New Book Releases | October 13, 2026
This week's best new book releases include two economists' examination of how best to harness the power of human connection in an era of hybrid work arrangements, a physician's explanation of why community is our best barricade against chaos in times of uncertainty and crisis, a mountaineering AI expert's appeal to consider other ways of thinking and knowing, and one of the world's foremost management thinker's illumination of the science behind building strong human connections.
In Person: How Working Together Fuels Creativity, Productivity, and Growth by Natalia Emanuel, PhD, Emma Harrington, PhD, published by Crown Currency
Finally, the science-backed guide to making the most of in-person work—whether it’s one day in the office or five—drawing on the authors' original research, which has appeared in Science, NPR, HBR, and The New York Times.
For the first time in history, millions of workers can do their jobs from anywhere—and the result is the most contentious workplace debate in generations. Employees fight to protect their freedom. CEOs issue return-to-office mandates by gut instinct. Everyone argues, but no one has the data. Until now.
Harvard-trained economists Natalia Emanuel and Emma Harrington are leading researchers on remote and in-person work. They've spent years tracking millions of work hours across industries, analyzing Fortune 500 firms, startups, tech companies, and call centers. Their findings? Remote work is good for crossing tasks off a to-do list, but can erode the quality of our work, stifle creativity, and hurt mental health. When we're together, our brain-to-brain synchrony increases 10x, accelerating creativity, mentorship, and innovation. That’s why Pixar animators, Nobel Prize winners, and Silicon Valley founders have come up with their best ideas face-to-face with one another.
Working side-by-side can be a powerful force to supercharge company performance. But many office policies miss this mark, focusing on butts in seats, instead of brains in sync. Emanuel and Harrington offer solutions on how to craft the right policy. Backed with the latest research on the science of work, In Person offers tactical steps to make the most of in-office time, covering:
- How to calculate the right number of on-site days for your specific organization
- The playbook for preserving employee flexibility while harnessing the power of being together
- Why some RTO mandates fail spectacularly—and how to succeed
After years of confusion, animosity, and conflicting mandates, In Person finally delivers the answers in a clear, evidence-based roadmap for making smarter decisions with your most valuable resource: your people.
“In Person is essential reading for anyone who leads a company or a team today. This is the first book on remote work to bring systematic research to answer the question of when being face to face matters most—and when it doesn’t.” —Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School and author of Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well
Safer: A Playbook—Turning Fear into Action and Crisis into Community by Raj Panjabi, MD, published by Harper One
The essential guide for navigating crisis and uncertainty from the acclaimed physician who led the White House response to the world’s most dangerous health emergencies.
When crisis hits—a sudden illness, a global disruption, or a career upheaval—our instinct is to retreat. Yet decades of research prove that our greatest protection isn’t isolation, it’s connection.
From high-stakes decisions in the White House Situation Room and hospital emergency room to dramatic shocks of violence and illness his family struggled with in their own living room, Dr. Raj Panjabi has navigated humanity’s most precarious moments. Now, he translates hard-earned wisdom into a step-by-step roadmap. Through gripping storytelling and cutting-edge science, Safer reveals the eight practical "plays" to protect what matters most at home and work.
You will learn how to:
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Navigate Fear and Denial: Use Situation Room insights to take decisive action without falling into paralysis.
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Cut Through the Noise: Use science to assess your risk and protect those you love amidst the flood of misinformation.
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Build Trust in Divided Times: Move from isolation to connection and find common ground.
- Gain Control Despite Chaos: Adapt to change and transform vulnerability into your greatest strength.
In an era of uncertainty, you don’t have to live in fear. You just need a better playbook. Safer gives us the tools for emerging from any crisis more connected than ever before.
"Dr. Raj Panjabi shows that true resilience is about community, empathy, and connection. Safer is an inspiring road map for a healthier, more connected future." —Ariana Huffington, Founder & CEO, Thrive Global
Think Again: On AI, Mountains, and Intuition by Heather Dawe, published by Rocky Mountain Books
Heather Dawe brings artificial intelligence into conversation with mountain experience, asking what data can tell us and what still depends on intuition and attention.
Set partly in Scotland's Cairngorm Mountains, Think Again moves between questions about AI and the experience of being in wild places. Dawe considers objectivity, machine intelligence, and the appeal of systems that promise to make the world legible, then sets those ideas against the knowledge that comes through the body, memory, and direct observation.
The Cairngorm landscape associated with Nan Shepherd provides an important point of reference. Dawe's own paintings of the Scottish Highlands add another way of looking, making the book as interested in creativity and perception as it is in technology.
Written for readers curious about AI, environmental thought, and contemporary nature writing, Think Again asks how technological tools change the way we understand the world without assuming that everything worth knowing can be reduced to data.
“As we hurtle toward a possible dystopia of tech oligarchy, data surveillance, and ecological disaster, Think Again makes a compelling argument for an urgent shift away from a mechanistic view of intelligence that reduces living beings to profitable object toward a recognition, instead, of the wildness, creativity, and mysteries that remain within both mountains and minds, qualities that might help save our ecosystems and ourselves.” —Katie Ives, author of Imaginary Peaks: The Riesenstein Hoax and Other Mountain Dreams
Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World by Adam Grant, published by Viking
#1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant illuminates the surprising science of chemistry and closeness
When we vibe with other people, it fuels our happiness and success. Yet building meaningful ties is one of the most pressing problems of our time. As face-to-face interaction gives way to digital screens, communication gets outsourced to AI, and the world becomes more polarized, our loneliness crisis shows no signs of slowing.
To reveal how we can forge faster, stronger, and longer bonds, Adam Grant offers groundbreaking studies, expert insights, and myth-busting stories. Filled with the eye-opening takeaways that have brought millions of readers to his books, Vibe teaches us that similarity is not necessary for solidarity, chemistry doesn’t always happen quickly, and closeness doesn’t always take time.
Along the way, Grant introduces us to a crew of astronauts who learned to trust people they don’t like, a comedy troupe that swears by taking time apart as a key to staying together, a band that grew closer by learning to fight more, and a journalist who designed a gathering that led to seventy-eight marriages. He also opens up about his personal struggles to find his place as a shy introvert and the lessons that propelled his transformation into an enthusiastic convener. Through these examples and more, Grant uncovers the keys to creating deeper relationships and tighter communities.
Vibe will change how you interact with people. No matter how good you are at connecting, you can always get better—and help others get better too.
