A vertebral compression fracture occurs when the bones of the spine become broken due to trauma. The vertebrae most commonly broken are those in the lower back. Latitude 38 • Page 3. B OAT LOANS from. Trident Funding 'a fresh approach from people you can trust' In Northern California call. JOAN BURLEIGH (800) 690-7770 In.

• Introduction to the American Edition • Science and Sensibility • 1.1 A Devil's Chaplain • 1.2 What is True? • I Down the Rabbit-Hole • II The Pool of Tears • III A Caucus-Race and a Long Tale • IV The Rabbit Sends in a Little Bill • V Advice from a Caterpillar • VI Pig and Pepper • VII A Mad Tea-Party • VIII The Queen's Croquet-Ground • IX The Mock Turtle's Story • X The Lobster-Quadrille • XI Who Stole the Tarts? • XII Alice's Evidence Full title The Alternate Asimovs [] Language Author (author) Categories, and Publication year 1986 Pages 320 Synopsis Contains Grow Old Along with Me (which became ), The End of Eternity (which became ), and two versions of Belief (the unpublished and the published versions). Grow Old Along with Me takes place in the Galactic Era (when humans have colonized millions of worlds) and deals with an Earth plot to take revenge at the rest of the Galaxy for its poor treatment of the Earth, and to establish the Earth as the ruling world. (As a side-note, no one in the Galaxy really knows if humanity originated on a single planet, or if they originated on several worlds more or less simultaneously and, when each planet became space-faring, met and interbred to form the humanity that is the Galactic Empire.

Sharp Aquos Quattron Software Update. Most adhere to the latter, which they call the Merger Theory. The former is called the Radiation Theory and is believed by a small sect on Earth calling themselves the Ancients.) The End of Eternity is a time travel short story about the so-called Eternals who live in Eternity and alter the realities of different centuries by making quantum changes. Belief is a story about Roger Toomey who one morning discovers that he can levitate, and centers around his attempts at getting his fellow physicists to believe him. The two versions (the unpublished and the published) differ only in the endings. My favorite of these is by far the published version of Belief (Asimov preferred the unpublished one), because it tells a beautiful story in a beautiful way. My least favorite is The End of Eternity, because time travel is full of paradoxes (and I really dislike paradoxes). Full title American Poetry: An Introductory Anthology [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1991 Original publication year 1969 Pages 192 Synopsis As the title says, this is an introductory anthology to American poetry.

The introduction devotes around three pages to a synopsis of a selection of the authors' lives, and the book itself has a handful of poems from each author. Review This book is pretty dated, but I still enjoyed the selection.

• Introduction • Part I NUMBERS AND COUNTING • 1. Nothing Counts • 2. One, Ten, Buckle My Shoe • 3. Exclamation Point!

T-Formation • 5. Varieties of the Infinite • Part II NUMBERS AND MATHEMATICS • 6. A Piece of Pi • 7. Tools of the Trade • 8.

The Imaginary That Isn't • Part III NUMBERS AND MEASUREMENT • 9. Pre-fixing It Up • Part IV NUMBERS AND THE CALENDAR • 11. The Days of Our Years • 12. Begin at the Beginning • Part V NUMBERS AND BIOLOGY • 13. That's About the Size of It • Part VI NUMBERS AND ASTRONOMY • 14. The Proton-Reckoner • Part VII NUMBERS AND THE EARTH • 15.

Water, Water, Everywhere— • 16. Up and Down the Earth • 17. The Isles of Earth Full title Asimov's New Guide to Science [] Original title The Intelligent Man's Guide to Science Language Author (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1987 Original publication year 1984 ISBN 978-0-140-17213-3 [,,, ] Pages 880 Synopsis This is a thick door-stopper of a book, dealing with all of science (and the history of science in general). It's divided into two major parts, The Physical Sciences and The Biological Sciences. Review Asimov wrote very well fiction, but I think non-fiction is where he shines, and this book is no exception. Go buy it, and get an overview of the vast fields of science! Images Full title Bad Science [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2009 Original publication year 2008 ISBN 978-0-00-728487-0 [,,, ] Pages 370 Synopsis Bad Science is a book almost entirely dedicated to the exposition of poor and damaging science reporting in the media, especially medical science.

(Another major point of the book is focusing on specific people in the media who Goldacre thinks are doing a poor job or a disservice to the public.) This isn't all of the book, however: some chapters (The Placebo Effect and Bad Stats stand out) go into how medical science is actually done and what methods are used in clinical trials. Review I found the book both entertaining and enlightning, although the book is heavily focused on the UK. If you're from the UK then you'd probably enjoy this book much more than I did, being from Norway. Images Structure.

• Introduction • Chapter 1: Matter • Chapter 2: Brain Gym • Chapter 3: The Progenium XY Complex • Chapter 4: Homeopathy • Chapter 5: The Placebo Effect • Chapter 6: The Nonsense du Jour • Chapter 7: Dr Gillian McKeith PhD • Chapter 8: 'Pill Solves Complex Social Problem' • Chapter 9: Professor Patrick Holford • Chapter 10: The Doctor Will Sure You Now • Chapter 11: Is Mainstream Medicine Evil? • Chapter 12: How the Media Promote the Public Misunderstanding of Science • Chapter 13: Why Clever People Believe Stupid Things • Chapter 14: Bad Stats • Chapter 15: Health Scares • Chapter 16: The Media's MMR Hoax • And Another Thing • Further Reading and Acknowledgements • Notes • Index Full title The Beginning and the End [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories,, and Publication year 1978 Original publication year 1977 ISBN 0-671-47644-0 [,,, ] Pages 253 Images Structure. • Introduction A THE PAST • 1 The Real Cyrano • 2 Of What Use? • 3 The Democracy of Learning • 4 The Monsters We Have Lived With • 5 The Fossil Fuels • 6 A Stop of Water B THE PRESENT • 7 Smart, but Not Smart Enough? • 8 Recipe for an Ocean • 9 Technology and Energy • 10 The Glorious Sun • 11 Astronomy • 12 The Large Satellites of Jupiter • 13 The Natural Satellites • 14 Of Life Beyond • 15 The Beginning and the End • 16 Gravitation, Unlimited • 17 Man and Computer C THE FUTURE • 18 The Big Weather Change • 19 Tighten Your Belt • 20 America—A.D. 2176 • 21 The Coming Decades in Space • 22 Colonizing the Heavens • 23 The Moon as Threshold Full title The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov [] Language Author (author) Categories, and Publication year 1986 Pages 249 Synopsis Perhaps The best non-robot non-Foundation science fiction of Isaac Asimov would be a more fitting, if longer, title for the book. This is an anthology of stories chosen by Asimov himself, with commentary preceding each story.

Full title The Blank Slate: The Modern Denial of Human Nature [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2002 ISBN 0-14-200334-4 [,,, ] Pages 509 Synopsis A very good synthesis of and commentary on the nature-nurture debate from the point of view of an evolutionary psychologist. • Preface • About the Author • About the British private school system • A map of southern England and Wales • BOY • Starting-point • Llandaff Cathedral School, 1923-25 (age 7-9) • St. Peter's, 1925-36 (age 13-20) • Vocabulary and comprehension questions • Group work • Writing activities Full title Brain Droppings [] Language Author (author) Category Publication year 1998 Full title Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2006 ISBN 0-670-03472-X [,,, ] Pages 448 Images Structure. • Preface Part I: Opening Pandora's Box • 1 Breaking Which Spell? • 1 What's going on? • 2 A Working definition of religion • 3 To break or not to break • 4 Peering in the abyss • 5 Religion as a natural phenomenon • 2 Some Questions About Science • 1 Can science study religion? • 2 Should science study religion?

• 3 Might music be bad for you? • 4 Would neglect be more benign? • 3 Why Good Things Happen • 1 Bringing out the best • 2 Cui bono? • Foreword • Earth and the Overlords • The Golden Age • The Last Generation Full title The City and the Stars [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publisher series Publication year 2001 Original publication year 1956 ISBN 978-1-857-98763-8 [,,, ] Pages 255 Synopsis The story takes place on Earth several billion years in the future.

It revolves around the huge city of Diaspar, which has cloistered itself under an artificial roof. No one can leave the city, and no one even wants to. People are no longer born naturally, but emerge from the Hall of Creation. They live for centuries, and when they decide it's time to 'die' they simply choose which memories they wish to keep, and are then stored in the Memory Banks, to return centuries later from the Hall of Creation. These Memory Banks also house the patterns for everything in the city (buildings, furniture, what have you) so that when one wishes something (a chair, for instance), one simply asks for it and it will materialize. As a by-product, nothing ever wears down; the city (and its inhabitants) are practically immortal. Into this mix emerges Alvin, a Unique (meaning it's his first life).

These aren't unheard of, but they're very rare. The story is really about Alvin and his adventures to unravel the secrets of the city's (and Earth's) mysterious and myth-laden past. Review I thorougly enjoyed it.

