The 48 Laws of Power (2000)

The 48 Laws of Power (2000) by Robert Greene, Pengiun.

To be taken with a considerable grain of salt, this book is a worthy update of and complements Machiavelli's almost 500-years old treatise of power and politics.

Everything Bad Is Good For You (2005)

Everything Bad Is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter (2005) by Steven Johnson, Riverhead.

In his fourth book, Everything Bad Is Good for You, iconoclastic science writer Steven Johnson (who used himself as a test subject for the latest neurological technology in his last book, Mind Wide Open) takes on one of the most widely held preconceptions of the postmodern world--the belief that video games, television shows, and other forms of popular entertainment are detrimental to Americans' cognitive and moral development. Everything Good builds a case to the contrary that is engaging, thorough, and ultimately convincing.

Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (2003)

Six Degrees: The Science of a Connected Age (2003) by Duncan J. Watts, W. W. Norton.

Duncan J. Watts, one of the principal architects of network theory, sets out to explain the innovative research he and other scientists are spearheading to create a blueprint of our connected planet.

Freakonomics (2005)

Freakonomics (2005) by Steven D. Levitt & Stephen J. Dubner, Morrow.

Through forceful storytelling and wry insight, Levitt and co-author Stephen J. Dubner show that economics is, at root, the study of incentives - how people get what they want, or need, especially when other people want or need the same thing. In Freakonomics, they set out to explore the hidden side of ... well, everything.

 (More)