People all over the world ring in the New Year with gusto and a hope for a fresh start. To commemorate the occasion, it is important to spread the joy and positive vibes by wishing people “Happy New Year.” Sometimes, this phrase is said so reflexively that you may not notice just how much the expression can positively affect someone. While there is no fixed way to wish someone well in the coming year, there are different ways you can bring emotion and meaning back into the commonplace greeting.
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From The Drone Girl:
2018 was a huge year for the drone industry. There were ups and downs, highs and lows. Some companies shut down, evidence of the industry consolidating and the hype bubble bursting. But many new companies, particularly in the enterprise space, are popping up, raising more money and hiring
Read more and check out The Drone Girl’s personal 2018 in review here
Welcome to drone day on the Adafruit blog. Every Monday we deliver the latest news, products and more from the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), quadcopter and drone communities. Drones can be used for video & photography (dronies), civil applications, policing, farming, firefighting, military and non-military security work, such as surveillance of pipelines. Previous posts can be found via the #drone tag and our drone / UAV categories.
Cool post from boing boing on Matt Sarnoff’s awesome Subpixel Text Encoding work.
Millitext is a “font” whose glyphs are just one pixel wide. But it’s really a clever exploitation of how subpixels — the individual red, green and blue lights of an LCD display — are triggered by pixels of certain colors. For example, a magenta pixel triggers the red and blue subpixels, leaving the green one dark between them.
From TheTNR on Hackster.io:
A quick intro to POV or persistence of vision: Any AC voltage light is actually blinking on and off at a frequency of 60hz or 60 times per second. Our brains perceive this as constant light. It is this concept which we will be taking advantage of, in order to create a spherical image using a single row of LEDs. We used 58 LED for each half. So you need totaly 116 LEDs. And will use a 3D printer for circle. You will find details on video.
Read more and see more on youtube
via Smithsonian
This past election cycle, hundreds of women ran for office on a promise to make the future brighter and more female. Many ran on platforms that made climate change a priority, asserting that the United States needed to take drastic action to protect our planet and our future. Women rallying behind environmental protection has deep roots: 150 years ago, chemist and public safety advocate Ellen Swallow Richards solidified the idea of “human ecology,” the study of how people shape their environments, and how their environments shape them.
Richards had initially planned to go into astronomy, but she found herself drawn again and again to more earthly aims. As the first female student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, she applied rigorous chemistry to the home, starting a movement to empower housewives to advocate for home safety. Upon finishing her undergraduate studies, Richards summed up her goal to use science for practical good in a letter to her parents: “My life,” she wrote, “is to be one of active fighting.”
Did you know you can send an AdaBox gift subscription?!
Buy a specific number of AdaBoxes up front. Starting with the next AdaBox installment we will ship one AdaBox directly to the gift recipient until the gift subscription is fulfilled.
Get started with AdaBox today! Go to Adafruit.com/AdaBox and Adafruit.com/AdaBoxFAQ more about AdaBox.
Click here to see the standalone AdaBoxes currently available in our shop. Please note! These are NOT the subscription versions of AdaBox! They are ONLY AdaBoxes that have already shipped out to AdaBox subscribers.
We’re excited for the Holiday Season here at Adafruit and we can’t wait to share that excitement with you! Tune into the Adafruit Blog for 12 hand picked Adafruit Holiday Gift Guides featuring Adafruit products, projects and more starting Monday November 12.
Still not sure if you’re on the right gift giving track? Gift Certificates are the perfect cyber-present for the electronics geek in your life and are available at any time. When in doubt contact us!
Also be sure to check out the awesome freebies you get when you shop!
Here are your 2018 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control. Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays over the last few years.
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for DHL, UPS or USPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018, Christmas, no DHL, UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, no DHL, UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Domestic Orders
UPS Ground: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – Should arrive by Friday December 21 *There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
UPS 3 Day: Place orders by Thursday 11 am ET – December 13, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018.
