Books like Big secrets by William Poundstone

Nate Silver, the founder of the website FiveThirtyEight.com, explores the science of prediction, emphasizing the importance of humility and statistical analysis.

Simon Singh traces the sweeping history of cryptography, from Mary Queen of Scots to Navajo Code Talkers and the Internet’s secure commerce, revealing how secrecy has shaped wars, nations, and technology.

Kevin Mitnick, once the world’s most notorious hacker, shares insider insights on social engineering and how human weaknesses can undermine even the strongest technical defenses.

Hidden Figures tells the true story of four African‑American mathematicians—Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and Christine Darden—who broke barriers at NASA’s Langley Research Center, proving that talent, not race or gender, powers scientific progress.

The book the NSA tried to suppress -- with a startling new afterword on the Geoffrey Arthur Prime spy case. The National Security Agency is the largest, most secretive, and potentially most intrusive American intelligence agency. It dwarfs the CIA in budget, manpower, and influence. In the three decades it has existed, the NSA has demonstrated a shocking disregard for the law. Until now, the inner workings of this agency have eluded public scrutiny. In this remarkable tour de force of investigative reporting, however, James Bamford penetrates the NSA's vast network of power -- the acres of computers, the electronic listening posts worldwide, the intelligence-gathering satellites, and the people who control them. The Puzzle Palace is a brilliant account of the use and abuse of technological espionage and of the frightening Orwellian potential of today's intelligence communites. - Back cover.

Describes the origin of more than 400 garments, machines, foods, sports, places, phenomenon and other everyday things that most people take for granted. Arranged alphabetically.

Features lists that cover a broad range of subjects including bizarre births, weird jobs, crazy diets, strange phobias, historical oddities, religious scandals, ridiculous criminal acts, and weird superstitions.