If I have one complaint it's that I wish we learned more about the Invaders, but this doesn't detract from the story (for reasons which I won't go into due to the spoiler potential). Images Full title Climbing Mount Improbable [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1996 ISBN 978-0-393-31682-7 [,,, ] Pages 326 Images Structure. • The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 1) • Letters from Zedelghem (Part 1) • Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 1) • The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 1) • An Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 1) • Sloosha's Crossin' an' Ev'rythin' After • An Orison of Sonmi~451 (Part 2) • The Ghastly Ordeal of Timothy Cavendish (Part 2) • Half-Lives: The First Luisa Rey Mystery (Part 2) • Letters from Zedelghem (Part 2) • The Pacific Journal of Adam Ewing (Part 2) Full title The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 2001 ISBN 978-1-85798-323-4 [,,, ] Pages 966 Synopsis A collection of virtually every short story of Arthur C. See Structure for links to some of them. Review The stories are of varying quality, although most are very good (and some are truly excellent).

As this is a compilation, it's hard to give a verdict, but I definitely recommend it to you if you're a Clarke fan. Images Structure. • Travel by Wire! • Introduction • I The Shores of the Cosmic Ocean • II One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue • III The Harmony of the Worlds • IV Heaven and Hell • V Blues for a Red Planet • VI Travelers' Tales • VII The Backbone of Night • VIII Travels in Space and Time • IX The Lives of the Stars • X The Edge of Forever • XI The Persistence of Memory • XII Encyclopaedia Galactica • XIII Who Speaks for Earth? • Appendix 1: Reductio ad Absurdum and the Square Root of Two • Appendix 2: The Five Pythagorean Solids • Further Reading • Index Full title Counting the Eons [] Language Author (author) Categories, and Publication year 1983 Pages 254 Full title Cradle [] Language Authors and Publisher Categories and Publication year 1989 Original publication year 1988 ISBN 0-7088-4318-2 [,,, ] Pages 374 Synopsis This novel primarily follows three people: Carol Dawson, a journalist for the Miami Herald; Nick Williams, a diver, adventurer, and boat owner; and his partner, Troy Williams. Carol, interested in a curious incident of a beached whale and a rumour about a submerged Navy missile, decides to enlist the help of Nick and Troy.

Review Unfortunately, this novel isn't so much science fiction as thriller and drama, which was a little disappointing. It would make a good movie I think, but as a novel the story isn't driven forward as it should, there is too much characterization (without meaning), and the ending fell absolutely flat for me. You can safely skip this one. Images Structure.

• Endangered Species • Thursday • Cycle 447 • Friday • Assembly and Test • Saturday • Repatriation • Sunday Full title The Da Vinci Code [] Language Author (author) Category Publication year 2003 Pages 583 Full title Dandelion Wine [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2008 Original publication year 1957 ISBN 978-0-00-728474-0 [,,, ] Pages 319 Synopsis Originally a series of short stories, this novel is about quiet Middle American life in the fictional Green Town, Illinois. The story mainly follows twelve-year-old Douglas Spaulding and his brother, Tom, with minor characters scattered about.

The novel is about nothing in particular, except the musings of Doug about rather adult themes like life and death. The title is a metaphor for good summer memories, and in the story it's a real beverage that Doug and his grandfather actually tap into bottles for the long winter ahead. There is a sequel,. Review Despite being well-written, I found this novel at times boring, and I was a little disappointed that it didn't go anywhere; there's no real story here.

There are a few memorable scenes, however, like the meeting between the gang (Doug, Tom, and Charlie) and Colonel Freeleigh and between the young reporter and the old woman. Images Full title Dangerous Visions [] Language Authors (editor), (illustrator), (illustrator), (foreword),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and Categories, and Publication year 1975 Pages 544 Synopsis An anthology with short stories which each presents a 'dangerous vision' (although I would call them 'visions for thought'). Review These thirty-two stories are all excellent in their own ways, but some stand out as superbly excellent. They are Shall the Dust Praise Thee?, Evensong, The Malley System, Carcinoma Angels, and A Toy For Juliette. Go buy this book. Images Structure.

• Introduction • Deluded about God? • Has science disproved God? • What are the origins of religion? • Is religion evil?

• Notes • For further reading Full title Deception Point [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2002 Original publication year 2001 ISBN 0-671-02738-7 [,,, ] Pages 558 Synopsis NASA discovers a meteoric rock under the Milne Ice Shelf which contains a fossil, and the story centers around this remarkable find. Involved in their own ways are a senator, a senator's daughter, a senator's aide, the U.S. President, and several organizations. Images Structure. • Acknowledgments • Author's Note • Prologue • [133 unnamed chapters] • Epilogue Full title The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark [] Language Author (author) Categories, and Publication year 1996 Pages 416 Synopsis The Demon-Haunted World deals with human imagination, science, and scepticism, in a nutshell. In reality it's so much more: It's a defense of scepticism, an advertisement for science, a crash course in wonder, and an explanation of science and what it's all about. My favorite chapters, I think, are The Dragon in My Garage and. Picbasic Serial Examples.

Full title Discoveries [] Language Authors (introduction),,,,,,,, and Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1995 ISBN 0-575-06258-4 [,,, ] Pages 190 Synopsis I can't remember where I got this book, but I reckon it's pretty rare to come across as it's not normally sold, but was given away free with the October 1995 issue of. It's an anthology of short science fiction stories from budding British authors. Review A few of the stories fell flat, but some are good (I really enjoyed Blood Music). If you happen to come across it, you might want to buy it, if only for its rarity. Images Structure.

• Introduction • Prison Dreams Paul J. McAuley • Blood Music Greg Bear • The Charisma Trees Robert Holdstock • Dark Night in Toyland Bob Shaw • Virtually Lucid Lucy Ian Watson • Morpheus Tricia Sullivan • Winning Ian McDonald • extract from Richter 10 Arthur C. Clarke and Mike McQuay Full title Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? [] Alternative title Blade Runner Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1982 Original publication year 1968 ISBN 0-345-35047-2 [,,, ] Pages 216 Images Full title Eaters of the Dead: The Manuscript of Ibn Fadlan Relating His Experiences with the Northmen in A.D.

922 [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 1997 Original publication year 1976 ISBN 978-0-099-22282-8 [,,, ] Pages 186 Synopsis Being the inspiration for the movie The 13th Warrior, this is a story about an Arab's adventures with Vikings, battling a dangerous and mysterious enemy who might or might not be completely human, the Eaters of the Dead (which they do). Review I really enjoyed this one, mainly because of the intelligence and questioning nature of the protagonist, the Arab (a real person). He is sent as an ambassador by the Caliph of Baghdad to the king of the Volga Bulgars, although he never reaches his destination, instead joining a band of Vikings in their quest to beat the wendol, as the Vikings call the Eaters. I give it a thumbs-up. Images Structure. • Introduction — The Seventh Sense • The Tractable Apostrophe • That'll Do, Comma • Airs and Graces • Cutting a Dash • A Little Used Punctuation Mark • Merely Conventional Signs • Bibliography Full title Edgar Allan Poe Collected Stories and Poems [] Language Authors (author), (illustrator), (illustrator), (illustrator), (illustrator) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 2008 Original publication year 2006 ISBN 9773 [,,, ] Pages 374 Synopsis This is a collection of Poe's works. It's a big and beautifully-bound book, with illustrations for all the stories and poems.

Review If you've never read anything by Edgar Allan Poe before, you're in for a major treat. I can highly recommend some stories: The Pit and the Pendulum (about a man being kept captive during the Spanish Inquisition), The Gold Bug (about a man discovering an ancient treasure map), The Premature Burial (about exactly what the title says), The Cask of Amontillado (about a drunk man meeting a horrifying death), The Tell-Tale Heart (about a murderer who hallucinates his victim's heart beat), and Shadow — A Parable (about whispers in the night, not to spoil it).

I can heartily recommend this book, or any other Poe collection, for that matter. Images Structure. • Chapter One: Technician • Chapter Two: Observer • Chapter Three: Cub • Chapter Four: Computer • Chapter Five: Timer • Chapter Six: Life-Plotter • Chapter Seven: Prelude to Crime • Chapter Eight: Crime • Chapter Nine: Interlude • Chapter Ten: Trapped! • Reason in Exile • The Nature of Belief • In the Shadow of God • The Problem with Islam • West of Eden • A Science of Good and Evil • Experiments in Consciousness • Epilogue • Afterword • Notes • Bibliography • Acknowledgments • Index Full title Engines of Creation: The Coming Era of Nanotechnology [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year 1986 Online version Pages 320 Review This 1986 Drexler book is a seminal work on molecular nanotechnology. It's very well-written and very well-paced, and charts some of the possibilities and dangers with upcoming technologies such as nano-sized robots and true artificial intelligence.

