{"title":"Franklin Foer","description":"\u003cp\u003eExplore insightful non-fiction from Franklin Foer, delving into technology, politics, and modern culture. Perfect for readers seeking sharp analysis and thought-provoking perspectives on the forces shaping our world.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"how-soccer-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780066212340","title":"How Soccer Explains the World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\"An eccentric, fascinating exposé of a world most of us know nothing about.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --The New York Times Book Review\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"An insightful, entertaining, brainiac sports road trip.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --The Wall Street Journal\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Foer's skills as a narrator are enviable. His characterizations... are comparable to those in Norman Mailer's journalism.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e --The Boston Globe\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA groundbreaking work--named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by Sports Illustrated--How Soccer Explains the World is a unique and brilliantly illuminating look at soccer, the world's most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49509124636945,"sku":"GOR002788078","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49649020698897,"sku":"GOR003555389","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50136827330833,"sku":"CIN0066212340G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50325432008977,"sku":"CIN0066212340VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0066212340.jpg?v=1750736834"},{"product_id":"world-without-mind-book-mr-franklin-foer-9781101981115","title":"World Without Mind","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of 2017 \u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e-\u003c\/i\u003e \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eOne of the best books of the year by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times, \u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eLA Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and NPR\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFranklin Foer reveals the existential threat posed by big tech, and in his brilliant polemic gives us the toolkit to fight their pervasive influence. \u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Over the past few decades there has been a revolution in terms of who controls knowledge and information. This rapid change has imperiled the way we think. Without pausing to consider the cost, the world has rushed to embrace the products and services of four titanic corporations. We shop with Amazon; socialize on Facebook; turn to Apple for entertainment; and rely on Google for information. These firms sell their efficiency and purport to make the world a better place, but what they have done instead is to enable an intoxicating level of daily convenience. As these companies have expanded, marketing themselves as champions of individuality and pluralism, their algorithms have pressed us into conformity and laid waste to privacy. They have produced an unstable and narrow culture of misinformation, and put us on a path to a world without private contemplation, autonomous thought, or solitary introspection--a world without mind. In order to restore our inner lives, we must avoid being coopted by these gigantic companies, and understand the ideas that underpin their success. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Elegantly tracing the intellectual history of computer science--from Descartes and the enlightenment to Alan Turing to Stewart Brand and the hippie origins of today's Silicon Valley--Foer exposes the dark underpinnings of our most idealistic dreams for technology. The corporate ambitions of Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, he argues, are trampling longstanding liberal values, especially intellectual property and privacy. This is a nascent stage in the total automation and homogenization of social, political, and intellectual life. By reclaiming our private authority over how we intellectually engage with the world, we have the power to stem the tide. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e At stake is nothing less than who we are, and what we will become. There have been monopolists in the past but today's corporate giants have far more nefarious aims. They're monopolists who want access to every facet of our identities and influence over every corner of our decision-making. Until now few have grasped the sheer scale of the threat. Foer explains not just the looming existential crisis but the imperative of resistance.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49513155723537,"sku":"CIN1101981113G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50378873274641,"sku":"CIN1101981113A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51029113176337,"sku":"GOR009266173","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51416815665425,"sku":"CIN1101981113VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1101981113.jpg?v=1751421057"},{"product_id":"world-without-mind-book-franklin-foer-9781784707347","title":"World Without Mind","description":"A timely and powerful must-read on how the big tech companies are damaging our culture  and what we can do to fight their influence  Four titanic corporations are now the most powerful gatekeepers the world has ever known.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49513693282577,"sku":"GOR009563048","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49571584409873,"sku":"GOR009673597","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":49734878593297,"sku":"NGR9781784707347","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49939389448465,"sku":"CIN1784707341G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52733676716305,"sku":"GOR013069592","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52994170552593,"sku":"GOR014684926","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1784707341.jpg?v=1750962889"},{"product_id":"world-without-mind-book-franklin-foer-9781787330283","title":"World Without Mind","description":"Over the past few decades there has been a revolution in terms of who controls knowledge and information. This rapid change has imperilled the way we think. Without pausing to consider the cost, the world has rushed to embrace the products and services of four titanic corporations. We shop with Amazon; socialise on Facebook; turn to Apple for entertainment; and rely on Google for information. These firms sell their efficiency and purport to make the world a better place, but what they have done instead is to enable an intoxicating level of daily convenience. As these companies have expanded, marketing themselves as champions of individuality and pluralism, their algorithms have pressed us into conformity and laid waste to privacy. They have produced an unstable and narrow culture of misinformation, and put us on a path to a world without private contemplation, autonomous thought, or solitary introspection – a world without mind. In order to restore our inner lives, we must avoid being co-opted by these gigantic companies, and understand the ideas that underpin their success.   