‘How a Game Lives,’ ‘How to Save the Internet’ show the best and worst of life online

In The Creative Act, music producer Rick Rubin argues that every person is an artist, explaining that creativity isn't about what you make, but a way of being in the world. Rubin offers practical suggestions to help you tap into your natural creative instincts and live your life with sustained originality and imagination. The Creative Act isn't just for artists or musicians—it's a guide for anyone looking to live a rich and creative life.

In this guide, we’ll explore Rubin’s definition of creativity and why it matters. We’ll then discuss Rubin’s advice on how you can be more creative in your daily life, from being more playful to making creativity a habit to seeing inspiration everywhere. We’ll supplement Rubin’s advice with insights and practical tips from other creative thinkers: Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way), Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic), and Cal Newport (Deep Work).

Humans play a wide variety of games, from basketball and chess to video games and poker. Why are we so enthralled with these games, even when they don’t really have an impact on our lives outside the game?

Theory of Fun for Game Design, by veteran game designer Raph Koster (lead designer of Ultima Online), discusses why games are fun, what games teach their players, and ultimately how to make a meaningful game.

You probably know someone who regularly blows things out of proportion, or who insists on having the same argument over and over, or constantly tries to one-up other people. According to Dr. Eric Berne, a pioneering psychiatrist who broke away from the Freudian tradition, those are just two of the games that people play in work, love, sex, and friendship.

Games People Play is Berne’s 1964 classic about the many ways that we habitually relate to one another through “games.” These aren’t fun, harmless social games, though—they’re subtle, largely unconscious patterns that harm us and our relationships. Berne explains how most of us don’t even notice our games, and how we’re missing out on the fulfillment of game-free living.

In our guide, we’ll explore the foundations of Berne’s theory and build up to an extensive discussion of games, before finishing with his strategies for growing into a fuller way of living. We’ve also added psychological perspectives from Freud to modern-day and updated Berne’s ideas.

Video games are meant to be fun, but making video games can be anything but. In Blood, Sweat, and Pixels, video game journalist Jason Schreier gives a rare look into the inner workings of the video game industry and the harsh reality of being a game developer: long hours, enormous pressure to meet deadlines, and an unpredictable, constantly changing work environment. Schreier discusses the development cycles of 10 games, ranging from indie darlings to AAA flops, as told by developers whom Schreier interviewed.

This guide organizes the themes and key ideas from the case studies in Blood, Sweat, and Pixels into four challenges that video game developers face: accounting for games’ interactivity, constantly evolving technology, the impossibility of making and adhering to a schedule during development, and interference from people outside of the development studio. Our commentary adds background information for readers less familiar with the gaming industry and further explores the human impact of industry practices.

Can tech leaders be trusted to shape our future? What happens when profit and power trump ethics and accountability? In Careless People, Sarah Wynn-Williams—Facebook’s Director of Global Policy from 2011-2017—offers an insider account of her time working alongside Mark Zuckerberg and other Facebook leaders. She was an early believer in the company’s potential to connect the world, but she became disillusioned after its leadership evolved to prioritize profit over responsibility.

In this memoir and tell-all, Wynn-Williams alleges that Facebook’s top leaders were dangerously reckless people who caused great harm in the world. You’ll learn in this guide how Facebook’s advertising tools helped shape the 2016 US presidential election, how the company’s negligence led to violence in Myanmar, and what their collaboration with China’s Communist Party means for the future of AI. Whether you’re concerned about social media’s influence on politics, interested in ethical leadership, or curious how to prevent tech companies from causing more harm, our guide provides insights into one of the most powerful companies in history.

Social media platforms face rising pressure to address new AI disinformation threats that could undermine the 2024 elections. Experts warn that companies’ failure to address sophisticated "deep fakes" threatens American democracy and could lead to violence.

According to Gen. H.R. McMaster, the United States views the world through a self-centered lens, assuming that its policy decisions are the main driving force behind global events. Because of this distorted perspective, the US has lost influence on the global stage at a time when authoritarian aggression is on the rise. In Battlegrounds, McMaster, who was US national security adviser in 2017-18, contends that American leaders must learn to see the world through the eyes of the US's adversaries in order to defend against foreign threats and compete in the modern global landscape.

In this guide, we’ll explore McMaster’s criticism of the assumptions driving US foreign policy, his assessment of the threats America faces, and the steps he believes the US must take. We’ll compare McMaster’s views with those of other experts on diplomacy, while placing his assessments in their larger context and updating some of his information based on events since the book’s publication.