When his father returns from military service in the Afghan war zone, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become The Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden.Six year old Neville the Less is lord of the small things in a safe and familiar Australian neighbourhood. He knows the ‘countries’ of which it’s comprised, he knows the people who conduct its business and the places from which to observe its doings. He knows it to be a place in which all the roles are established, all the problems are small and all the solutions the responsibility of adults. When his father returns, heroically, from military service in the Afghan war zone, however, Neville finds himself confronted by a man he no longer knows. Withdrawn, uncommunicative and subject to horrifying nightmares, the father has become a Quiet Man in whom, Neville fears, a dreadful secret may lie hidden. What that secret could be is a question that draws Neville to ponder what it takes to ‘make’ both a hero and a war. “Nothing for you to worry about,” his mother tells him. “War could never happen here and you will never be a soldier.” The half-memories of Neville’s best friend and back-door neighbour say otherwise. Afsoon is the only surviving child of Hazaran refugees, newly resettled in Australia. Like the Quiet Man, she displays full-blown symptoms of post traumatic stress, in her case, presenting as a consuming obsession with the threat of violence. Imagining that her family’s persecutors have followed them to Australia and are masquerading as ordinary neighbours (one of whom may be the Quiet Man), she develops a fixated need to expose those who are enemies and, if need be, eliminate them. Neville finds himself torn. Should he believe his determinedly hopeful mother or his much abused friend? And which of those is most likely to rescue his almost catatonic father from whatever nightmare assails him? ‘Neville the Less’ is firstly a tale about the pervasiveness of casual prejudice, obstinate insensitivity and the initiatives that arise from fear. It’s also about the alacrity with which violence is introduced into our society and it is a reminder that post traumatic stress is a condition that can claim victims far beyond its primary sufferers. It’s also an entertaining glimpse into the ways children might imagine themselves the protectors of their adults. Views: 533
Stories of famously eccentric Princetonians abound--such as that of chemist Hubert Alyea, the model for The Absent-Minded Professor, or Ralph Nader, said to have had his own key to the library as an undergraduate. Or the "Phantom of Fine Hall," a figure many students had seen shuffling around the corridors of the math and physics building wearing purple sneakers and writing numerology treatises on the blackboards. The Phantom was John Nash, one of the most brilliant mathematicians of his generation, who had spiraled into schizophrenia in the 1950s. His most important work had been in game theory, which by the 1980s was underpinning a large part of economics. When the Nobel Prize committee began debating a prize for game theory, Nash's name inevitably came up--only to be dismissed, since the prize clearly could not go to a madman. But in 1994 Nash, in remission from schizophrenia, shared the Nobel Prize in economics for work done some 45 years previously.
Economist and journalist Sylvia Nasar has written a biography of Nash that looks at all sides of his life. She gives an intelligent, understandable exposition of his mathematical ideas and a picture of schizophrenia that is evocative but decidedly unromantic. Her story of the machinations behind Nash's Nobel is fascinating and one of very few such accounts available in print (the CIA could learn a thing or two from the Nobel committees). Views: 532
The fifth volume in our popular Very Christmas series, this collection brings together traditional and contemporary holiday stories from Austria, Switzerland and Germany. You'll find classic works by the Brothers Grimm, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Heinrich Heine, Rainer Maria Rilke, Hermann Hesse and Erich Kästner, as well as contemporary stories by writers like the highly popular Martin Suter. Eine fröhliche Weihnachten—A Merry Christmas—made all the more festive with these literary treats redolent of candle-lit trees, St. Nikolaus, gingerbread, the Christkindl, roast goose and red cabbage, Gugelhopf and stollen cakes, accompanied by plenty of schnapps. Views: 530
�We have watched your plants for millennia.�The creature that spoke was barely three feet tall, with wrinkled gray skin and monstrous eyes . . .�Yours is a war of children. Only children would slaughter each other out of ignorance and fear. Only children would fail again and again to learn the lessons of their foolishness.�It was true. The underground people of Earth were united in terror and desperation against what they considered a frightful threat from the skies. They had sent a mighty armada into space, rushing in lethal orbit toward Mars. The Spacers - still really Earthmen themselves - were poised for the counter-blow. The great fleet at Asteroid Central had sufficient warheads to reduce earth to a cinder.�But we also know the greatness of your spirit, the precious spark which we cannont allow you to extinguish.�Now Ben Trefon understood that in the Black Belt of Power bequeathed to him by his father rested the final hope of the human... Views: 530