UPS 2 Day: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 14, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018
UPS Next Day: Place orders by Monday 11 am ET – December 17, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018.
USPS First Class and USPS Priority: Place orders by Friday– December 8, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner.
International Orders
USPS First Class Mail International: Place orders by Friday – November 16, 2018. Can take up to 30 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/21/2018.
USPS Express Mail International: Place orders by Friday – November 30, 2018. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner.
UPS WORLDWIDE EXPRESS, UPS WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED and UPS EXPRESS SAVER (UPS International orders): Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – There is no guarantee that international packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
DHL EXPRESS WORLDWIDE: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – There is no guarantee that international packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
Know someone who loves electronics but doesn’t know the difference between an XBee, a soldering iron, and a SMA to uFL/u.FL/IPX/IPEX RF Adapter Cable? Want to buy the perfect gift but don’t know whether your Maker friend is a BeagleBone fan or a Rasp Pi devotee? Just a fan of Bruce Yan’s incredible design? If you’re any of these, or more, buy an Adafruit Gift Certificate – the perfect cyber-present for the electronics geek in your life.
Our gift certificates come in four different flavors – $1 $20, $50 and $100. Learn more about Adafruit Gift Certificates!
Looking for more gift inspiration? Don’t miss our holiday gift guides!
We’re excited for the Holiday Season here at Adafruit and we can’t wait to share that excitement with you! Tune into the Adafruit Blog for 12 hand picked Adafruit Holiday Gift Guides featuring Adafruit products, projects and more starting Monday November 12.
Still not sure if you’re on the right gift giving track? Gift Certificates are the perfect cyber-present for the electronics geek in your life and are available at any time. When in doubt contact us!
Also be sure to check out the awesome freebies you get when you shop!
Here are your 2018 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control. Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays over the last few years.
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for DHL, UPS or USPS.
Tuesday, Dec. 25, 2018, Christmas, no DHL, UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Tuesday, Jan. 1, 2019, no DHL, UPS or USPS pickup or delivery service.
Domestic Orders
UPS Ground: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – Should arrive by Friday December 21 *There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
UPS 3 Day: Place orders by Thursday 11 am ET – December 13, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018.
UPS 2 Day: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 14, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018
UPS Next Day: Place orders by Monday 11 am ET – December 17, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018.
USPS First Class and USPS Priority: Place orders by Friday– December 8, 2018 – Arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner.
International Orders
USPS First Class Mail International: Place orders by Friday – November 16, 2018. Can take up to 30 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/21/2018.
USPS Express Mail International: Place orders by Friday – November 30, 2018. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/21/2018 or sooner.
UPS WORLDWIDE EXPRESS, UPS WORLDWIDE EXPEDITED and UPS EXPRESS SAVER (UPS International orders): Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – There is no guarantee that international packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
DHL EXPRESS WORLDWIDE: Place orders by Friday 11 am ET – December 7, 2018 – There is no guarantee that international packages will arrive by December 21, 2018.
We’ve got so much happening here at Adafruit that it’s not always easy to keep up! Don’t fret, we’ve got you covered. Each week we’ll be posting a handy round-up of what we’ve been up to, ranging from learn guides to blog articles, videos, and more.
Mike Barela shared some awesome info on how to use wedges of solder paste for better manual reflow that he learned via cj at @scalarelectric on Twitter.
More BLOG:
NYE Circuit Playground Drop – Drop into the new year with a blinged out Circuit Playground Express!
This guide will show how to build a simple drop mechanism that mimics the famous Times Square Ball Drop on New Year’s Eve in New York City. Read more.
More LEARN
Browse all that’s new in the Adafruit Learning System here!
via The Verge
The idea first started when [Rich] Whitehouse and his wife were researching robot vacuums. Honestly, nothing will beat Whitehouse’s own explanation for the tool’s original, so I’ll let him take it from here:
“I soon realized that there was a clear opportunity to serve the Dark Lord by conceiving a plethora of unholy algorithms in service to one of the finest works ever created in his name. Simultaneously, I would be able to unleash a truly terrible pun to plague humankind. Now, the fruit of my labor is born. I bring forth DOOMBA, a half-goat, half-script creature, with native binary backing for the expensive parts, to be offered in place of my firstborn on this fine Christmas Eve.”