Despite being extremely future-optimistic (which it has every right to be, of course), it's also extremely rational; it gives examples of disagreements and somewhat tries to refute these. The book describes how tiny robots might build a light-weight and sturdy rocket engine in a vat, how a person might be frozen and then thawed several years later (cryonics), and how tiny robots might act as a tight-fitting and light spacesuit. These are very excellent descriptions, and it's very hard not to imagine these things with awe. The book is very quotable, too. Check out this one, for instance, which criticizes Jeremy Rifkin's Entropy: A New World View, a controversial book about entropy and how it relates to human activities: 'The entropy threat is an example of blatant nonsense, yet its inventors and promoters aren't laughed off the public stage. Imagine a thousand, a million similar distortions - some subtle, some brazen, but all warping the public's understanding of the world.

Now imagine a group of democratic nations suffering from an infestation of such memes while attempting to cope with an era of accelerating technological revolution. We have a real problem.' Or how about this one (describing a limit of molecular technology): 'Trying to change a nucleus by poking at it with a molecule is even more futile than trying to flatten a steel ball bearing by waving a ball of cotton candy at it. Molecular technology can sort and rearrange atoms, but it cannot reach into a nucleus to change an atom's type.'

Go read this book now. Full title The Epic of Gilgamesh [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year -700 Pages 128 Synopsis Being one of the few surviving early epic poems in the world (dating to the third millennium BCE), Gilgamesh tells the story of Gilgamesh, a god-king of Uruk who the gods see as arrogant. They create Enkidu, a wild beast that eventually befriends Gilgamesh.

They travel together to the cedar forest and battle Humbaba, a fiendish guardian. They successfully defeat him, but eventually Enkidu dies, and Gilgamesh becomes painfully aware of his own mortality. Not liking that, he sets out on a journey to find ever-lasting life. Review The paperback edition that I read is only 62 pages, so it's a very light read. The story is engaging, but not really engagingly written (doubtless because of its age and the act of translation). Nevertheless, I recommend it if only for its prominent status.

( Note: There are several free online translations. I originally read it online, but I can't find the version I read, so you could if you want. However, my guess is that a translation from a proper book is best.) Full title Expanded Universe [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 2007 Original publication year 1980 ISBN 978-0-7434-9915-6 [,,, ] Pages 705 Synopsis A collection of short stories and essays, the essays focusing for the most part on WWII and the atomic bomb.

Review A really nice read. I especially liked How to Be a Survivor, Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon, and Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You.

Images Structure. • Life-Line • Successful Operation • Blowups Happen • Solution Unsatisfactory • The Last Days of the United States • How to Be a Survivor • Pie from the Sky • They Do It with Mirrors • Free Men • No Bands Playing, No Flags Flying— • A Bathroom of Her Own • On the Slopes of Vesuvius • Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon • Pandora's Box • Where To?

• Cliff and the Calories • Ray Guns and Rocket Ships • The Third Millennium Opens • Who Are the Heirs of Patrick Henry? • 'Pravda' Means 'Truth' • Inside Intourist • Searchlight • The Pragmatics of Patriotism • Paul Dirac, Antimatter, and You • Larger than Life • Spinoff • The Happy Days Ahead Full title Expedition to Earth [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1982 Original publication year 1953 ISBN 0-345-31057-8 [,,, ] Pages 165 Images Structure. • Second Dawn • • Breaking Strain • • Superiority • Exile of the Eons • Hide and Seek • Expedition to Earth • Loophole • Inheritance • The Sentinel Full title A Fall of Moondust [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publisher series Publication year 2002 Original publication year 1961 ISBN 978-0-575-07317-3 [,,, ] Pages 224 Synopsis It's the near future, and the Moon is a place for tourism. The novel opens with Pat Harris, skipper of the boat Selene, enjoying a cruise with his two-dozen-or-so passengers across the (fictional) Sea of Thirst.

At the time of the novel's writing in 1960 it was reasonably assumed that the so-called 'seas' of the Moon consisted of very fine dust. Selene, therefore, was imagined as a ship capable of crossing these seas. However, like an ant falling into an antlion's trap (the analogy is one of the character's), Selene sinks into the Sea of Thirst, and the rest of the novel is concerned with, alternately, the people aboard, the search party above, and the various other interested parties (TV crews, overseers, and what have you). Review An immensely gripping novel! To call it science fiction is technically correct, but the SF serves merely as the backdrop for the human drama.

And what a drama it is! Go pick this up!

Images Full title Fantastic Voyage [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1966 ISBN 0-553-27572-0 [,,, ] Pages 186 Synopsis Miniaturization is reality, but indefinite miniaturization isn't; that knowledge resides within the brain of Jan Benes, a scientist who defects to the West. Unfortunately, there is an assassination attempt which leaves Benes comatose, and a blood clot develops in his brain. A team of scientists are miniaturized and injected into Benes' body in a submarine rudimentarily outfitted with a laser and have only 60 minutes to remove the clot before they are de-miniaturized (which would make the submarine expand and in the process kill Benes). Images Structure.

Headquarters • 4. Briefing • 5. Submarine • 6. Miniaturization • 7.

Submergence • 8. Capillary • 12. Lymphatic • 15.

Eye Full title Fantastic Voyage II: Destination Brain [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year 1987 Pages 385 Synopsis Not a sequel to Fantastic Voyage, this novel revolves around neurophysiologist Albert Jonas Morrison and his crew's journey into the brain of a scientist by way of miniaturization. Morrison has some fringe theories on how the mind works and how it is theoretically possible to amplify brain waves and, in effect, sense thoughts. For this reason, his fellow scientists don't respect him very much, and for this reason, he is hired (read the book and you'll understand) by a team of Russian scientists who want Morrison and his computer to join them in a mission inside a man's brain to sense his thoughts. Review The story, in essence, is the same as that of Fantastic Voyage, except that FV is a straight novelization of the movie script (the novel appeared before the movie, interestingly) while FVII is the same story as Asimov would have told it. I prefer the latter because the conundrums of miniaturization are discussed in much greater detail as Morrison is extremely sceptical about it at first. Full title Farewell Summer [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2008 Original publication year 2006 ISBN 978-0-00-728475-7 [,,, ] Pages 166 Synopsis Farewell Summer is a sequel to, and takes place the following year (another summer). It continues the theme of a boy's childhood summer, and adds in a conflict (of sorts) between two generations.

Review Like its prequel, I found this novel too a little boring, but the scene where the mischievous boys sneak into the clock tower was entertaining. I can't recommend this one, but if you liked the prequel, chances are you'll like this one as well. Images Structure. Almost Antietam • II.

Shiloh and Beyond • III. Appomattox • Afterword: The Importance of Being Startled Full title The Fifth Essence: The Search for Dark Matter in the Universe [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1989 ISBN 0-09-174211-0 [,,, ] Pages 342 Synopsis This book is in large part about particle physics, with the main theme being an exploration of dark matter and its implications. There are very few equations, and those are fairly simple to follow. However, there's a lot of physics jargon, making it a little hard to follow at times for the non-physicist.

Review As a layman I found this book very interesting, although I feel someone with a deeper knowledge of physics (in particular particle physics) would enjoy it even more. Nonetheless, Krauss makes a valiant effort at explaining a very difficult subject.

I especially enjoyed the long section about how we've modeled (and simulated) the formation of large-scale structure. It's really amazing how well gravity can explain large structures.

If you're at all interested in dark matter, I heartily recommend this book, even though it's a little dated by now (for instance, it talks about the Superconducting Super Collider). Images Structure.

• Preface: A New Copernican Revolution? Part I The Stuff of Matter • Chapter 1: Making Something Out of Nothing • Chapter 2: Filling the Void Part II Weighing the Universe. And Coming up Short • Chapter 3: First Light on the Darkness • Chapter 4: Beyond Our Island in the Night Part III Why the Universe is Flat: The Big Bang, Large-Scale Structure, and the Need for Something New • Chapter 5: Cooking with Gas • Chapter 6: The Tip of the Iceberg Part IV The Neutrino Saga and the Birth of Cold Dark Matter • Chapter 7: The Obvious Choice? • Chapter 8: Cold Gets Hot Part V The Candidates • Chapter 9: All Roads Lead to Dark Matter • Chapter 10: Three Modest Proposals Part VI Desperately Seeking Dark Matter • Chapter 11: The Music of the Spheres?

• Chapter 12: Of Thermometers and Radios • Epilogue: The Best of Times? • Appendix A: Orders of Magnitude and Scale of the Universe • Appendix B: A Really Brief History of Time • Notes • Index Full title Fifty Short Science Fiction Tales [] Language Authors (editor), (editor),,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1963 ISBN 0-684-84296-3 [,,, ] Pages 287 Synopsis Fifty short-short stories from fifty different authors are collected here.

Review Almost all of the stories are truly excellent, and I have transcribed some of the best ones and put them on my page (,,, and ). Go there for a sample before you buy the book. (You will buy it, remember.) Images Structure.

