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education

  1. Way More than Luck: Commencement Speeches on Living with Bravery, Empathy, and Other Existential Skills



“We live in an age in which ideas, important ideas, are worn like articles of fashion.”

Beware the rise of the pseudo-intellectual – Tom Wolfe’s magnificent Boston University commencement address:

    Way More than Luck: Commencement Speeches on Living with Bravery, Empathy, and Other Existential Skills

    “We live in an age in which ideas, important ideas, are worn like articles of fashion.”

    Beware the rise of the pseudo-intellectual – Tom Wolfe’s magnificent Boston University commencement address:

  2. Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

Julia Rothman

A glorious illustrated love letter to our world – from sunsets to salamanders, ferns to feathers, mushrooms to mountains, and the whole enchanting aliveness in between:

    Nature Anatomy: The Curious Parts and Pieces of the Natural World

    Julia Rothman

    A glorious illustrated love letter to our world – from sunsets to salamanders, ferns to feathers, mushrooms to mountains, and the whole enchanting aliveness in between:

  3. The Letters of Robert Frost, Volume 1

Robert Frost

How to write a great essay — Robert Frost’s fantastic letter of advice to his young daughter:

    The Letters of Robert Frost, Volume 1

    Robert Frost

    How to write a great essay — Robert Frost’s fantastic letter of advice to his young daughter:

  4. Six Memos for the Next Millennium

Italo Calvino


“The idea of the world as composed of weightless atoms is striking just because we know the weight of things so well.”


Italo Calvino on the unbearable lightness of language, literature, and life – metaphorical magic and wisdom from his final legacy, the Harvard lectures he wrote shortly before his death in 1985 and never got to deliver:

    Six Memos for the Next Millennium

    Italo Calvino

    “The idea of the world as composed of weightless atoms is striking just because we know the weight of things so well.”

    Italo Calvino on the unbearable lightness of language, literature, and life – metaphorical magic and wisdom from his final legacy, the Harvard lectures he wrote shortly before his death in 1985 and never got to deliver:

  5. The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Stories, Plays, Poems & Essays

Oscar Wilde


“Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas.”


“A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated” by Oscar Wilde, penned in 1894 but no less witty and wise today:

    The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde: Stories, Plays, Poems & Essays

    Oscar Wilde

    “Public opinion exists only where there are no ideas.”

    “A Few Maxims for the Instruction of the Over-Educated” by Oscar Wilde, penned in 1894 but no less witty and wise today:

  6. The Little Red Schoolbook

Søren Hansen and Jesper Jensen


“Leaders remain leaders only as long as you let them.”


An honest and controversial vintage guide to teenage sexuality, education reform, and independent thinking, back after 40 years of being banned

    The Little Red Schoolbook

    Søren Hansen and Jesper Jensen

    “Leaders remain leaders only as long as you let them.”

    An honest and controversial vintage guide to teenage sexuality, education reform, and independent thinking, back after 40 years of being banned

  7. The Baby Tree
Sophie Blackall
Where do babies come from? A sweet and honest primer on reproduction from illustrator extraordinaire Sophie Blackall

    The Baby Tree

    Sophie Blackall

    Where do babies come from? A sweet and honest primer on reproduction from illustrator extraordinaire Sophie Blackall

  8. Education Automation: Comprehensive Learning for Emergent Humanity

R. Buckminster Fuller

Buckminster Fuller presages online education, with a touch of TED, Netflix, and Pandora, in 1962 – prophetic vision for mobile, time-shifted, tele-commuted, on-demand education:

    Education Automation: Comprehensive Learning for Emergent Humanity

    R. Buckminster Fuller

    Buckminster Fuller presages online education, with a touch of TED, Netflix, and Pandora, in 1962 – prophetic vision for mobile, time-shifted, tele-commuted, on-demand education:

  9. Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design

Chip Kidd


“Graphic design needs your willing mental participation, even if it’s subconscious.”


Fantastic, first-of-its-kind graphic design primer for kids by iconic graphic designer Chip Kidd

Bonus: Chip tells a hilarious story of how and why he French-kissed Neil Gaiman at Comic Con:

    Go: A Kidd’s Guide to Graphic Design

    Chip Kidd

    “Graphic design needs your willing mental participation, even if it’s subconscious.”

    Fantastic, first-of-its-kind graphic design primer for kids by iconic graphic designer Chip Kidd

    Bonus: Chip tells a hilarious story of how and why he French-kissed Neil Gaiman at Comic Con:

  10. How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

Paul Tough


“Character is at least as important as intellect.”


Fascinating read on psychologist Angela Duckworth’s work, which demonstrates why grit, not IQ, is the key to success

    How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character

    Paul Tough

    “Character is at least as important as intellect.”

    Fascinating read on psychologist Angela Duckworth’s work, which demonstrates why grit, not IQ, is the key to success

  11. Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep

David K. Randall

Fascinating read on sleep and the teenage brain – or how school schedules are sabotaging well-being.

    Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep

    David K. Randall

    Fascinating read on sleep and the teenage brain – or how school schedules are sabotaging well-being.

  12. Make Good Art

Neil Gaiman

“Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before.”

Neil Gaiman’s fantastic commencement address, adapted by design legend Chip Kidd

    Make Good Art

    Neil Gaiman

    “Make New Mistakes. Make glorious, amazing mistakes. Make mistakes nobody’s ever made before.”

    Neil Gaiman’s fantastic commencement address, adapted by design legend Chip Kidd

  13. Don’t Go Back to School: A Handbook for Learning Anything
Kio Stark
A wonderful manifesto for fueling the internal engine of lifelong learning

    Don’t Go Back to School: A Handbook for Learning Anything

    Kio Stark

    A wonderful manifesto for fueling the internal engine of lifelong learning

  14. You Can Do Anything!

James Mangan

“Write! Writing, to knowledge, is a certified check.”

14 ways to acquire knowledge – a timeless guide from 1936:

    You Can Do Anything!

    James Mangan

    “Write! Writing, to knowledge, is a certified check.”

    14 ways to acquire knowledge – a timeless guide from 1936:

  15. How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain’s Most Ineligible Bachelor and his Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate

Wendy Moore

How an 18th-century bachelor enlisted Rousseau’s teachings in Frankensteining his better-ever half.

    How to Create the Perfect Wife: Britain’s Most Ineligible Bachelor and his Enlightened Quest to Train the Ideal Mate

    Wendy Moore

    How an 18th-century bachelor enlisted Rousseau’s teachings in Frankensteining his better-ever half.

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