge world order.

Every new development--from exploding human and animal populations to trade and travel--intensifies our susceptibility to a devastating epidemic. Ironically, a pandemic on the scale of the 1918 flu that killed perhaps a hu
The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win book cover45

The Phoenix Project: A Novel About IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win

Gene Kim

4.2
Bill is an IT manager at Parts Unlimited. It's Tuesday morning and on his drive into the office, Bill gets a call from the CEO.

The company's new IT initiative, code named Phoenix Project, is critical to the future of Parts Unlimited, but the project is massively over budget and very late. The CEO wants Bill to report directly to him and fix the mess in ninety days or else Bill's entire department
What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City book cover46

What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City

Mona Hanna-Attisha

4.2
The dramatic story of the Flint water crisis--an inspiring tale of scientific resistance by a relentless physician who stood up to power.

Flint was already a troubled city in 2014 when the state of Michigan--in the name of austerity--shifted the source of its water supply from Lake Huron to the Flint River. Soon after, citizens began complaining about the water that flowed from their taps--but offi
Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds book cover47

Talk Like TED: The 9 Public-Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds

Carmine Gallo

4.2
Ideas are the currency of the twenty-first century. In order to succeed, you need to be able to sell your ideas persuasively. This ability is the single greatest skill that will help you accomplish your dreams. Many people have a fear of public speaking or are insecure about their ability to give a successful presentation. Now public speaking coach and bestselling author Carmine Gallo explores wha
Black Beauty book cover48

Black Beauty

Anna Sewell

4.2
Black Beauty spends his youth in a loving home, surrounded by friends and cared for by his owners. But when circumstances change, he learns that not all humans are so kind. Passed from hand to hand, Black Beauty witnesses love and cruelty, wealth and poverty, friendship and hardship . . . Will the handsome horse ever find a happy and lasting home? Carefully retold in clear contemporary language, a
Circe book cover49

Circe

Madeline Miller

4.2
In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child—not powerful, like her father, nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power—the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves.

Threatened, Zeus banis
Propaganda book cover50

Propaganda

Edward Bernays

4.2
“Bernays’ honest and practical manual provides much insight into some of the most powerful and influential institutions of contemporary industrial state capitalist democracies.”—Noam Chomsky

“The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an
TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking book cover51

TED Talks: The official TED guide to public speaking

Chris Anderson

4.2
In Ted Talks Chris Anderson, head of TED, reveals the inside secrets of how to give a first-class presentation. Where books like Talk Like TED and TED Talks Storytelling whetted the appetite, here is the official TED guide to public speaking from the man who put TED talks on the world's stage. 'Nobody in the world better understands the art and science of public speaking than Chris Anderson. He is
Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34 book cover52

Public Enemies: America's Greatest Crime Wave and the Birth of the FBI, 1933-34

Bryan Burrough

4.2
Coming in Summer 2009, the major motion picture from Universal Studios

"ludicrously entertaining" (Time), Public Enemies is the story of the most spectacular crime wave in American history, the two-year battle between the young J. Edgar Hoover and his FBI, and an assortment of criminals who became national icons: John Dillinger, Machine Gun Kelly, Bonnie and Clyde, Baby Face Nelson, Pretty Boy Flo
Moby-Dick book cover53

Moby-Dick

Herman Melville

4.2
Journey to the heart of the sea with this larger-than-life classic.

Regarded as a Great American Novel, "Moby Dick" is the ultimate tale of seeking vengeance.

Narrated by the crew member Ishmael, this epic whaling adventure follows the crew of the "Pequod," as its captain, Ahab, descends deeper and deeper into madness on his quest to find and kill the white whale that maimed him. Beyond the surface-
Little Fires Everywhere book cover54

Little Fires Everywhere

Celeste Ng

4.2
In Shaker Heights, a placid, progressive suburb of Cleveland, everything is planned – from the layout of the winding roads, to the colors of the houses, to the successful lives its residents will go on to lead. And no one embodies this spirit more than Elena Richardson, whose guiding principle is playing by the rules.

Enter Mia Warren – an enigmatic artist and single mother – who arrives in this id
Sense and Sensibility book cover55

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen

4.2
Alternate cover edition of ISBN 9780141439662

'The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!'