Yay, we made it! 2018 here we come. Back in November, Limor had this idea to make a New Years themed project. I worked on the CAD and mechanical design while Dave Astels worked on the code.
Using Circuit Python in this project was an excellent decision as it allowed us to make adjustments quickly so we could fine tune the ball drop with synchronized audio.
The Adafruit Feather ecosystem is heavy in this project. The Tripler FeatherWing manages boards nicely and you get extra pins and power rails. Easy to swap in and out different boards.
I was able to 3D print big dual extruded domes, thanks to our new Ultimaker S5. This cuts down the print time from 21 hours to just 8hrs for a single dome by using a bigger nozzle and layerheight.
2020 aluminum extrusion works wells as a framing for builds because its strong and lightweight. With 3D printed roller wheels and ball bearings it can be made into a slider with a linear railing system.
Be sure to check out the learn guide for code, cad files and full assembly documentation.
The New Horizons spacecraft has been on a 13 year journey to the far reaches of our Solar System. Via the Verge:
Just after midnight on January 1st, a NASA spacecraft will whiz past the most distant space rock that’s ever been visited in our Solar System. This remote interplanetary flyby will be over in a blink. But if successful, the event could tell us a whole lot about the objects that dominate the far reaches of our cosmic neighborhood.
This new rock is unlike anything we’ve ever visited before. It’s a tiny frigid object about the size of New York City, orbiting in an area of the Solar System known as the Kuiper Belt. This region of space, located beyond the orbit of Neptune, is filled with possibly millions of small frozen objects. It’s a bit like a super distant Asteroid Belt. Except the bodies in the Kuiper Belt are thought to be incredibly primitive — leftover remnants from the birth of the Solar System.
Via Treehugger
According to architects Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto of ecoLogicStudio, the large-scale algal curtains are architectural add-ons, capable of storing the same amount of CO2 as twenty large trees (about one kilogram of CO2 per day):
AlgaeClad is the world first living ETFE cladding. It requires far less structural support and its carbon footprint could be 80 times lower than an equivalent system in glass. This makes it particularly suitable for retrofitting projects. Our partnership with UCL allows us to develop a unique combination of engineered algae strands and digitally manufactured ETFE cushions, which gives the system exceptional resilience, low maintenance and suitability for dense urban environments. [..]
Designed to be integrated into both existing and new buildings, it is composed of 16.2 x 7 metre (53 x 23 feet) modules, each one functioning as a photobioreactor — a digitally designed and custom made bioplastic container — using daylight to feed the living micro-algal cultures and releasing luminescent shades at night.
From Geek.com:
Ultimate crushes all rivals by including every single playable character from the across the four previous games in the twenty-year-old series. Include the new combatants and so far we have over 70 fighters to wrap our heads around. We’re excited, but we’re also intimidated. So to get ready for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, every day, character by character, we’re creating the ultimate guide to all of its characters.
Another reason to spend the last weekend of 2018 relaxing on the couch in your best sweats, binging Netflix.
Write-up from Gizmodo.
The one-off special shares its name with the Alice in Wonderland creature, as well as an actual video game project from the 1980s that never came to fruition. The episode is directed by Black Mirror alum David Slade and stars Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk), along with Will Poulter (The Revenant), and others.
Just like the critically acclaimed “San Junipero,” this episode is also a 1980s retro story. Here, it tells the story of a computer programmer in 1984 who begins a descent into madness as he works on adapting his favorite fantasy novel into a video game.
Absolutely epic list from Tor.com. If you’ve resolved to read more in the new year, this is a great place to start looking for your next book.
