Best Book of 2021 by Lifehacker

The outgoing year was difficult for many. We accompany him with a selection of books that helped us to comprehend the ongoing changes, find peace of mind and understand how to live on.

The best, in our opinion, was the bestseller by Stephen Pinker “The enlightenment continues. In defense of reason, science, humanism and progress». It is definitely worth reading for those who think that “it was better before” and “the golden age is over”. With the help of statistics and facts, psychologist and popularizer of science Stephen Pinker proves that this is not the case.

He calls for a distraction from the sensational news headlines and catastrophic predictions that add uncertainty about the future, and track the positive changes that have occurred since humanity. People are now living longer, healthier, freer and happier than ever. Yes, we still have many problems to solve, but these problems are not the end of the world.

And here are five more books worthy of your attention:

• «Medicine for the smart. Modern aspects of evidence-based medicine for thinking patients"- the book will appeal to those who have long wanted to do biohacking. It was written by 18 Evidence-Based Physicians. Therefore, there is no naturopathy, folk recipes and herbalism here. Only trusted sources and clinical studies. After reading "Medicine for the Smart", you will be able to navigate the main diseases of organs and systems and understand what to do to prevent them. And you can read the chapter about the brain right now - Lifehacker published an excerpt from it.
• «Artificial intelligence reboot"From AI researchers Gary Marcus and Ernest Davis. Bye Elon Musk announces the emergence of a humanoid robot, scientists prove that we are still very far from fantastic ideas about the future. How can this gap be bridged? What can this lead to? The book answers questions and tells how the next generation of artificial intelligence can make our lives better. Read excerpt from it you can on Lifehacker.
• «The virus that broke the planet. Why SARS ‑ CoV ‑ 2 is so special and what can we do with it"Irina Yakutenko is an overview of all the data on COVID-19 that exists today. Why does it kill some and pass asymptomatically in others, is the vaccine safe, is it possible to fight the pathogen without switching to self-isolation - the book answers these and many other questions. Although we are constantly receiving new data about the virus, the fundamental principles set out in the text will not change: they will serve as a framework on which the reader can string new knowledge.
• «Do not be shy"Edited by Alexander Gorbachev - a book about 169 post-Soviet pop hits, familiar to every Russian: from" London, Goodbye! "Performed by" Car-Man ", to Morgenstern's Sadillac. Performers, composers and producers tell the story of each song's creation and share funny stories. For example, the producer of the group "Demo" ("The sun is in the hands ...") recalls how they had to run away from the Bishkek bandits.
• «Walk. The simplest source of joy and meaningErlinga Kagge can be a practical guide in the face of successive lockdowns. The traveler, researcher and philosopher talks about the benefits of walking for self-development and creativity and shares his own method of topographic research. He supplements his story with interesting facts - for example, how an outing into nature can transform an entire country.

Your opinion

Don't agree with our choice? Define your own winner! If your candidate is not in the survey, share your opinion in the comments.