Just a few of the books written by speakers at TEDGlobal 2013. Read on for more.

TEDGlobal 2013: Think Again is right around the corner — and the program is packed with illustrious speakers addressing some of the most challenging and fascinating questions we face today. So how should you prepare for this influx of ideas from politics, science, the arts and beyond? To familiarize you with our speakers’ past work and points of view, we’ve compiled a list of some of their books, articles and, for the truly dedicated, scholarly research. Crack open a book (or a new browser tab) and get lost in the little bit of everything — clever, creative, controversial — that’s coming to Edinburgh next week.

If you read something that sparks your interest and want updates on certain speakers ASAP, tune in during the conference for full live coverage on the TED Blog and live tweeting from @TEDGlobal (dedicated to news from TEDGlobal exclusively) and @TEDNews (dedicated to news from TED, at large). In the meantime, enjoy this reading list.

Books on Politics, Money and Business: 

• Jihad vs. McWorld: Terrorism’s Challenge to Democracy by Benjamin Barber
• Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else by Chrystia Freeland
• The Entrepreneurial State: Debunking Public vs. Private Sector Myths by Maria Mazzucato
• Winner Take All: China’s Race for Resources, and What It Means for the World by Dambisa Moyo
• Tu y tu voto construyen la democracia by Juan Pardinas
• Competitive Advantage of Nations: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance by Michael Porter
• The Fastest Billion: The Story Behind Africa’s Economic Revolution by Charles Robertson
• What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets by Michael Sandel
• Why Stock Markets Crash: Critical Events in Complex Financial Systems by Didier Sornette

Books on Science, Nature and Technology:

• Welcome to Your Brain by Sandra Aamodt
• Secrets of Mental Math: The Mathemagician’s Guide to Lightning Calculation and Amazing Math Tricks by Arthur Benjamin
• The Nature of Human Nature by Carin Bondar
• The Great Animal Orchestra: Finding the Origins of Music in the World’s Wild Places by Bernie Krause
• The Willpower Instinct: How Self-Control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It by Kelly McGonigal
• The Cloudspotter’s Guide: The Science, History, and Culture of Clouds by Gavin Pretor-Pinney
• The Human Quest: Prospering Within Planetary Boundaries by Johan Rockström
• The Fever: How Malaria Has Ruled Humankind for 500,000 Years by Sonia Shah
• Digital Privacy: Theories, Technologies, and Practices by Alessandro Acquisti

Books on History, Society and Self:

• Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry by Stephen Burt
• Sex and the Citadel: Intimate Life in a Changing Arab World by Shereen El Feki
• The First Muslim: The Story of Muhammad by Lesley Hazleton
• The Global Soul: Jet Lag, Shopping Malls, and the Search for Home by Pico Iyer
• Adventure Divas: Searching the Globe for Women Who Are Changing the World by Holly Morris
• The Tyranny of Choice by Renata Salecl
• Gratefulness, the Heart of Prayer: An Approach to Life in Fullness by Brother David Steindl-Rast

For Fiction Lovers:

• Aria by Nassim Assefi
• Sensorium by Abha Dawesar
• Kill Decision by Daniel Suarez

Articles and Opinions:

• “Libya: Two Years Later” by Mustafa Abushagur (with Jason Pack)
• “A City Made of Waste” by Teddy Cruz
• “Control of Distributed, Autonomous Systems” by Raffaello D’Andrea
• “The Science of Sleepy Teenagers” by Russell Foster
• “Restoring Credibility to Sovereign Credit Ratings” by Annette Heuser
• “How to Free North Korea” by Adrian Hong
• “My Open Source Cure for Brain Cancer” by Salvatore Iaconesi
• “Why China’s Political Model Is Superior” by Eric X. Li
• “The 21st Century Saloon: A Peek Inside China’s Wangba, or Internet Cafes” by An Xiao Mina
• “Iran’s March to Naked Dictatorship?” by Trita Parsi
• “Digital Revolution Lights Up Africa with Maps, Mobiles, Money and Markets” by Toby Shapshak
• “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” by Anne-Marie Slaughter

Research Papers:

• Uri Alon’s research on the mirror game
• Greg Asner’s research on global consequences of land use
• Siddharthan Chandran’s research on signaling in hedgehog spinal cords
• Grégoire Courtine’s research on brain-machine interface
• Suzana Herculano-Houzel’s research on white matter expansion in rodents and primates
• Mark Kendall’s research on Nanopatch vaccine delivery
• Lian Pin Koh’s research on the dawn of drone ecology
• Apollo Robbins’ research on misdirection in sleight of hand tricks
• Marla Spivak’s research on resin collection in honey bee colonies
• Molly Stevens’ research on human cardiovascular tissue calcification

See the full lineup of TEDGlobal 2013 speakers »

Read about them in detail »

Find out how to watch TEDGlobal live from home »

This year, in 7 cities around the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, TED is holding outdoor screening parties in public squares. These outdoor events will take place June 10 to 14, during all five days of the conference, and will bring spectators curated programs of classic TED Talks, plus a few new talks from TEDGlobal 2013. Stay tuned to the TED Blog for more information on these events.