Astronomy for Beginners, Jeff Becan, For Beginners LLC, 2007
This book attempts to explain Earth, the solar system, our galaxy and our universe, in clear and easy-to-understand language.
For thousands of years, humans had made quite detailed observations about the heavens. It wasn't until the 14th century, when humanity emerged from the Dark Ages, that people started to test their theories about why the heavens were the way they were. Stars, like the Sun, emit energy in wavelengths shorter and longer than visible light, ranging from gamma rays to radio waves to ultraviolet light. Detecting those waves can tell a lot more about objects in the sky than just what we see.
Billions of years ago, matter, time and energy existed as what is known as the initial singularity, smaller than an atom and with nothing else outside of it. Then the Big Bang happened. If the expansion had happened just a little faster than it did happen, then gravity could not have drawn matter together to form stars and planets. Of the four forces that affect various kinds of matter (strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force, weak interaction and gravity), gravity is the weakest, but it has an unlimited range, working over hundreds of millions of miles.
The book explores the Solar System, giving a short profile of all of its inhabitants, from the Sun to Pluto (no longer considered a planet). Also explored is the search for life on other planets; as of now, there is no actual evidence of life anywhere except on Earth.
The axis of Earth is tilted by approximately 23 degrees, which helps to explain Earth's seasons. At the summer solstice, the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, so its rays beat down most strongly on the Northern Hemisphere. At the winter solstice, the North Pole is tilted away from the Sun, so its rays beat down on the Southern Hemisphere. During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the tilt is sideways to the Sun, so both hemispheres get an equal amount of light.
The author does a very good job at presenting the material in language accessible to anyone. For those who want to learn more about the heavens, but consider themselves scientifically illiterate, this is an excellent place to start.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey
My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey, Jill Bolte Taylor, Plume Books, 2009
Having a stroke must be hard enough for anyone. It must be that much harder to be a Harvard-trained brain scientist having a stroke, knowing what is happening to your brain as it happens.
In December 1996, the author woke one morning knowing that something was very wrong with her. Within four hours, the left hemisphere of her brain had deteriorated to the point where she could no longer read, write, talk or understand what those squiggles were on her telephone keypad. While her logical left brain was shutting down (she was able to get help in time), her intuitive right brain gave her a feeling of total peace and being at one with the universe (not necessarily a bad thing). Taylor is able to give an almost blow-by-blow description as her brain shut down. For instance, when she loses the ability to speak, that means that a spot called Broca's Area is affected.
Taylor's type of stroke was called an arteriovenous malformation, an abnormal arterial configuration. Even though it's a rare type of stroke, it's the most common type of stroke for younger sufferers (Taylor was 37 years old when she suffered her stroke). After several days in the hospital, she was sent home with her mother, who had come to help nurse her back to health. The plan was to get her as well, and as strong, as possible, because the operation to fix her arterial malformation, a stereotactic craniotomy, was coming. She survived, and over the next several years, was able to put her brain back together, leaving out the unpleasant and negative parts.
During her recovery, Taylor learned the things that caregivers should, and should not, do to help stroke patients. Make eye contact with me. Honor the healing power of sleep. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Please don't raise your voice. Keep visits brief. Ask me multiple-choice questions, not Yes/No questions. Break all actions down into smaller steps. Don't finish my sentences or fill in words I can't find.
This is a really interesting book. On one level, it looks inside the brain to show just what happens during a stroke; good for stroke victims or caregivers. On another level, it shows that the two lobes of the brain have very different personalities. It's very much worth reading.
Having a stroke must be hard enough for anyone. It must be that much harder to be a Harvard-trained brain scientist having a stroke, knowing what is happening to your brain as it happens.
In December 1996, the author woke one morning knowing that something was very wrong with her. Within four hours, the left hemisphere of her brain had deteriorated to the point where she could no longer read, write, talk or understand what those squiggles were on her telephone keypad. While her logical left brain was shutting down (she was able to get help in time), her intuitive right brain gave her a feeling of total peace and being at one with the universe (not necessarily a bad thing). Taylor is able to give an almost blow-by-blow description as her brain shut down. For instance, when she loses the ability to speak, that means that a spot called Broca's Area is affected.
Taylor's type of stroke was called an arteriovenous malformation, an abnormal arterial configuration. Even though it's a rare type of stroke, it's the most common type of stroke for younger sufferers (Taylor was 37 years old when she suffered her stroke). After several days in the hospital, she was sent home with her mother, who had come to help nurse her back to health. The plan was to get her as well, and as strong, as possible, because the operation to fix her arterial malformation, a stereotactic craniotomy, was coming. She survived, and over the next several years, was able to put her brain back together, leaving out the unpleasant and negative parts.