Last year, I was so inspired by the various Best Of, Must Read, Smashing Science Fiction and Fantasy lists I encountered around the net that I decided to make my own book list, books chosen entirely on the basis of merit and significance to the field . People enjoyed the first list so much that I perpetrated sequels. I posted a number of lists, each twenty books long, each selected entirely on the basis of merit and significance to the field (ahem). Here, at last, the quintessence of Nicoll lists, comprising the books I would most heartily recommend. Each entry is annotated with a short description that I hope will explain why I picked it.
From The Drone Girl:
2018 was a huge year for the drone industry. There were ups and downs, highs and lows. Some companies shut down, evidence of the industry consolidating and the hype bubble bursting. But many new companies, particularly in the enterprise space, are popping up, raising more money and hiring
Read more and check out The Drone Girl’s personal 2018 in review here
Welcome to drone day on the Adafruit blog. Every Monday we deliver the latest news, products and more from the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), quadcopter and drone communities. Drones can be used for video & photography (dronies), civil applications, policing, farming, firefighting, military and non-military security work, such as surveillance of pipelines. Previous posts can be found via the #drone tag and our drone / UAV categories.
Update on the Unofficial Problem Bank List for December 2018. During the month, the list fell by one to 77 institutions after three removals and two additions. Assets increased by $915 million to $54.8 billion. A year ago, the list held 103 institutions with assets of $20.9 billion.
This month, actions have been terminated against Persons Banking Company, Forsyth, GA ($312 million); The Citizens State Bank, Okemah, OK ($86 million); and Bison State Bank, Bison, KS ($10 million). Additions this month include Patriot Bank, National Association, Stamford, CT ($915 million Ticker: PNBK); and Quontic Bank, Astoria, NY ($407 million).
With it being the end of the fourth quarter, we bring an updated transition matrix to detail how banks are moving off the Unofficial Problem Bank List. Since the Unofficial Problem Bank List was first published on August 7, 2009 with 389 institutions, a total of 1,738 institutions have appeared on a weekly or monthly list since the start of publication. Only 4.4 percent of the banks that have appeared on a list remain today as 1,661 institutions have transitioned through the list. Departure methods include 976 action terminations, 406 failures, 261 mergers, and 18 voluntary liquidations. Of the 389 institutions on the first published list, only 6 or 1.5 percent, are still designated as being in a troubled status more than nine years later. The 406 failures represent 23.4 percent of the 1,738 institutions that have made an appearance on the list. This failure rate is well above the 10-12 percent rate frequently cited in media reports on the failure rate of banks on the FDIC's official list.
| Unofficial Problem Bank List | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Change Summary | |||
| Number of Institutions | Assets ($Thousands) | ||
| Start (8/7/2009) | 389 | 276,313,429 | |
| Subtractions | |||
| Action Terminated | 179 | (68,279,301) | |
| Unassisted Merger | 41 | (10,072,112) | |
| Voluntary Liquidation | 5 | (10,672,586) | |
| Failures | 158 | (186,397,337) | |
| Asset Change | 204,571 | ||
| Still on List at 12/31/2018 | 6 | 1,096,664 | |
| Additions after 8/7/2009 |
71 | 53,724,357 | |
| End (6/30/2018) | 77 | 54,821,021 | |
| Intraperiod Removals1 | |||
| Action Terminated | 797 | 323,352,219 | |
| Unassisted Merger | 220 | 82,620,807 | |
| Voluntary Liquidation | 13 | 2,515,855 | |
| Failures | 248 | 125,152,210 | |
| Total | 1,278 | 533,641,091 | |
| 1Institution not on 8/7/2009 or 12/31/2018 list but appeared on a weekly list. | |||
Authorities and school officials either failed to act or were unclear about procedures when confronting the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Feb. 14, 911 logs, surveillance videos and interviews show.
The South Florida Sun Sentinel released a minute-by-minute rundown of the Parkland, Florida, shooting in “Unprepared and Overwhelmed.” The Sentinel acknowledged many teachers and police officers were “heroic,” but Broward County Public Schools (BCPS) and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) were hesitant and disorganized as a whole.
The shooting left 17 people dead.
“A gunman with an AR-15 fired the bullets, but a series of blunder, bad policies, sketchy training and poor leadership helped him succeed,” the Sentinel wrote.
There were three separate instances of school monitors failing to lock down the school and call for a Code Red, an indicator for people to hide in classrooms. A watchman spotted suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz on campus at 2:19 p.m., but no one called a Code Red until 2:24 p.m.
School monitor and baseball coach Andrew Medina–who was unarmed–first saw Cruz walk through the gates. Medina had previously referred to Cruz as “Crazy Boy” and even speculated he would someday shoot up the school, the Sentinel reported.
David Taylor was another school monitor who followed Cruz on the first floor before turning around at 2:21 p.m. Taylor told investigators he wanted to confront Cruz on the second floor of the building, but he hid in a janitor’s closet when the first shots were fired, according to the Sentinel.
There is also no record that monitor Aaron Feis called a Code Red, despite a ninth grader warning him about a person with a gun.
“You’d better get out of here,” Cruz allegedly told the freshman passing by. “Things are gonna start getting messy.”
The fire alarm added to the confusion, causing uninformed teachers and students to leave their classrooms unaware of the active shooter. Additionally, bathroom doors required a key to unlock–reportedly to prevent students from vaping in them–and one of the teachers accidentally locked his classroom door behind him.
The district also failed to follow through on classrooms having “hard corners,” or places to be out of sight, after security experts advised teachers to do so. Only two teachers in the building designated hard corners in their classrooms.
Deputy Scot Peterson, the school’s resource officer, was the only armed person on campus before reinforcements arrived. He failed to confront the shooter, according to the report. Peterson ordered the school to go on lockdown at 2:25 p.m., but did not order deputies to head toward the building. He also remained in a sheltered location for 48 minutes.
“Basically, what we’re trained to do is just get right to the threat as quick as possible and take out the threat because every time you hear a shot go off it could potentially be a kid getting killed or anybody getting killed for that matter,” neighboring Coral Springs Officer Raymond Kerner said, the Sentinel reported.
The report also showed BSO’s disjointed 911 system was partially responsible for the slowed response time along with radio and video problems.
BSO did not immediately respond to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment. BCPS did not respond due to being on school break.
Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities for this original content, email licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.
The post Florida Newspaper Publishes Exhaustive Parkland Report: Sheriff’s Office ‘Cost Children Their Lives’ appeared first on The Daily Signal.
The new year is here, so why not start it off right with a new book?
Here are 13 books that our friends at The Heritage Foundation think you might enjoy reading in 2019.
Current Affairs
1) “Ghettocide: A True Story of Murder in America” by Jill Leovy
Have you ever wondered why children and young men get shot in America’s inner cities, but no one seems to treat it like the national crisis it is? Or why our national media has meltdowns over things like melting polar caps-–or suburban schools getting shot up-–but don’t have that sustained reaction over inner-city murders?
Read New York Times-bestselling book, “Ghettocide: A True Story of Murder in America,” by Jill Leovy for a new lens onto why murder happens in our cities–and how the epidemic of killing might yet be stopped. This eye-opening book broke this reviewer’s heart. It also gave me hope to see that–through conservative policies–we could turn this unacceptable situation around and bring peace, law, order, and prosperity to our nation’s cities.
–Marie Fishpaw is the director of Domestic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Family, Community, and Opportunity.
2) “The Closing of the Liberal Mind: How Groupthink and Intolerance Define the Left” by Kim R. Holmes
Remember the days when free speech, tolerance, and individual rights were championed by American liberals? The liberals of the 1960s championed freedom of expression. Today they promote speech codes and trigger warnings. How did a movement built on open-mindedness become just the opposite?
