A revelatory synthesis of cultural history and social psychology that shows how one-to-one collaboration drives creative success Weaving the lives of scores of creative duos—from John Lennon and Paul McCartney to Marie and Pierre Curie to Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak—Joshua Wolf Shenk identifies the core qualities of that dizzying experience we call "chemistry." Revealing the six essential stages through which creative intimacy unfolds, Shenk draws on new scientific research and builds an argument for the social foundations of creativity—and the pair as its primary embodiment. Along the way, he reveals how pairs begin to talk, think, and even look like each other; how the most successful ones thrive on conflict; and why some pairs flame out while others endure. When it comes to shaping the culture, Shenk argues, two is the magic number, not just because of the dyads behind everything from South Park to the American Civil Rights movement to Starry Night, but because of the nature of creative thinking. Even when we're alone, we are in a sense "collaborating" with a voice inside our head. At once intuitive and surprising, Powers of Two will change the way we think about innovation. http://www.shenk.net/

Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs

Self-Help

Shenk, Joshua Wolf

Creativity

Eamon Dolan/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

“This is a book about magic, about the Beatles, about the chemistry between people, about neuroscience, and about the buddy system; it examines love and hate, harmony and dissonance, and everything in between. The result is wise, funny, surprising, and completely engrossing.” — Susan Orlean Lennon and McCartney, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak, Pierre and Marie Curie. Throughout history, partners have buoyed each other to better work — though often one member is little known to the general public. (See Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger, or Vincent and Theo van Gogh.) In Powers of Two, Joshua Wolf Shenk draws on neuroscience, social psychology, and cultural history to present the social foundations of creativity, with the pair as its primary embodiment. Revealing the six essential stages through which creative intimacy unfolds, Shenk shows how pairs begin to talk, think, and even look like each other; how the most successful ones thrive on conflict; and why some cease to work together while others carry on. At once intuitive and deeply surprising, Powers of Two will reshape the way you view individuals, relationships, and society itself. “Sterling . . . a rare glimpse into the private realms of duos . . . Shenk is a natural storyteller.” — Sarah Lewis, New York Times “In this surprising, compelling, deeply felt book, Joshua Wolf Shenk banishes the idea of solitary genius by demonstrating that our richest art and science come from collaboration: we need one another not only for love, but also for thinking and imagining and growing and being.” — Andrew Solomon

Powers Of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity

Parenting & Relationships

HarperOne

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness

Biographies & Memoirs

Historical

Mariner Books

In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans

In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans

Holzer, Harold

Bantam]

A dramatic reassessment of the life and era of Abraham Lincoln argues that America's sixteenth president suffered from depression and explains how Lincoln used the ailment and the coping strategies he had developed to deal with the crises of the Civil War and personal tragedy. 35,000 first printing.

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President And Fueled His Greatness

Houghton, mifflin, harcourt

A thoughtful, nuanced portrait of Abraham Lincoln that finds his legendary political strengths rooted in his most personal struggles. 
 
Giving shape to the deep depression that pervaded Lincoln's adult life, Joshua Wolf Shenk's Lincoln's Melancholy reveals how this illness influenced both the president's character and his leadership. Lincoln forged a hard path toward mental health from the time he was a young man. Shenk draws from historical record, interviews with Lincoln scholars, and contemporary research on depression to understand the nature of his unhappiness. In the process, he discovers that the President's coping strategies—among them, a rich sense of humor and a tendency toward quiet reflection—ultimately helped him to lead the nation through its greatest turmoil.

Drawing on a wealth of his own research and the work of other Lincoln scholars, Shenk reveals how the sixteenth president harnessed his depression to fuel his astonishing success. Lincoln found the solace and tactics he needed to deal with the nation's worst crisis in the "coping strategies" he developed over a lifetime of persevering through depressive episodes and personal tragedies. With empathy and authority gained from his own experience with depression, Shenk crafts a nuanced, revelatory account of Lincoln and his legacy, and in the process unveils a wholly new perspective on how our greatest president guided America through its greatest turmoil.

HighBridge Audio

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shenk, Joshua Wolf. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Shenk, Joshua Wolf

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shenk, Joshua Wolf. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Powers of Two: Finding the Essence of Innovation in Creative Pairs

Powers Of Two: How Relationships Drive Creativity

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness

In Lincoln's Hand: His Original Manuscripts with Commentary by Distinguished Americans

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President And Fueled His Greatness

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness

Lincoln's Melancholy: How Depression Challenged a President and Fueled His Greatness