The Best Psychology & Social Science Books 2026

1. Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types, (Paperback)

Understanding the Enneagram is the practical guide to applying the principles in day-to-day activities, from the world's foremost Enneagram experts. Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson's Personality Types has become the leading guide to the Enneagram, as well as a cherished classic in the literature of personal growth around the world. This is the groundbreaking book that set the standard for insight and accuracy about this ancient symbol of human personality. Now, Understanding the Enneagram is another indispensable reseource, teaching readers not only how to understand this psychological framework in daily life but how to use it in many different settings. Riso and Hudson have now fully revised and updated this authoritative guide to the Enneagram, based on their continuing work in the field, which is attracting ever-increasing attention. Discover how to use the Enneagram to find fulfillment in your personal development and in all of your relationships.

Understanding the Enneagram: The Practical Guide to Personality Types, (Paperback) Author: HarperOne ISBN: 9780618004157 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2000-01-18 Page Count: 416

2. Multiplicity : The New Science of Personality, Identity, and the Self (Hardcover)

Multiplicity presents an entirely new view of our selves. Instead of seeing each person as a single personality, Carter argues that we all consist of multiple characters, each one with its own viewpoint, emotions and ambitions. The mother who feeds breakfast to her children, for example, has quite different concerns and opinions from the woman taking part in a boardroom discussion two hours later, and from the woman she will be with her husband that night. Yet all three may share the same body, and none is any more "authentic" than another. Personality changes in a person are conventionally frowned upon, but Carter shows that in today's world our ability to switch from one personality to another according to what is demanded of us is a huge strength, providing one's personalities work together as a team rather than against each other. In addition to its groundbreaking scientific thesis, Multiplicity contains extensive exercises designed to help readers achieve this harmony.

Multiplicity presents an entirely new view of our selves. Instead of seeing each person as a single personality, Carter argues that we all consist of multiple characters, each one with its own viewpoint, emotions and ambitions. The mother who feeds breakfast to her children, for example, has quite different concerns and opinions from the woman taking part in a boardroom discussion two hours later, and from the woman she will be with her husband that night. Yet all three may share the same body, and none is any more "authentic" than another. Personality changes in a person are conventionally frowned upon, but Carter shows that in today's world our ability to switch from one personality to another according to what is demanded of us is a huge strength, providing one's personalities work together as a team rather than against each other. In addition to its groundbreaking scientific thesis, Multiplicity contains extensive exercises designed to help readers achieve this harmony.

3. The Book of Tea Classic Edition, (Hardcover)

Now available in a gorgeous hardcover slipcase edition, this "object d'art" will be sure to add grace and elegance to tea shelves, coffee tables and bookshelves. A keepsake enjoyed by tea lovers for over a hundred years, The Book of Tea Classic Edition will enhance your enjoyment and understanding of the seemingly simple act of making and drinking tea. In 1906 in turn-of-the-century Boston, a small, esoteric book about tea was written with the intention of being read aloud in the famous salon of Isabella Gardner, Boston's most notorious socialite. It was authored by Okakura Kakuzo, a Japanese philosopher, art expert, and curator. Little known at the time, Kakuzo would emerge as one of the great thinkers of the early 20th century, a genius who was insightful, witty--and greatly responsible for bridging Western and Eastern cultures. Okakura had been taught at a young age to speak English and was more than capable of expressing to Westerners the nuances of tea and the Japanese Tea Ceremony. In The Book of Tea Classic Edition, he discusses such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of tea and Japanese life. The book emphasizes how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that tea-induced simplicity affected the culture, art and architecture of Japan. Nearly a century later, Kakuzo's The Book of Tea Classic Edition is still beloved the world over, making it an essential part of any tea enthusiast's collection. Interwoven with a rich history of Japanese tea and its place in Japanese society is a poignant commentary on Asian culture and our ongoing fascination with it, as well as illuminating essays on art, spirituality, poetry, and more. The Book of Tea Classic Edition is a delightful cup of enlightenment from a man far ahead of his time.