In his book, “The Closing of the Liberal Mind,” author, historian, policy expert, and current executive vice president of The Heritage Foundation Kim Holmes takes up that question as he masterfully mixes intellectual history with an analysis of contemporary politics. Though Holmes himself is a policy expert, you don’t have to be to enjoy and profit from his book.
–Genevieve Wood is a leading voice for The Heritage Foundation as a senior adviser and spokesperson.
3) “Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic” by Robert L. DuPont, MD
“Chemical Slavery: Understanding Addiction and Stopping the Drug Epidemic” by Robert L. DuPont, MD is a scholarly and encyclopedic discussion of the causes and treatment of addiction. The author, a graduate of Harvard Medical School, has spent his 50-year career as a psychiatrist in the field of addiction medicine, and has spoken at The Heritage Foundation on drug policy on several occasions.
DuPont worked for the DC Department of Corrections and the DC Narcotics Treatment Administration. The first director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, DuPont was also the second White House drug czar, serving under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He now is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Georgetown University School of Medicine, and president of the Institute for Behavior and Health, where he continues his commitment to addressing addiction.
–Paul J. Larkin Jr. is the John, Barbara and Victoria Rumpel senior legal research fellow at the Institute for Constitutional Government at The Heritage Foundation.
Biography
4) “Grant” by Ron Chernow
At 959 pages, Ron Chernow’s latest, “Grant,” requires commitment. Maybe not like learning Mandarin Chinese, but close. For those who choose to take up the challenge, it’s worth it.
For me, what I knew about Ulysses S. Grant stopped with Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House. Chernow picks up the story through Grant’s presidency, and along the way, corrects a lot of misconceptions and fills in the blanks.
For example, unknown to me was the huge role Grant played in eliminating the Klu Klux Klan which ravaged the South in the 1870s. Chernow also corrects the record on corruption and scandal in the Grant administration, pointing out that Grant was never personally involved. Chernow forthrightly takes on the topic of Grant and alcohol, persuasively making the case that Grant was a classic alcoholic, who by sheer determination, overcame his addiction.
If you still aren’t convinced, there are reports that Steven Spielberg and Leonardo DiCaprio are involved in bringing “Grant” to the movie screen. By reading the book, you will fully appreciate the film.
–Thomas Spoehr serves as the director of the Center for National Defense at The Heritage Foundation.
5) “Churchill: Walking with Destiny” by Andrew Roberts
Andrew Roberts’ “Churchill: Walking with Destiny” is fun to read, and brings the greatness of Winston Churchill to life. Churchill’s unique personality comes across vividly throughout the book, as does his sparkling wit, and rib-tickling sense of a good wisecrack. “Walking with destiny” alludes to the great man’s belief, ever since he was a young boy, that he would one day save Britain from an invasion by a foreign power.
–Patrick Tyrrell is a research coordinator in The Heritage Foundation’s Center for International Trade and Economics.
6) “Testament of Youth” by Vera Brittain
If you’re looking for a good cry, pick up Vera Brittain’s “Testament of Youth”–a haunting account of World War I, as seen through the eyes of a young English woman who served as a nurse in France, Malta, and England while keeping up lively correspondences with her brother, fiancée, and three male friends, all of whom served on the front lines.
Brittain’s vivid descriptions of life amid war will stay long with you, and while you may not agree with all her answers (Brittain ultimately becomes a pacifist), she raises thought-provoking questions about how war changes us, and our world. We’re now more than a hundred years past the start of World War I, but it’s undeniable impact on our modern mindset makes this war one we should continue studying.
–Katrina Trinko is the director and managing editor of The Daily Signal.
7) “Leaving Cloud 9: The True Story of a Life Resurrected from the Ashes of Poverty, Trauma, and Mental Illness” by Ericka Andersen
“Leaving Cloud 9” by Ericka Andersen is a gripping story about life’s challenges and overcoming the odds. It’s a book you won’t want to put down–with vivid details about the struggles of a troubled boy who became a caring and loving husband and father. In a confusing world in search of good news, Andersen gives us hope with a book about family, religion, and love.
