Challenge: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to read a book every two weeks as part of his personal challenge for 2015 . Mark Zuckerberg has made his next book club pick, a release he considers especially timely after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. The Facebook CEO announced Saturday he would take on Steven Pinker's 'The Better Angels of Our Nature,' a widely discussed and occasionally criticized 2011 book that contends violence has decreased in modern times and the world has become more humane. Zuckerberg posted the news on his Facebook page and on a community page he set up for his club, A Year of Books. 'Recent events might make it seem like violence and terrorism are more common than ever, so it's worth understanding that all violence — even terrorism — is actually decreasing over time. If we understand how we are achieving this, we can continue our path towards peace,' Zuckerberg wrote. 'A few people I trust have told me this is the best book they've ever read.' Among the book's admirers is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has called it his 'favorite book of the last decade' and 'a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time.' Next: Mark Zuckerberg has made his next book club pick, a release he considers especially timely after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris . Two weeks ago, Zuckerberg declared he would read a new book every other week in 2015, and he invited his millions of Facebook friends to join him and participate in an online discussion. His first choice, Moises Naim's 'The End of Power,' quickly became a best-seller on Amazon.com and elsewhere. But only 162 comments appear for last week's book club chat held on the community page, which has more than 260,000 likes. Within hours of Saturday's announcement, 'Better Angels' jumped from No. 6,521 on Amazon to No. 501. Pinker, 60, is a leading psychologist, linguist and cognitive scientist who teaches at Harvard University and has written several popular books, two of which, 'The Blank Slate' and 'How the Mind Works,' were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. 'The Better Angels' is indeed long, more than 800 pages, so Zuckerberg is already fine-tuning his promise for a book every two weeks. He wrote that he'll need a month to finish 'The Better Angels,' but will recommend a shorter work in two weeks that can be read at the same time. Pinker's book also continues Zuckerberg's apparent preference for nonfiction works, written by men. His Facebook page lists 13 books recently read — 10 nonfiction and all by male authors. My challenge for 2015 is to read a new book every other week -- with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies. Thank you to all 50,000 of you in our community who gave me suggestions for different challenges. Many of you proposed reading challenges. Cynthia Greco suggested I read one book a month that another person chooses -- and got 1,900 likes on her suggestion. Rachel Brown, Bill Munns, Marlo Kanipe and others suggested I read the Bible. My friend and colleague Amin Zoufonoun suggested I read and learn everything I can about a new country each week. I'm excited for my reading challenge. I've found reading books very intellectually fulfilling. Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I'm looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books. If you want to follow along on my challenge and read the same books I do, I've created a page, A Year of Books, where I'll post what I'm reading. Please only participate in the discussions if you've actually read the books and have relevant points to add. The group will be moderated to keep it focused. Our first book of the year will be The End of Power by Moisés Naím. It's a book that explores how the world is shifting to give individual people more power that was traditionally only held by large governments, militaries and other organizations. The trend towards giving people more power is one I believe in deeply, and I'm looking forward to reading this book and exploring this in more detail. I appreciated all of your other suggestions for possible challenges as well. Many of you suggested I give money to help people in need -- and Priscilla and I fully intend to keep doing that through our philanthropic work. We'll have more to discuss there soon. Some of you suggested that I meet a new person every day. That was actually my challenge in 2013. Others suggested I teach a class. I've done that too, and I'd love to do it again and get more involved in education in the coming year. Thanks again for all of your suggestions, and I'm looking forward to a year of books!
Pinker's 'The Better Angels' claims we are currently living in the most peaceful moment in our species' existence .
In a controversial book Pinker shows that despite the ceaseless news about war, crime, and terrorism, violence has actually been in decline over long stretches of history .
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg vowed to start a book club at the start of the year .
The billionaire's first title for the new book club Moisés Naím’s 2013 book The End of Power sold 13,000 copies, .