Elegantly tracing the intellectual history of computer science – from the Descartes and the enlightenment to Alan Turing to Stuart Brand and the hippie origins of today's Silicon Valley – Foer exposes the dark underpinnings of our most idealistic dreams for technology. The corporate ambitions of Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, he argues, are trampling longstanding liberal values, especially intellectual property and privacy. This is a nascent stage in the total automation and homogenization of social, political, and intellectual life. By reclaiming our private authority over how we intellectually engage with the world, we have the power to stem the tide.  At stake is nothing less than who we are, and what we will become. There have been monopolists in the past but today’s corporate giants have far more nefarious aims. They’re monopolists who want access to every facet of our identities and influence over every corner of our decision-making. Until now few have grasped the sheer scale of the threat. Foer explains not just the looming existential crisis but the imperative of resistance.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49525100413201,"sku":"GOR008808726","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1787330281.jpg?v=1751184579"},{"product_id":"how-soccer-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780060731427","title":"How Soccer Explains the World","description":"\u003cp\u003eYou don't have to be a soccer fanatic to appreciate this book. Franklin Foer merely uses the world's most popular sport as a lens to dramatically illuminate the religious, economic, political, and ethnic divisions around the world. Foer will take your students on a surprising journey through the world of soccer, shattering the myths of our new global age along the way. From Brazil to Bosnia, and from Italy to Iran, How Soccer Explains the World chronicles how a sport and its rabid followers highlight such societal fault lines as terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, and radical Islam. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence. . . . Foer's soccer odyssey lends weight to the argument that a human world order is possible.-Washington Post Book World","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49551586885905,"sku":"GOR001653598","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49613836747025,"sku":"GOR002325118","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49616641917201,"sku":"CIN0060731427G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50271088214289,"sku":"CIN0060731427A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50296728322321,"sku":"CIN0060731427VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51691147133201,"sku":"GOR003711850","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0060731427.jpg?v=1751069074"},{"product_id":"how-soccer-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780061978050","title":"How Soccer Explains the World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"An eccentric, fascinating exposé of a world most of us know nothing about. . . . Bristles with anecdotes that are almost impossible to believe.\" \u003ci\u003e--New York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Terrific. . . . A travelogue full of important insights into both cultural change and persistence. . . . Foer's soccer odyssey lends weight to the argument that a humane world order is possible.\"\u003c\/b\u003e  -- \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eWashington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eA groundbreaking work--named one of the five most influential sports books of the decade by \u003ci\u003eSports Illustrated\u003c\/i\u003e--\u003ci\u003eHow Soccer Explains the World\u003c\/i\u003e is a unique and brilliantly illuminating work of political journalism that looks at soccer, the world's most popular sport, as a lens through which to view the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrom Brazil to Bosnia, and Italy to Iran, this is an eye-opening chronicle of how soccer culture and its fanatical followers can highlight the fault lines of a society, whether it's terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, or radical Islam--issues that now have an impact on all of us. Filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity, \u003ci\u003eHow Soccer Explains the World\u003c\/i\u003e is an utterly original book that makes sense of our troubled times.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn this unlikely theory of globalization, you'll discover:\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eGlobalization's Fault Lines:\u003c\/b\u003e How the world's most popular sport reveals the surprising ways ancient hatreds and local identities resist the march of a global economy.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eSports and Politics:\u003c\/b\u003e From the gangster-run clubs of Serbia to the bourgeois nationalism of Barcelona, see how soccer becomes a vehicle for political identity, revolution, and corruption.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eCultural Commentary:\u003c\/b\u003e A journalistic tour that explores why hooligans in England embrace a Jewish identity, what makes Brazilian soccer clubs so corrupt, and how the game offers hope in Iran.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e\n\u003cb\u003eA Unique Worldview:\u003c\/b\u003e Through a blend of travelogue, history, and economics, Foer provides an entirely new way to understand the forces shaping our world.