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Transhuman and Subhuman: Essays on Science Fiction and Awful Truth
John C. Wright - 2014
M.C. Escher: Visions of Symmetry
Doris Schattschneider - 1990
It deals with one powerful obsession that preoccupied Escher: what he called "the regular division of the plane," the puzzlelike interlocking of birds, fish, lizards, and other natural forms in continuous patterns. Schattschneider asks, "How did he do it?" She answers the question by analyzing Escher's notebooks." Visions of Symmetry includes many of Escher's masterworks, as well as hundreds of lesser-known examples of his work. This new edition also features a foreward and an illustrated epilogue that reveals new information about Escher's inspiration and shows how his ideas of symmetry have influenced mathematicians, computer scientists, and contemporary artists.
Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War
Douglas Brinkley - 2004
Written by acclaimed historian Douglas Brinkley, this is the first full-scale, intimate account of Kerry's naval career. In writing this riveting narrative, Brinkley has drawn on extensive interviews with virtually everyone who knew Kerry well in Vietnam, including all the men still living who served under him. Kerry also entrusted to Brinkley his letters home from Vietnam and his voluminous "War Notes" -- journals, notebooks, and personal reminiscences written during and shortly after the war. This material was provided without restriction, to be used at Brinkley's discretion, and has never before been published.John Kerry enlisted in the Navy in February 1966, months before he graduated from Yale. In December 1967 Ensign Kerry was assigned to the frigate U.S.S. Gridley; after five months of service in the Pacific, with a brief stop in Vietnam, he returned to the United States and underwent training to command a Swift boat, a small craft deployed in Vietnam's rivers. In June 1968 Kerry was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade), and by the end of that year he was back in Vietnam, where he commanded, over time, two Swift boats. Throughout Tour of Duty Brinkley deftly deals with such explosive issues as U.S. atrocities in Vietnam and the bombing of Cambodia. In a series of unforgettable combat-action sequences, he recounts how Kerry won the Purple Heart three times for wounds suffered in action and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Navy’s Silver Star for gallantry in action.When Kerry returned from Southeast Asia, he joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), becoming a prominent antiwar spokesperson. He challenged the Nixon administration on Capitol Hill with the antiwar movementcheering him on. As Kerry's public popularity soared in April-May 1971, the FBI considered him a subversive. Brinkley -- using new information acquired from the recently released Nixon tapes -- reveals how White House aides Charles Colson and H. R. Haldeman tried to discredit Kerry. Refusing to be intimidated, Kerry started running for public office, eventually becoming a U.S. senator from Massachusetts. But he never forgot his fallen comrades. Working with his friend Senator John McCain, he returned to Vietnam numerous times looking for MIAs and POWs. By the time Bill Clinton was elected president in 1992, Kerry was the leading proponent of "normalization" of relations with Vietnam. When President Clinton officially recognized Vietnam in 1995, Kerry's three-decade-long tour of duty had at long last ended.
Hatchet Jobs: Writings on Contemporary Fiction
Dale Peck - 2004
From heated panels at Book Expo in Chicago to contretemps at writers’ watering holes in New York, voices—even fists—have been raised.Peck’s bracing philippic proposes that contemporary literature is at a dead end. Novelists have forfeited a wider audience, succumbing to identity politicking and self-reflexive postmodernism. In the torrent of responses to this fulguration, opinions were not so much divided as cleaved in two with, for example, Carlin Romano contending that “Peck’s judgments are worse than nasty—they are hysterical” and Benjamin Schwarz retorting that “in his meticulous attention to diction, his savage wit, his exact and rollicking prose and his disdain for pseudointellectual flatulence, Dale Peck is Mencken’s heir.”Hatchet Jobs includes swinging critiques of the work of, among others, Sven Birkerts, Julian Barnes, Philip Roth, Colson Whitehead, Jim Crace, Stanley Crouch, and Rick Moody.
