In six lectures covering everything from James Bond to antisemitic conspiracy theories, Umberto Eco offers a master class in the philosophy of fiction. Dissecting the rhythms and ambiguities of narrative, Eco illuminates fiction’s intrusions into life, highlighting the ways that literary works conscript readers’ experiences and expectations.

An eminent pioneer of modern protein chemistry looks back on six decades in biochemical research and education to advance stimulating thoughts about science. Joseph Fruton brings his own skeptical vision to bear on how chemistry and biology interact to describe living systems.

Mistaking Paris for a haven of freedom, slaves sought refuge there only to be hunted down, arrested, and deported. Through the biographies of enslaved people who came to Paris from Africa, the West Indies, and the Indian Ocean, Spieler’s study reveals the emergence of a new racialized legal culture in the last years of the Old Regime.

Idi Amin’s crimes on behalf of Black empowerment in Uganda made him a monster in the world’s eyes. Yet Yoweri Museveni has enjoyed decades of Western support in exchange for adopting neoliberal policies and embracing the “war on terror.” An esteemed Ugandan scholar’s firsthand report, Slow Poison uncovers revealing ironies of postcolonial history.

For decades neuroscientists understood sensory perception as a matter of external stimuli "sparking" regions of the brain. But this view has a key flaw: odors don't line up consistently with the neural map. A. S. Barwich explores the new science of smell and urges us to rethink theories of mind and brain inspired by the mapping model.

Law and policy treat corruption as something far less than it truly is. Using India's long history as a case study, Sudhir Chella Rajan argues that corruption is the structure underlying social hierarchy. Throughout history, elites have fixed the rules of the game for their own benefit, even as most ordinary people were faithful to life's rubrics.

The Sound of Modern Polish Poetry unearths recordings from Polish poets such as Czeslaw Milosz, Wislawa Szymborska, and Zbigniew Herbert. Analyzing their singular performance styles, Aleksandra Kremer argues that twentieth-century Polish artists developed new aesthetics of reading and novel concepts of the poetic self.

Zongyuan Zoe Liu provides the first in-depth examination of sovereign funds in China. Under President Xi, the state has become an aggressive financier, using sovereign funds at home and abroad to secure allies and influence, boost strategic industries like semiconductors and fintech, and pick winners among domestic businesses and multinationals.

What will it take to make humanity a spacefaring species? The usual: good reasons and good planning. Christopher Wanjek explores the practical motivations for striking out into the far reaches of the solar system and the realities of the challenge. And he introduces us to the scientists and entrepreneurs who are already tackling that challenge.