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49560061673745,"sku":"GOR002539216","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49571669475601,"sku":"GOR010471977","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49677723795729,"sku":"CIN0061978051G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49897031991569,"sku":"CIN0061978051VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49898218782993,"sku":"CIN0061978051A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":50983065714961,"sku":"NIN9780061978050","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51742735499537,"sku":"GOR009243857","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":52510464049425,"sku":"CIN0061978051LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53348798202129,"sku":"GOR005580499","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0061978051.jpg?v=1751387897"},{"product_id":"how-football-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780099492269","title":"How Football Explains The World","description":"What in the world has the power to liberate women in Iran while provoking antagonism between Catholics and Protestants in Scotland, to lure Nigerians to the cold of the Ukraine while heating up class warfare in the US heartlands, and both profit local gangsters and create local - and international - celebrities?   Foer presents an unexpected, uniquely revealing tour of the politics and culture of football from Milan to Tehran. He examines the game's role in sustaining ancient hatreds and rivalries (Serbia's Red Star and Croatia's Dinamo); in supporting the migration of players and the rise of the football oligarchs (such as Silvio Berlusconi, President of AC Milan - and of Italy); and in defending the virtues and vices of old-fashioned nationalism. As Foer brilliantly illuminates, the Balkan War, anti-Semitism, Jewish identity, racism, social integration, media manipulation, and American patriotism have all been influenced by, as well as have had a dramatic effect on, football.   On his travels, Foer encounters a collection of fans that is stranger than fiction: from a British hooligan with a Jewish mother, a Nazi father and a career as a soldier of fortune, to a fan club in Serbia that turns into a brutal anti-Muslim paramilitary unit. The result is an unforgettable parade of uniquely memorable fans - each set into his - or her - unique political and cultural context.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49560553914641,"sku":"GOR001926287","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49565918724369,"sku":"GOR001422169","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50488779571473,"sku":"CIN0099492261VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ GARDNERS","offer_id":50662289015057,"sku":"NGR9780099492269","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51415487545617,"sku":"CIN0099492261G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53127833223441,"sku":"GOR004675862","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0099492261.jpg?v=1751436680"},{"product_id":"last-politician-book-franklin-foer-9781101981146","title":"The Last Politician","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe\u0026gt;\u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller\u0026gt;\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFranklin Foer tells the definitive insider story of the first two years of the Biden presidency, with exclusive access to Biden's longtime team of advisers, and presents a gripping portrait of a president during this momentous time in our nation's history. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eYou might love Biden or you might hate Biden, but either way, if you want to understand him, you will want to buy this book. \u003cb\u003e--Politico\u0026gt;\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA triumph of reporting. -- Geoff Bennett, PBS NewsHour\u0026gt;\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eDeeply reported . . . a terrific read. \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003eChuck Todd, Meet the Press\u0026gt;\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eFantastic . . . The first real insider account of the Biden White House and a fascinating read about Biden himself. \u003cb\u003e--\u003c\/b\u003eJon Favreau, Pod Save America\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn January 20, 2021, standing where only two weeks earlier police officers had battled with right-wing paramilitaries, Joe Biden took his oath of office. The American people were still sick with COVID-19, his economists were already warning him of an imminent financial crisis, and his party, the Democrats, had the barest of majorities in the Senate. Yet, faced with an unprecedented set of crises, Joe Biden decided he would not play defense. Instead, he set out to transform the nation. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWith unparalleled access to the tight inner circle of advisers who have surrounded Biden for decades, Franklin Foer dramatizes in forensic detail the first two years of the Biden presidency, concluding with the historic midterm elections. The result is a gripping and high-definition portrait of a major president at a time when democracy itself seems imperiled. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Last Politician\u003c\/i\u003e is a landmark work of political reporting--which includes thrilling, blow-by-blow insider reports of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and the White House's swift response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine--that is destined to shape history's view of a president in the eye of the storm.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49852912894225,"sku":"CIN1101981148VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49919060508945,"sku":"CIN1101981148A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49924870406417,"sku":"CIN1101981148G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49955765453073,"sku":"GOR013574377","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51019628675345,"sku":"NIN9781101981146","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":52705611415825,"sku":"GOR014589867","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53127716307217,"sku":"GOR014758836","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1101981148.jpg?v=1751432348"},{"product_id":"jewish-jocks-book-franklin-foer-9781455516124","title":"Jewish Jocks","description":"If you were a Bar Mitzvah boy in the postwar years, you probably received a gift called Great Jews in Sports. Your goy friends enjoyed a good snicker when they saw it on the shelf above your desk, but you coveted the volume. It not only supplied a pantheon for you to worship; it served as a refutation of all those cheap stereotypes about effeminate, bookish Jews that followed you to Pop Warner try-outs, and that you were convinced resulted in a condescending ten-steps-forward outfield shift during your turn at-bat. So it is with a humble spirit of deference that editors Franklin Foer and Marc Tracy propose its successor: Jewish Jocks: An Unothodox Hall of Fame, a collection of biographical musings on the most influential Jews in sports.   