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innue
The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History book cover56

The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History

John M. Barry

4.2
At the height of WWI, history’s most lethal influenza virus erupted in an army camp in Kansas, moved east with American troops, then exploded, killing as many as 100 million people worldwide. It killed more people in twenty-four months than AIDS killed in twenty-four years, more in a year than the Black Death killed in a century. But this was not the Middle Ages, and 1918 marked the first collisio
Speak With No Fear: Go from a nervous, nauseated, and sweaty speaker to an excited, energized, and passionate presenter book cover57

Speak With No Fear: Go from a nervous, nauseated, and sweaty speaker to an excited, energized, and passionate presenter

Mike Acker

4.2
The Time Machine book cover58

The Time Machine

H.G. Wells

4.2
“I’ve had a most amazing time....”

So begins the Time Traveller’s astonishing firsthand account of his journey 800,000 years beyond his own era—and the story that launched H.G. Wells’s successful career and earned him his reputation as the father of science fiction. With a speculative leap that still fires the imagination, Wells sends his brave explorer to face a future burdened with our greatest h
Sign and Thrive: How to Make Six Figures As a Mobile Notary and Loan Signing Agent book cover59

Sign and Thrive: How to Make Six Figures As a Mobile Notary and Loan Signing Agent

Bill Soroka

4.2
Metros in Spain book cover60

Metros in Spain

Robert Schwandl

4.2
61

Public Policy: A Concise Introduction

Sara R. (Rose) Rinfret, Denise L. Scheberle, et al.

4.2
Public Policy: A Concise Introduction, by Sara R. Rinfret, Denise Scheberle, and Michelle C. Pautz, is a student-friendly primer that quickly connects readers to the inner workings of public policy. The text condenses early chapters on theory and the policy-making process, allowing students to take up key policy challenges--such as immigration, education, and health care--much earlier in the semes
End the Fed book cover62

End the Fed

Ron Paul

4.2
In the post-meltdown world, it is irresponsible, ineffective, and ultimately useless to have a serious economic debate without considering and challenging the role of the Federal Reserve.

Most people think of the Fed as an indispensable institution without which the country's economy could not properly function. But in END THE FED, Ron Paul draws on American history, economics, and fascinating stor
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1) book cover63

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Oz, #1)

L. Frank Baum

4.1
When Dorothy and her little dog Toto are caught in a tornado, they and their Kansas farmhouse are suddenly transported to Oz, where Munchkins live, monkeys fly and Wicked Witches rule. Desperate to return home, and with the Wicked Witch of the West on their trail, Dorothy and Toto - together with new friends the Tin Woodsman, Scarecrow and cowardly Lion - embark on a fantastic quest along the Yell
The Dom's Dungeon book cover64

The Dom's Dungeon

Cherise Sinclair

4.1

Foster child. Teenage whore. Now a veterinarian, MacKensie's turned her life around, but the scars remain. She saves her affection for the animals who never judge or scorn her, but it's time to get out, move on from her past in Iowa. So, she arranges a vacation exchange to job hunt in Seattle.

Although the house is lovely, one room is locked. Her years in foster care have given her two 'gifts': a n

Emma book cover65

Emma

Jane Austen, Fiona Stafford

4.1
Emma Woodhouse is one of Austen's most captivating and vivid characters. Beautiful, spoilt, vain and irrepressibly witty, Emma organizes the lives of the inhabitants of her sleepy little village and plays matchmaker with devastating effect.
Crave (Fallen Angels, #2) book cover66

Crave (Fallen Angels, #2)

J.R. Ward

4.1
Seven deadly sins. Seven souls that must be saved. One more no-holds-barred battle between a fallen angel with a hardened heart and a demon with everything to lose.

Isaac Rothe is a black ops soldier with a dark past and a grim future. The target of an assassin, he finds himself behind bars, his fate in the hands of his gorgeous public defender Grier Childe. His hot attraction to her can only lead
The Woods book cover67

The Woods

Harlan Coben

4.1
Twenty years ago at summer camp, Paul Copeland's sister died in the woods, the alleged victim of a serial killer. Her body was never found. Now, Paul is the prosecutor for Essex County, New Jersey, immersed in one of the biggest cases of his career-a case that will change everything he believes about the past...and the truth.
The Quiet Game book cover68

The Quiet Game

Greg Iles

4.1
The New York Times bestselling author of Spandau Phoenix and Mortal Fear returns with a rich and atmospheric novel of high suspense

When recently widowed Penn Cage leaves Houston with his young daughter and returns to his hometown seeking peace, he finds something very different. Natchez, Mississippi, is the jewel of the antebellum South, a city of old secrets and older money. Upon learning that hi
The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance book cover69

The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance

Laurie Garrett

4.1
Treasure Island book cover70

Treasure Island

Robert Louis Stevenson

4.1
The most popular pirate story ever written in English, featuring one of literature's most beloved villains, Treasure Island has been happily devoured by several generations of boys-and girls-and grownups.
So You've Been Publicly Shamed book cover71

So You've Been Publicly Shamed

Jon Ronson

4.1
Now a New York Times bestseller and from the author of The Psychopath Test, a captivating and brilliant exploration of one of our world's most underappreciated forces: shame.