Nordic Noir: The Pocket Essential Guide to Scandinavian Crime Fiction, Film TV
Barry Forshaw - 2013
A compact and authoritative guide to the phenomenally popular genre, by a leading expert in Scandinavian crime fictionThis information-packed study examines and celebrates books, films, and TV adaptations, from Sjöwall and Wahlöö's highly influential Martin Beck series through Henning Mankell's Wallander (subject of three separate TV series) to Stieg Larsson's groundbreaking The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; cult TV hits such as the Danish The Killing, The Bridge, and the political thriller Borgen; up to the massively successful books and films of the current king of the field, Norway's Jo Nesbø. It anatomizes the nigh-obsessive appeal of the subject and highlights every key book, film, and TV show. Aimed at both the beginner and the aficionado, this is a hugely informative, highly accessible guide to an essential crime genre.
Poe's Tales of Mystery and Terror
Edgar Allan Poe - 1967
A delicious thrill of horror runs through the gro- tesque tales of Edgar Allan Poe, as in THE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATH, when Doom personified intrudes on a gay and brilliant gathering, and even Time must pause.Edgar Allan Poe, bom in Boston in 1809, lived only 40 years—many of them desperately un- happy years at that—but in his short time he created a body of stories and poems that are still exciting and wonderful to read.Besides the tales of terror such as THE MASK OF THE RED DEATH, he is given credit with setting the pattern for detective stories in THE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUE.THE FALL OF THE HOVSE OF USHERTHE MASQUE OF THE RED DEATHTHE CASK OF AMONTILLADOTHE PIT AND THE PENDULUMTHE GOLD-BUGTHE MURDERS IN THE RUE MORGUETHE MYSTERY OF MARIE ROGETTHE PURLOINED LETTER
Medal of Honor: Portraits of Valor Beyond the Call of Duty
Peter Collier - 2003
The book includes 144 contemporary portraits of recipients by award-winning photographer Nick Del Calzo and profiles by National Book Award nominee Peter Collier. First published on Veterans Day 2003, this New York Times bestseller has now been updated and augmented to include new essays plus:• Letters from all living presidents • A foreword by Brian Williams • Profiles of Sergeant Giunta and Sergeant PetryThere are also essays by Tom Brokaw, Senator John McCain, and Victor Davis Hanson, and a multimedia DVD with historic footage and recipients’ first-person reflections. The Medal of Honor recipients in the book fought in conflicts from World War II to Afghanistan, serving in every branch of the armed services.
Taming Lady Lydia
Felicity Brandon - 2017
Initially eager to leave her new home, Lydia is indignant at her guardian’s firm and protective behaviour, but everything changes that first night when she accidentally discovers something shocking about life at Markham Hall…Now, in spite of his rules and expectations, the young and indulged Lydia finds herself inexplicably drawn to her guardian. Lord Markham it seems, is a gentleman who will finally provide the firm hand she has always needed, and Lydia begins to crave his discipline, desiring him to take her over his knee and deliver a sound spanking.With their affections for one another growing, Thomas and Lydia seem set for a bright future if only events would stop conspiring to tarnish their happiness. Can their burgeoning romance survive the scrutiny of Thomas’ mother, the Countess, and the interference of their peers? And can Lydia learn to live by Her Lordship’s governance, and find the happily ever after they so desire?
A Short History of Cambodia: From Empire to Survival
John A. Tully - 2006
With energetic writing and passion for the subject, John Tully covers the full sweep of Cambodian history, explaining why this land of contrasts remains an interesting enigma to the international community. Detailing the depressing record of war, famine, and invasion that has threatened to destroy Cambodia, this discussion shows its survival to be a testament to the resilience of the human spirit.