The sports figures profiled in Jewish Jocks go beyond athletes to include coaches, broadcasters, owners, trainers and even statisticians (in the finite universe of Jewish Jocks, they count!) Contributors include some of today's most celebrated writers, such as New Yorker editor David Remnick; novelists Jonathan Safran Foer and Booker-prize winner Howard Jacobson; sports writer Buzz Bissinger; economist Larry Summers; columnist David Brooks; journalists Jane Leavy, Steven Pinker and Dahlia Lithwick writing on figures such as Howad Cosell, Art Shamsky, Kerri Strug, Harold Solomon, Sandy Koufax, Shirley Povitch, and many, many more.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49864378188049,"sku":"CIN1455516120G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51027489161489,"sku":"NIN9781455516124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":52816473719057,"sku":"CIN1455516120A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53261782483217,"sku":"CIN1455516120VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53349734449425,"sku":"NLS9781455516124","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1455516120.jpg?v=1751404500"},{"product_id":"world-without-mind-book-franklin-foer-9781101981122","title":"World Without Mind","description":"\u003cb\u003eA \u003ci\u003eNew York Times Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e Notable Book of 2017 \u003ci\u003e*\u003c\/i\u003e One of the best books of the year by \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times,\u003c\/i\u003e \u003ci\u003eLA Times\u003c\/i\u003e, and NPR\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Franklin Foer reveals the existential threat posed by big tech, and in his brilliant polemic gives us the toolkit to fight their pervasive influence.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Over the past few decades there has been a revolution in terms of who controls knowledge and information. This rapid change has imperiled the way we think. Without pausing to consider the cost, the world has rushed to embrace the products and services of four titanic corporations. We shop with Amazon; socialize on Facebook; turn to Apple for entertainment; and rely on Google for information. These firms sell their efficiency and purport to make the world a better place, but what they have done instead is to enable an intoxicating level of daily convenience. As these companies have expanded, marketing themselves as champions of individuality and pluralism, their algorithms have pressed us into conformity and laid waste to privacy. They have produced an unstable and narrow culture of misinformation, and put us on a path to a world without private contemplation, autonomous thought, or solitary introspection--a world without mind. In order to restore our inner lives, we must avoid being coopted by these gigantic companies, and understand the ideas that underpin their success. \u003cbr\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e Elegantly tracing the intellectual history of computer science--from Descartes and the enlightenment to Alan Turing to Stewart Brand and the hippie origins of today's Silicon Valley--Foer exposes the dark underpinnings of our most idealistic dreams for technology. The corporate ambitions of Google, Facebook, Apple, and Amazon, he argues, are trampling longstanding liberal values, especially intellectual property and privacy. This is a nascent stage in the total automation and homogenization of social, political, and intellectual life. By reclaiming our private authority over how we intellectually engage with the world, we have the power to stem the tide.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e At stake is nothing less than who we are, and what we will become. There have been monopolists in the past but today's corporate giants have far more nefarious aims. They're monopolists who want access to every facet of our identities and influence over every corner of our decision-making. Until now few have grasped the sheer scale of the threat. Foer explains not just the looming existential crisis but the imperative of resistance.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50175455494417,"sku":"CIN1101981121G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50661924110609,"sku":"GOR014027700","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51809662992657,"sku":"GOR011531598","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52746524557585,"sku":"NIN9781101981122","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52972944392465,"sku":"CIN1101981121VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1101981121.jpg?v=1751143599"},{"product_id":"jewish-jocks-book-franklin-foer-9781455516131","title":"Jewish Jocks","description":"If you were a Bar Mitzvah boy in the postwar years, you probably received a gift called Great Jews in Sports. Your goy friends enjoyed a good snicker when they saw it on the shelf above your desk, but you coveted the volume. It not only supplied a pantheon for you to worship; it served as a refutation of all those cheap stereotypes about effeminate, bookish Jews that followed you to Pop Warner try-outs, and that you were convinced resulted in a condescending ten-steps-forward outfield shift during your turn at-bat. So it is with a humble spirit of deference that editors Franklin Foer and Marc Tracy propose its successor: Jewish Jocks: An Unothodox Hall of Fame, a collection of biographical musings on the most influential Jews in sports. The sports figures profiled in Jewish Jocks go beyond athletes to include coaches, broadcasters, owners, trainers and even statisticians (in the finite universe of Jewish Jocks, they count!) Contributors include some of today's most celebrated writers, such as New Yorker editor David Remnick; novelists Jonathan Safran Foer and Booker-prize winner Howard Jacobson; sports writer Buzz Bissinger; economist Larry Summers; columnist David Brooks; journalists Jane Leavy, Steven Pinker and Dahlia Lithwick writing on figures such as Howad Cosell, Art Shamsky, Kerri Strug, Harold Solomon, Sandy Koufax, Shirley Povitch, and many, many more.