At a large and familiar scale, history is about the rise and fall of empires, the activity of trade routes, the lives of people whose portraits hang in museums. But in reality, this is only a tiny fraction of what history truly is—the unfolding of countless stories of people and places and things that often go unnoticed. To explore these lesser-known yet frequently surprising corners of history, check out the nine eye-opening books below.
Bite: An Incisive History of Teeth, from Hagfish to Humans
By Bill Schutt
From three-inch fang blennies to thirty-foot prehistoric crocodiles, from gaboon vipers to Neanderthals, Bite is a fascinating journey through the natural, scientific, and cultural history of something right in front of—or in—our faces: teeth. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Bill Schutt, in the Next Big Idea App
Devil’s Contract: A History of the Faustian Bargain
By Ed Simon
A Carnegie Mellon scholar takes us on a historical tour of the Faustian bargain, from the Bible to blues, and illustrates how the impulse to sacrifice our principles in exchange for power is present in all kinds of social ills, from colonialism to nuclear warfare, from social media to climate change, and beyond. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Ed Simon, in the Next Big Idea App
It’s a Gas: The Sublime and Elusive Elements That Expand Our World
By Mark Miodownik
The New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Matters presents a rollicking guided tour of the secret lives of gases: the magnificent, strange, and fascinating substances that shape our world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Mark Miodownik, in the Next Big Idea App
How to Think Like an Economist: Great Economists Who Shaped the World and What They Can Teach Us
By Robbie Mochrie
Capturing the essence of history’s most influential economists in enjoyable and illuminating biographical sketches, this book shows how the great economic thinkers are still relevant today. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Robbie Mochrie, in the Next Big Idea App
Rat City: Overcrowding and Urban Derangement in the Rodent Universes of John B. Calhoun
By Jon Adams and Edmund Ramsden
From 1947 to 1977, ecologist John B. Calhoun built a series of sprawling habitats in which a rat’s every need was met—except space. The results were cataclysmic. Did a similar fate await our own teeming cities? This is the story of Calhoun’s experiments, and their extraordinary influence—an enthralling record of urban design and dystopian science. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by co-author Jon Adams, in the Next Big Idea App
The Horse: A Galloping History of Humanity
By Timothy C. Winegard
Driven by fascinating revelations and fast-paced storytelling, The Horse is a riveting narrative of this noble animal’s unrivaled and enduring reign across human history. To know the horse is to understand the world. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Timothy C. Winegard, in the Next Big Idea App
Sing Like Fish: How Sound Rules Life Under Water
By Amorina Kingdon
From an award-winning science writer comes a captivating exploration of how underwater animals tap into sound to survive—and a clarion call for humans to address the ways we invade these critical soundscapes. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Amorina Kingdon, in the Next Big Idea App
Triumph of the Yuppies: America, the Eighties, and the Creation of an Unequal Nation
By Tom McGrath
This masterful cultural history reveals how Yuppies reshaped American society. It is a portrait of America just as it was beginning to come apart—and the origin story of the fractured country we live in today. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Tom McGrath, in the Next Big Idea App
Money and Promises: Seven Deals That Changed the World
By Paolo Zannoni
Spanning many countries, eras, and political systems, this book shows that at the heart of history-making events is an intricate exchange of debts and promises that shaped the modern world as we know it. Listen to our Book Bite summary, read by author Paolo Zannoni, in the Next Big Idea App
The Key Ideas in 15 Minutes
“If you are going to get anywhere in life, you have to read a lot of books,” Roald Dahl once famously said. The only trouble is, reading even one book from cover to cover takes hours—and you may not have many hours to spare.
But imagine for a moment: What if you could read a groundbreaking new book every day? Or even better, what if you could invite a world-renowned thinker into your earbuds, where they personally describe the 5 key takeaways from their work in just 15 minutes?
With the Next Big Idea App, we’ve turned this fantasy into a reality. We partnered with hundreds of acclaimed authors to create “Book Bites,” short audio summaries of the latest nonfiction that are prepared and read aloud by the authors themselves. Discover cutting-edge leadership skills, productivity hacks, the science of happiness and well-being, and much more—all in the time it takes to drive to work or walk the dog.
Go Deeper with a Next Big Idea Club Membership
The Next Big Idea App is free for anyone to try—and if you love it, we invite you to become an official member of the Next Big Idea Club. Membership grants you unlimited access to Book Bites and unlocks early-release, ad-free episodes of our LinkedIn-partnered podcast. You also gain entry to our private online discussion group, where you can talk big ideas with fellow club members and join exclusive live Q&A sessions with featured authors.
For a more focused learning experience, we recommend a Hardcover or eBook Membership. Every few months, legendary authors and club curators Malcolm Gladwell, Susan Cain, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink select two new nonfiction books as the must-reads of the season. We then send hardcover copies straight to your doorstep, or eBook versions to your favorite digital device. We also collaborate with the authors of selected books to produce original reading guides and premium video e-courses, 50-minute master classes that take you step by step through their most life-changing ideas. And yes, it’s all available through the Next Big Idea App.
Learn Faster, from the World’s Leading Thinkers
Whether you prefer to read, listen, or watch, the Next Big Idea is here to help you work smarter and live better. Wake up with an always-fresh Idea of the Day, the perfect shot of inspiration to go with your morning coffee. Then dive into one of our Challenges, hand-picked collections of Book Bites that form crash courses in subjects like communication, motivation, and career acceleration. Later, watch the playback of an interview with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, Stanford psychologist Jennifer Eberhardt, or philosopher John Kaag. And be sure to check the “Events” tab in the app, so that you can join an upcoming live Q&A and personally chat with the next featured thought leader.
If you’re hoping to grow as a person or as a professional, we hope you’ll join us and tens of thousands of others who enjoy the Next Big Idea. Get started by downloading the app today!
