Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1804710814
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 464
Book Description
Throughout history, technological revolutions have been driven by the invention of machines. But today, the power of the technology transforming our world lies in an intangible and impenetrable cosmos of software: algorithmic code. In a world increasingly governed by technologies that so few can comprehend, who-or what-controls the future? Devil in the Stack follows Andrew Smith on his immersive trip into the world of coding, passing through the stories of logic, machine-learning and early computing, from Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing, and up to the present moment, behind the scenes into the lives - and minds - of the pioneers of the 21st century: those who write code. Smith embarks on a quest to understand this sect in what he believes to be the only way possible: by learning to code himself. Expansive and effervescent, Devil in the Stack delivers a portrait of code as both a vivid culture and an impending threat. By turns revelatory, unsettling and joyously funny, this is an essential book for our times, of vital interest to anyone hoping to participate in the future-defining technological debates to come.
Moondust
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0747588147
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
In 1999, Andrew Smith was interviewing Charlie Duke, astronaut and moon walker, for the Sunday Times. During the course of the interview, which took place at Duke's Texan home, the telephone rang and Charlie left the room to answer it. When he returned, some twenty minutes later, he seemed visibly upset. It seemed that he'd just heard that, the previous day, one of his fellow moon walkers, the astronaut Pete Conrad, had died. The more Charlie spoke the more Andrew realised that his grief was something more than the mere fact of losing a friend. 'Now theres only nine of us,' he said. Only nine. Which meant that, one day not long from now, there would be none, and when that day came, no one on earth would have known the giddy thrill of gazing back at us from the surface of the moon. The thought shocked Andrew, and still does. Moondust is his attempt to understand why. The Apollo moon programme has been called the last optimistic act of the 20th Century. Over a strange three year period between 1969 and 1972, twelve men made the longest and most eccentric of all journeys, and all were indelibly marked by it. In Moondust Andrew sets out to interview all the remaining astronauts who walked on the moon, and to find out how their lives were changed for ever by what had happened. 'Where do you go after you've been to the moon?' In addition to this question that would prove hugely troubling to many of the returned astronauts, they also had to deal with the fantasies of faceless millions at their backs, for this was the first truly global media event. The walkers would forever be caught between the gravitational pull of the moon and the earth's collective dreaming.
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0747588147
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 422
Book Description
In 1999, Andrew Smith was interviewing Charlie Duke, astronaut and moon walker, for the Sunday Times. During the course of the interview, which took place at Duke's Texan home, the telephone rang and Charlie left the room to answer it. When he returned, some twenty minutes later, he seemed visibly upset. It seemed that he'd just heard that, the previous day, one of his fellow moon walkers, the astronaut Pete Conrad, had died. The more Charlie spoke the more Andrew realised that his grief was something more than the mere fact of losing a friend. 'Now theres only nine of us,' he said. Only nine. Which meant that, one day not long from now, there would be none, and when that day came, no one on earth would have known the giddy thrill of gazing back at us from the surface of the moon. The thought shocked Andrew, and still does. Moondust is his attempt to understand why. The Apollo moon programme has been called the last optimistic act of the 20th Century. Over a strange three year period between 1969 and 1972, twelve men made the longest and most eccentric of all journeys, and all were indelibly marked by it. In Moondust Andrew sets out to interview all the remaining astronauts who walked on the moon, and to find out how their lives were changed for ever by what had happened. 'Where do you go after you've been to the moon?' In addition to this question that would prove hugely troubling to many of the returned astronauts, they also had to deal with the fantasies of faceless millions at their backs, for this was the first truly global media event. The walkers would forever be caught between the gravitational pull of the moon and the earth's collective dreaming.