• From Flatland to Flatterland • 1 The Third Dimension • 2 Victoria's Diary • 3 The Visitation • 4 A Hundred and One Dimensions • 5 One and a Quarter Dimension • 6 The Topologist's Tea-Party • 7 Along the Looking-Glass • 8 Grape Theory • 9 What is a Geometry? • 10 Platterland • 11 Cat Country • 12 The Paradox Twins • 13 The Domain of the Hawk King • 14 Down the Wormhole • 15 What Shape is the Universe? • 16 No-Branes and P-Branes • 17 Flatterland • 18 The Tenth Dimension Full title Frankenstein [] Alternative title or, The Modern Prometheus Language Authors (author) and (supplemental) Publisher Categories and Publisher series Publication year 2009 Original publication year 1818 ISBN 978-0-7434-8758-0 [,,, ] Pages 323 Synopsis An explorer of the North Pole picks up a weary and battered Victor Frankenstein. Victor is on the run from his creation, who is trying to kill him. The captain of the ship listens to Frankenstein's story (which makes up the meat of the novel).

Review What struck me about the novel was how mild-mannered, eloquent, and initially innocent Frankenstein's so-called monster is. The monster spends a good chunk of the novel in the forest, trying to make a living, and he meets a family living in a forest cabin. This novel is a classic, and extremely well-written. I heartily recommend it. If you're not versed in Victorian English I recommend that you get a version with notes to explain language usage.

Otherwise, a lot of things won't make sense. Images Structure. • Introduction • Chronology of Mary Shelley's Life and Work • Historical Context of Frankenstein Frankenstein • Notes • Interpretive Notes • Questions for Discussion • Suggestions for the Interested Reader Full title Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything [] Language Authors (author) and (author) Categories and Publication year 2005 Pages 336 Synopsis This is a book about applying statistics to unconventional problems and seeing where that leads you. For instance, the book argues that Roe v. Wade was a more contributing factor to the recent drop in crime rates in the US than any other. The explanation?

The people who are most inclined to become criminals (children of poor single-parent blacks) simply aren't there when, had they been born, they would have begun their criminal careers. Full title Free Culture: The Nature and Future of Creativity [] Language Author (author) Category Publication year 2004 Online version Pages 368 Synopsis This is a book about copyright — what it meant originally, what it means now, what it regulated originally, what it regulates now — and about how new technology should force us to rewrite old laws so that common sense prevails.

Review In my opinion, a must-read for anyone interested in freedom, culture, and copyright. Parts of the book are unfortunately very dull and not very well-structured (and also written in Lawyerese), but the subject matter is more important (besides, the parts that aren't dull are exceedingly good). • Preface Chapter 1: Natural Freedom • Learning What We Are • I Am Who I Am • The Air We Breathe • Dumbo's Magic Feather and the Peril of Paulina Chapter 2: A Tool for Thinking About Determinism • Some Useful Oversimplifications • From Physics to Design in conway's Life World • Can We Get the Deus ex Machina? • From Slow-motion Avoidance to Star Wars • The Birth of Evitability Chapter 3: Thinking About Determinism • Possible Worlds • Causation • Austin's Putt • A Computer Chess Marathon • Events without Causes in a Deterministic Universe • Will the Future Be Like the Past? Chapter 4: A Hearing for Libertarianism • The Appeal of Libertarianism • Where Should We Put the Much-needed Gap? • Kane's Mode of Indeterministic Decision-making • 'If you make yourself really small, you can externalize virtually everything' • Beware of Prime Mammals • How Can It Be 'Up to Me'? Chapter 5: Where Does all the Design Come From?

• Early Days • The Prisoner's Dilemma • E Pluribus Unum? • Digression: The Threat of Genetic Determinism • Degrees of Freedom and the Search for Truth Chapter 6: The Evolution of Open Minds • How Cultural Symbionts Turn Primates into Persons • The Diversity of Darwinian Explanations • Nice Tools, but You Still Have to Use Them Chapter 7: The Evolution of Moral Agency • Benselfishness • Being Good in Order to Seem Good • Learning to Deal with Yourself • Our Costly Merit Badges Chapter 8: Are You Out of the Loop? • Drawing the Wrong Moral • Whenever the Spirit Moves You • A Mind-writer's View • A Self of One's Own Chapter 9: Bootstrapping Ourselves Free • How We Captured Reasons and Made Them Our Own • Psychic Engineering and the Arms Race of Rationality • With a Little Help from My Friends • Autonomy, Brainwashing, and Education Chapter 10: The Future of Human Freedom • Holding the Line against Creeping Exculpation • 'Thanks, I Needed That!' • Are We Freer Than We Want to Be? • Human Freedom Is Fragile • Bibliography • Index Full title The God Delusion [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 2006 ISBN 978-0-618-68000-9 [,,, ] Pages 406 Synopsis The God Delusion unapologetically criticizes religion (as the title implies, belief in gods is a delusion, on the same level as believing you're Napoleon). First off, he tries to avoid confusion with the way Einstein and Hawking have used religious terms to express their appreciation of contemplating the universe, by invoking what he calls Einsteinian religion (neither Einstein nor Hawking are theists, by the way). In that respect, Dawkins tells us that he's a deeply religious non-believer, but dislikes using the word, instead preferring to reserve it for traditional religion.

Images Structure. • Preface • Dramatis Personae • 1 The Invisible Soccer Ball • 2 The First Particle Physicist • Interlude A: A Tale of Two Cities • 3 Looking for the Atom: The Mechanics • 4 Still Looking for the Atom: Chemists and Electricians • 5 The Naked Atom • Interlude B: The Dancing Moo-Shu Masters • 6 Accelerators: They Smash Atoms, Don't They?

• Interlude C: How We Violated Parity in a Weekend. And Discovered God • 7 A-tom! • 8 The God Particle at Last • 9 Inner Space, Outer Space, and the Time Before Time • Acknowledgments • A Note on History and Sources • Index Full title The Gods Themselves [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1990 Original publication year 1972 ISBN 0-553-28810-5 [,,, ] Pages 293 Images Structure. • Against Stupidity. The Gods Themselves. Contend in Vain? Full title Gold: The Final Science Fiction Collection [] Language Author (author) Categories, and Publication year 1990 Pages 416 Synopsis The first part is an anthology of short stories, while the two last parts are non-fiction dealing with concepts in science fiction and on writing science fiction, respectively.

Full title Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch [] Language Authors (author) and (author) Publisher Categories and ISBN 0-441-00325-7 [,,, ] Synopsis A demon and an angel, Crowley and Aziraphale, having become good friends on Earth, decide to postpone the end of the world by keeping a close eye on the Antichrist, making sure he doesn't make a choice between good and evil. Images Full title The Grand Design [] Language Authors (author) and (author) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 2010 ISBN 978-0-593-05829-9 [,,, ] Pages 200 Synopsis The Grand Design is a book about how the universe can come from nothing. It explores and explains M-theory and speculates about the elusive Theory of Everything. 'One can't prove that God doesn't exist, but science makes God unnecessary.'

Images Structure. • Preface • [9 unnamed chapters] • The Text of The Great Gatsby • Publisher's Afterword • Explanatory Notes • Further Reading • Publisher's Note About the Author • A Brief Life of F.

Scott Fitzgerald Full title The Great Scientists: From Euclid to Stephen Hawking [] Language Authors (author), (co-author), (co-author) and (co-author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2006 ISBN 978-1-84193-300-9 [,,, ] Pages 158 Synopsis A book about scientists from Euclid, Archimedes, and Ptolemy to Faraday, Darwin, and Hawking, and the science they invented or practiced. Images Structure. • Preface • Chapter 1 Only a theory? • Chapter 2 Dogs, cows and cabbages • Chapter 3 The primrose path to macro-evolution • Chapter 4 Silence and slow time • Chapter 5 Before our very eyes • Chapter 6 Missing link?

What do you mean, 'missing'? • Chapter 7 Missing persons? Missing no longer • Chapter 8 You did it yourself in nine months • Chapter 9 The ark of the continents • Chapter 10 The tree of cousinship • Chapter 11 History written all over us • Chapter 12 Arms races and 'evolutionary theodicy' • Chapter 13 There is grandeur in this view of life • Appendix: The history-deniers • Notes • Bibliography and further reading • Picture acknowledgements • Index Full title Gulliver's Travels [] Alternative title Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World, in Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships Language Authors (author) and (introduction) Publisher Categories,, and Publication year 2003 Original publication year 1726 ISBN 978-0-14-143949-5 [,,, ] Pages 306 Images Structure. • Plates • Acknowledgements • Introduction • Further Reading • A Note on the Text Travels Into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver • Advertisement • A Letter from Capt.

• Preface • 1. Why Nerds Are Unpopular Their minds are not on the game. Hackers and Painters Hackers are makers, like painters or architects or writers. What You Can't Say How to think heretical thoughts and what to do with them. Good Bad Attitude Like Americans, hackers win by breaking rules. The Other Road Ahead Web-based software offers the biggest opportunity since the arrival of the microcomputer. How to Make Wealth The best way to get rich is to create wealth.

