Böcker utgivna av Basic Books

In 1610, the English mariner Henry Hudson set off on a journey to find the Northwest Passage, the water route that Europeans hoped would speed the time of travel to East Asia. But Hudson's search for the Northwest Passage did not go well. This book tells the full story of Hudson and the other 23 men who set sail from London in April 1610.

On August 26, 1835, a fledgling newspaper called the Sun brought to New York the first accounts of remarkable lunar discoveries. A series of six articles reported the existence of life on the moon,including unicorns, beavers that walked on their hind legs, and four-foot-tall flying man-bats. In a matter of weeks it was the most broadly circulated newspaper story of the era, and the Sun , a working-class upstart, became the most widely read paper in the world. An exhilarating narrative history of a divided city on the cusp of greatness, and tale of a crew of writers, editors, and charlatans who stumbled on a new kind of journalism, The Sun and the Moon tells the surprisingly true story of the penny papers that made America a nation of newspaper readers.

Why Marriage? is a tour de force of historical analysis and explanation, essential for anyone eager to understand current political arguments. Los Angeles Times Book Review

A pioneering scholar of the blues explores the folk traditions that predated and shaped this uniquely American music as we know it.

The "compelling" and "devastating"* New York Times best-seller by America's most distinguished living commentator on foreign policy

Now revised and updated--the acclaimed companion volume to the hugely successful Basic Economics, by one of America's most revered economists.

A controversial new theory that the origins of spoken language, music, and art lie in the early communication between mothers and infants

"In a Burkean manner, Mr. Levin enriches through wisdom rather than prescription. He gives us something more than a manual of past lessons-namely, the historical framework to achieve greater understanding."-Wall Street Journal

"Pearl Harbor...is short and moves forward like a rocket, propelled by readable prose and a laser-sharp focus.... Gillon digs deep into the details that humanize FDR."- Christian Science Monitor

"Elizabeth Gregory has discovered the real truth behind all the false alarms over delayed motherhood: that older mothers tend to be very happy with their decision to have children later in life. A positive, optimistic message for women: you can wait until you are ready to be a good parent."-Ann Crittenden, author of The Price of Motherhood

A new Tie-in edition of the acclaimed biography of Masters and Johnson, to coincide with the forthcoming Showtime series based on the book.

"An excellent survey of the Internet's major fault lines."-Wall Street Journal

A bold proposal to harness capitalism for the sake of environmentalism-a former banker and an environmental writer argue that making money and saving nature go hand in hand

The story of our world, how it got that way, and where it is going-using only the thousand most common words in English

"These thoughtful, humane essays on issues like idealism, identity politics and the legacy of the 60's merit an audience beyond the campuses and coffee shops. Gitlin's intellectual style is nimble and open-minded, the antithesis of pedantic."-The New York Times

A wonderful new book, Milanovic, who has made international inequality his life's work, shows, with devastating logic, just how far we still have to go.', Globe and Mail (Toronto)

A research psychologist offers a sweeping new theory of depression grounded in the evolution of mood

A gripping biography of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, tracing its creation and showing how its historic provisions are threatened today.

From the President of the American Enterprise Institute, the follow-up to the hugely influential The Battle: a candid assessment of how mainstream America can take the philosophy of free enterprise and translate it into political action--restoring b

Traces the discovery, evolution, and interrelationships of the great numbers that define our world. This title reveals the manner in which certain cosmic numbers came to light, the dramatis personae involved, and the developments associated with these numbers.

A leading primatologist offers a provocative new look at the past, present and future of sex, pregnancy, and childcare

"Balanced without being bland, lucid in the telling, Thomas Kidd's chronicle corrects the excesses both of those who overstate the degree to which America was founded as a 'Christian nation' and of those who seek to minimize the formative role of religion in the new nation's character."--Christianity Today

"A collection of important, well-told stories about the contradictions, inequities and possibilities of American capitalism."--New York Times

"Offley skillfully blends history and statistics and analysis as well as heart-pounding narratives of sea-battles that have the immediacy of a good novel, only they tell of real people and real events."--The American Spectator

An acclaimed historian uncovers the story behind the massacre at Wounded Knee, demonstrating how party politics in Washington, D.C. made the South Dakota catastrophe inevitable

"Engrossing... The prospect of using the structures an animal builds to extrapolate its cognitive capability is irresistible. Fortunately for readers, the levelheaded Goulds prove wonderful guides through these shadowy corridors, at once skeptical and reverent."--Boston Globe

Essential advice on problem solving from physics' clearest teacher

"Breezy and engaging...a book that debunks our intuitive justifications for our behaviour.... will not fail to entertain." -New Scientist

A perspective on urban culture in the latter part of the 20th century through the lens of the World Trade Center.