Foundation's Triumph


Book Description

The Second Foundation Trilogy ends with “a satisfying and clever finale . . . An impressive, thought-provoking addition to Isaac Asimov’s formidable legacy” (Science Fiction Weekly). Isaac Asimov’s Foundation Trilogy is one of the highwater marks of science fiction. The monumental story of a Galactic Empire in decline and a secret society of scientists who seek to shorten the coming Dark Age with tools of Psychohistory, Foundation pioneered many themes of modern science fiction. Now, with the approval of the Asimov estate, three of today’s most acclaimed authors have completed the epic the Grand Master left unfinished. The Second Foundation Trilogy begins with Gregory Benford’s Foundation’s Fear, telling the origins of Hari Seldon, the Foundation’s creator. Greg Bear’s Foundation and Chaos relates the epic tale of Seldon’s downfall and the first stirrings of robotic rebellion. Now, in David Brin’s Foundation’s Triumph, Seldon is about to escape exile and risk everything for one final quest—a search for knowledge and the power it bestows. The outcome of this final journey may secure humankind’s future—or witness its final downfall . . . Praise for The Second Foundation Trilogy “The three new Foundation novels . . . are far more than just new pieces of the same story. They add up to a deeply affectionate work of literary deconstruction.” —The New Yorker “Brings out the complexities of a galactic empire that Asimov never filled out.” —The Denver Post “In the Second Foundation Trilogy, Gregory Benford, Greg Bear and now David Brin have conducted a lively exploration of the logical and ethical implications of Asimov’s sprawling future history.” —Science Fiction Weekly




Nineteen eighty-four


Book Description

This is a dystopian social science fiction novel and morality tale. The novel is set in the year 1984, a fictional future in which most of the world has been destroyed by unending war, constant government monitoring, historical revisionism, and propaganda. The totalitarian superstate Oceania, ruled by the Party and known as Airstrip One, now includes Great Britain as a province. The Party uses the Thought Police to repress individuality and critical thought. Big Brother, the tyrannical ruler of Oceania, enjoys a strong personality cult that was created by the party's overzealous brainwashing methods. Winston Smith, the main character, is a hard-working and skilled member of the Ministry of Truth's Outer Party who secretly despises the Party and harbors rebellious fantasies.




Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories


Book Description

Traffic is piling up, and strange things are headed your way in this new story collection by World Fantasy Award-winning author Tobias S. Buckell. In these twenty-seven stories you’ll find inhabitants of a small town who won’t vaccinate against a zombie plague, a lone sentry keeping motorists from stumbling into something ancient and evil, a man who puts stranded ghosts to rest, an ex-soldier traveling the seas who trades his new life of hardship for a return to swords and blood, and many more tales of speculative fiction. ​Buckell’s fertile imagination is on display in Shoggoths in Traffic and Other Stories as he comments on edgy issues of injustice and offers a thorny path to discover the human heart and all the strange things humans do. All the while, he keeps you looking over your shoulder, waiting for rush hour to end.




Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold


Book Description

This book is not your usual whitewash. Irreverent, hilarious and surprising, Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold is a tarts-and-all biography of England's most famous sportsman and an exposé of the iniquities of some of those who have sought their pound of flesh from his celebrity. Short-tempered and sweary he may be, but there's no doubting Rooney's passion for the beautiful game. But who is the real Wayne Rooney? On the one hand there was the disastrous World Cup in 2010, sex scandals and the unedifying spectacle of his grotesque contract negotiations with Manchester United; on the other, unprecedented success as the best British footballer of his time. On form, he's an unstoppable force, and the jewel in the crown of one of the most powerful club sides in history. But then there's the infamous entourage: a controversial agent, a crooked lawyer, tarts and gangsters, all attracted to the fabulous money Rooney gets for kicking a pig's bladder around a field. Wayne Rooney: Boots of Gold charts the rise and fall - and rise and fall again - of football's most intriguing star.




Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984-1997


Book Description

Mike Royko: The Chicago Tribune Collection 1984–1997 is an expansive new volume of the longtime Chicago news legend’s work. Encompassing thousands of his columns, all of which originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune, this is the first collection of Royko work to solely cover his time at the Tribune. Covering politics, culture, sports, and more, Royko brings his trademark sarcasm and cantankerous wit to a complete compendium of his last 14 years as a newspaper man. Organized chronologically, these columns display Royko's talent for crafting fictional conversations that reveal the truth of the small-minded in our society. From cagey political points to hysterical take-downs of "meatball" sports fans, Royko's writing was beloved and anticipated anxiously by his fans. In plain language, he "tells it like it is" on subjects relevant to modern society. In addition to his columns, the book features Royko's obituary and articles written about him after his death, telling the tale of his life and success. This ultimate collection is a must-read for Royko fans, longtime Chicago Tribune readers, and Chicagoans who love the city's rich history of dedicated and insightful journalism.




Expect No Help: the Life and Times of Jumpin Jack Flash


Book Description

Someone didnt like the radio station that was playing, so it got shot up. Wood was being split in the kitchen and thousands of beer cans were strewn all over the place. Motorcycles and parts were all in the dining room. That became the garage. Some girl painted the Stones big tongue on one of the walls. It took up the whole wall and she did a really good job. Rusty would stop in every now and then with his buddies. All of Johnnys friends thought that Rusty was pretty cool, and he would take a look around and ask, You guys gonna be alive tomorrow? Follow Jumping Jack, a free-spirit extraordinaire with a taste for anything dangerous. Flipping, smashing, and burning twenty-dollar cars; throwing weeklong crack parties; and the authors political views on DUIs along with other contemperay issues are detailed in this tell-all romp of a memoir. Join Johnny and the crew, stealing hundreds of dollars worth of steel from old metal shops just to survive. Experience the anything-goes, vagrant lifestyle that defined the 1960s. Find out what it is to be yourself, even if you take the long way. The author reminds us of what it means to be American. Cesspool speaks from the heart, and it shows.




How About Never—Is Never Good for You?


Book Description

Memoir in cartoons by the longtime cartoon editor of The New Yorker People tell Bob Mankoff that as the cartoon editor of The New Yorker he has the best job in the world. Never one to beat around the bush, he explains to us, in the opening of this singular, delightfully eccentric book, that because he is also a cartoonist at the magazine he actually has two of the best jobs in the world. With the help of myriad images and his funniest, most beloved cartoons, he traces his love of the craft all the way back to his childhood, when he started doing funny drawings at the age of eight. After meeting his mother, we follow his unlikely stints as a high-school basketball star, draft dodger, and sociology grad student. Though Mankoff abandoned the study of psychology in the seventies to become a cartoonist, he recently realized that the field he abandoned could help him better understand the field he was in, and here he takes up the psychology of cartooning, analyzing why some cartoons make us laugh and others don't. He allows us into the hallowed halls of The New Yorker to show us the soup-to-nuts process of cartoon creation, giving us a detailed look not only at his own work, but that of the other talented cartoonists who keep us laughing week after week. For desert, he reveals the secrets to winning the magazine's caption contest. Throughout How About Never--Is Never Good for You?, we see his commitment to the motto "Anything worth saying is worth saying funny."




The Schools Our Children Deserve


Book Description

Arguing against the tougher standards rhetoric that marks the current education debate, the author of No Contest and Punished by Rewards writes that such tactics squeeze the pleasure out of learning. Reprint.




Is Nothing Sacred?


Book Description




New York Magazine


Book Description

New York magazine was born in 1968 after a run as an insert of the New York Herald Tribune and quickly made a place for itself as the trusted resource for readers across the country. With award-winning writing and photography covering everything from politics and food to theater and fashion, the magazine's consistent mission has been to reflect back to its audience the energy and excitement of the city itself, while celebrating New York as both a place and an idea.