During her recovery, Taylor learned the things that caregivers should, and should not, do to help stroke patients. Make eye contact with me. Honor the healing power of sleep. Speak slowly and enunciate clearly. Please don't raise your voice. Keep visits brief. Ask me multiple-choice questions, not Yes/No questions. Break all actions down into smaller steps. Don't finish my sentences or fill in words I can't find.
This is a really interesting book. On one level, it looks inside the brain to show just what happens during a stroke; good for stroke victims or caregivers. On another level, it shows that the two lobes of the brain have very different personalities. It's very much worth reading.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It
Enjoy Your Money! How to Make It, Save It, Invest It and Give It, J. Steve Miller, Wisdom Creek Press, 2009
There are a seemingly infinite number of personal finance books available in bookstores. This one is intended for people in their teens and twenties whose financial plans start and end with "become a millionaire."
Akashi, Antonio, James and Amy are your average high school students in detention, again. They meet with Mrs. Kramer, an eccentric, elderly teacher at the school, who teaches a course on money management. Every Saturday, they meet at a local fast food joint, where Mrs. Kramer takes the four into the world of money.
Have an emergency fund, equivalent to three or four months salary, in a savings account or money market account, accessible if needed. Pay off your debt as soon as possible, whether it is credit card debt, student loans or car payments. When you get some money in your pocket, it is tempting to buy a big-screen TV or fancy new clothes. Don't do it; live beneath your means; cut your expenses as much as possible. Is it more important that others think you are a rich person, or that you actually are a rich person?
It's also tempting to buy and sell stocks on a short-term basis, looking for a quick profit. Again, don't do it. Every time you buy or sell stock, your stockbroker makes money, not you. Research good quality, no fee mutual funds (especially index funds) that you can invest in for the long haul. Just because a fund had a good year last year, it does not mean they will have a good year this year.
A popular way to make money is by buying houses and "flipping" them. If that is not for you, and if you know the right people, think about "flipping" cars or motorcycles. People will always need decent, reliable transportation. The book also looks at buying a car (consult Consumer Reports and choose quality over flashy), insurance, knowing your way around a supermarket, investing in real estate, getting a job and keeping it.
This book is a goldmine of information. Written as a dialogue, this is very easy to follow for the person who does not want to read another "money literacy" book. This is highly recommended for every teenager and twentysomething who think that a million dollars will suddenly show up in their mailbox.
There are a seemingly infinite number of personal finance books available in bookstores. This one is intended for people in their teens and twenties whose financial plans start and end with "become a millionaire."
Akashi, Antonio, James and Amy are your average high school students in detention, again. They meet with Mrs. Kramer, an eccentric, elderly teacher at the school, who teaches a course on money management. Every Saturday, they meet at a local fast food joint, where Mrs. Kramer takes the four into the world of money.
Have an emergency fund, equivalent to three or four months salary, in a savings account or money market account, accessible if needed. Pay off your debt as soon as possible, whether it is credit card debt, student loans or car payments. When you get some money in your pocket, it is tempting to buy a big-screen TV or fancy new clothes. Don't do it; live beneath your means; cut your expenses as much as possible. Is it more important that others think you are a rich person, or that you actually are a rich person?
It's also tempting to buy and sell stocks on a short-term basis, looking for a quick profit. Again, don't do it. Every time you buy or sell stock, your stockbroker makes money, not you. Research good quality, no fee mutual funds (especially index funds) that you can invest in for the long haul. Just because a fund had a good year last year, it does not mean they will have a good year this year.
A popular way to make money is by buying houses and "flipping" them. If that is not for you, and if you know the right people, think about "flipping" cars or motorcycles. People will always need decent, reliable transportation. The book also looks at buying a car (consult Consumer Reports and choose quality over flashy), insurance, knowing your way around a supermarket, investing in real estate, getting a job and keeping it.
This book is a goldmine of information. Written as a dialogue, this is very easy to follow for the person who does not want to read another "money literacy" book. This is highly recommended for every teenager and twentysomething who think that a million dollars will suddenly show up in their mailbox.
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet
Eaarth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet, Bill McKibben, Times Books, 2010
Mankind has irreparably changed the Earth's climate and weather conditions. This book gives the details, and tells how to survive on this new world.
The Earth that mankind knew, and grew up on, is gone. A new planet needs a new name; hence Eaarth. It is a place of poles where the ice caps are severely reduced, or gone. It is a place where the oceans are becoming more acid, because of excess carbon absorbed into the water, not to mention the toxic chemicals and other pollutants being dumped into it. It is a place of more extreme weather patterns.
The average person might not care if an entire glacier completely melts away, like the Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia. Those living downstream, dependent on that glacier for their water supply, will certainly care. Since 1980, the tropics have expanded worldwide by 2 degrees north and south. Over 8 million more square miles of land are now tropical, with dry subtropics pushing ahead of them. The chances of Lake Mead, which is behind Hoover Dam, running dry in the next 10 years, have reached 50 percent. The residents of an oceanside town in North Carolina are spending up to $30,000 each to place large sandbags in front of their homes to keep the ocean at bay.
The times when America, or the world, can simply grow its way out of its financial problems are gone forever. Building enough nuclear power plants to get rid of even a tenth of the climate change problem will cost at least $8 trillion. According to one estimate, America needs to spend over $200 billion a year for decades, just on infrastructure, to avoid the kind of gridlock that will collapse the economy. A small village in Alaska is being evacuated, because of rising sea levels, at a cost of $400,000 per person. There is not enough money on Earth to evacuate everyone threatened by rising sea levels.
What to do? Some people are taking another look at small-scale agriculture, getting away from a dependence on artificial chemicals and fertilizer. Eliminate the middlemen, like advertising and transport, and put more money in the farmer's pocket. Along with local agriculture, consider local power generation.
This is a really eye-opening book. The first half is pretty bleak, showing just how bad things have gotten. But, there is plenty of hope in the second half of the book. It is very much recommended.
Mankind has irreparably changed the Earth's climate and weather conditions. This book gives the details, and tells how to survive on this new world.
The Earth that mankind knew, and grew up on, is gone. A new planet needs a new name; hence Eaarth. It is a place of poles where the ice caps are severely reduced, or gone. It is a place where the oceans are becoming more acid, because of excess carbon absorbed into the water, not to mention the toxic chemicals and other pollutants being dumped into it. It is a place of more extreme weather patterns.
The average person might not care if an entire glacier completely melts away, like the Chacaltaya Glacier in Bolivia. Those living downstream, dependent on that glacier for their water supply, will certainly care. Since 1980, the tropics have expanded worldwide by 2 degrees north and south. Over 8 million more square miles of land are now tropical, with dry subtropics pushing ahead of them. The chances of Lake Mead, which is behind Hoover Dam, running dry in the next 10 years, have reached 50 percent. The residents of an oceanside town in North Carolina are spending up to $30,000 each to place large sandbags in front of their homes to keep the ocean at bay.
The times when America, or the world, can simply grow its way out of its financial problems are gone forever. Building enough nuclear power plants to get rid of even a tenth of the climate change problem will cost at least $8 trillion. According to one estimate, America needs to spend over $200 billion a year for decades, just on infrastructure, to avoid the kind of gridlock that will collapse the economy. A small village in Alaska is being evacuated, because of rising sea levels, at a cost of $400,000 per person. There is not enough money on Earth to evacuate everyone threatened by rising sea levels.
What to do? Some people are taking another look at small-scale agriculture, getting away from a dependence on artificial chemicals and fertilizer. Eliminate the middlemen, like advertising and transport, and put more money in the farmer's pocket. Along with local agriculture, consider local power generation.
This is a really eye-opening book. The first half is pretty bleak, showing just how bad things have gotten. But, there is plenty of hope in the second half of the book. It is very much recommended.
No Yelling: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business
No Yelling: The 9 Secrets of Marine Corps Leadership You Must Know to Win in Business, Wally Adamchik, FireStarter Speaking and Consulting, 2006
Filled with real-life examples, this book looks at leadership secrets from an organization that knows a few things about it, the US Marine Corps.
As leader, your job is to articulate the goals for your group (division, company, department, etc.). Do it several times a year, not just at the yearly staff meeting. The job of your subordinates is to turn those goals into reality. Give them a chance to do it. Resist the temptation to rush in and personally fix every problem that comes along. Doing so only reinforces the message that you don't trust your subordinates.
Is your Employee Manual supposed to be followed by all employees, or is it optional for certain employees? Consequences for not following the rules have to apply to everyone, or why bother? Create some kind of system for giving potential leaders more and more responsibility. When you retire (or die) someone will be ready to take up your duties.
Every employee has a different way to get motivated; find out what they are. Some respond better to face-to-face meetings, while others might prefer e-mails. What is your leadership style? If you like one-on-one meetings, think twice about standing up in front of everyone at the annual staff meeting.
