Karen Briscoe

A 60 Minutes correspondent and former anchor of the CBS Evening News, Scott Pelley writes as a witness to events that changed our world. In moving, detailed prose, he stands with firefighters at the collapsing World Trade Center on 9/11, advances with American troops in combat in Afghanistan and Iraq, and reveals private moments with presidents (and would-be presidents) he’s known for decades. Pelley also offers a resounding defense of free speech and a free press as the rights that guarantee all others.

We all long to experience the extraordinary, yet so many of us seem content to settle for mediocrity and suffering. Why? Perhaps because we’ve allowed our “little voices,” the ones who say we’re not smart enough, pretty enough, good enough, to lead our actions and temper our desires. Kelly Resendez is determined to change all that. She believes that life begins when you become aware of who you truly are. You can write a new story. You can have a Big Voice.

Every day, we make decisions on topics ranging from personal investments to schools for our children to the meals we eat to the causes we champion. Unfortunately, we often choose poorly. The reason, the authors explain, is that, being human, we all are susceptible to various biases that can lead us to blunder.