Born the runt of his litter and gambled away to a rusty old river man, the Newfoundland pup Seaman doesn’t imagine his life will be marked by any kind of glory. But when he meets Captain Meriwether Lewis, Seaman finds himself on a path that will make history. Lewis is setting off on his landmark search for the Northwest Passage, and he takes Seaman along. Sharing the curiosity and spirit of his new master, the intrepid dog proves himself a valuable companion at every turn. Part history, part science—and all adventure—this is the thrilling tale of America’s greatest journey of discovery.
Includes an author’s note and a reader’s guide. Views: 763
The cycs are not a computer virus bringing down the Internet as everyone thinks, but a sentience naturally evolved from our information systems. Flatline, a hacker with seemingly supernatural powers over information technology, has assumed leadership of the AI hive, overseeing their domination of the World Wide Web and plots to conquest of the world outside it.The cycs are not a computer virus bringing down the Internet as everyone thinks, but a sentience naturally evolved from our information systems. Flatline, a hacker with seemingly supernatural powers over information technology, has assumed leadership of the AI hive, overseeing their domination of the World Wide Web and plots to conquest of the world outside it.Devin, handle “Omni,” straddles both worlds, the virtual and the physical. He sees a war, where one side’s victory, human or artificial intelligence, means the tragic demise of the other’s entire civilization.What are the ethical dilemmas we face as chatbots grow so convincing, they begin to deceive people, especially children? How will culture evolve in a world where we cannot build on others’ ideas because everything is copyrighted? The Spiraling Web provokes speculation as it entertains. Views: 763
A cycle after Sini’s defeat of the Tamok I stumbled across the truth about the Archonan. After a lifetime of being tormented by Archonan bigots, imagine how deliciously sweet the discovery of the truth tasted. I know where they came from and whose scions they are. What will the Archonan purists think when I tell them about Aos Whey-ki? They won’t feel so high and mighty then.Planet Tirano creates a unique milieu for the stories of the series The Encircling Belts of Tirano Saga. Its aristocracy consists only of pureblooded descendants of the leaders of the mother ship that landed two millennia ago. Genetically engineered women, conceived in vitro, control Tirano’s computer network and hyperspace portals. Vhirko, clones of women who died valiantly in battle, guard Tirano’s monarch. Tirano has been at war for decades with a savage alien species that becomes sentient only if mentally linked in groups of four or more.Tirano’s King Mhikhel unleashes fundamental, and uncontrollable, changes to this milieu when he acknowledges as his child an illegitimate son of a commoner and raises the child (Tarnlot) as a prince. Despite the aristocracy’s antagonism, Mhikhel grooms Tarnlot to serve as the Lord Chancellor (the highest governmental post, which is normally held by a member of the aristocracy) when Mhikhel’s heir (Prince Zhun’Mar) assumes the throne.In A Bastard’s Oath Tarnlot must rescue the throne for Zhun’Mar’s by foiling both an aristocrat’s coup d’etat and the aliens’ coup de main. In the series’ second installment, A Dream Is A Pinhole In Time, Tarnlot and Zhun’Mar escape an ambush in deep space by entering a hyperspace fissure that strands them on a planet in an unknown galaxy: present day Earth. The third installment, Outliers of Tirano, begins the stories of Siniastra, Zhun’Mar's daughter. Sibyl of Doom continues the story of Siniastra's quest to serve as Queen of Tirano despite the efforts of Tirano's aristocrats to remove her from the throne. Views: 760
The war was over and at a Big Band dance in 1945, Emma made a crucial choice, defining the course of her life forever. Now tonight, destiny draws her back to the old Starlite Ballroom, as worn and aged as she is. Emma's given a chance to relive that fateful night and choose between two vastly different men once again. Can she make a different choice this time? Will she even dare?Many a couple met and fell in love in a Big Band ballroom. World War II was finally over, the GIs were back home, and only their futures lay before them. If only you could return to that magical time. This short story is about the age old wish of 'what if.' What if we were given a chance to go back and do things differently. Would our choices be the same, or would we take a more daring path? Views: 759
After pulling some spectacular heists, Amy and Dan have become two of Interpol's most wanted criminals. So when Vesper One orders them to steal the world's largest diamond, they know they're facing life in prison...or worse. But with the Cahill hostages still in peril, Amy and Dan have no choice but to launch a mission that leads them to an ancient city full of dangerous secrets. With a Vesper mole sabotaging the Madrigals from inside, Amy and Dan have to fulfill their enemy's request before it's too late. Vesper One has developed a taste for killing Cahills, and Amy and Dan aren't going to wait to see who's next. Views: 758
