There's no shortage of books about public speaking or language or song. But until now, there has been no book about the miracle that underlies them all--the human voice itself. And there are few writers who could take on this surprisingly vast topic with more artistry and expertise than John Colapinto. Beginning with the novel--and compelling--argument that our ability to speak is what made us the planet's dominant species, he guides us from the voice's...

"The classic, bestselling book on the psychology of racism-now fully revised and updated. Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about enabling communication...

Provides a critical consumers guide to the images of terrorism that we are offered daily in the mass media. All too often, scholars and journalists accept uncritically the interpretations of terrorism they receive from governments and official agencies. Our perceptions of terrorism are formed by the interaction of bureaucratic agencies, academics and private experts, and the mass media: The images and stereotypes that we are offered do not necessarily...

"A woman describes a series of encounters she has with various people in the ordinary course of her life: an ex she runs into by chance at a public forum, an Airbnb owner unsure how to interact with her guests, a stranger who seeks help comforting his elderly mother, a friend of her youth now hospitalized with terminal cancer. In each of these people the woman finds a common need: the urge to talk about themselves and to have an audience to their...

"Do you ever have the feeling that your friend isn't telling you the whole story? Or that your colleague's answer doesn't quite add up? Whether in your personal or social life, professional life, or on the news or media, sorting the lies from the truth can be exhausting and make you feel constantly on edge. Erikson shows you how to identify and deal with the liars in your life. Readers will learn to protect themselves against deception and insincerity....

Media are fundamental to our sense of living in a social world. Since the beginning of modernity, media have transformed the scale on which we act as social beings. And now in the era of digital media, media themselves are being transformed as platforms, content, and producers multiply. - Yet the implications of social theory for understanding media and of media for rethinking social theory have been neglected; never before has it been more important...