Totally Wired
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 080214697X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“The Social Network meets Hammer of the Gods” in this story of a 1990s web titan who made a fortune and lost it all—and what happened afterward (The Independent). One day in February 2001, Josh Harris woke to certain knowledge that he was about to lose everything. The man Time magazine called “The Warhol of the Web” was reduced to a helpless spectator as his fortune dwindled from 85 million dollars to nothing, all in the space of a week. Harris had been a maverick genius preternaturally adapted to the new online world. He founded New York’s first dotcom, Pseudo.com, and paved the way for a cadre of twentysomethings to follow, riding a wave of tech euphoria to unimagined wealth and fame for five years—before the great dotcom crash, in which Web 1.0 was wiped from the face of the earth. Long before then, though, Harris’s view of the web had darkened, and he began a series of lurid social experiments aimed at illustrating his worst fear: that the internet would soon alter the very fabric of society—cognitive, social, political, and otherwise. In Totally Wired, journalist Andrew Smith seeks to unravel the opaque and mysterious episodes of the early dotcom craze, in which the seeds of our current reality were sown. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Harris and those who worked alongside him in downtown Manhattan’s “Silicon Alley,” the tale moves from a compound in Ethiopia through New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, London, and Salt Lake City, Utah; from the dawn of the web to the present, taking in the rise of alternative facts, troll society, and the unexpected origins of the net itself, as our world has grown uncannily to resemble the one Harris predicted—and urged us to evade. “Raucous, whimsical, sad and very funny…a fascinating account of what could have been, what briefly was, what almost lasted.” ―TheWall Street Journal “Told with verve and style…A valuable history.” ―Kirkus Reviews “A brilliant exploration of madness and genius in the early days of the web.”―The Guardian “Dark and compelling.”―Daily Mail “This is a book whose time has come.”―Sunday Times
Publisher: Grove Press
ISBN: 080214697X
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 384
Book Description
“The Social Network meets Hammer of the Gods” in this story of a 1990s web titan who made a fortune and lost it all—and what happened afterward (The Independent). One day in February 2001, Josh Harris woke to certain knowledge that he was about to lose everything. The man Time magazine called “The Warhol of the Web” was reduced to a helpless spectator as his fortune dwindled from 85 million dollars to nothing, all in the space of a week. Harris had been a maverick genius preternaturally adapted to the new online world. He founded New York’s first dotcom, Pseudo.com, and paved the way for a cadre of twentysomethings to follow, riding a wave of tech euphoria to unimagined wealth and fame for five years—before the great dotcom crash, in which Web 1.0 was wiped from the face of the earth. Long before then, though, Harris’s view of the web had darkened, and he began a series of lurid social experiments aimed at illustrating his worst fear: that the internet would soon alter the very fabric of society—cognitive, social, political, and otherwise. In Totally Wired, journalist Andrew Smith seeks to unravel the opaque and mysterious episodes of the early dotcom craze, in which the seeds of our current reality were sown. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Harris and those who worked alongside him in downtown Manhattan’s “Silicon Alley,” the tale moves from a compound in Ethiopia through New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, London, and Salt Lake City, Utah; from the dawn of the web to the present, taking in the rise of alternative facts, troll society, and the unexpected origins of the net itself, as our world has grown uncannily to resemble the one Harris predicted—and urged us to evade. “Raucous, whimsical, sad and very funny…a fascinating account of what could have been, what briefly was, what almost lasted.” ―TheWall Street Journal “Told with verve and style…A valuable history.” ―Kirkus Reviews “A brilliant exploration of madness and genius in the early days of the web.”―The Guardian “Dark and compelling.”―Daily Mail “This is a book whose time has come.”―Sunday Times
Devil in the Stack
Author: Andrew Smith
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1804710814
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 464
Book Description
Throughout history, technological revolutions have been driven by the invention of machines. But today, the power of the technology transforming our world lies in an intangible and impenetrable cosmos of software: algorithmic code. In a world increasingly governed by technologies that so few can comprehend, who-or what-controls the future? Devil in the Stack follows Andrew Smith on his immersive trip into the world of coding, passing through the stories of logic, machine-learning and early computing, from Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing, and up to the present moment, behind the scenes into the lives - and minds - of the pioneers of the 21st century: those who write code. Smith embarks on a quest to understand this sect in what he believes to be the only way possible: by learning to code himself. Expansive and effervescent, Devil in the Stack delivers a portrait of code as both a vivid culture and an impending threat. By turns revelatory, unsettling and joyously funny, this is an essential book for our times, of vital interest to anyone hoping to participate in the future-defining technological debates to come.
Publisher: Atlantic Books
ISBN: 1804710814
Category : Technology & Engineering
Languages : en
Pages : 464
Book Description
Throughout history, technological revolutions have been driven by the invention of machines. But today, the power of the technology transforming our world lies in an intangible and impenetrable cosmos of software: algorithmic code. In a world increasingly governed by technologies that so few can comprehend, who-or what-controls the future? Devil in the Stack follows Andrew Smith on his immersive trip into the world of coding, passing through the stories of logic, machine-learning and early computing, from Ada Lovelace to Alan Turing, and up to the present moment, behind the scenes into the lives - and minds - of the pioneers of the 21st century: those who write code. Smith embarks on a quest to understand this sect in what he believes to be the only way possible: by learning to code himself. Expansive and effervescent, Devil in the Stack delivers a portrait of code as both a vivid culture and an impending threat. By turns revelatory, unsettling and joyously funny, this is an essential book for our times, of vital interest to anyone hoping to participate in the future-defining technological debates to come.
Satan
Author: Jeremy C Leven
Publisher: Dissertation.com
ISBN: 9780595745494
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Alas, poor Satan. He's not happy. No one seems to like or understand him; people have got him all wrong. And his relationship with God is a hostile one. Unloved and misunderstood, he's come back to Earth in search of a psychotherapist; he's prepared- if cured- to deliver the all-important Great Answer. In Jeremy Leven's wildly original comic novel, we follow the Prince of Darkness through his seven amazing therapy sessions. And we watch him grow increasingly well adjusted while his therapist, the unfortunate Dr. Kassler, descends deeper and deeper into hell.