Challenge: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has vowed to read a book every two weeks as part of his personal challenge for 2015 . Mark Zuckerberg has made his next book club pick, a release he considers especially timely after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris. The Facebook CEO announced Saturday he would take on Steven Pinker's 'The Better Angels of Our Nature,' a widely discussed and occasionally criticized 2011 book that contends violence has decreased in modern times and the world has become more humane. Zuckerberg posted the news on his Facebook page and on a community page he set up for his club, A Year of Books. 'Recent events might make it seem like violence and terrorism are more common than ever, so it's worth understanding that all violence — even terrorism — is actually decreasing over time. If we understand how we are achieving this, we can continue our path towards peace,' Zuckerberg wrote. 'A few people I trust have told me this is the best book they've ever read.' Among the book's admirers is Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has called it his 'favorite book of the last decade' and 'a long but profound look at the reduction in violence and discrimination over time.' Next: Mark Zuckerberg has made his next book club pick, a release he considers especially timely after the recent terrorist attacks in Paris . Two weeks ago, Zuckerberg declared he would read a new book every other week in 2015, and he invited his millions of Facebook friends to join him and participate in an online discussion. His first choice, Moises Naim's 'The End of Power,' quickly became a best-seller on Amazon.com and elsewhere. But only 162 comments appear for last week's book club chat held on the community page, which has more than 260,000 likes. Within hours of Saturday's announcement, 'Better Angels' jumped from No. 6,521 on Amazon to No. 501. Pinker, 60, is a leading psychologist, linguist and cognitive scientist who teaches at Harvard University and has written several popular books, two of which, 'The Blank Slate' and 'How the Mind Works,' were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. 'The Better Angels' is indeed long, more than 800 pages, so Zuckerberg is already fine-tuning his promise for a book every two weeks. He wrote that he'll need a month to finish 'The Better Angels,' but will recommend a shorter work in two weeks that can be read at the same time. Pinker's book also continues Zuckerberg's apparent preference for nonfiction works, written by men. His Facebook page lists 13 books recently read — 10 nonfiction and all by male authors. My challenge for 2015 is to read a new book every other week -- with an emphasis on learning about different cultures, beliefs, histories and technologies. Thank you to all 50,000 of you in our community who gave me suggestions for different challenges. Many of you proposed reading challenges. Cynthia Greco suggested I read one book a month that another person chooses -- and got 1,900 likes on her suggestion. Rachel Brown, Bill Munns, Marlo Kanipe and others suggested I read the Bible. My friend and colleague Amin Zoufonoun suggested I read and learn everything I can about a new country each week. I'm excited for my reading challenge. I've found reading books very intellectually fulfilling. Books allow you to fully explore a topic and immerse yourself in a deeper way than most media today. I'm looking forward to shifting more of my media diet towards reading books. If you want to follow along on my challenge and read the same books I do, I've created a page, A Year of Books, where I'll post what I'm reading. Please only participate in the discussions if you've actually read the books and have relevant points to add. The group will be moderated to keep it focused. Our first book of the year will be The End of Power by Moisés Naím. It's a book that explores how the world is shifting to give individual people more power that was traditionally only held by large governments, militaries and other organizations. The trend towards giving people more power is one I believe in deeply, and I'm looking forward to reading this book and exploring this in more detail. I appreciated all of your other suggestions for possible challenges as well. Many of you suggested I give money to help people in need -- and Priscilla and I fully intend to keep doing that through our philanthropic work. We'll have more to discuss there soon. Some of you suggested that I meet a new person every day. That was actually my challenge in 2013. Others suggested I teach a class. I've done that too, and I'd love to do it again and get more involved in education in the coming year. Thanks again for all of your suggestions, and I'm looking forward to a year of books!
Challenge: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has vowed Pinker's 'The Better Angels of Our Nature,' a book that contends violence has decreased in — is actually decreasing over time. If we decade' and 'a long but profound look at the for the Pulitzer Prize. 'The Better Angels' is the year will be The End of Power by Moisés Naím. to a year of books!