Others: Positive A “compulsively readable” (Evan Osnos, National Book Award–winning author) book from the New York Times bestselling author of The Unthinkable and award-winning journalist Amanda Ripley investigating how good people get captured by high conflict—and how they break free.When we are baffled by the insanity of the “other side”—in our politics, at work, or at home—it’s because we aren’t seeing how the conflict itself has taken over. That’s what “high conflict” does. High conflict is what happens when discord distills into a good-versus-evil kind of feud, the kind with an us and a them. In this state, the brain behaves differently. We feel increasingly certain of our own superiority, and everything we do to try to end the conflict, usually makes it worse. Eventually, we can start to mimic the behavior of our adversaries, harming what we hold most dear. Our journey spans California, Chicago, Colombia, New York, and beyond, following people caught in political feuds, gang vendettas, and deep ideological divides as they confront the stories fueling their conflicts and seek a path forward. All these people, in dramatically different situations, were drawn into high conflict by similar forces, including conflict entrepreneurs, humiliation, and false binaries. But ultimately, all of them found ways to transform high conflict into good conflict, the kind that made them better people. They rehumanized and recategorized their opponents, and they revived curiosity and wonder, even as they continued to fight for what they knew was right. People do escape high conflict. Individuals—even entire communities—can short-circuit the feedback loops of outrage and blame, if they want to. “Insightful and enthralling” (The New York Times Book Review) High Conflict provides a mind-opening new way to think about conflict that will transform how we move through the world.
Genres: nonfiction
Lists: …
Amanda Montell
2019 · 304 pages · 6 reviews
Others: Overwhelmingly positive"A brash, enlightening, and wildly entertaining feminist look at gendered language and the way it shapes us..."--From dust jacket, front flap.
What made the match, strongest first
Tessonja Odette
2026 · 2 reviews
Others: NeutralLies, beauty, and seduction mingle in the first book of an enthralling romantasy series where making art is considered a sin, and the shadows born from it aren't the only danger to the creators—from the bestselling author of Curse of the Wolf King.From the art of liars, the monsters came…Ever since art gave life to bloodthirsty shadows, creative works have been forbidden and the talented creators sacrificed to the Sinless—the immortal royals who feast on human blood in return for their protection.Inana’s secret storytelling nearly got her killed once, and she’ll be damned if she’s ever caught again. With a bounty on her head, she keeps to the city’s dark underbelly where she earns a meager living from thrill-seeking patrons desperate to hear her illicit fiction. Until Dominic, a Shadowbane, catches one of her performances. . .Dominic is a half-Sinless monster hunter as fearsome as his prey. But to complete his hunt, he needs an artist to summon the shadows . . . he needs Inana. Dominic delivers an serve him or he’ll claim her bounty. When survival is all Inana has left, the choice is clear. At least until she can betray him and leave him for dead.As their tense alliance leads them into the heart of danger, dark secrets unravel—about each other, their world, and the threats they face. But the greatest risk of all is the desire growing between them. There’s something more sinful than lust at play, and it could bring the world to its knees.
What made the match, strongest first
Timothy Snyder
2017 · 128 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveIn previous books, Holocaust historian Timothy Snyder dissected the events and values that enabled the rise of Hitler and Stalin and the execution of their catastrophic policies. With Twenty Lessons, Snyder draws from the darkest hours of the twentieth century to provide hope for the twenty-first. As he writes, "Americans are no wiser than the Europeans who saw democracy yield to fascism, Nazism and communism. Our one advantage is that we might learn from their experience."
What made the match, strongest first
Cal Newport
2019 · 304 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe key to living well in a high tech world is to spend much less time using technology. In recent years, our culture's relationship with personal technology has transformed from something exciting into something darker. Innovations like smartphones and social media are useful, but many of us are increasingly troubled by how much control these tools seem to exert over our daily experiences – including how we spend our free time and how we feel about ourselves. In Digital Minimalism, Newport proposes a bold solution: a minimalist approach to technology use in which you radically reduce the time you spend online, focusing on a small set of carefully-selected activities while happily ignoring the rest.
What made the match, strongest first
adrienne maree brown
2024 · 200 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveNew York Times–bestselling author adrienne maree brown transcends binary thinking about "accountability" and shares dignified, holistic ways for individuals and communities to address harmful and destructive patterns. This selection of prescient, compassionate essays explores patterns we engage in that are rooted in limited thinking. Through a lens of “loving correction” rather than mere critique, author adrienne maree brown helps us reimagine how to hold ourselves, our loved ones, and our communities accountable by setting clear boundaries, engaging in reflection, and nurturing honest relationships. Loving Corrections is divided into two sections, with the first portion featuring new essays including “A Word for White People” and “Relinquishing the Patriarchy” and writing on topics like moving from fragility to fortitude, disability, and navigating critique within activist communities. The second section expands and updates pieces from brown's popular monthly column “Murmurations” in YES! Magazine that explore accountability—within oneself and community—with depth, inventiveness, and empathy. Along with allowing us more authentic access to ourselves and to each other, the “corrections” in the book’s title are intended to explore and break identity-based patterns including white supremacy, fragility, patriarchy, and ableism. brown also offers practical guidance on how to apologize and be accountable from our nuanced positions of power, history, and resources. Building on her previous work—especially Holding Change and We Will Not Cancel Us—brown reminds us how much we need each "It is only through relationship that we learn how to be, understand our impact on others and explore small shifts that may yield remarkable collective change."
What made the match, strongest first
Danny Caine
2019 · 73 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveWhen a company's workers are literally dying on the job, when their business model relies on preying on local businesses and even their own vendors, when their CEO is the richest person in the world while their workers make low wages with impossible quotas... wouldn't you want to resist? Danny Caine, owner of Raven Book Store in Lawrence, Kansas has been an outspoken critic of the seemingly unstoppable Goliath of the bookselling world: Amazon. In this book, he lays out the case for shifting our personal money and civic investment away from global corporate behemoths and to small, local, independent businesses. Well-researched and lively, his tale covers the history of big box stores, the big political drama of delivery, and the perils of warehouse work. He shows how Amazon's ruthless discount strategies mean authors, publishers, and even Amazon themselves can lose money on every book sold. And he spells out a clear path to resistance, in a world where consumers are struggling to get by. In-depth research is interspersed with charming personal anecdotes from bookstore life, making this a readable, fascinating, essential book for the 2020s. publisher
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itThis one was pretty good. I liked the way in which it was written with the sort of like story aspect to the like these different instances of high conflict and how to potentially get out of them or at least recognize that you're in them and then what you can do.