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50326167224593,"sku":"CIN1455516139G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50771193102609,"sku":"CIN1455516139VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1455516139.jpg?v=1751116082"},{"product_id":"last-politician-book-franklin-foer-9780593607619","title":"The Last Politician","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe \u003ci\u003eNew York Times\u003c\/i\u003e bestseller\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Franklin Foer tells the definitive insider story of the first two years of the Biden presidency, with exclusive access to Biden's longtime team of advisers, and presents a gripping portrait of a president during this momentous time in our nation's history.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"You might love Biden or you might hate Biden, but either way, if you want to understand him, you will want to buy this book.\" --Politico\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"A triumph of reporting.\" -- Geoff Bennett, PBS NewsHour \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Deeply reported . . . a terrific read.\" --Chuck Todd, Meet the Press\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \"Fantastic . . . The first real insider account of the Biden White House and a fascinating read about Biden himself.\" --Jon Favreau, Pod Save America\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e On January 20, 2021, standing where only two weeks earlier police officers had battled with right-wing paramilitaries, Joe Biden took his oath of office. The American people were still sick with COVID-19, his economists were already warning him of an imminent financial crisis, and his party, the Democrats, had the barest of majorities in the Senate. Yet, faced with an unprecedented set of crises, Joe Biden decided he would not play defense. Instead, he set out to transform the nation. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e With unparalleled access to the tight inner circle of advisers who have surrounded Biden for decades, Franklin Foer dramatizes in forensic detail the first two years of the Biden presidency, concluding with the historic midterm elections. The result is a gripping and high-definition portrait of a major president at a time when democracy itself seems imperiled.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Last Politician\u003c\/i\u003e is a landmark work of political reporting--which includes thrilling, blow-by-blow insider reports of the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan and the White House's swift response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine--that is destined to shape history's view of a president in the eye of the storm.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51004461547793,"sku":"NIN9780593607619","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51124386169105,"sku":"GOR014181386","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":51907276669201,"sku":"CIN0593607619VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0593607619.jpg?v=1771064111"},{"product_id":"how-soccer-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780062156693","title":"How Soccer Explains the World","description":"This wide-ranging work of reportage is a unique and brilliantly illuminating look at the world's most popular sport as a new metaphor for the pressing issues of our age, from the clash of civilizations to the global economy.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51650274558225,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51650274590993,"sku":"NIN9780062156693","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0062156691.jpg?v=1750972622"},{"product_id":"how-soccer-explains-the-world-book-franklin-foer-9780063486768","title":"How Soccer Explains the World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"Step aside Tom Friedman, Sam Huntington, and Amy Chua. Franklin Foer's dark and witty tale of the soccer world reveals the meaning of globalization in all its joys and horrors.\"--Robert Kagan\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eJust in time for the 2026 World Cup in North America--a reissue of the bestselling sports classic, featuring a new preface from the author.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith the 2026 World Cup in all three nations of North America, the power and scope of soccer has truly become global. In this remarkably insightful, wide-ranging work, Franklin Foer argues that soccer is much more than a game, or even a way of life. It is a unique window into the crosscurrents of modern globalization, with all of its benefits and pitfalls. Soccer clubs don't represent geographic areas; they stand for social classes and political ideologies. Unlike baseball or tennis, soccer is freighted with ancient hatreds and history. It's a sport with real stakes--a catalyst capable of ruining regimes and launching liberation movements.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFoer takes us on a surprising tour through the world of soccer, shattering myths and dire predictions. Instead of destroying local cultures, as the left warned, globalization has revived tribalism. Far from the triumph of capitalism that the right anticipated, it has entrenched corruption. From Brazil to Bosnia, Italy to Iraq, \u003ci\u003eHow Soccer Explains the World\u003c\/i\u003e is an eye-opening chronicle of how a beautiful sport and its fanatical followers can illuminate the fault lines of a society, whether it's terrorism, poverty, anti-Semitism, authoritarianism, or radical Islam--issues that continue to affect all of us. At a time when globalization is under attack and many Americans yearn for retrenchment and retreat from the world, this remarkable book--filled with blazing intelligence, colorful characters, wry humor, and an equal passion for soccer and humanity--continues to make sense of our troubled times.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":53220030578961,"sku":"NIN9780063486768","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53481682600209,"sku":"CIN0063486768G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":53614871511313,"sku":"CIN0063486768VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9780063486768.jpg?v=1773916209"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-franklin-foer.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}