Publisher: Dissertation.com
ISBN: 9780595745494
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 500
Book Description
Alas, poor Satan. He's not happy. No one seems to like or understand him; people have got him all wrong. And his relationship with God is a hostile one. Unloved and misunderstood, he's come back to Earth in search of a psychotherapist; he's prepared- if cured- to deliver the all-important Great Answer. In Jeremy Leven's wildly original comic novel, we follow the Prince of Darkness through his seven amazing therapy sessions. And we watch him grow increasingly well adjusted while his therapist, the unfortunate Dr. Kassler, descends deeper and deeper into hell.
The American People
Author: B.A. Botkin
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000679470
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 566
Book Description
This stimulating anthology, prepared by the great folklorist, B.A. Botkin, is comprised of the traditional songs, stories, customs, and beliefs which have been handed down, by word of mouth, for so long that they seem to have a life of their own. For Botkin, they are at the core of peoplehood. When one thinks of American folklore one thinks not only of the folklore of American life, the traditions that have sprung up on American soil, but also of the literature of folklore, the migratory traditions that have found a home in the New World.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1000679470
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 566
Book Description
This stimulating anthology, prepared by the great folklorist, B.A. Botkin, is comprised of the traditional songs, stories, customs, and beliefs which have been handed down, by word of mouth, for so long that they seem to have a life of their own. For Botkin, they are at the core of peoplehood. When one thinks of American folklore one thinks not only of the folklore of American life, the traditions that have sprung up on American soil, but also of the literature of folklore, the migratory traditions that have found a home in the New World.
The Devil and the Dark Water
Author: Stuart Turton
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1728206030
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 652
Book Description
"Compulsively readable."—New York Times Book Review From Stuart Turton, author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, comes an extraordinary new locked-room murder mystery. A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret. But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night. And then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness, promising three unholy miracles, followed by a slaughter. First an impossible pursuit. Second an impossible theft. And third an impossible murder. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board. Shirley Jackson meets Sherlock Holmes in this chilling thriller of supernatural horror, occult suspicion, and paranormal mystery on the high seas.
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
ISBN: 1728206030
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 652
Book Description
"Compulsively readable."—New York Times Book Review From Stuart Turton, author of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, comes an extraordinary new locked-room murder mystery. A murder on the high seas. A remarkable detective duo. A demon who may or may not exist. It's 1634, and Samuel Pipps, the world's greatest detective, is being transported to Amsterdam to be executed for a crime he may, or may not, have committed. Traveling with him is his loyal bodyguard, Arent Hayes, who is determined to prove his friend innocent. Among the other guests is Sara Wessel, a noblewoman with a secret. But no sooner is their ship out to sea than devilry begins to blight the voyage. A strange symbol appears on the sail. A dead leper stalks the decks. Livestock dies in the night. And then the passengers hear a terrible voice, whispering to them in the darkness, promising three unholy miracles, followed by a slaughter. First an impossible pursuit. Second an impossible theft. And third an impossible murder. Could a demon be responsible for their misfortunes? With Pipps imprisoned, only Arent and Sara can solve a mystery that stretches back into their past and now threatens to sink the ship, killing everybody on board. Shirley Jackson meets Sherlock Holmes in this chilling thriller of supernatural horror, occult suspicion, and paranormal mystery on the high seas.
Devil's Doorknob
Author: Chris Angstrom
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595127975
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Casino and brothel owner Royal Shane--deeply religious, uncouthly alcoholic, and circling the drain--is faced with ruin when state engineers decide to reroute an existing freeway away from his border gambling joint. He launches on a blackout drunk, during which he apparently murders his young business manager, whom he blames for the crisis. Is he innocent . . . or not? The police would certainly like to know, but Shane isn't sure himself. Enter a young, somewhat confused civil servant named Philip Hansen, who complicates things further by falling for one of Shane's prostitutes--even as he courts the love of his life, a New England transplant named Tessa Oulette. Shane is determined to establish his innocence and save his businesses through trickery. The hooker has some devious schemes of her own. Things could get downright dangerous here, if the characters weren't so comically inept.
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 0595127975
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Casino and brothel owner Royal Shane--deeply religious, uncouthly alcoholic, and circling the drain--is faced with ruin when state engineers decide to reroute an existing freeway away from his border gambling joint. He launches on a blackout drunk, during which he apparently murders his young business manager, whom he blames for the crisis. Is he innocent . . . or not? The police would certainly like to know, but Shane isn't sure himself. Enter a young, somewhat confused civil servant named Philip Hansen, who complicates things further by falling for one of Shane's prostitutes--even as he courts the love of his life, a New England transplant named Tessa Oulette. Shane is determined to establish his innocence and save his businesses through trickery. The hooker has some devious schemes of her own. Things could get downright dangerous here, if the characters weren't so comically inept.