'It's about the terror, isn't it?'

'The terror of what?' I said.

'The terror of being found out.'

For the past three years, Jon Ronson has travelled the world meeting recipients of high-profile public shamings. The shamed are p
Introduction to Public Health book cover72

Introduction to Public Health

Mary-Jane Schneider

4.1
Introduction To Public Health, Fifth Edition Offers A Thorough, Accessible Overview Of The Expanding Field Of Public Health For Students New To Its Concepts And Actors. Written In Engaging, Nontechnical Language, This Best-Selling Text Explains In Clear Terms The Multi-Disciplinary Strategies And Methods Used For Measuring, Assessing, And Promoting Public Health. Packed With Illustrative Real-Worl
The How Not to Die Cookbook: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease book cover73

The How Not to Die Cookbook: 100+ Recipes to Help Prevent and Reverse Disease

Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

4.1
From Michael Greger, M.D., FACLM, the physician behind the trusted and wildly popular website Nutritionfacts.org, and author of the New York Times bestselling book How Not to Die, comes a beautifully-designed, comprehensive cookbook complete with more than 120 recipes for delicious, life-saving, plant-based meals, snacks, and beverages.

Dr. Michael Greger’s bestselling book, How Not to Die, present
Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance book cover74

Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance

Barack Obama

4.1
Nine years before the Senate campaign that made him one of the most influential and compelling voices in American politics, Barack Obama published this lyrical, unsentimental, and powerfully affecting memoir, which became a #1 New York Times bestseller when it was reissued in 2004. Dreams from My Father tells the story of Obama’s struggle to understand the forces that shaped him as the son of a bl
Perfect Match book cover75

Perfect Match

Jodi Picoult

4.1
Picoult brings to life a female prosecutor whose cherished family is shattered when she learns that her five-year-old son has been sexually abused.

What does it mean to be a good mother?
How far would you go in the name of love -- and justice?


In the course of her everyday work, career-driven assistant district attorney Nina Frost prosecutes child molesters and works determinedly to ensure that a le
76

Dying of Whiteness: How the Politics of Racial Resentment Is Killing America's Heartland

Jonathan M. Metzl

4.1
A physician reveals how right-wing backlash policies have mortal consequences--even for the white voters they promise to help.

In the era of Donald Trump, many lower- and middle-class white Americans are drawn to politicians who pledge to make their lives great again. But as Dying of Whiteness shows, the policies that result actually place white Americans at ever-greater risk of sickness and death
10th Anniversary (Women's Murder Club, #10) book cover77

10th Anniversary (Women's Murder Club, #10)

James Patterson, Maxine Paetro

4.1
Detective Lindsay Boxer's long-awaited wedding celebration becomes a distant memory when she is called to investigate a horrendous crime: a badly injured teenage girl is left for dead, and her newborn baby is nowhere to be found. Lindsay discovers that not only is there no trace of the criminals - but that the victim may be keeping secrets.

At the same time, Assistant District Attorney Yuki Castell
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) book cover78

All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Martha Wells

4.1
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-
A Midsummer Night's Dream book cover79

A Midsummer Night's Dream

William Shakespeare, John Gilbert, Ned Halley

4.1
A Midsummer Night's Dream is perhaps the best loved of Shakespeare's plays. It brings together aristocrats, workers, and fairies in a wood outside Athens, and from there the magic begins. A young woman flees Athens with her lover, only to be pursued by her would-be husband and by her best friend. Unwittingly, all four find themselves in an enchanted forest where fairies and sprites soon take an in
The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better book cover80

The Spirit Level: Why More Equal Societies Almost Always Do Better

Richard & Kate Pickett Wilkinson, Illustrated

4.1
A groundbreaking work on the root cause of our ills, which is changing the way politicians think. Why do we mistrust people more in the UK than in Japan? Why do Americans have higher rates of teenage pregnancy than the French? What makes the Swedish thinner than the Greeks? The answer: inequality. This groundbreaking book, based on years of research, provides hard evidence to show how almost every
Whispering Rock (Virgin River, #3) book cover81

