Useful Fictions

Useful Fictions
Author: Michael Austin
Publisher: U of Nebraska Press
Total Pages: 192
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0803230265

?We tell ourselves stories in order to live,? Joan Didion observed in The White Album. Why is this? Michael Austin asks, in Useful Fictions. Why, in particular, are human beings, whose very survival depends on obtaining true information, so drawn to fictional narratives? After all, virtually every human culture reveres some form of storytelling. Might there be an evolutionary reason behind our species? need for stories? ø Drawing on evolutionary biology, anthropology, narrative theory, cognitive psychology, game theory, and evolutionary aesthetics, Austin develops the concept of a ?useful fiction,? a simple narrative that serves an adaptive function unrelated to its factual one. In his work we see how these useful fictions play a key role in neutralizing the overwhelming anxiety that humans can experience as their minds gather and process information. Rudimentary narratives constructed for this purpose, Austin suggests, provided a cognitive scaffold that might have become the basis for our well-documented love of fictional stories. Written in clear, jargon-free prose and employing abundant literary examples?from the Bible to One Thousand and One Arabian Nights and Don Quixote to No Exit?Austin?s work offers a new way of understanding the relationship between fiction and evolutionary processes?and, perhaps, the very origins of literature.

Lions & Liars

Lions & Liars
Author: Kate Beasley
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (Byr)
Total Pages: 305
Release: 2018-06-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0374302634

Holes meets The Goonies in the highly anticipated second middle-grade novel from the author of Gertie's Leap to Greatness!

Leaders Eat Last

Leaders Eat Last
Author: Simon Sinek
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2014-01-07
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1101623039

The New York Times bestseller by the acclaimed, bestselling author of Start With Why and Together is Better. Now with an expanded chapter and appendix on leading millennials, based on Simon Sinek's viral video "Millenials in the workplace" (150+ million views). Imagine a world where almost everyone wakes up inspired to go to work, feels trusted and valued during the day, then returns home feeling fulfilled. This is not a crazy, idealized notion. Today, in many successful organizations, great leaders create environments in which people naturally work together to do remarkable things. In his work with organizations around the world, Simon Sinek noticed that some teams trust each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives are offered, are doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why? The answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general. "Officers eat last," he said. Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. What's symbolic in the chow hall is deadly serious on the battlefield: Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort--even their own survival--for the good of those in their care. Too many workplaces are driven by cynicism, paranoia, and self-interest. But the best ones foster trust and cooperation because their leaders build what Sinek calls a "Circle of Safety" that separates the security inside the team from the challenges outside. Sinek illustrates his ideas with fascinating true stories that range from the military to big business, from government to investment banking.

The Lamb Who Cried Wolf [Mate or Meal 1]

The Lamb Who Cried Wolf [Mate or Meal 1]
Author: Scarlet Hyacinth
Publisher: Siren-BookStrand
Total Pages: 125
Release:
Genre:
ISBN: 1610349776

[Siren Classic ManLove: Erotic Alternative Paranormal Romance, M/M, bondage, sex toys] Lunch or lover? That is the question that appears in werewolf Brody’s mind when he meets lamb shifter Carson. The answer is easy. Simply looking into Carson’s innocent blue eyes tells him that the lamb is his mate. If he’s going to eat Carson up, they’ll both enjoy it. Carson has been isolated by his flock due to his inability to grow into a strong ram. When he is unexpectedly attacked by his half-brother, he does not expect being rescued by a wolf—let alone falling in love with him. But in spite of Brody and Carson’s feelings, there are other forces at work, and people who don’t agree with Brody’s new plans and diet. If Brody can’t find a way to save their bond, Carson might become lunch, after all. ** A Siren Erotic Romance

Popular Mechanics

Popular Mechanics
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 224
Release: 1967-09
Genre:
ISBN:

Popular Mechanics inspires, instructs and influences readers to help them master the modern world. Whether it’s practical DIY home-improvement tips, gadgets and digital technology, information on the newest cars or the latest breakthroughs in science -- PM is the ultimate guide to our high-tech lifestyle.

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky
Author: Benjamin Ajak
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2015-08-11
Genre: History
ISBN: 1610395999

The inspiring story of three young Sudanese boys who were driven from their homes by civil war and began an epic odyssey of survival, facing life-threatening perils, ultimately finding their way to a new life in America. Between 1987 and 1989, Alepho, Benjamin, and Benson, like tens of thousands of young boys, took flight from the massacres of Sudan's civil war. They became known as the Lost Boys. With little more than the clothes on their backs, sometimes not even that, they streamed out over Sudan in search of refuge. Their journey led them first to Ethiopia and then, driven back into Sudan, toward Kenya. They walked nearly one thousand miles, sustained only by the sheer will to live. They Poured Fire on Us from the Sky is the three boys' account of that unimaginable journey. With the candor and the purity of their child's-eye-vision, Alephonsian, Benjamin, and Benson recall by turns: how they endured the hunger and strength-sapping illnesses-dysentery, malaria, and yellow fever; how they dodged the life-threatening predators-lions, snakes, crocodiles and soldiers alike-that dogged their footsteps; and how they grappled with a war that threatened continually to overwhelm them. Their story is a lyrical, captivating, timeless portrait of a childhood hurled into wartime and how they had the good fortune and belief in themselves to survive.

Zoobiquity

Zoobiquity
Author: Dr. Barbara N. Horowitz
Publisher: Doubleday Canada
Total Pages: 451
Release: 2012-06-12
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 0385670613

Engaging science writing that bravely approaches a new frontier in medical science and offers a whole new way of looking at the deep kinship between animals and human beings. Zoobiquity: a species-spanning approach to medicine bringing doctors and veterinarians together to improve the health of all species and their habitats. In the tradition of Temple Grandin, Oliver Sacks, and Neil Shubin, this is a remarkable narrative science book arguing that animal and human commonality can be used to diagnose, treat, and ultimately heal human patients. Through case studies of various species--human and animal kind alike--the authors reveal that a cross-species approach to medicine makes us not only better able to treat psychological and medical conditions but helps us understand our deep connection to other species with whom we share much more than just a planet. This revelatory book reaches across many disciplines--evolution, anthropology, sociology, biology, cutting-edge medicine and zoology--providing fascinating insights into the connection between animals and humans and what animals can teach us about the human body and mind.

Christian, the Hugging Lion

Christian, the Hugging Lion
Author: Justin Richardson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 32
Release: 2010-04-27
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 1416986626

The heartwarming true story of a lion cub named Christian, known through the YouTube video, the men who cared for him, and the power of love. Full color.