The Devil's Steps
Author: Arthur W. Upfield
Publisher: ETT Imprint
ISBN: 1922384542
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
On special assignment with Military Intelligence, Detective-Inspector Bonaparte leaves his familiar Australian outback environment for Melbourne and a nearby mountain resort. Although out of his element with city people, Bony displays his characteristic skills to interpret some puzzling clues in the search for a wily killer… The complex half-caste Bony is, I think, my favourite fictional detective of the past twenty years. - Anthony Boucher, The New York Times
Publisher: ETT Imprint
ISBN: 1922384542
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 280
Book Description
On special assignment with Military Intelligence, Detective-Inspector Bonaparte leaves his familiar Australian outback environment for Melbourne and a nearby mountain resort. Although out of his element with city people, Bony displays his characteristic skills to interpret some puzzling clues in the search for a wily killer… The complex half-caste Bony is, I think, my favourite fictional detective of the past twenty years. - Anthony Boucher, The New York Times
Chutin' the Bull
Author: Mark George
Publisher: Mark George and Outskirts Press
ISBN: 1478703105
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Research has shown that laughter increases serotonin levels. Read this book and take plenty of fluids. In Chutin' the Bull, psychotherapist Mark George examines the distracted mind and finds hope for change in a crazy world; one where people and animals talk out their dilemmas. Whether it's goldfish hoping for a better life, a poor soul overcoming a fear of snakes in his toilet, or a couple breaking up over syntax, this book is filled with creatures engaging in healing conversations to cope with life's stresses...and funny things happen! Where do serial killers go for help? Are we teaching our kids to become socialists? Why does "going green" frankly stink when you get right down to it? Join Mark George as he tries to make sense of utter nonsense through hilarious dialogues of people and animals seeking relief in a stressed-out world!
Publisher: Mark George and Outskirts Press
ISBN: 1478703105
Category : Humor
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
Research has shown that laughter increases serotonin levels. Read this book and take plenty of fluids. In Chutin' the Bull, psychotherapist Mark George examines the distracted mind and finds hope for change in a crazy world; one where people and animals talk out their dilemmas. Whether it's goldfish hoping for a better life, a poor soul overcoming a fear of snakes in his toilet, or a couple breaking up over syntax, this book is filled with creatures engaging in healing conversations to cope with life's stresses...and funny things happen! Where do serial killers go for help? Are we teaching our kids to become socialists? Why does "going green" frankly stink when you get right down to it? Join Mark George as he tries to make sense of utter nonsense through hilarious dialogues of people and animals seeking relief in a stressed-out world!
The Devil in Gray
Author: Graham Masterton
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 150402558X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
In a town where Confederate blood still flows, a serial killer is on the loose—one so evil he’s no longer human. America’s Civil War left wounds on the land that bled for over a century—and perhaps something even more terrible that will never heal. A man on the edge, haunted by a recent personal tragedy, homicide detective Martin Decker has been assigned to investigate a bizarre series of gruesome and seemingly random mutilation murders plaguing Richmond, Virginia. A serial killer is somehow finding his way into locked rooms to butcher his victims before vanishing without a trace, and the only witness is a young woman with Down syndrome who claims to have seen the man responsible for the horrific carnage. But the bloody trail is leading Decker to a place where his sanity will be sorely tested—and where pure evil has given rise to an unstoppable nightmare of terror and death. This gripping masterwork of horror fiction from Graham Masterton, the award-winning author of The Manitou, takes horror to a breathtaking new level. A story not for the faint of heart, The Devil in Gray is a stunningly original tale of terror, one of the very best, from an acknowledged giant of the genre.
Publisher: Open Road Media
ISBN: 150402558X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 251
Book Description
In a town where Confederate blood still flows, a serial killer is on the loose—one so evil he’s no longer human. America’s Civil War left wounds on the land that bled for over a century—and perhaps something even more terrible that will never heal. A man on the edge, haunted by a recent personal tragedy, homicide detective Martin Decker has been assigned to investigate a bizarre series of gruesome and seemingly random mutilation murders plaguing Richmond, Virginia. A serial killer is somehow finding his way into locked rooms to butcher his victims before vanishing without a trace, and the only witness is a young woman with Down syndrome who claims to have seen the man responsible for the horrific carnage. But the bloody trail is leading Decker to a place where his sanity will be sorely tested—and where pure evil has given rise to an unstoppable nightmare of terror and death. This gripping masterwork of horror fiction from Graham Masterton, the award-winning author of The Manitou, takes horror to a breathtaking new level. A story not for the faint of heart, The Devil in Gray is a stunningly original tale of terror, one of the very best, from an acknowledged giant of the genre.