A startling and original look at what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world, from bestselling author and art writer Henry Carroll, with images by a diverse and innovative group of contemporary photographers See through the eyes of a new generation of photographers responding to the rapidly unfolding issues shaping our lives. In this series of small, insightful, and beautifully presented books, Henry Carroll, the bestselling photography writer of the last decade, considers the ideas behind images to present personal perspectives on climate change, race, sexuality, gender, faith, inequality, beauty, power, and our contradictory relationship to animals and the natural world. The first book in the series, HUMANS, reveals how contemporary photographers use visual language to pose honest and confronting questions about our bodies, the purpose of faith in a fact-based world, systemic social structures that limit and allow freedom, and the opposing forces of unconditional love and abject cruelty. In this diverse collection of arresting images and insightful text, Carroll regards the photographers as modern-day philosophers, original thinkers who fuse technique, concept, and imagination in order to provoke meaningful visual reflections on what matters most. For both creators and consumers of images, HUMANS is an immersive and supremely relevant book offering a treasure trove of ideas and visual inspiration designed to cultivate a deeper, more personal understanding of who we are, why we are, and what we think.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD In this groundbreaking biography, T.J. Stiles tells the dramatic story of Cornelius “Commodore” Vanderbilt, the combative man and American icon who, through his genius and force of will, did more than perhaps any other individual to create modern capitalism. Meticulously researched and elegantly written, The First Tycoon describes an improbable life, from Vanderbilt’s humble birth during the presidency of George Washington to his death as one of the richest men in American history. In between we see how the Commodore helped to launch the transportation revolution, propel the Gold Rush, reshape Manhattan, and invent the modern corporation. Epic in its scope and success, the life of Vanderbilt is also the story of the rise of America itself.

From a nationally recognized expert, a fresh and original argument for bettering affirmative action Race-based affirmative action had been declining as a factor in university admissions even before the recent spate of related cases arrived at the Supreme Court. Since Ward Connerly kickstarted a state-by-state political mobilization against affirmative action in the mid-1990s, the percentage of four-year public colleges that consider racial or ethnic status in admissions has fallen from 60 percent to 35 percent. Only 45 percent of private colleges still explicitly consider race, with elite schools more likely to do so, although they too have retreated. For law professor and civil rights activist Sheryll Cashin, this isn’t entirely bad news, because as she argues, affirmative action as currently practiced does little to help disadvantaged people. The truly disadvantaged—black and brown children trapped in high-poverty environs—are not getting the quality schooling they need in part because backlash and wedge politics undermine any possibility for common-sense public policies. Using place instead of race in diversity programming, she writes, will better amend the structural disadvantages endured by many children of color, while enhancing the possibility that we might one day move past the racial resentment that affirmative action engenders. In Place, Not Race, Cashin reimagines affirmative action and champions place-based policies, arguing that college applicants who have thrived despite exposure to neighborhood or school poverty are deserving of special consideration. Those blessed to have come of age in poverty-free havens are not. Sixty years since the historic decision, we’re undoubtedly far from meeting the promise of Brown v. Board of Education, but Cashin offers a new framework for true inclusion for the millions of children who live separate and unequal lives. Her proposals include making standardized tests optional, replacing merit-based financial aid with need-based financial aid, and recruiting high-achieving students from overlooked places, among other steps that encourage cross-racial alliances and social mobility. A call for action toward the long overdue promise of equality, Place, Not Race persuasively shows how the social costs of racial preferences actually outweigh any of the marginal benefits when effective race-neutral alternatives are available.

With more than 200 images from all five New York City boroughs by more than 100 artists, reflects a perspective of how artists view this city in the twenty-first century.

'Street Photography Now' celebrates the work of 46 image-makers from across the globe. Included are such luminaries as Magnum grandmasters Gilden, Parr and Webb, as well as an international posse of emerging photographers. Four essays and quotes from interviews with the photographers are included--