Whispering Rock (Virgin River, #3)

Robyn Carr

4.1
A decorated U.S. Marine reservist, LAPD officer Mike Valenzuela was badly wounded in the line of duty, but has found hope and healing in Virgin River. When he agrees to become the town's first cop, he does so knowing it's time he settled down. Twice divorced and the lover of too many women, he secretly longs for the kind of commitment and happiness his marine buddies have found—a woman who can tie
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery book cover82

Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

Garr Reynolds

4.1
Presentation designer and internationally acclaimed communications expert Garr Reynolds, creator of the most popular Web site on presentation design and delivery on the net — presentationzen.com — shares his experience in a provocative mix of illumination, inspiration, education, and guidance that will change the way you think about making presentations with PowerPoint or Keynote. Presentation Zen
The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century book cover83

The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-first Century

Thomas L. Friedman

4.1
One mark of a great book is that it makes you see things in a new way, and Mr Friedman certainly succeeds in that goal," the Nobel laureate Joseph E. Stiglitz wrote in the New York Times reviewing The World is Flat in 2005. In this new edition, Thomas L. Friedman includes fresh stories and insights to help us understand the flattening of the world. Weaving new information into his overall thesis,
The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education book cover84

The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education

Diane Ravitch

4.1
A passionate plea to preserve and renew public education, The Death and Life of the Great American School System is a radical change of heart from one of America’s best-known education experts.

Diane Ravitch—former assistant secretary of education and a leader in the drive to create a national curriculum—examines her career in education reform and repudiates positions that she once staunchly advoc
Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker book cover85

Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker

David Nihill

4.1
Public speaking can be terrifying. For David Nihill, the idea of standing in front of an audience was scarier than cliff jumping into a thorny pit of spiders and mothers-in-law. Without a parachute or advanced weaponry. Something had to change.

In what doesn't sound like the best plan ever, David decided to overcome his fears by pretending to be an accomplished comedian called "Irish Dave" for one
Native Tongue (Skink #2) book cover86

Native Tongue (Skink #2)

Carl Hiaasen

4.1
When the precious blue-tongued mango voles at the Amazing Kingdom of Thrills on North Key Largo are stolen by heartless, ruthless thugs, Joe Winder wants to uncover why, and find the voles. Joe is lately a PR man for the Amazing Kingdom theme park, but now that the voles are gone, Winder is dragged along in their wake through a series of weird and lethal events that begin with the sleazy real-esta
Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America book cover87

Anatomy of an Epidemic: Magic Bullets, Psychiatric Drugs, and the Astonishing Rise of Mental Illness in America

Robert Whitaker

4.0
Now with bonus material, including a new foreword and afterword with updated research

In this astonishing and startling book, award-winning science and history writer Robert Whitaker investigates a medical mystery: Why has the number of disabled mentally ill in the United States tripled over the past two decades? Every day, 1,100 adults and children are added to the government disability rolls beca
Peter Pan book cover88

Peter Pan

J. M. Barrie, Michael Hague

4.0
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie Peter Pan, the mischievous boy who refuses to grow up, lands in the Darling's proper middle-class home to look for his shadow. He befriends Wendy, John and Michael and teaches them to fly (with a little help from fairy dust). He and Tinker Bell whisk them off to Never-land where they encounter the Red Indians, the Little Lost Boys, pirates and the dastardly Captain Hook.
89

Vaccines, Autoimmunity, and the Changing Nature of Childhood Illness

Thomas Dale Cowan

4.0
One Doctor's Surprising Answer to the Epidemic of Autoimmunity and Chronic Disease

Over the past fifty years, rates of autoimmunity and chronic disease have exploded: currently 1 in 2.5 American children has an allergy, 1 in 11 has asthma, 1 in 13 has severe food allergies, and 1 in 36 has autism. While some attribute this rise to increased awareness and diagnosis, Thomas Cowan, MD, argues for a di
90

Betrayal of Trust: The Collapse of Global Public Health

Laurie Garrett

4.0
"On par with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring ... This chilling exploration of the decline of public health should be taken seriously by leaders and policymakers around the world."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review In this meticulously researched and ultimately explosive new book by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the New York Times bestseller The Coming Plague, Laurie Garrett takes on perhaps
Confessions of a Public Speaker book cover91

