by Mark O'Brien | Jul 30, 2015
One of my older sister’s favorite expressions is this: “No guts, no air medals.” While it does seem harder and harder to find people with guts these days — people with the courage to stand up, stand out, and tell difficult truths — there are still...
by Mark O'Brien | Jul 28, 2015
In the course of our research for a book we once created as a specialty publishing project — Origin/Destination: 75 Years of the New England Water Environment Association — we learned that it took the residents of Uxbridge, Massachusetts, 50 years to figure out the...
by Mark O'Brien | Jul 27, 2015
Wow! Sometimes I just can’t believe how coincident (but not coincidental) life can be and, in my case (forgive me for personalizing), how charmed my life can be. Just as I was thinking I was on the verge of a mid-life crisis or some kind of long-term malaise,...
by Mark O'Brien | Jul 21, 2015
I came across a book review in The Financial Times over the past weekend in which the author, Julian Baggini, finding a common thread running through the three books he reviewed, wrote something arresting — something that directly contradicts the popular and...
by Mark O'Brien | Jul 13, 2015
I need your help. Amazon is being sued for not saying it doesn’t sell something. That actually has nothing to do with us. But here’s where you come in: If two wrongs don’t make a right, can you help me understand why two negatives make a positive?...