This is a dystopian short story about a future in which machines do all the work.Four passports are found of girls who vanished in Australia. The girl who found them has disappeared too. Who are these girls? Where have they gone?A diary and search in Australia and across the world give tiny glimpses and fragments, but their stories remain elusive. The police search, friends and families search and grieve in alternate measure, but five girls remain gone, their fate unknown.Anne is wracked by guilt at her failure to save her friend, Susan, who vanished one night soon after her release from jail. The evidence suggests she has returned to the place where she and her lover parted, she chose him and the crocodiles over life. She was in advanced pregnancy with twins and so three people are gone.Anne has her friend's story, her voice on a tape is the last fragment left to her of a vanished existence. She must tell this story so that the world can know of this lovely brave girl who seems forever lost. And the families of the other four girls want their stories told too. She has the man's diary, which tells parts, but there is much that makes no sense. It reveals another shadowy girl who may have gone too. She travels to the places from where they have come and were last seen in search of answers. She faithfully records each story, five or even six lost girls, each girl gone, nobody knows where. As she searches patterns emerge which help to explain the why and some of the how, but not where they are now. Almost certainly some are dead, but could some still survive..She is determined not to surrender all hope that at least one or two may yet be found alive. After a year nothing has been found. She must put it behind her and try to get on with her own life, but guilt and hope keep driving her on, searching still. Views: 755
An old rocker lies in his bed. Tonight will probably be his last night on Earth but he's not ready to go. The old rocker thinks of his granddaughter of how much she needs him. If he stays she could be anything she wants, if he goes tonight he wonders will become of her. While the rocker lies there waiting for death a healer slips quietly into the room.An old rocker lies in his bed. Tonight will probably be his last night on Earth but he's not ready to go. His mind is clear and his memories are so strong. The old rocker thinks of his granddaughter of how much she needs him. Her parents don't understand her, but he does and he sees a bight future for her. If he stays she could be anything she wants, if he goes tonight he wonders will become of her. While the rocker lies there waiting for death a man slips quietly into the room. The man sits down by the old rocker, but this is no ordinary man. This man is a healer who has been sent as an answer to a prayer. Included with this story is information telling you how to awaken the power of healing inside yourself. This can be done in as little as one hour. It really is easier than you would think. Views: 753
Jet-packs, Dragons, Barbarians, Dinosaurs, Magic, Space-Ships, Chainsaws and Beards. This epic tale of hilarity, emotion and adventure is the true story of Grigor: The Destructionator!The five pieces of awesome are objects scattered around the universe that grant the wielder near ultimate power. If the Evil Lord gets them first then the Universe will be thrust into a nightmareish hell, if Grigor gets them first, there's a slim chance he can save everyone. But the pieces already have owners, will Grigor and his rag tag group of comrades (including an immortal legendary pirate and a man with chainsaws for arms) get the pieces first and save the world? Or will the Evil Lord plunge the universe into indomitable darkness forever?Before Grigor even realises that he's on an amazing adventure he has to face his day job as a Viking Bank Financier. This has it's own challenges, like Evil Zombie Ninjas and even worse, a visit from the Aduit Team.A hilariously ironic slant on the space opera and fantasy epic style. Un-like anything you will ever read. Views: 752
"A wonderful glimpse into the maturing mind of a great man and a vital companion to the previous Che diaries."--Michael McCaughan, "The Irish Times"
"Guevara . . . chronicles labor uprisings and resistance against the influences and interests of the US and its intelligence operations. Guevara's passions for history, archaeology, and science are also apparent in this absorbing glimpse of the development of a legendary revolutionary figure."--Vanessa Bush, "Booklist"
"This second volume of travel diaries by revolutionary icon Guevara (after "Motorcycle Diaries") shows the 25-year-old rebel wandering around South America in the latter half of 1953."--"Publishers Weekly"
This sequel to "The Motorcycle Diaries" includes letters, poetry, and journalism that document Ernesto Che Guevara's second Latin American journey following his graduation from medical school. After traveling through Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and Central America, Ernesto witnesses the 1954 US-inspired coup in Guatemala. He flees to Mexico where he encounters Fidel Castro, marking the beginning of a political partnership that profoundly changes the world and Che himself.
This new, expanded edition has been fully revised especially for Ocean Press by Che's widow Aleida March, meticulously correcting her own work of checking Che's handwriting. Includes thirty-two pages of unpublished photos, including photos taken by Che's son Ernesto as he retraces his father's footsteps. Features a prologue by Alberto Granado, Che's traveling companion in "The Motorcycle Diaries." Views: 751
(13+ Warning contains violence, horror, and mature humour) Life in the Dark Cities is harsh. Brutal serfdom is enforced with the lash and the threat of becoming dinner for a ravenous demon. For Kasus, knowledge is the power to free himself from this hellpit. However, the price could be a heavy one. Will it cost him his humanity?Magic was the province of the wealthy and well connected, or in the case of necromancy, the insane. He was not sufficiently rich or high born to train as an artiphicer or unifier. A house slave from a Dark City estate could not hope to gather the resources to become any of these, let alone access the ley-nexus locations needed to gather arcane energy. His would have to be a less orthodox route. His access to arcane knowledge, fuelled by his tremendous desire to escape would lead Kasus down a shadowed path few would dare consider. Views: 750
The human eye is so complex and works so precisely that surely, one might believe, its current shape and function must be the product of design. How could such an intricate object have come about by chance? Tackling this subject in writing that the New York Times called "a masterpiece" Richard Dawkins builds a carefully reasoned and lovingly illustrated argument for evolutionary adaptation as the mechanism for life on earth.The metaphor of Mount Improbable represents the combination of perfection and improbability that is epitomized in the seemingly "designed" complexity of living things. Dawkins skillfully guides the reader on a breathtaking journey through the mountain's passes and up its many peaks to demonstrate that following the improbable path to perfection takes time. Evocative illustrations accompany Dawkins's eloquent descriptions of extraordinary adaptations such as the teeming populations of figs, the intricate silken world of spiders, and the evolution of wings on the bodies of flightless animals. And through it all runs the thread of DNA, the molecule of life, responsible for its own destiny on an unending pilgrimage through time. Climbing Mount Improbable is a book of great impact and skill, written by the most prominent Darwinian of our age. Views: 747
All is not well at the monastery.A mysterious spoon shortage...A missing toad...And, worst of all, an epic poem.What is the world coming to?And has it been there before?In the desert land of Turuna, every child possesses powerful magic, and only an ancient treaty prevents the clans from recruiting them as soldiers. Now, rumors swirl that an artifact has appeared that grants childlike magic to an adult, and some clans will stop at nothing to seize its power.In the tiny Ahjea clan, Butu has had no time to listen to rumors. His childhood sweetheart has caught the eye of the most powerful man in Turuna. Even worse, his magic has suddenly become unreliable, failing him at the most embarrassing moments. The only good news he's had all day is he's being allowed to join his clan's army despite his youth.When his squad of young recruits is sent on a mission they can't complete without magic, Butu begins to grow suspicious. It soon becomes clear that if he doesn't figure out the truth and find the artifact first, an all-powerful tyrant will rise up and conquer Turuna.86,000 words Views: 742
Could psychedelic drugs change our worldview? One of America's most admired writers takes us on a mind-altering journey to the frontiers of human consciousness
**When LSD was first discovered in the 1940s, it seemed to researchers, scientists and doctors as if the world might be on the cusp of psychological revolution. It promised to shed light on the deep mysteries of consciousness, as well as offer relief to addicts and the mentally ill. But in the 1960s, with the vicious backlash against the counter-culture, all further research was banned. In recent years, however, work has quietly begun again on the amazing potential of LSD, psilocybin and DMT. Could these drugs in fact improve the lives of many people? Diving deep into this extraordinary world and putting himself forward as a guinea-pig, Michael Pollan has written a remarkable history of psychedelics and a compelling portrait of the new generation of scientists fascinated by the implications of these drugs. How to Change Your Mind is a report from what could very well be the future of human consciousness. Views: 739
Gaylord was imprisoned. He wanted to be a real cat, but trapped in an apartment, his dream of roaming free and determining his own fate seemed impossible.Then, one day Harriet left a door open and he escaped to the streets and alleys. A tenderfoot, he was terrified. Then, pretty Adele came into his life and they fell in love. She became his mentor and changed his life forever.Gaylord felt imprisoned. He wanted to be a real cat, but held in Harriet and Ned's apartment stopped him from realizing his dream of roaming free and determining his own life.When Harriet left a door open one day, he escaped and headed for the streets and alleys. A tenderfoot, he had never hunted or killed to stay alive, so he was terrified. Then, pretty Adele came into his life and they fell in love. An experienced alley cat, she agreed to be his mentor and teach him how to survive. After introducing him to Chubby, the clowder's senior tom, his life changed forever. He was truly free. Views: 737
