The bestselling author of the classic Mars trilogy and The Years of Rice and Salt returns with a riveting new trilogy of cutting-edge science, international politics, and the real-life ramifications of global warming as they are played out in our nation’s capital—and in the daily lives of those at the center of the action. Hauntingly realistic, here is a novel of the near future that is inspired by scientific facts already making headlines.
When the Arctic ice pack was first measured in the 1950s, it averaged thirty feet thick in midwinter. By the end of the century it was down to fifteen. One August the ice broke. The next year the breakup started in July. The third year it began in May. That was last year.
It’s an increasingly steamy summer in the nation’s capital as Senate environmental staffer Charlie Quibler cares for his young son and deals with the frustrating politics of global warming. Charlie must find a way to get a skeptical administration to act before it’s too late—and his progeny find themselves living in Swamp World. But the political climate poses almost as great a challenge as the environmental crisis when it comes to putting the public good ahead of private gain.
While Charlie struggles to play politics, his wife, Anna, takes a more rational approach to the looming crisis in her work at the National Science Foundation. There a proposal has come in for a revolutionary process that could solve the problem of global warming—if it can be recognized in time. But when a race to control the budding technology begins, the stakes only get higher. As these everyday heroes fight to align the awesome forces of nature with the extraordinary march of modern science, they are unaware that fate is about to put an unusual twist on their work—one that will place them at the heart of an unavoidable storm.
With style, wit, and rare insight into our past, present, and possible future, this captivating novel propels us into a world on the verge of unprecedented change—in a time quite like our own. Here is Kim Stanley Robinson at his visionary best, offering a gripping cautionary tale of progress—and its price—as only he can tell it.
From the Hardcover edition. Views: 609
Diana and her little brother Georgie have been living in the woods behind the old Willis place, a decaying Victorian mansion, for what already seems like forever. They aren’t allowed to leave the property or show themselves to anyone. But when a new caretaker comes to live there with his young daughter, Lissa, Diana is tempted to break the mysterious rules they live by and reveal herself so she can finally have a friend. Somehow, Diana must get Lissa’s help if she and Georgie ever hope to release themselves from the secret that has bound them to the old Willis place for so long.
Mary Downing Hahn has written a chilling ghost story in the tradition of her most successful spine-tingling novels. The intriguing characters, frightening secrets, and plot twists will delight her many fans. Views: 609
Vintage Readers are a perfect introduction to some of the greatest modern writers presented in attractive, accessible paperback editions.
“Murakami’s bold willingness to go straight over the top is a signal indication of his genius. . . . A world-class writer who has both eyes open and takes big risks.” —*The Washington Post Book World
*Not since Yukio Mishima and Yasunari Kawabata has a Japanese writer won the international acclaim enjoyed by Haruki Murakami. His genre-busting novels, short stories and reportage, which have been translated into 35 languages, meld the surreal and the hard-boiled, deadpan comedy and delicate introspection.
Vintage Murakami includes the opening chapter of the international bestseller Norwegian Wood; “Lieutenant Mamiya’s Long Story: Parts I and II” from his monumental novel The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle; “Shizuko Akashi” from Underground, his non-fiction book on the Toyko subway attack of 1995; and the short stories “Barn Burning,” “Honeypie.”
Also included, for the first time in book form, the short story, “Ice Man.” Views: 606
This book presents the concept of "complementary science" which contributes to scientific knowledge through historical and philosophical investigations. It emphasizes the fact that many simple items of knowledge that we take for granted were actually spectacular achievements obtained only after a great deal of innovative thinking, painstaking experiments, bold conjectures, and serious controversies. Each chapter in the book consists of two parts: a narrative part that states the philosophical puzzle and gives a problem-centred narrative on the historical attempts to solve the puzzle; and the analysis part which provides in-depth analyses of certain scientific, historical, and philosophical aspects of the story.
Keywords: complementary science, scientific knowledge, history, philosophy of science Views: 603
Freeze! This is Nancy's coldest mystery yet!
It's winter break, and Nancy, George, and Bess can hardly wait for Sunday. That's the day of the big snow festival in town. This year the girls are entering the snow sculpture contest. They already know what they are making, too: They are going to build swans from the ballet Swan Lake!
Nancy and her friends only have three days to make the most fantastic sculpture they can. But when someone begins wrecking their statues each night, the girls worry that they'll never finish in time. Will Nancy and her friends put the freeze on this sneak in the snow, or will their chances of winning the competition melt away? Views: 603
Young Anita Dittman's world crumbles as Hitler begins his rise to power in Germany, but because she's a Christian and only half-Jewish, Anita feels sure she and her family are safe from "the Final Solution." She couldn't have been more wrong. Views: 599
Feel the Touch of Darkness. . .
Follow a vampire who can be as deadly as her prey. Meet a down home southern girl who's found out, much to her chagrin, that vampires are her type. Feel the euphoria of fear in the shadow of a reluctant Queen of the Undead. Step closer to the hot-blooded edge of passion as a strange new mythology of the night is unveiled.
The bite is back in vampire fiction as today's most provocative authors of vampire fiction cast their irresistible spells on you . . .
The brightest and hottest authors—including New York Times best-selling authors Laurell K. Hamilton and Charlaine Harris—tell all-new tales featuring their best known and loved characters.
* From Laurell K. Hamilton, a never-before-published Anita Blake story in which Anita, temporarily separated from her vampire lover Jean-Claude, must go to him for help on a case. Where she finds herself once more falling under his erotic spell...
* A brand-new, Southern Vampire story by Charlaine Harris features Sookie Stackhouse and the vampires who have come to define her romantic life, and have ended her hope of a normal one...