–Rob Bluey is the vice president of communications at The Heritage Foundation and editor-in-chief of The Daily Signal.
Personal Development
8) “Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It” by Chris Voss
It’s not hard to find books that will teach you to negotiate better, but few live up to the billing. Chris Voss’ “Never Split the Difference” breaks that mold. The techniques and strategies he discusses were tested with lives in the balance and proven against the sharpest negotiating minds that the Ivy League had to offer. Employing the tools from Voss’ book has fundamentally changed how I communicate, and not just when I’m negotiating a deal.
–Raz Shafer is the senior assistant to the president for donor relations at The Heritage Foundation.
9) “The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” by Priya Parker
“The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters” by Priya Parker is essential reading for hosts of all kinds with actionable advice on how to bring people together with purpose. Parker’s voice reverberates in my mind from the early stages of planning an event to closing a gathering with a strong finish. It’s been a game changer.
–Romina Boccia is the director of the Grover M. Hermann Center for the Federal Budget at The Heritage Foundation.
10) “Leaders: Myth and Reality” by Stanley McChrystal, Jeff Eggers, and Jason Mangone
“Leaders: Myth and Reality” is an attempt by Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Jeff Eggers, and Jason Mangone to replicate Plutarch’s model of a study of leadership by looking at six pairs of fascinating leaders, drawing lessons from their very idiosyncratic lives, and developing a 21st-century method of addressing the puzzle of what makes a great leader. I can guarantee you have probably not studied all of these people, they are that diverse.
–Steven Bucci is a visiting fellow at The Heritage Foundation’s Allison Center for Foreign Policy Studies.
Fiction
11) “I Capture the Castle” by Dodie Smith
From the author of “The 101 Dalmatians”–yes, the one that inspired the Disney movies–comes a charming coming-of-age story set in mid-century England in Dodie Smith’s “I Capture the Castle.”
Seventeen-year-old Cassandra Mortmain is living in decidedly unromantic poverty in a decrepit, old castle because her father, who was once hailed as an up-and-coming literary genius, failed to write a single word since publishing his debut novel. Cassandra chronicles her first lessons in love through a series of journal entries as her older sister, Rose, becomes romantically involved with the eldest of a pair of American brothers, who are now (technically) their landlords.
This classic novel about a girl’s first time in love is written in the most beautiful prose, and I cannot recommend it highly enough.
–Monica Burke is a research assistant in the DeVos Center for Religion and Civil Society at The Heritage Foundation.
12) “Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis
“Doomsday Book” by Connie Willis is already a classic in the science fiction community, but it also deserves recognition as a breathtakingly detailed work of historical fiction. Setting the action amidst the devastation of the medieval Black Plague, Willis spins a story with real heart out of one of the bleakest episodes in human history.
“Doomsday Book” is, at times, a faith-trying rebuke of the medieval church’s handling of a human disaster, but it’s also a powerful affirmation of the role of faith in dark times, whether faith in the divine or in humanity itself. In that sense, the story of time-traveler Kivrin Engle may be more relevant today than when it was released in 1992.
–Adam Brickley serves as a program associate for lectures and seminars at The Heritage Foundation.
13) “The Terminal List: A Thriller” by Jack Carr
Writing a captivating novel, let alone discovering a truly unique plot, in a genre dominated by Tom Clancy, Brad Thor, and Vince Flynn is a tall order. It’s easy for authors to fall back into well worn staples like an airline hijacking or Ebola outbreak. In a performance that should be the envy of every author, Jack Carr accomplished this elusive feat on his first at-bat, “The Terminal List.”
The book puts the reader within the mind of a persecuted and revenge-bound Navy SEAL, James Reece. He and everyone he loves are being targeted for elimination. When he begins to unravel the plot against him, he has no one left and nothing to lose. All he has is a list of those responsible and the skills of an apex predator. How do you stop a man who will stop at nothing?
–Raz Shafer is the senior assistant to the president for donor relations at The Heritage Foundation.
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