Matt Ridley's rationally optimistic guide to life, the planet and the future of humankind The Rational Optimist:

Great video for Peter D. Schiff's excellent How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes:

In At Home, Bill Bryson applies the same irrepressible curiosity, irresistible wit, stylish prose and masterful storytelling that made A Short History of Nearly Everything one of the most lauded books of the last decade, and delivers one of the most entertaining and illuminating books ever written about the history of the way we live. Bill Bryson was struck one day by the thought that we devote a lot more time to studying the battles and wars of history than to considering what history really consists of: centuries of people quietly going about their daily business -- eating, sleeping and merely endeavouring to get more comfortable. And that most of the key discoveries for humankind can be found in the very fabric of the houses in which we live. This inspired him to start a journey around his own house:

Been out for a while, of course, but I still love this trailer for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters!

Yann Martel, bestselling author of Life of Pi is back with his new novel Beatrice and Virgil: