- Table View
- List View
The Transparent Society: Will Technology Force Us To Choose Between Privacy And Freedom?
by David BrinIn New York and Baltimore, police cameras scan public areas twenty-four hours a day. Huge commercial databases track you finances and sell that information to anyone willing to pay. Host sites on the World Wide Web record every page you view, and "smart” toll roads know where you drive. Every day, new technology nibbles at our privacy.Does that make you nervous? David Brin is worried, but not just about privacy. He fears that society will overreact to these technologies by restricting the flow of information, frantically enforcing a reign of secrecy. Such measures, he warns, won't really preserve our privacy. Governments, the wealthy, criminals, and the techno-elite will still find ways to watch us. But we'll have fewer ways to watch them. We'll lose the key to a free society: accountability.The Transparent Society is a call for "reciprocal transparency.” If police cameras watch us, shouldn't we be able to watch police stations? If credit bureaus sell our data, shouldn't we know who buys it? Rather than cling to an illusion of anonymity-a historical anomaly, given our origins in close-knit villages-we should focus on guarding the most important forms of privacy and preserving mutual accountability. The biggest threat to our freedom, Brin warns, is that surveillance technology will be used by too few people, now by too many.A society of glass houses may seem too fragile. Fearing technology-aided crime, governments seek to restrict online anonymity; fearing technology-aided tyranny, citizens call for encrypting all data. Brins shows how, contrary to both approaches, windows offer us much better protection than walls; after all, the strongest deterrent against snooping has always been the fear of being spotted. Furthermore, Brin argues, Western culture now encourages eccentricity-we're programmed to rebel! That gives our society a natural protection against error and wrong-doing, like a body's immune system. But "social T-cells” need openness to spot trouble and get the word out. The Transparent Society is full of such provocative and far-reaching analysis.The inescapable rush of technology is forcing us to make new choices about how we want to live. This daring book reminds us that an open society is more robust and flexible than one where secrecy reigns. In an era of gnat-sized cameras, universal databases, and clothes-penetrating radar, it will be more vital than ever for us to be able to watch the watchers. With reciprocal transparency we can detect dangers early and expose wrong-doers. We can gauge the credibility of pundits and politicians. We can share technological advances and news. But all of these benefits depend on the free, two-way flow of information.
The Man Who Loved Only Numbers: The Story of Paul Erdos and the Search for Mathematical Truth
by Paul Hoffman"A funny, marvelously readable portrait of one of the most brilliant and eccentric men in history." --The Seattle Times Paul Erdos was an amazing and prolific mathematician whose life as a world-wandering numerical nomad was legendary. He published almost 1500 scholarly papers before his death in 1996, and he probably thought more about math problems than anyone in history. Like a traveling salesman offering his thoughts as wares, Erdos would show up on the doorstep of one mathematician or another and announce, "My brain is open." After working through a problem, he'd move on to the next place, the next solution. Hoffman's book, like Sylvia Nasar's biography of John Nash, A Beautiful Mind, reveals a genius's life that transcended the merely quirky. But Erdos's brand of madness was joyful, unlike Nash's despairing schizophrenia. Erdos never tried to dilute his obsessive passion for numbers with ordinary emotional interactions, thus avoiding hurting the people around him, as Nash did. Oliver Sacks writes of Erdos: "A mathematical genius of the first order, Paul Erdos was totally obsessed with his subject--he thought and wrote mathematics for nineteen hours a day until the day he died. He traveled constantly, living out of a plastic bag, and had no interest in food, sex, companionship, art--all that is usually indispensable to a human life."The Man Who Loved Only Numbers is easy to love, despite his strangeness. It's hard not to have affection for someone who referred to children as "epsilons," from the Greek letter used to represent small quantities in mathematics; a man whose epitaph for himself read, "Finally I am becoming stupider no more"; and whose only really necessary tool to do his work was a quiet and open mind. Hoffman, who followed and spoke with Erdos over the last 10 years of his life, introduces us to an undeniably odd, yet pure and joyful, man who loved numbers more than he loved God--whom he referred to as SF, for Supreme Fascist. He was often misunderstood, and he certainly annoyed people sometimes, but Paul Erdos is no doubt missed. --Therese Littleton
One Renegade Cell: How Cancer Begins (Science Masters Ser.)
by Robert A. WeinbergCancer research has reached a major turning point, and no one is better qualified to explain the past two deacades' dramatic leaps forward in understanding this disease than world-renowned molecular biologist Robert Weinberg, director of the Oncology Research Laboratory at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts. In One Renegade Cell, Weinberg presents a state-of-the-art account of how cancer begins and how, one day, it will be cured.