Confessions of a Public Speaker

Scott Berkun

4.0
In this hilarious and highly practical book, author and professional speaker Scott Berkun reveals the techniques behind what great communicators do, and shows how anyone can learn to use them well. For managers and teachers -- and anyone else who talks and expects someone to listen -- Confessions of a Public Speaker provides an insider's perspective on how to effectively present ideas to anyone. I
Convincing Alex (The Stanislaskis, #4) book cover92

Convincing Alex (The Stanislaskis, #4)

Nora Roberts

4.0
Soap opera writer Bess McNee figured the only way to understand a character was to stand in her shoes – even if they were a streetwalker's stiletto heels. So she got tossed in the slammer, thanks to the sexiest detective in New York…

Alex Stanislaski thought he'd seen it all – until he busted Bess. And then she wanted him to let her follow him around to get "ideas" for her show! Trouble was, the la
Something About You (FBI/US Attorney, #1) book cover93

Something About You (FBI/US Attorney, #1)

Julie James

4.0
Fate has thrown two sworn enemies...

Of all the hotel rooms rented by all the adulterous politicians in Chicago, female Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Lynde had to choose the one next to 1308, where some hot-and-heavy lovemaking ends with a death. And of all the FBI agents in Illinois, it had to be Special Agent Jack Pallas who gets assigned to this high-profile homicide. The same Jack Pallas who
Plagues and Peoples book cover94

Plagues and Peoples

William H. McNeill

4.0
Upon its original publication, Plagues and Peoples was an immediate critical and popular success, offering a radically new interpretation of world history as seen through the extraordinary impact--political, demographic, ecological, and psychological--of disease on cultures. From the conquest of Mexico by smallpox as much as by the Spanish, to the bubonic plague in China, to the typhoid epidemic i
Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World book cover95

Temple Grandin: How the Girl Who Loved Cows Embraced Autism and Changed the World

Sy Montgomery, Temple Grandin

4.0
When Temple Grandin was born, her parents knew that she was different. Years later she was diagnosed with autism.
While Temple’s doctor recommended a hospital, her mother believed in her. Temple went to school instead.
Today, Dr. Temple Grandin is a scientist and professor of animal science at Colorado State University. Her world-changing career revolutionized the livestock industry. As an advocat
Slow Heat (Pacific Heat, #2) book cover96

Slow Heat (Pacific Heat, #2)

Jill Shalvis

4.0
After a woman claims she’s pregnant with Wade O’Riley’s love child, Major League Baseball’s most celebrated catcher and ladies’ man is slapped on the wrist by management and ordered to improve his image. His enforcer is the team’s publicist, the tough and sexy Samantha McNead.

When Wade needs a date for a celebrity wedding, Sam steps up to the plate as his “girlfriend.” But given her secret crush o
Southern Lights book cover97

Southern Lights

Danielle Steel

4.0
Danielle Steel sweeps us from a Manhattan courtroom to the Deep South in her powerful new novel—at once a behind-closed-doors look into the heart of a family and a tale of crime and punishment.

Eleven years have passed since Alexa Hamilton left the South behind, fleeing the pain of her ex-husband’s betrayal and the cruelty of his prominent Charleston family. Now an assistant D.A. in Manhattan, Alex
The Demon in the Freezer book cover98

The Demon in the Freezer

RICHARD PRESTON

4.0
The first major bioterror event in the United States-the anthrax attacks in October 2001-was a clarion call for scientists who work with “hot” agents to find ways of protecting civilian populations against biological weapons. In The Demon in the Freezer, his first nonfiction book since The Hot Zone, a #1 New York Times bestseller, Richard Preston takes us into the heart of Usamriid, the United Sta
Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight book cover99

Body Respect: What Conventional Health Books Get Wrong, Leave Out, and Just Plain Fail to Understand about Weight

Linda Bacon

4.0
Mainstream health science has let you down.

Weight loss is not the key to health, diet and exercise are not effective weight-loss strategies and fatness is not a death sentence.

You’ve heard it before: there’s a global health crisis, and, unless we make some changes, we’re in trouble. That much is true—but the epidemic is NOT obesity. The real crisis lies in the toxic stigma placed on certain bodies
Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children book cover100

Vaccine Epidemic: How Corporate Greed, Biased Science, and Coercive Government Threaten Our Human Rights, Our Health, and Our Children

Louise Kuo Habakus

4.0
National polls show that Americans are increasingly concerned about vaccine safety and the right to make individual, informed choices together with their healthcare practitioners. "Vaccine Epidemic" focuses on the searing debate surrounding individual and parental vaccination choice in the United States. Featuring more than twenty experts from the fields of ethics, law, science, medicine, business