The Turn of the Screw: A Case Study in Contemporary Criticism
Peter G. Beidler - 2009
The text and essays are complemented by biographical and critical introductions, bibliographies, and a glossary of critical and theoretical terms.In this third edition, a new section details in unique depth the revisions James made from the serialized Colliers Weekly edition to the New York Edition. New documents and illustrations enhance the historical contexts section, and new psychoanalytic essay with a Lacanian perspective appears in the section of contemporary criticism.
A Whaler's Dictionary
Dan Beachy-Quick - 2008
From "Accuracy" to "Wound," "Adam" to "Void," "Babel" to "Silence," these cross-referential, highly associative entries comprise an utterly singular work of art. A Whaler’s Dictionary is the mesmerizing product of a total immersion into one of the greatest novels in the English language.
Viral House
Joe Sharp - 2013
different?
Cheryl ...
For the last few years the only thing that Cheryl wanted was a normal life, away from the shadow of her drug-addicted brother Jesse. But, just as he started getting his life back together, Jesse went missing, "stepped off the face of the earth", and Cheryl could not let that go. Even at the risk of her own life.
Paul ...
Paul knew a thing or two about addiction, being an alcoholic in recovery for the last year and a half. However, he didn't know Cheryl, until their troubled paths crossed and her quest became his. But finding Jesse was only the start. For their search would take them to the "House on Orchard Street" where it all began.
Colton ...
Was he sent by God or the Devil? Was he a damaged victim or evil personified? He dabbled in Horror and Heaven ... and to him, they were the same thing.
The House ...
The House was a legend that neighbors spoke about in hushed tones. The whispered rumors were that people went into the House, and never came out. But Paul and Cheryl would find that the bloody truth about the House was far more insidious than some local haunted house ghost stories.The House was a virus and it was spreading. And the only thing you can do with a virus is eradicate it!
Get ready ... to get scared!
Islam: A Concise Introduction
Huston Smith - 1958
Dispelling narrow and distorted notions about the nature of Islam and featuring a new introduction by the author, this book compellingly conveys the profound appeal of Islam, while addressing such timely issues as the true meaning of jihad, the role of women in Islamic societies, and the remarkable growth of Islam in America.
Patton And His Third Army
Brenton G. Wallace - 1979
Patton
At the start of the war the Nazi armed forces was one of the most feared war machines in history. It had swept away all opposition and threatened all of Europe with its dominating force. But its supremacy was not to last. In fact the gains made by Nazi Germany over the course of 1940 to 1942 were rolled back in ten short months as Patton and the Third Army roared through France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Czechoslovakia and Austria. Through the course of this offensive Patton and his men faced some of the toughest fighting of World War Two, most notably when the Germans attempted to reverse the tide in the Battle of the Bulge. Colonel Brenton G. Wallace was there to witness all of this as he served, and went on to earn five battle stars, with the Third Army through the course of its movements into Germany. His book, Patton and his Third Army is a remarkable account of this fascinating leader and his troops that changed the course of World War Two and revolutionized warfare. Wallace uncovers the actions of the Third Army from its preparations in Britain, to its first engagements with the enemy, through to the major battles around the Falaise Pocket and countering the German offensives, breaking across the Moselle into Germany until they eventually subdued the Nazi forces. This book provides fascinating insight into the strategies used by Patton to defeat the Germans. It is full of direct quotes from Patton that demonstrate his determination to win, such as: “When you have an adversary staggering and hanging on the ropes, don’t let up on him. Keep smashing, keep him off balance and on the run until you have knocked him out completely. That is the way to get this dirty business over quickly and at the smallest cost.” Patton and his Third Army is essential reading for anyone interested in the European Theater of war and finding out more about this remarkable figure who Eisenhower said was “born to be a soldier”. Brenton G. Wallace was an American army officer and architect. Through the course of the war he was awarded the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star from the United States, the Croix de Guerre with Star of Vermeil from France and also made part of the Order of the British Empire. He served under Patton as an assistance chief of staff and retired from the army as a Major General in the United States Army Reserve. His work Patton and his Third Army was first published in 1946. He passed away in 1968.