1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. Contemporary Literature

Social Sciences, Psychology, Sociology

Social Sciences includes pscyhology, sociology, social issues, self-awareness, self-help, and related subjects.

And Then There's This

Harper's editor Bill Wasik recounts his 2003 experimenation with flash mobs and later with Internet-based viral culture in And Then There's This, an examination of how nanostories live and die in the blink of an eye.

The Other Side of Desire

It would be easy to pick up 'The Other Side of Desire' voyeuristically, enticed by the word “desire” and the beautiful, possibly slightly bruised, blossom on the cover. However, Daniel Bergner is a journalist with a knack for drawing readers into the lives of the people he portrays. You may begin with a sense of titillation and danger, but you’ll end with a far more complex view of human desire and the ways it can draw people in like a moth to flame.

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

In 'Outliers,' Gladwell, the founding father of pop-sociology, examines high-achieving individuals and questions what makes them different from everyone else.

Simplexity by Jeffrey Kluger

Kluger draws on research in fields including economics, biology, cosmology, chemistry, psychology, politics, and the arts to see patterns that make our world both full of complexity and reducible.

American Nerd: The Story of My People

Benjamin Nugent delves into the subculture and history of the nerd in an engaging exploration into the archetype, for those who care to make the trip.

Microtrends: The Small Forces Behind Tomorrow's Big Changes

In Microtrends, Mark Penn identifies more than 70 microtrends in religion, leisure, politics, and family life that are changing the way we live.

The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson

Johnson's account of the worst cholera outbreak in Victorian London - and how the solution revolutionized the way we think about disease, cities, science, and the modern world.

Naked Economics by Charles Wheelan

'Naked Economics' delivers what it promises to: a basic understanding of core economic principles. And more than that, it’s a good read.

Surviving Justice: America's Wrongfully Convicted and Exonerated Edite

Surviving Justice details the tragic histories of 13 innocents wrongly convicted, incarcerated, and later released from prison.

What the Dormouse Said by John Markoff

The story of the political, social, and cultural forces that shaped the personal computer in the 1960s and early 1970s.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Blink is a book about how we think without thinking, about choices that seem to be made in an instant - in the blink of an eye.

A History of the World in 6 Glasses by Tom Standage

A vision of world history, telling the story of humanity from the Stone Age to the twenty-first century through the lens of beer, wine, spirits, coffee, tea, and Coca-Cola.

The Long Emergency

The Long Emergency tells us just what to expect after we pass the tipping point of global peak oil production and the honeymoon of affordable energy is over, preparing us for changes of an unimaginable scale.

The Clumsiest People in Europe

No matter who your ancestors were, and where they had the misfortune of living, Victorian children's book writer Mrs. Mortimer had something nasty to say about them.

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell

The Tipping Point purports to answer two questions, "Why is it that some ideas or behaviors or products start epidemics and others don't? And what can we do to deliberately start and control positive epidemics of our own?"

Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt

Steven D. Levitt is not a typical economist. He studies the stuff and riddles of everyday life, and his conclusions regularly turn the conventional wisdom on its head.

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis

Michael Lewis's irreverent reporting takes us from the dugouts and locker rooms to the boardrooms, where we meet owners who begin to look like fools at the poker table.

Emergence by Steven Johnson

Emergence is the ability of low-level components to self-organize into a higher-level system of sophistication and intelligence, a fascinating phenomenon that Steven Johnson approaches from numerous angles.

He's Just Not That into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo

Subtitled "The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys," HJNTIY is Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's attempt to turn "Sex and the City" humor into a self-help dating guide.

Explore Contemporary Literature

About.com Special Features

Holiday Central

What to eat, where to go, fun things to do and how to save money on the perfect gifts. More >

The Best Top 40 Pop Songs

Is your favorite song on our list? More >

  1. Home
  2. Entertainment
  3. Contemporary Literature
  4. Reviews of Nonfiction
  5. Social Sciences

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.