The Politics Of Law: A Progressive Critique, Third Edition
by David KairysThe Politics of Law is the most widely read critique of the nature and role of the law in American society. This revised edition continues the book's concrete focus on the major subjects and fields of law. New essays on emerging fields and the latest trends and cases have been added to updated versions of the now-classic essays from earlier editions.A unique assortment of leading scholars and practitioners in law and related disciplines-political science, economics, sociology, criminology, history, and literature-raise basic questions about law, challenging long-held ideals like the separation of law from politics, economics, religion, and culture. They address such issues contextually and with a keen historical perspective as they explain and critique the law in a broad range of areas.This third edition contains essays on all of the subjects covered in the first year of law school while continuing the book's tradition of accessibility to non-law-trained readers. Insightful and powerful, The Politics of Law makes sense of the debates about judicial restraint and the range of legal controversies so central to American public life and culture.
Baseball Turnaround: #53
by Matt ChristopherSandy Comstock once made a mistake - a bad one - but he's paid the price and now he just wants to get on with his life. Only one person stands in his way:Perry Warden, the boy who tempted Sandy to break the law in the first place. Convinced that Perry is spreading rumors about him to his new baseball teammates, Sandy face a tough decision. Should he run from the rumors, or come out with the truth about his past.
Brain Droppings
by George CarlinSometimes, a little brain damage can help. A book of original humor pieces by beloved comic George Carlin. Filled with thoughts, musings, questions, lists, beliefs, curiosities, monologues, assertions, assumptions, and other verbal ordeals, Brain Droppings is infectiously funny. Also included are two timeless monologues, "A Place for Your Stuff" and "Baseball-Football." Readers will get an inside look into Carlin's mind, and they won't be disappointed by what they find: I buy stamps by mail. It works OK until I run out of stamps.What year did Jesus Christ think it was?A tree: first you chop it down, then you chop it up.Have you ever noticed the lawyer is always smiling more than the client?I put a dollar in one of those change machines. Nothing changed.If you ever have chicken at lunch and chicken at dinner, do you ever wonder if the two chickens knew each other? Carlin demolishes everyday values and yet leaves you laughing out loud.
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
by Edward J. LarsonThe Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Scopes Trial and the battle over evolution and creation in America's schools.In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the twentieth century's most contentious courtroom dramas, pitting William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinists against a teacher named John Scopes, represented by Clarence Darrow and the ACLU, in a famous debate over science, religion, and their place in public education. That trial marked the start of a battle that continues to this day in cities and states throughout the country. Edward Larson's classic Summer for the Gods -- winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History -- is the single most authoritative account of this pivotal event. An afterword assesses the state of the battle between creationism and evolution, and points the way to how it might potentially be resolved.
Summer for the Gods: The Scopes Trial and America's Continuing Debate Over Science and Religion
by Edward J. LarsonThe Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Scopes Trial and the battle over evolution and creation in America's schools.In the summer of 1925, the sleepy hamlet of Dayton, Tennessee, became the setting for one of the twentieth century's most contentious courtroom dramas, pitting William Jennings Bryan and the anti-Darwinists against a teacher named John Scopes, represented by Clarence Darrow and the ACLU, in a famous debate over science, religion, and their place in public education. That trial marked the start of a battle that continues to this day in cities and states throughout the country. Edward Larson's classic Summer for the Gods -- winner of the Pulitzer Prize in History -- is the single most authoritative account of this pivotal event. An afterword assesses the state of the battle between creationism and evolution, and points the way to how it might potentially be resolved.
In the Shadow Of the Poorhouse: A Social History Of Welfare In America, Tenth Anniversary Edition
by Michael B. KatzWith welfare reform a burning political issue, this special anniversary edition of the classic history of welfare in America has been revised and updated to include the latest bipartisan debates on how to "end welfare as we know it.”In the Shadow of the Poorhouse examines the origins of social welfare, both public and private, from the days of the colonial poorhouse through the current tragedy of the homeless. The book explains why such a highly criticized system persists. Katz explores the relationship between welfare and municipal reform; the role of welfare capitalism, eugenics, and social insurance in the reorganization of the labor market; the critical connection between poverty and politics in the rise of the New Deal welfare state; and how the War on Poverty of the '60s became the war on welfare of the '80s.
The Path: Creating Your Mission Statement for Work and for Life
by Laurie Beth JonesIndividuals and companies have been learning what history has demonstrated all along -- that people or groups with carefully defined missions have always led and surpassed those who have none. Yet the process of outlining that mission statement has been, up to now, an arduous one that all too few have committed the time, energy, and resources to undertake. In The Path, best-selling author Laurie Beth Jones provides inspiring and practical advice to lead readers through every step of both defining and fulfilling a mission. With more than ten years' experience in assisting groups and individuals, Jones offers clear, step-by-step guidance that can make writing a mission statement take a matter of hours rather than months or years. Rich with humor, exercises, mediations, and case histories, The Path is essential reading for anyone seeking a lighter, clearer way in the world.
I, Pierre Seel, Deported Homosexual: A Memoir of Nazi Terror
by Pierre SeelOn a fateful day in May 1941, in Nazi-occupied Strasbourg, seventeen-year- old Pierre Seel was summoned by the Gestapo. This was the beginning of his journey through the horrors of a concentration camp.For nearly forty years, Seel kept this secret in order to hide his homosexuality. Eventually he decided to speak out, bearing witness to an aspect of the Holocaust rarely seen. This edition, with a new foreword from gay-literature historian Gregory Woods, is an extraordinary firsthand account of the Nazi roundup and the deportation of homosexuals.
Jesus, CEO: Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership
by Laurie Beth JonesEnhance and strengthen your corporate leadership skills with this guide to spirituality in business from a bestselling Christian consultant and speaker.Bestselling author Laurie Beth Jones brings you the ultimate guide to transforming your team and sparking inspiration in your business. In Jesus, CEO, Jones compares Jesus to a CEO who turned a disorganized "staff" of twelve into a thriving, long-lasting enterprise.With the twenty-fifth anniversary edition of Jesus, CEO, Jones revises and updates her original modernized guidance, ensuring that everyone can continue to apply the ancient wisdom pulled straight from the Bible.Filled with fresh, practical, and profound advice, Jesus, CEO helps managers motivate their teams and themselves. Jones divides this advice into three sections: strength of self-mastery, strength of actions, and strength of relationships. By teaching readers how to reinvent all aspects of their business according to the ultimate CEO, Jesus, CEO becomes the handbook you need for corporate success.
Bugs In The System: Insects And Their Impact On Human Affairs
by May R. BerenbaumAn introduction to insect physiology, genetics and behaviour which looks at the interaction between humans and insects, and explores both the positive and negative aspects of the relationship.
Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life
by Teri HatcherFrom America's most beloved comedic actress and the star of Desperate Housewives comes a personal, heartfelt, and often very funny manifesto on life, love, and the lessons we all need to learn -- and unlearn -- on the road to happiness. Teri Hatcher secured her place in America's heart when she stood up to accept her Golden Globe for Best Actress and declared herself a "has-been" on national television. That moment showcased her down-to-earth, self-deprecating style -- and her frank openness about the ups and downs she's experienced in life and work. But what the world might not have seen that night is that Teri's self-acceptance is the hard-won effort of a single mother with all the same struggles most women have to juggle -- life, love, bake sale cookies, and dying cats. Now, in the hope that her foibles and insights might inspire and motivate other women, Teri opens up about the little moments that have sustained her through good times and bad. From the everyday (like the importance of letting your daughter spill her macaroni so she knows it's okay to make mistakes) to the rare (a rendezvous with a humpback whale -- and no, he was not a suitor), the message at the heart of Burnt Toast -- that happiness and success are choices that we owe it to ourselves to make -- is sure to resonate with women everywhere.
Crime And Punishment In American History
by Lawrence FriedmanIn a panoramic history of our criminal justice system from Colonial times to today, one of our foremost legal thinkers shows how America fashioned a system of crime and punishment in its own image.
For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History Of The Great American Soft Drink And The Company That Makes It
by Mark PendergrastFor God, Country and Coca-Cola is the unauthorized history of the great American soft drink and the company that makes it. From its origins as a patent medicine in Reconstruction Atlanta through its rise as the dominant consumer beverage of the American century, the story of Coke is as unique, tasty, and effervescent as the drink itself. With vivid portraits of the entrepreneurs who founded the company-and of the colorful cast of hustlers, swindlers, ad men, and con men who have made Coca-Cola the most recognized trademark in the world-this is business history at its best: in fact, "The Real Thing.”
The Pearl of the Soul of the World (The Darkangel Trilogy)
by Meredith Ann PierceThe spellbinding conclusion to the Darkangel Trilogy!Armed with a magical pearl imbued with all the sorcery and wisdom of the world, bestowed upon her by the Ancient known as Ravenna, Aeriel finally comes face-to-face with the White Witch and her vampire sons. Backed by her husband, his army of good, and a throng of magical steeds, she must unlock the power of the pearl to awaken her true destiny and save the world.
Dark Blade: Whispers of the Gods Book 1 (Whispers of the Gods #1)
by Steve Feasey'This has everything you want from an epic fantasy adventure – devious Gods, hideous monsters, a portal to another dimension and a hero with an enchanted blade. Great stuff' – Charlie Higson, author of the Young Bond series_________________________A sweeping epic fantasy perfect for fans of the Summoner trilogy by Taran Matharu and Shadow and Bone by Leigh BardugoWHEN GODS FAIL, WHO WILL KEEP THE DARKNESS OUT?Lann knows nothing of his mysterious past, but by his fifteenth birthday he will come face to face with destiny. For Lann must wield the Dreadblade, an ancient sword forged to defeat terrible monsters. Across the mountains a King has been murdered. His daughter, Astrid, is a warrior with no desire to bear the crown. Only she can uncover her father's killer before her brother is framed for the crime.Evil is stirring. Lann and Astrid are the kingdom's last defence. Together, they must face the greatest darkness their world has ever known.
The Leaving: Improvisation And The Theatre (Bloomsbury Revelations Ser.)
by Tara AltebrandoEleven years ago, six five-year-olds went missing without a trace. After all this time, the people left behind have moved on, or tried to.Until today. Now five of those kids are back. They're sixteen, and they are ... fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mother she barely recognises, and doesn't really know who she's supposed to be, either. But she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, but they can't recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back and everyone wants answers. Addictive and unforgettable, The Leaving seethes with rich characters, tense storytelling and high stakes.
Anarchy, State, and Utopia: Second Edition
by Robert NozickThe foundational text of libertarian thought, named one of the 100 Most Influential Books since World War II (Times Literary Supplement)First published in response to John Rawls' A Theory of Justice, Robert Nozick's Anarchy, State, and Utopia has become a defining text of classic libertarian thought. Challenging and ultimately rejecting liberal, socialist, and conservative agendas, Nozick boldly asserts that the rights of individuals are violated as a state's responsibilities increase -- and that the only way to avoid these violations is the creation of a minimalist state limited to the enforcement of contracts and to protection against force, fraud, and theft.Winner of the National Book Award and translated into over one hundred languages, Anarchy, State and Utopia remains one of the most theoretically trenchant and philosophically rich defenses of economic liberalism to date. With an introduction by philosopher Thomas Nagel, this edition brings Nozick and his work to today's generation of readers.