Earth Is Room Enough is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse published by Isaac Asimov in 1957. In his autobiography In Joy Still Felt, Asimov wrote, "I was still thinking of the remarks of reviewers such as George O. Smith . . . concerning my penchant for wandering over the Galaxy. I therefore picked stories that took place on Earth and called the book Earth Is Room Enough. " The collection includes one story from the Robot Series and four stories that feature or mention the fictional computer Multivac. Views: 527
Only a few know the terrifying truth--an outcast Earth scientist, a rebellious alien inhabitant of a dying planet, a lunar-born human intuitionist who senses the imminent annihilation of the Sun. They know the truth--but who will listen? They have foreseen the cost of abundant energy--but who will believe? These few beings, human and alien, hold the key to the Earth's survival. Views: 523
This book, Glorious Hymns & Rhymes is a compilation of your loved songs - ancient and modern hymns and rhymes. Just below the title of each song you will find the name of the songwriter and the year it was composed. You will surely be happy having these songs in your library and happier singing them often. Have a wonderful and glorious divine encounters.This book, Glorious Hymns & Rhymes is a compilation of your beloved hymns and songs. It is a concise handbook of both ancient and modern hymns and rhymes. The author offers you additional knowledge by indicating below each Song-title the name of the songwriter and the year it was composed. You will surely be happy having these songs in your library and happier singing them often. Have a wonderful and glorious divine encounters as your get your life impacted on by this inspirational hymns and rhymes. Views: 523
In this new collection, Ben Bova has compiled fourteen of his favorite short stories. Each story includes an all-new introduction with compelling insight into the narrative. Exploring the boundaries of the genre, Bova not only writes of spaceships, aliens, and time travel in most of his titles, but also speculates on the beginnings of science fiction in "Scheherazade and the Storytellers," as well as the morality of man in "The Angel's Gift. " Stories such as "The Café Coup" and "We'll Always Have Paris" dip into speculative historical fiction, asking questions about what would happen if someone could change history for the better. This expansive collection is a key addition for Bova fans and sci-fi lovers alike! Stories included in this collection: "Monster Slayer," "Muzhestvo," "We'll Always Have Paris," "The Great Moon Hoax, or A Princess of Mars," "Inspiration," "Scheherazade and the Storytellers," "The Supersonic Zeppelin," "Mars Farts," "The Man Who Hated Gravity,"... Views: 522
Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold.The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There's no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to... Views: 518
The bestselling author of Leonardo da Vinci and Steve Jobs returns with a gripping account of how Nobel Prize winner Jennifer Doudna and her colleagues launched a revolution that will allow us to cure diseases, fend off viruses, and have healthier babies.When Jennifer Doudna was in sixth grade, she came home one day to find that her dad had left a paperback titled The Double Helix on her bed. She put it aside, thinking it was one of those detective tales she loved. When she read it on a rainy Saturday, she discovered she was right, in a way. As she sped through the pages, she became enthralled by the intense drama behind the competition to discover the building block of life. Even though her high school counselor told her girls didn't become scientists, she decided she would. Driven by a passion to understand how nature works and to turn discoveries into inventions, she would help to make what the book's author, James Watson, told her was... Views: 515
Lacerant Plainer’s new short story is set in the near future, and with its fast-paced action, dystopian world and warring humans and aliens it ticks all the boxes for a near-perfect first contact tale.Dylan crouched against the wall. He listened carefully for any further sound. His alertness was vindicated by the whoosh of a vehicle passing by, its air cushion blowing out an immense amount of dust and debris.Making himself as small as possible, he froze into a ball, waiting for the vehicle to pass. The sound continued and then there was an explosion, as someone fired at the wall where he had been hiding. He managed to somersault away from the wall as he smelt the ozone an instant before the blast. He crawled away slowly, moving an inch at a time. The commander of the flying vehicle scanned the area again. The psi-scan showed a human in close proximity, but it seemed to be wounded.Lacerant Plainer’s new short story is set in the near future, and with its fast-paced action, dystopian world and warring humans and aliens it ticks all the boxes for a near-perfect first contact tale. But is it? Or is there another point of view to the destruction of Earth, the concept of war and the perspective of aliens? Read this cracking account of the interaction between humans and Xylex, and the implications of greed, short-sightedness, violence and judgments. Views: 515