* Newly crowned Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor reluctantly assumes her royal duties in MaryJanice Davidson's brand-new novella.
* Introduced in the anthology * [Hot Blooded](https://www./book/show/313268.Hot_Blooded "Hot Blooded") * and the romance * [Master of the Night](https://www./book/show/19909.Master_of_the_Night "Master of the Night") *, Angela Knight has created a fascinating universe melding Arthurian lore with erotic vampirism...
* Finally, in the romantic novella "Blood Lust", popular romance
author Vickie Taylor brings her own unique spin on vampires... Views: 596
Publié à l'aube du vingt et unième siècle, Mailman, road movie existentiel et méchamment drôle, marque la naissance d'une nouvelle révélation de la littérature américaine.
Avec ce roman tendu comme un arc, J. Robert Lennon nous entraîne de New York à la Floride en passant par le Kazakhstan dans l'univers d'Albert Lippincott, dit Mailman. Facteur dévoué et maniaque d'une petite ville américaine, Mailman a ses petits secrets: l'habitude compulsive de photocopier et de lire le courrier des autres, une inquiétante dépression nerveuse et la relation tordue qu'il entretient avec sa sur. Aussi, lorsque l'un de ses usagers se suicide à cause d'une lettre retenue trop longtemps ? , les événements se précipitent pour Llippincott, qui va devoir faire face une fois pour toutes aux nombreuses fêlures de sa vie.
Si Mailman est bien une comédie noire, c'est aussi l'ambitieuse tentative de dépeindre la destinée d'un homme à la recherche de la paix dans un pays «pétri de violence et de tristesse partagée». C'est comique et tragique à la fois. C'est dérangeant, c'est touchant. C'est la chronique survoltée d'un combat perdu d'avance.
**Biographie de l'auteur
Né en 1970, J. Robert Lennon suit une licence à l'Université de Pennsylvanie, qu'il termine avec succès en 1992 avant de continuer ses études à l'Université de Montana, où il obtient un Master en 1995. Deux ans plus tard, il publie son premier roman The Light of Falling Stars pour lequel il reçoit le prix Barnes and Noble du meilleur nouvel écrivain. Il publie six autres romans : The Funnies (1999), On the Night Plain (2001), Mailman (2004), Happyland (2006), Castle (2009) et Familiar (2012). Les droits de ses deuxième et quatrième romans ont été achetés pour être adaptés au grand écran.
Lennon est également reconnu pour ses nouvelles. Il publie en 2005 Pieces for the Left Hand, recueil nominé au Story Award en 2010, et certaines de ses nouvelles sont publiées dans de prestigieux recueils : Prize Stories, 2000 : the O. Henry Award, Best American Short Stories 2005, Best American Nonrequired Reading 2011. Preuve de son succès, la série télévisée Unforgettable (avec Poppy Montgomery et Dylan Walsh) est inspirée de sa nouvelle « The Rememberer ». Il s'illustre aussi dans la poésie et donne de nombreuses conférences dans des universités américaines et dans le cadre d'évènements littéraires.
Comptant plusieurs cordes à son arc, Lennon, sous le nom d'Inverse Room, s'essaye à la musique. Il sort trois albums : Simulacrum en 2002, Pieces for the Left Hand, complément de son recueil de nouvelles éponyme, en 2005, et American Recluse en 2007.
En plus de sa carrière artistique, il enseigne l'écriture créative depuis 2005 à l'Université de Cornell à Ithaca, où il vit avec sa femme et ses enfants. J. Robert Lennon travaille actuellement sur un recueil de nouvelles, The Accursed Items and Other Stories, dont la publication est prévue pour 2014.
Mailman sera porté à l'écran par Sam Mendes. Views: 595
When Alexandra Bo Fuller was in Zambia a few years ago visiting her parents, she asked her father about a nearby banana farmer who was known as being a tough bugger. Her father's response was a warning to steer clear of him: Curiosity scibbled the cat, he told her. Nonetheless, Fuller began her strange friendhip with the man she calls K, a white African and veteran of the Rhodesian War. A man of contradictions, K is battle-scarred and work-weathered, a born-again Christian and given to weeping for the failure of his romantic life and the burden of his memories. Driven by K's these memories of the war, they decide to enter the heart of darkness in the most literal way, by travelling from Zambia through Zimbabwe and Mozambique to visit the scenes of the war and to meet other veterans. The result is a remarkably unbiased and unsentimental glimpse of life in Africa. Views: 591
Enjoy more Sugar. Join Clara at the rat pit. Relax with Mr Bodley as he is lulled to sleep by Mrs Tremain and her girls. Find out what became of Sophie.
Michel Faber revisits the world of his bestselling novel The Crimson Petal and the White, conjuring tantalising glimpses of its characters, their lives before we first met them and their intriguing futures. You'll be desperate for more by the time you reluctantly re-emerge into the twenty-first century. Views: 591
STAR (noun): any large body like the sun, intensely hot and producing its own energy by nuclear reactions SOCCER STAR (noun): Gracie Faltrain
Goal-kicking, super-girl, soccer star. Gracie Faltrain is on her way. To the National Championships. To Nick. To everything she's ever wanted. Or so she thinks. Gracie's about to find out that life is messy. And hard. And beautiful.
There's a shadow falling across her mum and dad. Her best friend is about to leave town. She's trying desperately to be with the right boy, on the edge of falling in love with the wrong boy. She's rushing headlong into screwing up, making up, trying to keep it all together. Welcome to the life and times of Gracie Faltrain.
From first-time novelist Cath Crowley comes this sometimes hilarious, sometimes poignant look at what good can happen when your world is falling apart. Views: 591