Bear's Big Dreaming
by Michael RosenFrom beloved author Michael Rosen (We're Going on a Bear Hunt) and award-winning illustrator Daniel Egnéus comes a modern classic picture book about love, hope and the dreams that sustain us.* “A soothing tale that will be welcomed in autumn or at bedtime in any season of the year.” -Booklist, starred review The Cold is coming, and it's time for Big Bear and Little Bear to get ready for the Big Sleep: for bears sleep all winter long, and wake up in the spring. But Little Bear is worried. What if they run out of dreams during the Big Sleep? Little Bear sets out bravely to find enough dreams to see them through the long winter. On his journey, he discovers dreams of happiness, dreams of homecoming, and dreams of hope. But with the Cold approaching fast, will Little Bear make it back home in time for the Big Dreaming? A resonant and uplifting tale from a master storyteller, The Big Dreaming is a classic in the making, filled with luminous illustrations by award-winning artist Daniel Egnéus.Read Bear's Big Dreaming if you are looking for: A cozy bedtime book to inspire sweet dreams A gift to treasure with stunning gold foilA seasonal story that introduces bear hibernation
The Bedtime Book of Incredible Questions
by Isabel ThomasThis fascinating and fact-filled book tackles a multitude of weird and wonderful questions about everything from unicorns to the universe.A Guardian Best Children's Book of 2022"The perfect present for any inquisitive child." -The Sunday Times Have you ever struggled to concentrate because there are SO many questions buzzing around your brain? Here are answers to seventy-one of the most bamboozling questions and curious queries that you can think of. How many stars are in the night sky? Why don't animals wear clothes? Do plants have feelings?This book will define, debunk, and demystify the trickiest of questions and open your eyes to amazing facts you have never even thought of! With engaging and accessible text and accompanied by exciting, inviting illustrations, The Bedtime Book of Incredible Questions is the perfect bedside companion to delve into when you are wondering if there really is an answer to everything."Top-notch nonfiction from a profoundly accomplished creator, it's the sort of book that could ignite lifelong scientific curiosity." -Guardian
Building Strategy and Performance
by Kim WarrenThe fundamental challenge facing business leaders is to drive performance into the future--the dynamics of strategy. To tackle this effectively, they need a clear understanding of what causes performance to improve or deteriorate and what power they have to change this trajectory for the better. Without this understanding, they risk making poor choices about their future--failing to exploit promising opportunities, pursuing unachievable aims, or falling victim to competitive and other threats. Building Strategy and Performance Through Time sets the agenda for building business strategy in powerful, actionable, and accessible terms. It gives executives clear frameworks for answering three fundamental questions: * Why is our business performance following its current path? * Where is it going if we carry on as we are? * How can we design a robust strategy to transform this future? The existing strategy tools most widely used help guide management's choices about where to compete--which customers to serve, with what products and services, and how to deliver those products and services to those customers effectively and profitably. While this choice is important, it is not often changed in any fundamental way; having found a reasonably strong and profitable position on these issues, few firms will, or should, set off in a new direction. But there is still much to be done to deliver that strategy, powerfully and sustainably over time. Many decisions need to be made, continually and holistically, across all functions of the business and adapted as conditions change from month to month and year to year. Pricing, product development, marketing, hiring, service levels, and other decisions cannot be made in isolation but must take into account other choices being made, elsewhere and at different times. Building Strategy and Performance Through Time explains a reliable, practical method, known as strategy dynamics, that creates a living picture of how an enterprise actually works and delivers performance. This picture shows exactly where the levers are that management controls and how to choose what to do, when, and how much, to accomplish your specific goals. It shows, too, how the same approach can be used to defeat competitors, cope with other outside forces, and keep delivering performance.
Business Communication for Success
by Scott McleanThis book is suited for Business Communication courses, but is also appropriate for Business English, Business Presentation, Professional Communication courses. Scott McLean brings his authoring expertise to this new communications textbook. Scott has authored textbooks in the areas of Speech Communication, Interpersonal Communication and Public Speaking. Business Communications for Success benefits from Scott's extensive understanding of how students learn the art of effective communication. Students are provided ample opportunity to engage with the concepts, vocabulary and models covered in the text, including role-playing exercises, journal writings, case studies, small-group activities, games, and self-assessment activities.
The Business Ethics Workshop v 1.0
by James BrusseauOn a good day in the business ethics classroom discussion charges forward; students have read the assigned case study, they're engaged by the conflict and want to work through it. Then, there's a bad day: students didn't bother to do the reading and the hour sags listlessly. The key to going the first way is case studies that students want to read, and The Business Ethics Workshop by James Brusseau provides them with reality and engagement. Reality: No stilted and contrived stories about Steve Smith and Jane Jones. Excerpts from blogs and newspapers bring the weight--and provocation--of the world as it's actually happening to the classroom.