The Book of Tea Classic Edition, (Hardcover) Author: Tuttle Publishing ISBN: 9780804800693 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 1989-12-15 Page Count: 160

4. Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People, (Paperback)

Sparks of Genius is "a fascinating study of creativie thinking--mankind's greatest attribute" (Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape). Creativity isn't born, it's cultivated--and this innovative guide distills the work of extraordinary artists and thinkers to show you how. All the imagination needs to be fruitful is exercise. Robert and Michèle Root-Bernstein identify the thinking tools employed by history's greatest creative minds--from Albert Einstein and Jane Goodall to Amadeus Mozart and Virginia Woolf--so that anyone with the right mix of inspiration and drive can set their own genius in motion. With engaging narratives and ample illustrations, Robert and Michèle investigate cognitive tools as diverse as observing, imaging, recognizing patterns, modeling, playing, and more to provide "a clever, detailed and demanding fitness program for the creative mind" (Kirkus Reviews).

Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People, (Paperback) Author: HarperOne ISBN: 9780618127450 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 2001-08-09 Page Count: 416

5. Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses, (Paperback)

In his most ambitious and accomplished work to date, Michael Taussig undertakes a history of mimesis, the practice of imitation, and its relation to alterity, the opposition of Self and Other. Drawing upon such diverse sources as theories of Benjamin, Adorno and Horckheimer, research on the Cuna Indians, and theories of colonialism and postcolonialism, Taussig shows that the history of mimesis is deeply tied to colonialism, and more specifically, to the colonial trade's construction of "savages." With analysis that is vigorous, unorthodox, and often breathtaking, Taussig's cross-cultural discussion of mimesis deepens our understanding of the relationship between ethnography, racism and society.

Mimesis and Alterity: A Particular History of the Senses, (Paperback) Author: Routledge ISBN: 9780415906876 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1992-12-21 Page Count: 320

6. Same Sex, Different Cultures: Exploring Gay And Lesbian Lives, (Paperback)

"Because homoerotic relations can be found in so many cultures, Gilbert Herdt argues that we should think of these relations as part of the human condition. This new cross-cultural study of gays, lesbi"

Same Sex, Different Cultures: Exploring Gay And Lesbian Lives, (Paperback) Author: Routledge ISBN: 9780813331645 Format: Paperback Publication Date: 1998-04-24 Page Count: 228

7. Pre-Owned Just Sex?: The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape (Paperback) 0415310725 9780415310727

Just Sex?: The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape by Gavey, Nicola

Title: Just Sex?: The Cultural Scaffolding of Rape Book Format: Paperback ISBN10: 0415310725 EAN: 9780415310727 Author: Gavey, Nicola CONDITION - GOOD - Pre-Owned - Pages can include limited notes and highlighting, and the copy can include 'From the library of' labels or previous owner inscriptions. Accessories such as CD, codes, toys, may not be included.

8. Technology and Law Enforcement: From Gumshoe to Gamma Rays, (Hardcover)

Although for much of the mid-20th century police departments across the U.S. had been reluctant to embrace new technology, depending instead on traditional police techniques, detectives in Los Angeles finally departed from this practice when they found themselves stymied in their attempts to solve the infamous Night Stalker serial murder case. This murderer and rapist had gone on a deadly rampage during the spring and summer of 1985, and though the police used every traditional police technique, they could not solve the crime. Finally, in desperation, they decided to do something different: use what was then the latest, cutting edge-technology. This new technology, the laser print finder, worked perfectly and the police arrested the Night Stalker the next day. Following this astonishing success, police departments across the nation suddenly began clamoring to obtain all kinds of new technology to assist them in solving crimes. This rush to embrace the latest technology hasn't slowed in the intervening 21 years. This book takes readers through every major branch of law enforcement and shows how technology has radically changed police department operations during the last two decades. It also shows how these changes continue today as technology advances and refines techniques already in practice. Beginning with the Night Stalker case, the author illustrates how the use and reliance on new technologies in solving crimes has made policing and detective work more accurate and efficient in capturing and convicting criminals (and courts more recently in releasing innocents convicted of crimes). Capitalizing on the interest in all things forensic, this book illuminates the behind the scenes technologies that go into solving crimes and keeping dangerous criminals off the street. Snow covers DNA and fingerprint technologies, vehicle technologies, undercover work, bomb detection, and other methods. Using many real life examples and first hand anecdotes, he shows how technology has become part and parcel of criminal justice efforts to solve crimes.

Technology and Law Enforcement: From Gumshoe to Gamma Rays, (Hardcover) Author: Praeger ISBN: 9780275993344 Format: Hardcover Publication Date: 2007-08-01 Page Count: 208