Behavioral scientist KATY MILKMAN ’04 writes about how to make lasting changes in your life in How to Change: The Science of Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be (Ebury Publishing). Milkman’s philosophy is grounded in positive reinforcement, and she encourages readers to seek out their goals through enjoyable steps. 

In his new collection of essays, ALAN LIGHTMAN ’70 probes questions about aspects of human life and its origins, such as the anatomy of a smile or what creates consciousness. Through 17 essays, Probable Impossibilities: Musings on Beginnings and Endings (Pantheon) leaves the reader pondering the universe and how even its simplest aspects are often supremely complex.

MICHAEL LEWIS ’82’s The Premonition: A Pandemic Story (W.W. Norton) tells the story of how a biochemist, a public health worker, and a federal employee understood the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic months before it swept across the United States. Lewis explores the many ways the U.S. government and its institutions were unprepared for the onslaught that came next.