[close] Tipping Point author Malcolm Gladwell gets inside the food industry's pursuit of the perfect spaghetti sauce -- and makes a larger argument about the nature of choice and happiness. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] Freakonomics author Steven Levitt presents new data on the finances of drug dealing. Contrary to popular myth, he says, being a street-corner crack dealer isnt lucrative: It pays below minimum wage. And your boss can kill you. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] Steven Pinker's book The Blank Slate argues that all humans are born with some innate traits. Here, Pinker talks about his thesis, and why some people found it incredibly upsetting. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] In an exclusive preview of his book The Stuff of Thought, Steven Pinker looks at language and how it expresses what goes on in our minds -- and how the words we choose communicate much more than we realize. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] A teaser for the September release of Ted Dekker's book Green [close]

[close] to the tune of Yesterday... [close]

[close] Interview with Hughes (a.o.) [close]

[close] Author and illustrator Maira Kalman talks about her life and work, from her covers for The New Yorker to her books for children and grown-ups. She is as wonderful, as wise and as deliciously off-kilter in person as she is on paper. [close]

[close] Ted Bell talks about visiting Russia to research Tsar and also shares his motto for reading and life. Get more on Ted Bell at SimonandSchuster.com [close]

[close] For 150 years, the story of the Kennedy family has been inextricably linked to their heritage as Irish-Catholic immigrants—from Patrick Kennedys 1848 arrival in Brahmin Boston from Country Wexford Ireland, to Joseph Kennedys Vatican ties and Jackies thoughts on faith and sorrow, to Kennedy-confidante Father McSorleys religious counsel following the assassination of JFK. Through groundbreaking interviews with Senator Edward Kennedy and other Kennedy family and friends, acclaimed journalist Thomas Maier casts the Kennedy saga in an entirely new light, showing how their Irish catholic heritage influenced their public and private decisions. Released to coincide with a documentary adapted from the book, this edition features a new preface, in which Maier explores the dynamics of the three brothers, Ted Kennedys legacy, and the 2008 presidential elections that have been touched in so many ways by the Kennedy family. Buy the book at Amazon:http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/ product-description/04650431 [close]

[close] In the bestselling tradition of Clive Cussler, a fast-moving action adventure Get more on Ted Bell at SimonandSchuster.com [close]

[close] Swashbuckling counter Spy Alex Hawke returns in bestselling author Ted Bell's most explosive tale of international suspense to date. Get more on Ted Bell at SimonandSchuster.com [close]

[close] Plath chats about her work. [close]

[close] Dan Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness, challenges the idea that well be miserable if we don't get what we want. Our "psychological immune system" lets us feel truly happy even when things don't go as planned. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] Steven Pinker charts the decline of violence from Biblical times to the present, and argues that, though it may seem illogical and even obscene, given Iraq and Darfur, we are living in the most peaceful time in our species' existence. Watch the Top 10 TEDTalks on TED.com, at http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/top10 [close]

[close] "Bonk" author Mary Roach delves into obscure scientific research, some of it centuries old, to make 10 surprising claims about sexual climax, ranging from the bizarre to the hilarious. (This talk is aimed at adults. Viewer discretion advised.) [close]