And startups are the best way to do that. Mind the Gap Could 'unequal income distribution' be less of a problem than we thing? A Plan for Spam Till recently most experts thought spam filtering wouldn't work. This proposal changed their minds. Taste for Makers How do you make great things?

Programming Languages Explained What a programming language is and why they are a hot topic now. The Hundred-Year Language How will we program in a hundred years? Why not start now?

Beating the Averages For web-based applications you can use whatever language you want. So can your competitors. Revenge of the Nerds In technology, 'industry best practice' is a recipe for losing.

The Dream Language A good programming language is one that lets hackers have their way with it. Design and Research Research has to be original. Design has to be good. • Notes • Acknowledgments • Image Credits • Glossary • Index Full title The Happy Atheist [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2013 ISBN 978-0-307-37934-4 [,,, ] Pages 190 Synopsis The Happy Atheist is Myers' first book. Readers familiar with his blog will know what to expect.

The book deals with religion and atheism from a lot of different angles, and in essence it's a popular book written for a popular audience, using popular arguments. This is not to say that the book is simplistic, just that it isn't scholarly. If you want a preview of the book, read his essay, which in the book is the chapter called 'About the Author'.

Review I half-expected the book (having read Myers' blog) to be much more angry than it is. In fact it's a very funny, lively, and readable book, and at no point was I bored. (In fact, I had trouble putting it down. I didn't read it in one sitting, but two.) Images Structure. • Foreword • Prologue with Premonitions • Yvonne • The Commander • Fragments from an Education • Cambridge • The Sixties: Revolution in the Revolution • Chris or Christopher? • Havana versus Prague • The Fenton Factor • Martin • Portugal to Poland • A Second Identity: On Becoming an (Anglo) American • Changing Places • Salman • Mesopotamia from Both Sides • Something of Myself • Thinking thrice about the Jewish Question.

• Edward Said in Light and Shade (and Saul) • Decline, Mutation, or Metamorphosis? • Acknowledgments • Index Full title The Human Body: Its Structure and Operation [] Language Authors (author) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1963 ISBN 9743 [,,, ] Pages 309 Synopsis Goes through the human body, from head to torso, muscles to blood, skin to genitalia, explaining in good detail how it all works. Review As always, it's written in clear prose, and is easily accessible. If you have a moderate interest in human anatomy, this is the book for you. Images Structure. • Preface • Fit the First: The Landing • Fit the Second: The Bellman's Speech • Fit the Third: The Baker's Tale • Fit the Fourth: The Hunting • Fit the Fifth: The Beaver's Lesson • Fit the Sixth: The Barrister's Dream • Fit the Seventh: The Banker's Fate • Fit the Eigth: The Vanishing Full title I. Asimov: A Memoir [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 1995 Original publication year 1994 ISBN 0-553-56997-X [,,, ] Pages 578 Synopsis This is Asimov's third and last autobiography, started in early 1990 after a complicated operation, and finished in May 1990 (Asimov died in 1992).

His two previous autobiographies are called In Memory Yet Green and In Joy Still Felt, and their titles, Asimov tells in this book, are from a poem by Asimov himself: 'In memory yet green, in joy still felt The scenes of life rise sharply into view. We triumph; Life's disasters are undealt, And while all else is old, the world is new.' From this, Asimov wanted to call this third volume The Scenes of Life, but sadly that title didn't survive editorial tampering.

Review This is a more or less chronological account of Asimov's life, arranged in 166 smallish chapters, each dealing with a different subject or person (Asimov had a lot of well-known friends), and everything is thoroughly entertaining. If you pick up this book, I promise you'll have a hard time putting it down. Images Structure. • Introduction • 1. Infant Prodigy?

My Father • 3. My Mother • 4.

Religion • 6. Anti-Semitism • 8. Bookworm • 10. Growing Up • 12. Long Hours • 13.

Pulp Fiction • 14. Science Fiction • 15.

Beginning to Write • 16. Humiliation • 17. Failure • 18. The Futurians • 19. Frederik Pohl • 20. Kornbluth • 21. Donald Allen Wollheim • 22.

Early Sales • 23. John Wood Campbell, Jr.

Robert Anson Heinlein • 25. Lyon Sprague de Camp • 26. Clifford Donald Simak • 27. Jack Williamson • 28.

Lester del Rey • 29. Theodore Sturgeon • 30. Graduate School • 31. Heartbreak • 33.

'Nightfall' • 34. As World War II Begins • 35. Master of Arts • 36.

Pearl Harbor • 37. Marriage and Problems • 38. In-Laws • 39. Life at War's End • 41. Acrophobia • 43. Claustrophobia • 44. And Public Speaking • 45.

Postdoctorate • 46. Job Hunting • 47. The Big Three • 48. Arthur Charles Clarke • 49. More Family • 50. First Novel • 51.

New Job at Last • 52. Doubleday • 53. Gnome Press • 54. Boston University School of Medicine • 55.

Scientific Papers • 56. Nonfiction • 58. Children • 59. Off the Cuff • 62. Horace Leonard Gold • 63.

Country Living • 64. Automobile • 65. Prolificity • 67. Writer's Problems • 68. Critics • 69. Literary Sex and Censorship • 71.

Doomsday • 72. Letters • 74. Plagiarism • 75. Science Fiction Conventions • 76. Anthony Boucher • 77. Randall Garrett • 78.

Harlan Ellison • 79. Hal Clement • 80. Ben Nova • 81. Over My Head • 82. Farewell to Science Fiction • 83. The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction • 84. Mystery Novels • 86.

Ashmead • 87. Overweight • 88. More Conventions • 89.

Guide to Science • 90. Indexes • 91.

Essay Collections • 93. Histories • 94.

Reference Library • 95. Boston University Collection • 96. Anthologies • 97.

Headnotes • 98. My Own Hugos • 99. Walker & Company • 100. Failures • 101. Teenagers • 102.

Al Capp • 103. Judy-Lynn del Rey • 105. The Bible • 106. Hundredth Book • 107. Life After Death • 109. Divorce • 110.

Second Marriage • 111. Guide to Shakespeare • 112. Annotations • 113.

New In-Laws • 114. Hospitalizations • 115.

Cruises • 116. Janet's Books • 117. Hollywood • 118. Star Trek Conventions • 119.

Short Mysteries • 120. Trap Door Spiders • 121. The Dutch Treat Club • 123. The Baker Street Irregulars • 124. The Gilbert & Sullivan Society • 125. Other Clubs • 126. American Way • 127.

Rensselaerville Institute • 128. Mohonk Mountain House • 129. Travel • 130. Foreign Travel • 131. Martin Harry Greenberg • 132. Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine • 133.

Autobiography • 134. Heart Attack • 135. Crown Publishers • 136.

Simon & Schuster • 137. Marginal Items • 138. Nightfall, Inc. Hugh Downs • 140. Best-seller • 141. Out of the Past • 142. Word Processor • 143.

Police • 144. Heinz Pagels • 145. New Robot Novels • 146. Robyn Again • 147. Triple Bypass • 148.

Azazel • 149. Fantastic Voyage II • 150. Limousines • 151. Humanists • 152. Senior Citizen • 153. More About Doubleday • 154.

Interviews • 155. Honors • 156. Russian Relatives • 157. Grand Master • 158. Children's Books • 159.

Recent Novels • 160. Back to Nonfiction • 161. Robert Silverberg • 162.

Gathering Shadows • 163. Threescore Years and Ten • 164.

Hospital • 165. New Autobiography • 166.

New Life • Epilogue, by Janet Asimov • Catalogue of Books by Isaac Asimov Full title Imperial Earth [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1997 Original publication year 1975 ISBN 0-575-60158-2 [,,, ] Pages 287 Synopsis The year is 2276, and the furthest world colonized by mankind is Titan, the largest moon of Saturn (and one of the largest in the Solar System). Titan is home to a quarter of a million people, selected for intelligence, endurance, and any other characteristic necessary for such a mission. Among them is a powerful political trio, Malcolm Makenzie (the 'grandfather'), Colin Makenzie (the 'father'), and Duncan Makenzie (the 'son'), Colin being a clone of Malcolm, and Duncan in turn being a clone of Colin. Duncan is sent as an emissary to Earth for the fourth Centennial of the United States. The bulk of the novel follows Duncan on his adventures on Earth.

Review A good novel, but not excellent; the end of the book doesn't tie up enough loose ends, and the book is more about politics than science fiction. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I felt sort of cheated.

I'll still recommend it. There's a wonderful scene where Duncan's grandmother presents him with a set of made of Titanite (a crystal native to Titan) and a ten-by-six box into which to fit the pieces (see the Wikipedia article for solutions). Images Structure. I — TITAN • 1 A Shriek in the Night • 2 Dynasty • 3 Invitation to a Centennial • 4 The Red Moon • 5 The Politics of Time and Space • 6 By the Bonny, Bonny Banks of Loch Hellbrew • 7 A Cross of Titanite • 8 Children of the Corridors • 9 The Fatal Gift • 10 World's End II — TRANSIT • 11 Sirius • 12 Last Words • 13 The Longest Voyage • 14 Songs of Empire • 15 At the Node • 16 Port Van Allen III — TERRA • 17 Washington, D.C. • Preface • 1 Why Do Math? • 2 How I Almost Became a Lawyer • 3 The Breadth of Mathematics • 4 Hasn't It All Been Done? • 5 Surrounded by Math • 6 How Mathematicians Think • 7 How to Learn Math • 8 Fear of Proofs • 9 Can't Computers Solve Everything?