Get out from behind your desk every now and then. Walking the shop floor and talking to your employees as people might just show them that you honestly do care about them. It's the little things that will inspire your people to give that extra bit of effort.
Like the title says, there is no need to yell at people to be a good leader. This book makes it simple and easy to follow. Even if you can't do all the things in this book, doing just some of them can only help. This should be on every manager's reading list.
Filled with real-life examples, this book looks at leadership secrets from an organization that knows a few things about it, the US Marine Corps.
As leader, your job is to articulate the goals for your group (division, company, department, etc.). Do it several times a year, not just at the yearly staff meeting. The job of your subordinates is to turn those goals into reality. Give them a chance to do it. Resist the temptation to rush in and personally fix every problem that comes along. Doing so only reinforces the message that you don't trust your subordinates.
Is your Employee Manual supposed to be followed by all employees, or is it optional for certain employees? Consequences for not following the rules have to apply to everyone, or why bother? Create some kind of system for giving potential leaders more and more responsibility. When you retire (or die) someone will be ready to take up your duties.
Every employee has a different way to get motivated; find out what they are. Some respond better to face-to-face meetings, while others might prefer e-mails. What is your leadership style? If you like one-on-one meetings, think twice about standing up in front of everyone at the annual staff meeting.
Get out from behind your desk every now and then. Walking the shop floor and talking to your employees as people might just show them that you honestly do care about them. It's the little things that will inspire your people to give that extra bit of effort.
Like the title says, there is no need to yell at people to be a good leader. This book makes it simple and easy to follow. Even if you can't do all the things in this book, doing just some of them can only help. This should be on every manager's reading list.
Retreads
Retreads, Zane Smith, RealTime Publishing, 2009
This novel takes an unflinching look at present-day career services firms, companies who say that they can find jobs for people in their 40s and 50s, who have recently been laid off. The reality is very different.
Harry Kiernan is a twenty-something with plenty of drive to succeed. He talks his way into a sales job with Executive Careers International, Atlanta's most prestigious careers company. They specialize in executive-level jobs, but they also charge a hefty fee of several thousand dollars. From the beginning, Harry realizes that he has walked into a pit of vipers.
ECI exists mainly to collect that several thousand dollar fee. There are two small provisions in the contract (which clients are pressured to sign) which state that ECI does not guarantee the client a job. In meetings with the client, which are recorded without the client's knowledge, the salesman walks right up to the line, but never actually promises the client a job. ECI's "exclusive access" to people who do the hiring is nonsense; the client can do most of the work themselves on the Internet. Almost all of the glowing letters from satisfied customers shown to new clients, are fake.
ECI is a place of fear; there is no camaraderie or team spirit. George is the public head of the company, but Alex is the power behind the throne. He is a thoroughly dislikable person who cares only that an employee makes their monthly sales quota of older people signing away their last several thousand dollars. If yes, the employee is safe until next month. If no, they are summarily fired. Alex lets Harry in on an offshore tax evasion scheme. The number of customer complaints is growing, along with penalties paid to small claims court and the state of Georgia. Alex tells Harry to reduce the number of complaints, while raising the number of clients, or else. When Harry is arrested by the IRS, he learns just how badly Alex and George have screwed him.
The author does not mean to imply that all such firms are corrupt, but this is a pretty strong cautionary tale for anyone thinking of signing on the dotted line. Don't be seduced by fancy ads; be doubly and triply sure that a firm can deliver on its promises. Do as much of the job searching research as you can on your own. Somewhere along the way, read this book. It's worth your time.
This novel takes an unflinching look at present-day career services firms, companies who say that they can find jobs for people in their 40s and 50s, who have recently been laid off. The reality is very different.
Harry Kiernan is a twenty-something with plenty of drive to succeed. He talks his way into a sales job with Executive Careers International, Atlanta's most prestigious careers company. They specialize in executive-level jobs, but they also charge a hefty fee of several thousand dollars. From the beginning, Harry realizes that he has walked into a pit of vipers.
ECI exists mainly to collect that several thousand dollar fee. There are two small provisions in the contract (which clients are pressured to sign) which state that ECI does not guarantee the client a job. In meetings with the client, which are recorded without the client's knowledge, the salesman walks right up to the line, but never actually promises the client a job. ECI's "exclusive access" to people who do the hiring is nonsense; the client can do most of the work themselves on the Internet. Almost all of the glowing letters from satisfied customers shown to new clients, are fake.
