Two novels about the education of a young machine: “In a properly run universe Sladek’s Roderick would be considered a major American novel. Which it is.” —Michael Dirda, The Washington Post Roderick is a robot who learns. He begins life looking like a toy tank, thinking like a child, and knowing nothing about human ways. But as he will discover, growing up and becoming fully human is no easy task in a world where many people seem to have little trouble giving up their humanity. The Complete Roderick—consisting of the Philip K. Dick Award nominee Roderick and Roderick at Random—is widely considered to be the most ambitious and genius work of a novelist described by The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as “the most formally inventive, the funniest, and very nearly the most melancholy of modern US science fiction writers.” “A major comic talent . . . hilarious and serious.” —Sunday Times “Superb . . . comparable with early Kurt Vonnegut.” —Time Out “To the small band of science-fiction humorists who can actually make you laugh—my own list features, in alphabetical order, Douglas Adams and Robert Sheckley—please add the name of John Sladek.” —The New York Times Book Review
Here is the continuing and uproarious saga of Roderick, a robot and "learning machine" growing up in an America in the near future. The mild-mannered robot is confronted with an ever-widening cast of madcap characters who typify the artificial values endemic in modern America.
The second American Revolution will be a fire lit from an internal spark. The year is 2022. America is on the verge of economic and social collapse. The U.S. government has made individual freedom its enemy. African American hacker Isse Corvus enters a black-ops training camp. Hyper-intelligent, bold, and ambitious, Corvus discovers the leaders are revolutionaries seeking to return the U.S. back to its Constitutional roots. Soon the camp fractures. Who is traitor? Who is patriot? With no place to hide, Corvus learns that if he doesn’t join “The Cause” and help them hack the NSA’s servers, it could mean his life. If he joins, he becomes part of a conspiracy to overthrow America’s financial elite and uncover NSA secrets. What happens when the NSA and martial law meets revolution? Turning patriotism into dangerous disruption (similar to the movements of Occupy Wall Street, Anonymous, and WikiLeaks), “The Cause” embroils Corvus in a deadly game with the NSA. A novel of juxtaposition, The Cause also tells the tale of the ruthless, manipulative, and opportunistic NSA Director, General Titus Montgomery. The President has told Montgomery that rule of law must be maintained at all costs. --- George Orwell wrote about the fully evolved totalitarian state in 1984. Here is a futuristic “pre-Orwellian” novel where the shape of a totalitarian state is still forming. Set inside a conspiracy to overthrow America’s financial oligarchy, a conspiracy that’s up against the dense web of the NSA’s new, more ruthless surveillance system, The Cause is a dystopian technothriller taking many topical issues to the next logical level. Although this is NSA fiction, many of the technologies and NSA codenames used throughout the novel are in existence today. In this way, the reader is placed on the fringe of our world by taking a step farther into the future to ask the question, “How far away are we?” With crackling prose, the narrative in this technothriller brims with details about the NSA and takes us through the web of conspiracy from the perspective of a unique hacker character not yet seen in the genre. Robotic warfare, drones, quantum computers, Anonymous, the NSA, along with a cast of conniving characters, this novel takes you on a manifest journey on how a new revolution could be born. If you liked books like The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, 1984 and The Hunger Games you will love The Cause. Scroll up, click buy and start reading this thoughtful, fast-paced technothriller today.
Hitler's Germany provides a comprehensive narrative history of Nazi Germany and sets it in the wider context of nineteenth and twentieth century German history. Roderick Stackelberg analyzes how it was possible that a national culture of such creativity and achievement could generate such barbarism and destructiveness. This second edition has been updated throughout to incorporate recent historical research and engage with current debates in the field. It includes: an expanded introduction focusing on the hazards of writing about Nazi Germany an extended analysis of fascism, totalitarianism, imperialism and ideology a broadened contextualisation of antisemitism discussion of the Holocaust including the euthanasia program and the role of eugenics new chapters on Nazi social and economic policies and the structure of government as well as on the role of culture, the arts, education and religion additional maps, tables and a chronology a fully updated bibliography. Exploring the controversies surrounding Nazism and its afterlife in historiography and historical memory Hitler’s Germany provides students with an interpretive framework for understanding this extraordinary episode in German and European history.
The New York Times Bestseller! The story of an outcast boy, his eccentric dad, and the scary underground world they discover through secret TUNNELS.14-year-old Will Burrows has little in common with his strange, dysfunctional family. In fact, the only bond he shares with his eccentric father is a passion for archaeological excavation. So when Dad mysteriously vanishes, Will is compelled to dig up the truth behind his disappearance. He unearths the unbelievable: a secret subterranean society. "The Colony" has existed unchanged for a century, but it's no benign time capsule of a bygone era--because the Colony is ruled by a cultlike overclass, the Styx. Before long--before he can find his father--Will is their prisoner....
Julia Laing is a winner – beautiful, vivacious, publicity director of London’s top hotel. Robert Brand is charismatic, handsome – with his vast fortune he can work magic. Together they make a golden couple, the world at their feet.
Brande Roderick, former Playmate of The Year and star of Celebrity Apprentice Season 2, is your advisor, confidante, and stand in best friend in this fun, comprehensive guide to getting the best out of life from someone who knows how to live it! Bounce, Don't Break has something for every age -- from the young woman unsure of what lies ahead to the seasoned career woman who is looking to sharpen her game. Brande offers the straight-talking advice that women need the most (and don't always get) -- words of wisdom she has shared with and received from her closest and most successful friends. Inside you'll find 8 keys to success, including tools to help YOU: assess and improve your self-reliance and self-esteem; identify personal and professional goals; strategize financially to reach short and long term aims; navigate dating and your search for Mr. Right; and much more. Brande convinces you that personal resilience, hard work, and clear-cut goals are the means to realizing your dreams. Packed with fun and informative quizzes, useful tips and tricks, as well as personal anecdotes and nearly 30 color photographs, Bounce, Don't Break will have you well on your way to enjoying the same level of success as Brande herself.
A unique, full-color introduction to Linux fundamentals Serving as a low-cost, secure alternative to expensive operating systems, Linux is a UNIX-based, open source operating system. Full-color and concise, this beginner's guide takes a learning-by-doing approach to understanding the essentials of Linux. Each chapter begins by clearly identifying what you will learn in the chapter, followed by a straightforward discussion of concepts that leads you right into hands-on tutorials. Chapters conclude with additional exercises and review questions, allowing you to reinforce and measure your understanding. Offers a hands-on approach to acquiring a foundation of Linux skills, aiming to ensure Linux beginners gain a solid understanding Uses the leading Linux distribution Fedora to demonstrate tutorials and examples Addresses Linux installation, desktop configuration, management of files and filesystems, remote administration, security, and more This book is essential reading for anyone entering the world of Linux!
The ebook age has taken 'the book' to a turning point. But in fact, casting off old technologies and taking on new ones has been part of the history of the book since Egyptian times...From inscriptions on tombs to the first writings on papyrus; how scrolls gave way to the first bound codex books in Roman times; from exclusive and expensive hand-scribed books, to the creation of movable type, and the invention of printing for the masses; and from the printed book to the digital book, the ebook reader ... and beyond...Illustrating this story with lavish photography of some of the most treasured artefacts from the world's historic collections, 'A History of the Book in 100 Books' traces mankind's 5,000-year quest to communicate ideas and knowledge.