• 10 Mathematical Storytelling • 11 Going for the Jugular • 12 Blockbusters • 13 Impossible Problems • 14 The Career Ladder • 15 Pure or Applied? • 16 Where Do You Get Those Crazy Ideas?

• 17 How to Teach Math • 18 The Mathematical Community • 19 Pigs and Pickup Trucks • 20 Pleasures and Perils of Collaboration • 21 Is God a Mathematician? • Notes and References Full title Life, the Universe and Everything [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year 1982 Pages 160 Full title Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth [] Language Authors (author), (author), (illustrator) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2009 ISBN 978-1-59691-452-0 [,,, ] Pages 347 Synopsis A (very fictionalized) account, in comic form, of the life of Bertrand Russell. The book opens with one of the authors explicitly breaking the fourth wall, talking to the reader, and explaining the purpose of the work. The rest of the book follows an old Russell as he's giving a lecture in 1939, three days after Hitler's invasion of Poland, about his journey from childhood to established mathematician. It's this journey that forms the meat of the book. Review I really enjoyed this work, but not particularly being a fan of graphic novels, I don't know about the quality. In any event, if you want to learn about the life of Bertrand Russell, the history of logic, and something about the tortured lives of the early logicians (excluding the Greeks, of course), and you don't want to read a text book, this one's for you.

And besides, how often do you see a comic book with a bibliography? Images Structure. • Overture • 1. Pembroke Lodge • 2. The Sorcerer's Apprentice • 3. Wanderjahre • 4.

Paradoxes • Entracte • 5. Logico-Philosophical Wars • 6. Incompleteness • Finale • Notebook • Bibliography Full title Lord of the Flies [] Language Authors (author), (supplemental) and (supplemental) Publisher Category Publication year 2004 Original publication year 1954 ISBN 978-0-571-05686-6 [,,, ] Pages 288 Synopsis A cautionary novel about the consequences of letting children run their own society without adult supervision. A plane crashes on a deserted island, and the batch of school boys are left to fend for themselves. The title is a reference to Beelzebub, which is a Hebrew word meaning 'lord of the flies' (it's a Philistine god worshiped at Ekron, and is mentioned in the Bible, in ), but it's also a reference to a literal lord of flies, namely a pig's head on a stick (it attracts so many flies, you see, that the children start calling it by that title).

The novel chronicles how the children conceive of and develop their society. Images Structure.

• Introduction • 1. The Sound of the Shell • 2. Fire on the Mountain • 3.

Huts on the Beach • 4. Painted Faces and Long Hair • 5. Beast from Water • 6. Beast from Air • 7. Shadows and Tall Trees • 8. Gift for the Darkness • 9.

A View to a Death • 10. The Shell and the Glasses • 11. Castle Rock • 12. Cry of the Hunters • 'Fable' • Notes Full title The Lost Gospel of Judas Iscariot: A New Look at Betrayer and Betrayed [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year 2006 ISBN 9519 [,,, ] Full title Lying [] Language Authors (editor) and (author) Categories, and Publication year 2011 Original publication year 2011 Pages 66 Synopsis Lying is a very short book about the implications and morality of lying.

In short, Harris argues (successfully, in my opinion) that one should never lie, even about the smallest things, if what you're trying to do is build good relationships with people. He even goes into border cases, such as a wife asking her husband if she looks good in a dress (one can answer the sub-text of a question, not necessarily the literal meaning of it) and someone hiding a Jew when a Nazi comes a-knockin' on the door (in that case, you're not really trying to build a lasting relationship with the person). Review Sam Harris is a really talented writer, and reading his material is never boring. This book is no exception, and the fact that it's as short as it is, is a point in its favor.

It's the perfect length when all you're doing is making an argument, not laying out in detail a theory. (I wish more writers would be similarly inspired to brevity.) Structure. • What Is a Lie? • Introduction • Hexaflexagons • Magic with a Matrix • Nine Problems • Ticktacktoe, or Noughts and Crosses • Probability Paradoxes • The Icosian Game and the Tower of Hanoi • Curious Topological Models • The Game of Hex • Sam Loyd: America's Greatest Puzzlist • Mathematical Card Tricks • Memorizing Numbers • Nine More Problems • Polyominoes • Fallacies • Nim and Tac Tix • Left or Right? • References for Further Reading Full title The Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect [] Language Author (author) Categories and Publication year 1994 Online version Pages 175 Structure. • Introduction: The Moral Landscape • Chapter 1: Moral Truth • Chapter 2: Good and Evil • Chapter 3: Belief • Chapter 4: Religion • Chapter 5: The Future of Happiness • Acknowledgments• • Notes • References • Index Full title More Mathematical Puzzles and Diversions [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1963 Original publication year 1961 ISBN 0--1 [,,, ] Pages 186 Synopsis This book is written in the same vein as.

Review I truly loved this book. My favorite chapters are The Five Platonic Solids, Mazes, and Eleusis: The Induction Game. Images Structure. • Introduction • The Five Platonic Solids • Tetraflexagons • Henry Ernest Dudeney: England's Greatest Puzzlist • Digital Roots • Nine Problems • The Soma Cube • Recreational Topology • Phi: The Golden Ratio • The Monkey and the Coconuts • Mazes • Recreational Logic • Magic Squares • James Hugh Riley Shows, Inc. • Nine More Problems • Eleusis: The Induction Game • Origami • Squaring the Square • Mechanical Puzzles • Probability and Ambiguity • References for Further Reading Full title Mortality [] Language Authors (author), (foreword) and (afterword) Publisher Categories,, and Publication year 2012 ISBN 978-1-4555-2347-4 [,,, ] Pages 104 Synopsis Mortality is a very short collection of essays that Hitchens wrote for Vanity Fair about his diagnosis of and living with oesophageal cancer.

There are forays into other topics, but the essays mainly concern his living with cancer and all that that implies. 'To the dumb question 'Why me?' The cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: Why not?' Review It's a very short book, but the essays are interesting.

If you're familiar with Hitchens' output, then you know what to expect. Images Full title Napalm and Silly Putty [] Language Author (author) Category Publication year 2001 Full title Nightfall [] Language Authors (author) and (co-author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1991 Original publication year 1990 ISBN 0-330-32096-3 [,,, ] Pages 352 Synopsis Follows the planet Kalgash, a planet with perpetual daylight due to having six suns, through a devastating astronomical event that only occurs every 2049 years (termed a Year of Godliness by the book's religious fanatics, the Apostles of Flame). The Apostles of Flame propagate the idea that on a precise day (Theptar the 19th, as it happens), there will be total Darkness, everyone will go mad, and the Stars will shoot fires from the skies, all as a vengeance from the gods for the wicked and sinful ways of the planet's inhabitants. A band of scientists, initially opposed to the Apostles' ideas, eventually realize, through new evidence (archaeological and astronomical), that some of what the Apostles propagate is true.

Unfortunately, the population at large believes neither the Apostles nor the scientists. Review Nightfall was originally a short story and people generally prefer the short story version because the book just draws it out. I will have to read the short story before I can draw a proper verdict, but I'll tentatively say, 'read this book.'

Images Structure. • Introduction • The Nine Billion Names of God • I Remember Babylon • Trouble with Time • Rescue Party • The Curse • Summertime on Icarus • Dog Star • Hide and Seek • Out of the Sun • The Wall of Darkness • No Morning After • The Possessed • Death and the Senator • Who's There? • Before Eden • Superiority • A Walk in the Dark • The Call of the Stars • The Reluctant Orchid • Encounter at Dawn • 'If I Forget Thee, Oh Earth.' • Patent Pending • The Sentinel • Transience • The Star Full title Odd and the Frost Giants [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2010 Original publication year 2008 ISBN 978-0-7475-9811-4 [,,, ] Pages 127 Synopsis A pretty short book about a boy's adventures in Asgard (land of the Gods in Norse mythology). Review The story is short, but thoroughly enjoyable.

There's not much more to say since there's so little content. Images Full title Odd John: A Story Between Jest and Earnest [] Language Authors (author) and (introduction) Publisher Categories and Publisher series Publication year 2012 Original publication year 1935 ISBN 978-0-575-07224-4 [,,, ] Pages 208 Synopsis John Wainwright is born several months late, a seemingly normal child who, it's quickly discovered, is anything but. His mental powers are off the charts, and he learns at a tremendous rate. As a consequence of all this accelerated mentation, his physical body's maturation is severely hampered such that by age 16 he looks like a ten-year-old. As John learns quickly, he very soon becomes bored with whatever object is holding his attention. For instance, he soon tires of language: It had ceased to be a new art, and had become merely a useful means of communication, to be extended and refined only as new spheres of experience came within his ken and demanded expression.

