How our collective intelligence has helped us to evolve and prosper Humans are a puzzling species. On the one hand, we struggle to survive on our own in the wild, often failing to overcome even basic challenges, like obtaining food, building shelters, or avoiding predators. On the other hand, human groups have produced ingenious technologies, sophisticated languages, and complex institutions that have permitted us to successfully expand into a vast range of diverse environments. What has enabled us to dominate the globe, more than any other species, while remaining virtually helpless as lone individuals? This book shows that the secret of our success lies not in our innate intelligence, but in our collective brains—on the ability of human groups to socially interconnect and learn from one another over generations. Drawing insights from lost European explorers, clever chimpanzees, mobile hunter-gatherers, neuroscientific findings, ancient bones, and the human genome, Joseph Henrich demonstrates how our collective brains have propelled our species' genetic evolution and shaped our biology. Our early capacities for learning from others produced many cultural innovations, such as fire, cooking, water containers, plant knowledge, and projectile weapons, which in turn drove the expansion of our brains and altered our physiology, anatomy, and psychology in crucial ways. Later on, some collective brains generated and recombined powerful concepts, such as the lever, wheel, screw, and writing, while also creating the institutions that continue to alter our motivations and perceptions. Henrich shows how our genetics and biology are inextricably interwoven with cultural evolution, and how culture-gene interactions launched our species on an extraordinary evolutionary trajectory. Tracking clues from our ancient past to the present, The Secret of Our Success explores how the evolution of both our cultural and social natures produce a collective intelligence that explains both our species' immense success and the origins of human uniqueness.

Five years ago, popular blogger Brandi Doming of The Vegan 8 became a vegan, overhauling the way she and her family ate after a health diagnosis for her husband. The effects have been life-changing. Her recipes rely on refreshingly short ingredient lists that are ideal for anyone new to plant-based cooking or seeking simplified, wholesome, family-friendly options for weeknight dinners. All of the recipes are dairy-free and most are oil-free, gluten-free, and nut-free (if not, Brandi offers suitable alternatives), and ideally tailored to meet the needs of an array of health conditions. Each of the 100 recipes uses just 8 or fewer ingredients (not including salt, pepper, or water) to create satisfying, comforting meals from breakfast to dessert that your family--even the non-vegans--will love. Try Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins, Fool 'Em "Cream Cheese" Spinach-Artichoke Dip, Cajun Veggie and Potato Chowder, Skillet Baked Mac n' Cheese, and No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake.

Allergy-free cooking is faster and more flavorful than ever with An Allergy Mom's Lifesaving Instant Pot Cookbook. Featuring 60 delectable recipes without peanuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, eggs, wheat, fish and shellfish, this is your essential guide to preparing a quick and tempting meal in a fraction of the time that will appeal to even the pickiest member of your family. Enjoy beloved classics again like rich Indian Butter Chicken, savory Jambalaya and creamy Zuppa Toscana without the worry of a reaction. Or discover new favorites like Smothered Pork Chops with Bacon & Onion Gravy or Sweet & Tangy Pineapple Chicken. This collection of recipes by Megan Lavin, founder of the blog Allergy Awesomeness, leverages the benefits of the Instant Pot to enhance flavors without the hassle and is free of the top 8 most common allergens, allowing you to feel secure in what you’re feeding your family without compromising flavor or quality.

“A very funny sendup of Italian-cooking-holiday-romance novels” (Publishers Weekly). Gerald Samper, an effete English snob, has his own private hilltop in Tuscany where he whiles away his time working as a ghostwriter for celebrities and inventing wholly original culinary concoctions––including ice cream made with garlic and the bitter, herb-based liqueur known as Fernet Branca. But Gerald’s idyll is about to be shattered by the arrival of Marta, on the run from a crime-riddled former Soviet republic, as a series of misunderstandings brings this odd couple into ever closer and more disastrous proximity . . . “Provokes the sort of indecorous involuntary laughter that has more in common with sneezing than chuckling. Imagine a British John Waters crossed with David Sedaris.” —The New York Times

This book describes the living-room artifacts, clothing styles, and intellectual proclivities of American classes from top to bottom.

Get family dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less without sacrificing beauty or flavor, from the beloved blogger and author of The Pretty Dish. “The new go-to book for home cooks everywhere. Yum!”—Ree Drummond, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Pioneer Woman Cooks With her down-to-earth style, can-do attitude, and gorgeous photography, Jessica Merchant presents Everyday Dinners, your new guide for meal prepping. Along with plant-based, one pot, and slow cooker recipes, Jessica also includes weekly dinner plans, ideas, tips and tricks, and even a 45- to 60-minute meal prep game plan for the weekends to keep cooking easy and quick on busy weeknights. You and your family will be delighted and nourished by Jessica’s recipes for Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Honey Ginger Chickpeas and Tahini, Tuscan Cheese Tortellini Soup, Honey Dijon Pretzel-Crusted Salmon, Grilled Peach BBQ Pork Chops with Napa Slaw, and Garlic + Chive Butter Smashed Potatoes. As life gets busier, it’s increasingly harder to set aside time to put a nourishing meal on the table after a long day. In Everyday Dinners, Jessica gives us the tools and tricks to make that possible.

In this inventive and intensely personal cookbook, the blogger behind the award-winning ladyandpups.com reveals how she cooked her way out of an untenable living situation, with more than eighty delicious Asian-inspired dishes with influences from around the world. For Mandy Lee, moving from New York to Beijing for her husband’s work wasn’t an exotic adventure—it was an ordeal. Growing increasingly exasperated with China’s stifling political climate, its infuriating bureaucracy, and its choking pollution, she began “an unapologetically angry food blog,” LadyandPups.com, to keep herself from going mad. Mandy cooked because it channeled her focus, helping her cope with the difficult circumstances of her new life. She filled her kitchen with warming spices and sticky sauces while she shared recipes and observations about life, food, and cooking in her blog posts. Born in Taiwan and raised in Vancouver, she came of age food-wise in New York City and now lives in Hong Kong; her food reflects the many places she’s lived. This entertaining and unusual cookbook is the story of how “escapism cooking”—using the kitchen as a refuge and ultimately creating delicious and satisfying meals—helped her crawl out of her expat limbo. Illustrated with her own gorgeous photography, The Art of Escapism Cooking provides that comforting feeling a good meal provides. Here are dozens of innovative and often Asian-influenced recipes, divided into categories by mood and occasion, such as: For Getting Out of Bed Poached Eggs with Miso-Browned Butter Hollandaise Crackling Pancake with Caramel-Clustered Blueberries and Balsamic Honey For Slurping Buffalo Fried Chicken Ramen Crab Bisque Tsukemen For a Crowd Cumin Lamb Rib Burger Italian Meatballs in Taiwanese Rouzao Sauce For Snacking Wontons with Shrimp and Chili Coconut Oil and Herbed Yogurt Spicy Chickpea Poppers For Sweets Mochi with Peanut Brown Sugar and Ice Cream Recycled Nuts and Caramel Apple Cake Every dish is sublimely delicious and worth the time and attention required. Mandy also demystifies unfamiliar ingredients and where to find them, shares her favorite tools, and provides instructions for essential condiments for the pantry and fridge, such as Ramen Seasoning, Fried Chili Verde Sauce, Caramelized Onion Powder Paste, and her Ultimate Sichuan Chile Oil.