160 illustrations.

    The average young person in the UK will spend 10,000 hours gaming by the age of twenty-one. What's causing this mass exodus? According to world-renowned game designer Jane McGonigal the answer is simple: videogames are fulfilling genuine human needs. Drawing on positive psychology, cognitive science and sociology, Reality is Broken shows how game designers have hit on core truths about what makes us happy, and utilized these discoveries to astonishing effect in virtual environments. But why, McGonigal asks, should we use the power of games for escapist entertainment alone? In this groundbreaking exploration of the power and future of gaming, she reveals how gamers have become expert problem solvers and collaborators, and shows how we can use the lessons of game design to socially positive ends, be it in our own lives, our communities or our businesses. Written for gamers and non-gamers alike, Reality is Broken sends a clear and provocative message: the future will belong to those who can understand, design and play games.

    Ghosts, UFOs, psychic power & other unexplained phenomena are endlessly fascinating. People often seem to accept or reject claims of the paranormal based on their fundamental beliefs as if such matters were theological. In contrast, this book takes a scientific approach, basing its arguments on the premise that what seem like paranormal mysteries should be carefully investigated with a view toward explaining them using evidence from the cases. Nickell takes readers on investigative journeys that range from the uniquely whimsical (such as the case of the giant Coleman Frog) to the bizarre (such as alien-abduction experiences) to the potentially transcendental (Shroud of Turin). He examines some of the world's most significant, perplexing & enduring enigmas: spontaneous human combustion, hauntings, UFOs & alien abductions, stigmata, psychic detectives, legendary monsters, reincarnation, crop circles etc. A wide variety of investigative techniques are employed, including forensic examination, physical experimentation, archival research, folklore study & iconographic analysis. The very case titles resonate with mystery & intrigue: The Secrets of Oak Island, The Devil's Footprints, Extraterrestrial Autopsy, The Case of the Petrified Girl, Death of the Fire-Breathing Woman, The Silver Lake Serpent, Adventure of the Weeping Icon, Legend of the Phantom Ship etc.

    From the co-creator of the landmark television series Twin Peaks comes a novel that deepens the mysteries of that iconic town in ways that not only enrich the original series but readies fans for the upcoming Showtime episodes.

    A wide variety of ETs are presented, including various types of grays, Praying Mantis-type ETs, humanoids and Nordics. The witnesses are normal everyday people who suddenly find themselves in very unusual situations. The unique and unusual nature of the cases in this book will surprise even those well-versed in the UFO literature. • A Navy Corpsman is invited aboard a UFO by his shipmate, only to meet fifteen-foot tall friendly Praying Mantis-type ETs. • A young child experiences an encounter with Nordic ETs that marks a lifelong series of contacts. • A paperboy encounters a UFO and missing time, leaving him with an undiagnosed illness and a mystery that remained unsolved for years. • An office-worker is confronted by a nine-foot-tall praying mantis, only to discover that she’s also having contact with gray-type ETs too. • a teacher stops on the road when a huge metallic sphere drops from the sky, and out steps a handsome-looking spaceman. • A new mother is shocked to see an alien right outside her window, staring intently at her newborn son. • a desperately ill housewife is transported from her home into an unknown base and cured by an eight-foot-tall orange-haired humanoid. • A young farm-boy encounters UFOs on his family’s farm, beginning a very close and lifelong relationship with ETs. • A Navy Electronics Specialist has a complex UFO encounter aboard a Navy Ship, and is taught by the ETs about alternative energy sources. • A nursing assistant experiences a life-long series of missing time incidents culminating in a fully conscious encounter with gray-type ETs who attempt to answer all his questions Why are the aliens here? What is their agenda on our planet? Are they hostile or benevolent? This book answers these questions and more, directly from the witnesses’ themselves. This is not just another book about abductions by grays. This collection of true UFO stories shows how fascinating and bizarre extraterrestrial contact can be.

    In this eloquent, persuasive book, Neil Postman alerts us to the real and present dangers of this state of affairs, and offers compelling suggestions as to how to withstand the media onslaught. Before we hand over politics, education, religion, and journalism to the show business demands of the television age, we must recognize the ways in which the media shape our lives and the ways we can, in turn, shape them to serve out highest goals.

    The ultimate reference to this red-hot TV show and the essential key to the truth behind its fiction, The Unofficial X-Files Companion includes "deep information" on the true cases behind each episode, dossiers of the main characters, trivia quizzes, bloopers, and more.

    Here we follow him around the globe on the trail of the Uncanny and in pursuit of unexplained footsteps, apparitions, and other psychic phenomena.Along the way, he introduces us to the ghosts who still inhabit homes, cling to castle walls, and lurk at lonely country crossroads. These are just a few of the ghosts we meet: Grandma Thurston, whose ghost still works the loom, tugged at the Ghost Hunter's elbow in an eighteenth-century farmhouse. The Ghost at the Altar is that of a pastor whose wooden church burned down, destroying many years of work and many dreams. The specter of railroad man Joe Baldwin, who lost his head while trying to forestall a collision, still patrols a section of track in Wilmington, North Carolina. A haunted house in Los Angeles is the site of a nightly party where invisible guests celebrate as the horrified inhabitants listen on.We watch from a front-row seat as Holzer establishes a connection to the spirits behind these and other hauntings in deep-trance sessions conducted with renowned psychics. In these sessions, he eases the spirits' transition from this world to the next-and brings the reader face to face with haunted places and people around the world.Hans Holzer, Ph.D., author, investigator, parapsychologist, and expert on extrasensory perception, is known throughout the world as the Ghost Hunter. The author of more than 100 books, including True Ghost Stories, he is regarded as a leading authority on the paranormal, ranging from hauntings and ghosts to telepathy, clairvoyance, and other psychic experiences of the human mind. Educated at the University of Vienna and at Columbia University, Dr. Holzer has written, produced, and appeared in numerous television documentaries.

    In the next ten years, change will happen even faster. As Hillary Clinton's Senior Advisor for Innovation, Alec Ross travelled nearly a million miles to forty-one countries, the equivalent of two round-trips to the moon. From refugee camps in the Congo and Syrian war zones, to visiting the world's most powerful people in business and government, Ross's travels amounted to a four-year masterclass in the changing nature of innovation. In The Industries of the Future, Ross distils his observations on the forces that are changing the world. He highlights the best opportunities for progress and explains how countries thrive or sputter. Ross examines the specific fields that will most shape our economic future over the next ten years, including robotics, artificial intelligence, the commercialization of genomics, cybercrime and the impact of digital technology. Blending storytelling and economic analysis, he answers questions on how we will need to adapt. Ross gives readers a vivid and informed perspective on how sweeping global trends are affecting the ways we live, now and tomorrow.

    Every aircraft is equipped with an almost indestructible black box. When there is an accident, the box is opened, the data is analyzed, and the reason for the accident excavated. This ensures that procedures are adapted so that the same mistake doesn’t happen again. With this method, the industry has created an astonishing safety record.For pilots working in a safety-critical industry, getting it wrong can have deadly consequences. But most of us have a relationship with failure that impedes progress, halts innovation, and damages our lives. We don’t acknowledge it or learn from it —though we often think we do.Moving from anthropology to psychology and from history to complexity theory, Matthew Syed explains why even when we think we have 20/20 hindsight, our vision’s still fuzzy. He offers a radical new idea: that the most important determinant of success in any field, whether sports, business, or life, is an acknowledgment of failure and a willingness to engage with it. This is how we learn, progress and excel. This approach explains everything from biological evolution and the efficiency of markets to the success of the Mercedes F1 team and the mindset of David Beckham.Using a cornucopia of interviews, gripping stories, and sharp-edged science, Syed explores the intimate relationship between failure and success, and shows why we need to transport black box thinking into our own lives. If we wish to unleash our potential, we must diagnose and break free of our failures. Part manifesto for change, part intellectual adventure, this groundbreaking book reveals how to do both.

    Bizarre alien beings, breathtaking extraterrestrial landscapes, exotic costumes, state-of-the-art special effects, and remarkably convincing futuristic sets and props and equipment have brought Gene Roddenberry's inspiring vision to life before the public's awestruck eyes."The Art of Star Trek" is a one-of-a-kind gallery of Star Trek artwork, as well as tribute to the many artists, designers, and technicians whose diverse talents and imagination created the distinctive look of the Star Trek universe. Every incarnation of Star Trek is explored: The Original Series, The ANimated Series, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Star Trek: Voyager, and the films -- with the complete behind-the-scenes story of Star Trek's design history.With hundreds of full-color illustrations and photographs, many from private collections, readers will at last be able to linger on Star Trek's rich visual legacy and trace the evolution of and images from their initial conceptions to their final form on television and film screens.Like all great works of art, the many sights and visual surprises of Star Trek have been built from scratch through a combination of inspiration and painstaking effort. "The Art of Star Trek" covers the entire universe of Star Trek artwork and production design to reveal how, in all of its various forms, Star Trek has allowed us to look boldly into the future and see what no one has seen before."The Art of Star Trek" is the art of pure imagination, the art of a bright, hopeful future, and the art of three remarkable decades on nonstop action and adventure. Lavishly illustrated, it is a book to be read and referred to time after time, as well as one that will become a cherished chronicle fo Star Trek's first thirty years.

    Many of us love to tell them, and even dream of making a living from it too. But what is a story? Hundreds of books about screenwriting and storytelling have been written, but none of them ask 'Why?' Why do we tell stories? And why do all stories function in an eerily similar way? John Yorke has been telling stories almost his entire adult life, and the more he has done it, the more he has asked himself why? Every great thinker or writer has their theories: Aristotle, David Hare, Lajos Egri, Robert McKee, Gustav Freytag, David Mamet, Christopher Booker, Charlie Kaufman, William Goldman and Aaron Sorkin - all have offered insightful and illuminating answers. Here, John Yorke draws on these figures and more as he takes us on a historical, philosophical, scientific and psychological journey to the heart of all storytelling.What he reveals is that there truly is a unifying shape to narrative - one that echoes the great fairytale journey into the woods, and one, like any great art, that comes from deep within. Much more than a 'how to write' book, Into the Woods is an exploration of this fundamental structure underneath all narrative forms, from film and television to theatre and novel-writing. With astonishing detail and wisdom, John Yorke explains to us a phenomenon that, whether it is as a simple fable, or a big-budget 3D blockbuster, most of us experience almost every day of our lives.

    But Cal Newport knows that real straight-A students don't study harder--they study smarter. A breakthrough approach to acing academic assignments, from quizzes and exams to essays and papers, "How to Become a Straight-A Student" reveals for the first time the proven study secrets of real straight-A students across the country and weaves them into a simple, practical system that anyone can master. You will learn how to: Streamline and maximize your study time Conquer procrastinationAbsorb the material quickly and effectivelyKnow which reading assignments are critical--and which are notTarget the paper topics that wow professorsProvide A+ answers on examsWrite stellar prose without the agony A strategic blueprint for success that promises more free time, more fun, and top-tier results, "How to Become a Straight-A Student" is the only study guide written by students for students--with the insider knowledge and real-world methods to help you master the college system and rise to the top of the class.

    The book is filled with essential information including each house's sigil, history, home, family tree, character profiles, and is fully illustrated with series photography throughout.

    It should provide you with the basic teaching skills, background knowledge and awareness that will enable you to enter the classroom with confidence and develop your skills. The book contains: advice on effective teaching techniques; tips on classroom management, lesson planning and using coursebooks; appraoches to teaching different kinds of lessons; tasks and review sections in each unit to help you remember what you have learnt; and lots of information about job hunting and career development.