The novel follows him throughout his life, narrated by a free-lance journalist friend of his. The book proposes to be published long after the events contained in it. In fact, the end of the novel is flatly stated in the first chapter (but not to worry, I won't spoil it; I'll let Stapledon do that). Much of the novel is spent ruminating on what it means to be superhuman (they call themselves supernormals and Homo superior). From our narrator's perspective, many of Odd John's actions seem flat out amoral, and even though John can't properly explain the situation to the narrator (for the simple reason that John's logic is superior to his), one nevertheless is left with a feeling that maybe John is right.

Review I immensely enjoyed this novel. It's really interesting to follow John through his life, and Stapledon does a wonderful job of conveying the various parts of John's life to us, through a sympathetic and competent narrator. I have only one complaint: The latter parts of the book are about John's voyages around the world to find fellow-supernormals to populate and keep his Colony running. I wish this part comprised more of the book, as I think those chapters were the most interesting. Nevertheless, I can thoroughly recommend it! Images Structure. • Philogaggin: An Introduction • I.

Metaphysics • II. Epistemology • IV. Philosophy of Religion • VI. Existentialism • VII. Philosophy of Language • VIII. Social and Political Philosophy • IX.

Relativity • X. Meta-Philosophy • Summa Time: A Conclusion • Final Exam • Great Moments in the History of Philosophy • Glossary • Suggestions for Further Reading • Index Full title The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer [] Language Author (foreword) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 2007 Pages 499 Synopsis A huge collection of writings by atheists about religion, faith, non-religion, reason, science, and logic, with biographical information on each author. Some of them are pretty dated, but they're interesting nonetheless. Images Full title QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter [] Language Authors (author), (foreword) and (preface) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1990 Original publication year 1985 ISBN 978-0-140-12505-4 [,,, ] Pages 158 Images Structure. • Foreword by Leonard Mautner • Preface by Ralph Leighton • Acknowledgment • Introduction • Photons: Particles of Light • Electrons and Their Interactions • Loose Ends • Index Full title Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2007 ISBN 978-0-330-44811-6 [,,, ] Pages 299 Synopsis Quirkology is a word coined by the author, and is the study of the more quirky side of human activity.

The book draws a number of conclusions, such as that women van drivers are more likely to take more than ten items through the express line at supermarkets, that words containing the letter K are funny, and that women's personal ads would garner more replies if written by a man (the opposite is not true). Richard Wiseman has spent twenty years studying these matters, but the book also briefly mentions other seminal studies in psychology (such as Milgram's obedience study and studies concerning memory and the manipulation thereof). Review I can thoroughly recommend the book, although as the title suggests, it's mostly about quirky little things about human behavior. The book wasn't all that interesting, but it's definitely entertaining. Images Full title The Reason-Driven Life: What Am I Here on Earth For?

[] Language Authors (author) and (foreword) Publisher Categories,, and Publication year 2006 ISBN 978-1-59102-476-7 [,,, ] Pages 363 Synopsis The Reason-Driven Life is written as a response and critique of Rick Warren's similarly-titled book, The Purpose-Driven Life. It's structured in much the same way as Warren's book, with 40 chapters meant to be read over 40 days. At the end of each chapter is a Point to Ponder, a Quote to Remember, and a Question to Consider. It's written mainly for Christians who have actually read Warren's book, which I'm not and which I haven't. Review It's a somewhat interesting read in that Price is a Bible scholar and really knows his stuff, however the book is meant for someone with a different mentality than my own. So I had to imagine I was a fundamentalist Christian for most of the book. The tone of the book is very respectful, though forceful and to-the-point (all this to say that it's a very personal and honest book).

I imagine a wavering intelligent (fundamentalist) Christian would really enjoy it, and maybe even be deconverted by it. Go for it if you're curious, but if you're like me (skeptical and non-religious by nature) you can safely skip it! There are other, better, Price books.

Images Structure. • Foreword • Introduction • It Is about You • You Are a Work of Art • One-Track Mind? • Sons of Dust • My View Is God's View • No Changes Are Permanent, but Change Is • The Mystery of Everything • God: Planned for Our Pleasure • What Makes Me Sick • The Achilles' Heel of Worship • Becoming Imaginary Friends with God • Providence and Superstition • Worship That Creates God • I Can't Get No Sanctification • Joining the Sect • The Greatest of These • A Place to Conform • Heretics Anonymous • Price's Ten Commandments • Healing Religious Divisions • Damage Control • The Character of Christ • When Is a Religion Not a Religion?

• This Paper Idol • Jesus with a Jackhammer • Satan's Sunday School • Temp Job • Jerusalem Wasn't Built in a Day • Service Industry • Cut Out the Holy Ghost Noise! • Cogs for Christ • Being Who You Are • How Twisted Texts Scream • Meetings with Unremarkable Men • Was Is Peace/Freedom Is Slavery/Weakness Is Strength • Made into Missionaries • Fabricating Your Life Message • The Hidden Agenda of Witnessing • Juggling Your Life • Not without Reason • Bibliography Full title The Relativity of Wrong: Essays on the Solar System and Beyond [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories,, and Publication year 1988 Pages 225 Synopsis Explains atoms and isotopes, planets and satellites, novas and supernovas. It also contains a title essay, which is. In it, he explains that there is a continuum from right to wrong, and that it's possible to be righter and wronger. For instance, if you think the Earth is flat you are wronger than if you think the Earth is a sphere.

You're still wrong, because the Earth is more like an oblate spheroid, but even that is wrong. Images Full title Revolt on Alpha C [] Language Authors (author) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1959 Original publication year 1955 ISBN 0-590-05435-X [,,, ] Pages 118 Synopsis Larry Stark, a Space Patrol Academy cadet on board the Carden, is completing his post-graduate space cruise (required to become an officer), a trip to Alpha Centauri's colonized fourth planet. Unknown to him and his crew, the planet is under revolt, and Stark is required to make some hard choices about where his loyalties lie. Review It was a very pleasant read; the book is definitely a page-turner, but the ending is rather sudden. I'd like to read more of what happens after the end. A quote: Larry caught glimpses of the great beasts living below—living without any suspicion that the planet was no longer theirs, that its possession was being contested by two groups of absurd pygmies from another star.

Images Full title River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life [] Language Authors (author) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1995 ISBN 978-0-465-06990-3 [,,, ] Pages 161 Synopsis This is only partly a book about evolution. In the last chapter (The Replication Bomb) Dawkins speculates on ten thresholds that life goes through on its way to interstellar emigration. (The analogy is to a supernova.

Just as a star can go supernova, a planet might explode with life.) The book also goes through some very neat experiments on bees and the evolution of a bee dance that codes for location of food. Images Structure.

• Introduction • Little Lost Robot • Robot Dreams • 'Breeds There a Man.?' • Hostess • Sally • Strikebreaker • The Machine That Won the War • Eyes Do More Than See • The Martian Way • Franchise • Jokester • • Does a Bee Care? • Light Verse • The Feeling of Power • Spell My Name With an S • The Ugly Little Boy • The Billiard Ball • True Love • The Last Answer • Lest We Remember Full title Robot Visions [] Language Authors (author) and (illustrator) Publisher Categories, and Publication year 1991 Original publication year 1990 ISBN 0-451-45064-7 [,,, ] Pages 482 Synopsis This is an anthology of a few stories that are (perhaps paradoxically) not found in The Complete Robot, and a few essays about robots and computers in general.

Images Structure. • Introduction: The Robot Chronicles Stories • Robot Visions • Too Bad! • Robbie • Reason • Liar! • Runaround • Evidence • Little Lost Robot • The Evitable Conflict • Feminine Intuition • The Bicentennial Man • Someday • Think!

• Segregationist • Mirror Image • Lenny • Galley Slave • Christmas Without Rodney Essays • Robots I Have Known • • • The Friends We Make • Our Intelligent Tools • The Laws of Robotics • Future Fantastic • The Machine and the Robot • The New Profession • The Robot As Enemy? • Intelligences Together • My Robots • The Laws of Humanics • Cybernetic Organism • The Sense of Humor • Robots in Combination Full title Rocks of Ages: Science and Religion in the Fullness of Life [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 2002 Original publication year 1999 ISBN 978-0-099-28452-9 [,,, ] Pages 241 Synopsis This is the book in which Gould lays out in full detail his concept of NOMA, Non-Overlapping Magisteria, the idea that science and religion are masters over different (and mutually incommunicable) realms. It's an attempt to reconcile the recent intellectual hostilities between scientists and people of faith by appealing to NOMA, saying that there doesn't have to be a conflict. Review I'm not sure if this book is winning me over to Gould's way of thinking, but it's extremely well written, interesting, and full of siren arguments and pretty poetry. I can definitely recommend it if you're interested in the history of the conflict between science and religion.

