Bookshelf: May We Recommend...

If you liked Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner, try The Why Axis by Uri Gneezy and John List

Can Big questions about motivation, discrimination, altruism, and the gender gap be quantified? For years, behaviorial economists Uri Gneezy and John List have been designing clever, controlled experiments that aim to do just that, seeking out clear answers to muddy problems. They argue that women are not naturally less competitive than men, that children can be bribed into academic achievement, that a desire to make more money can foster discrimination, and that peer pressure encourages environmentally responsible behavior more effectively than appealing to people's morals.

If you liked Pale Blue Dot by Carl Sagan, try Five Billion Years of Solitude by Lee Billings

Is there anybody else out there? The question is at the core of journalist Lee Billings's meditation on the uncertain future of humanity and the search for habitable worlds and cognizant beings beyond our 4.5 billion-year-old planet. With Earth's hospitality to humans predicted to expire in half a billion years, the race is on.

If you liked The Righteous Mind by Jonathan Haidt, try Moral Tribes by Joshua Greene

Thousands of years ago, humans began to learn the benefits of cooperation over pure selfishness. But since we had to get along with only a select group of others, an us-versus-them attitude took root. Harvard psychologist Joshua Greene acknowledges morality's limits and proposes a new strategy to bridge our tribal divides.

If you liked Wild by Cheryl Strayed, try Some Nerve by Patty Chang Anker

Bookshelves are filled with tales of extreme survival, courage, and reinvention. Can't relate? Patty Chang Anker tells a story for the rest of us—those still terrified of riding a bike or speaking in public. She shows that with a little push, we can prove ourselves braver than we thought. Anker leads the way, starting at the tip of a dreaded diving board.

If you liked What Doesn't Kill Us by Stephen Joseph, try The Gift of Adversity by Norman E. Rosenthal, MD

You know that saying: What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Post-traumatic growth is the crux of this book by Georgetown psychiatrist Norman Rosenthal. He explores our mettle through myriad case studies, even his own—he was stabbed in a robbery attempt. Humans are a tough bunch; this author is no exception.

If you liked Eichmann in Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt, try The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai

Army psychiatrist Douglas Kelley and Nazi mastermind Hermann Goering—volcanic personalities, both—formed an unlikely alliance during the Nuremberg tribunals. The relationship ultimately influenced the American public's perception of the Nazi psyche and was perhaps integral to Kelley's own shocking demise.

If you liked Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas, try The Psychopath Inside by James Fallon

James Fallon's interest in psychopaths was purely academic—until the day the neuroscientist saw that his own brain scan matched those of the psychopathic killers he studied. The book follows his subsequent quest to accept uncertainty and nuance as he struggles to make sense of his own dark mind.

If you liked A Whole New Mind by Daniel H. Pink, try Top Brain, Bottom Brain by Stephen M. Kosslyn and G. Wayne Miller

Debunking the popular but oversimplified idea of "right-brainers" and "left-brainers," Stanford's Stephen M. Kosslyn and journalist G. Wayne Miller propose a new cognitive theory: It is the complex interaction between various parts of the brain that determines our creativity, rigidity, sensitivity, and style of thought.

If you liked Animal Wise by Virginia Morell, try Octopus! by Katherine Harmon Courage

Its surprising intelligence, three hearts, reflective skin, and eight regenerative arms make the octopus sound like the stuff of science fiction. In journalist Katherine Harmon Courage's intimate, expansive portrait of these mysterious creatures, she reveals their role in everything from military research to tasty cuisine.