"In the 18th century, two men dedicated their lives to the same daunting task: identifying and describing all life on Earth. Their approaches could not have been more different. Carl Linnaeus, a pious Swedish doctor with a huckster's flair, believed thatlife belonged in tidy, static categories. Georges-Louis de Buffon, an aristocratic polymath and keeper of France's royal garden, viewed life as a dynamic swirl of complexities. Both began believing...

Three rising scientists within the Pacific League of Nations form an uneasy alliance to secure first contact with a mysterious alien race before their rivals formulate a potentially disastrous military response, forcing them to solve puzzles rooted withinhuman antiquity, confront their personal demons and discover truths of the universe.

"I'd seen the Senator speak a few times before my life got caught up, however distantly, with his, but the first time I can remember paying real attention was when he delivered the speech announcing his run for the Presidency. When David first hears the Senator from Illinois speak, he feels deep ambivalence. Intrigued by the Senator's idealistic rhetoric, David also wonders how he'll balance the fervent belief and inevitable compromises it will take...

"This successor volume to The Singularity Is Near explores how technology will refashion the human race in the decades to come. In this entirely new book, Ray Kurzweil brings a fresh perspective to advances in the singularity-assessing the progress of many of his predictions and examining the novel advancements that, in the near future, will bring a revolution in knowledge and an expansion of human potential. Among the topics he discusses are rebuilding...

"The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 dawned what Francis Fukuyama called "The End of History." Three decades later, Jim Sciutto said on CNN's air as the Ukraine war began, that we are living in a "1939 moment." History never ended-it barely paused-and theglobal order as we have known it is now gone. Great powers are reinvigorated and determined to assert dominance on the world stage. And as it escalates, this new order will affect everyone across...

Olivia returns home, her health restored. Ben and Cindy welcome another Walton into the world. Cousin Rose and her grandchildren fill empty rooms in the Walton home. Mary Ellen and Erin challenge scoffing men in a horse race. Jim-Bob graduates from high school and makes a decision that fills the family with profound pride.