Images Structure. • The Problem Stated • Preamble • A Tale of Two Thomases • The Fate of Two Fathers • The Problem Resolved in Principle • NOMA Defined and Defended • NOMA Illustrated • Coda and Segue • Historical Reasons for Conflict • The Contingent Basis for Intensity • Columbus and the Flat Earth: An Example of the Fallacy of Warfare Between Science and Religion • Defending NOMA from Both Sides Now: The Struggle Against Modern Creationism • Psychological Reasons for Conflict • Can Nature Nurture Our Hopes?

• Nature's Cold Bath and Darwin's Defense of NOMA • The Two False Paths of Irenics Full title The Satanic Bible [] Language Authors (author) and (introduction) Publisher Category Publication year 1969 ISBN 0-380-01539-0 [,,, ] Pages 272 Images Structure. • INTRODUCTION • PREFACE • PROLOGUE • THE NINE SATANIC STATEMENTS (FIRE) —BOOK OF LUCIFER— The Enlightenment • I Wanted!: God—Dead or Alive • II The God You SAVE May be Yourself • III Some Evidence of a New Satanic Age • IV Hell, the Devil, and How to Sell Your Soul • V Love and Hate • VI Satanic Sex • VII Not all Vampires Suck Blood • VIII Indulgence. NOT Compulsion • IX On the Choice of a Human Sacrifice • X Life After Death Through Fulfillment of the Ego • XI Religious Holidays • XII The Black Mass (EARTH) —BOOK OF BELIAL— The Master of the Earth • I Theory and Practice of Satanic Magic: (Definition and Purpose of Lesser and Greater Magic) • II The Three Types of Satanic Ritual • III The Ritual, or 'Intellectual Decompression,' Chamber • IV The Ingredients Used in the Performance of Satanic Magic: • A. Direction • E. The Balance Factor • V The Satanic Ritual: • A. Some Notes Which are to be Observed Before Beginning Ritual • B.

The Thirteen Steps • C. Devices Used in Satanic Ritual (WATER) —BOOK OF LEVIATHAN— The Raging Sea • I Invocation to Satan • II The Infernal Names • III Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Lust • IV Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Destruction • V Invocation Employed Towards the Conjuration of Compassion • VI The Enochian Keys (The nineteen Keys will be listed here in chronological order) Full title The Satanic Rituals: Companion to The Satanic Bible [] Language Author (author) Publisher Category Publication year 1972 ISBN 0-380-01392-4 [,,, ] Pages 220 Images Structure. • Introduction to 30th anniversary edition • Preface to second edition • Foreword to first edition • Preface to first edition • Why are people?

• Acknowledgments • Introduction I: Lost in the Cosmos • 1 How to Build a Universe • 2 Welcome to the Solar System • 3 The Reverend Evans's Universe II: The Size of the Earth • 4 The Measure of Things • 5 The Stone-Breakers • 6 Science Red in Tooth and Claw • 7 Elemental Matters III: A New Age Dawns • 8 Einstein's Universe • 9 The Mighty Atom • 10 Getting the Lead Out • 11 Muster Mark's Quarks • 12 The Earth Moves IV: Dangerous Planet • 13 Bang! A Look at FLATLAND A Fantasy About the Fourth Dimension by A.

Square • 1 Flatland and Its Inhabitants • 2 Dream Vision of Lineland • 3 The Visit of the Sphere • 4 To the Land of Three Dimensions • 5 Dishonored SPHERELAND A Fantasy About Curved Spaces and and Expanding Universe by A. INTRODUCTION THE SUN • 1 Out, Damned Spot!

• 2 The Sun Shines Bright • 3 The Noblest Metal of Them All THE STARS • 4 How Little? • 5 Siriusly Speaking • 6 Below the Horizon THE PLANETS • 7 Just Thirty Years THE MOON • 8 A Long Day's Journey • 9 The Inconstant Moon THE ELEMENTS • 10 The Useless Metal • 11 Neutrality! • 12 The Finger of God THE CELL • 13 Clone, Clone of My Own THE SCIENTISTS • 14 Alas, All Human THE PEOPLE • 15 The Unsecret Weapon • 16 More Crowded! • 17 Nice Guys Finish First!

Full title Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!: Adventures of a Curious Character [] Language Author (author) Category Publication year 1985 Pages 205 Synopsis The book is a fascinating look into the mind of one of the 20th century's top physicist, the eccentric free spirit Richard Feynman.

It's a mostly chronological account of the interesting moments of his life, from his childhood when he fixed radios, to his mischief at MIT, to Princeton, to Los Alamos (where he worked on the bomb and cracked safes for fun), to Cornell, to Brazil, to Japan. The stories are engagingly told as anecdotes, which is partly why it's such an interesting read (and partly because the stories are inherently interesting). Review I think I can honestly say that this book is excellent all the way through. At no point was I bored. In fact, I grinned to myself at least three times and almost cried once (honest).

Full title Time Gate [] Language Authors (author), (author), (author), (author) and (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1989 ISBN 0-671-69850-8 [,,, ] Pages 277 Synopsis It's the future, and simulating near-perfect replicas of people in software is routine. At first it's used for entertainment, simulating historical figures from the past, but it isn't long before things get interesting. Each chapter is written by a different author, and deals with two famous persons from the past: Enter a Soldier. Later: Enter Another is about Francisco Pizarro and Socrates, The Resurrection Machine about Cicero and Bakunin, Statesmen about Friedrich Hohenzollern and Machiavelli, The Rose and the Scalpel about Joan of Arc and Voltaire (who, without spoiling too much, have a Great Debate), and finally How I Spent My Summer Vacation is about Queen Victoria and some unknown girl (to say more would spoil). Almost all of the book is about the interactions between the historical figured themselves, and the interplay between them and their creators. Review A pretty interesting read. It's not every day you get to see Socrates trick one of the Spanish Conquistadors into one of his famous dialogues!

The idea of the book is interesting, but I think the book would be even better if it were written by a single author. In fact, its multiple authorship detracts from the quality, I feel, but it's nevertheless worth a read. Images Structure. • Enter a Soldier.

Later: Enter Another, Robert Silverberg • The Resurrection Machine, Robert Sheckley • Statesmen, Poul Anderson • The Rose and the Scalpel, Gregory Benford • How I Spent My Summer Vacation, Pat Murphy Full title To Open the Sky [] Language Author (author) Publisher Categories and Publication year 1967 Pages 222 Synopsis The story, despite taking up a meager two hundred pages, is pretty epic, spanning almost a century, and follows a small cast of long-lived characters. Earth has colonized Venus and Mars, and two religious factions, The Brotherhood of the Immanent Radiance and its offshoot Transcendent Harmony both have a piece of the puzzle that would allow man to reach the stars. In reality, the religious orders are merely fronts for scientific research (to say much more would spoil). Their icons and litanies and prayers are entirely scientific, and merely take on the clothing of a religious order. The book opens with The Electromagnetic Litany, which I can't help but quote in its entirety: And there is light, before and beyond our vision, for which we give thanks. And there is heat, for which we are humble. And there is power, for which we count ourselves blessed.

Blessed be Balmer, who gave us our wavelengths. Blessed be Bohr, who brought us understanding. Blessed be Lyman, who saw beyond sight. Tell us now the stations of the spectrum.

Blessed be long radio waves, which oscillate slowly. Blessed be broadcast waves, for which we thank Hertz.

Blessed be short waves, linkers of mankind, and blessed be microwaves. Blessed be infrared, bearers of nourishing heat. Blessed be visible light, magnificent in angstroms. (On high holidays only: Blessed be red, sacred to Doppler. Blessed be orange. Blessed be yellow, hallowed by Fraunhofer’s gaze.

Blessed be green. Blessed be blue for its hydrogen line. Blessed be indigo. Blessed be violet, flourishing with energy.) Blessed be ultraviolet, with the richness of the sun.

Blessed be Xrays, sacred to Roentgen, the prober within. Blessed be the gamma, in all its power; blessed be the highest of frequencies.

We give thanks for Planck. We give thanks for Einstein. We give thanks in the highest for Maxwell. In the strength of the spectrum, the quantum, and the holy angstrom, peace! Images Structure.

• Introduction THE FUTURE • 1 Our Future in Education • 2 Filling the Brain Gap • 3 The Global Computerized Library • 4 What Computers Won't Do • 5 The Future of Handicraft • 6 The Future of Chemical Engineering • 7 Men and Marriage SPACE • 8 The Lure of Exploration • 9 Our Second World • 10 All Aboard for Phobos • 11 What Do We Do Next in Space? • 12 Adventure in Space • 13 The Distant Flights • 14 The Telephone in Space • 15 The Average Person as Astronaut • 16 Other Intelligent Life? SCIENCE • 17 Giant Jupiter • 18 Pluto, the Constant Surprise • 19 A Hole in the Sky • 20 Our Changing Percept.