ECI is a place of fear; there is no camaraderie or team spirit. George is the public head of the company, but Alex is the power behind the throne. He is a thoroughly dislikable person who cares only that an employee makes their monthly sales quota of older people signing away their last several thousand dollars. If yes, the employee is safe until next month. If no, they are summarily fired. Alex lets Harry in on an offshore tax evasion scheme. The number of customer complaints is growing, along with penalties paid to small claims court and the state of Georgia. Alex tells Harry to reduce the number of complaints, while raising the number of clients, or else. When Harry is arrested by the IRS, he learns just how badly Alex and George have screwed him.
The author does not mean to imply that all such firms are corrupt, but this is a pretty strong cautionary tale for anyone thinking of signing on the dotted line. Don't be seduced by fancy ads; be doubly and triply sure that a firm can deliver on its promises. Do as much of the job searching research as you can on your own. Somewhere along the way, read this book. It's worth your time.
Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It
Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It, Richard A. Clarke and Richard Knake, Ecco Books, 2010
This book looks at the next arena for war, cyberspace, a war that America may already have lost.
Cyber war is already here. In the past few years, several countries have found themselves under cyber attack from unknown persons. There have been a number of documented instances when American defense computer systems have been hacked, and terabytes of information (including classified information) have been copied.
American computers, because America is so wired, are quite vulnerable to hacking. The average home computer, along with thousands of others, can be taken over by an anonymous person, and used to simultaneously attack, for instance, the computer system of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. A potential enemy has probably installed "logic bombs", bits of undetectable software, in the right place. At the proper moment, they will, for instance, shut down a large part of the electricity grid (for weeks or months), or spread a computer virus inside the Pentagon.
The best thing America can do about it is to really beef up its cyber defense. America can put some doubt in an attacker's mind that their cyber attack will work. America's entire electricity system is extremely vulnerable to hackers, because the important parts are very accessible from the Internet. Tests have been conducted to see how easy it is to take control of a major electric generator system from the Internet. In several cases, it happened in less than an hour. New regulations are needed to force utilities to secure their systems, with real penalties for non-compliance. In the pentagon, it is very easy for malware to move from an unsecured computer to those that handle classified data, with disastrous results. If another country really wanted to declare all-out cyber war, the electronic collapse of America could happen in less than one hour.
It would be easy to dismiss the warnings in this book as impossible; it can't happen here. Which would you prefer: to let it happen, and then panic and point fingers, or spend some money now to reduce the chances of cyber war affecting the average American?
This is a really interesting book that is certainly up to the minute. It's easy to read for the average person, and not filled with technical or military jargon. This one is very much recommended.
This book looks at the next arena for war, cyberspace, a war that America may already have lost.
Cyber war is already here. In the past few years, several countries have found themselves under cyber attack from unknown persons. There have been a number of documented instances when American defense computer systems have been hacked, and terabytes of information (including classified information) have been copied.
American computers, because America is so wired, are quite vulnerable to hacking. The average home computer, along with thousands of others, can be taken over by an anonymous person, and used to simultaneously attack, for instance, the computer system of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. A potential enemy has probably installed "logic bombs", bits of undetectable software, in the right place. At the proper moment, they will, for instance, shut down a large part of the electricity grid (for weeks or months), or spread a computer virus inside the Pentagon.
The best thing America can do about it is to really beef up its cyber defense. America can put some doubt in an attacker's mind that their cyber attack will work. America's entire electricity system is extremely vulnerable to hackers, because the important parts are very accessible from the Internet. Tests have been conducted to see how easy it is to take control of a major electric generator system from the Internet. In several cases, it happened in less than an hour. New regulations are needed to force utilities to secure their systems, with real penalties for non-compliance. In the pentagon, it is very easy for malware to move from an unsecured computer to those that handle classified data, with disastrous results. If another country really wanted to declare all-out cyber war, the electronic collapse of America could happen in less than one hour.
It would be easy to dismiss the warnings in this book as impossible; it can't happen here. Which would you prefer: to let it happen, and then panic and point fingers, or spend some money now to reduce the chances of cyber war affecting the average American?
This is a really interesting book that is certainly up to the minute. It's easy to read for the average person, and not filled with technical or military jargon. This one is very much recommended.
Tesseracts Thirteen
Tesseracts Thirteen, Nancy Kilpatrick and David Morell (ed.), Edge Science Fiction and Fantasy Publishing, 2009
Here is another group of imaginative tales from the Great White North. Because of the number of this volume, 13, this book focuses on horror and dark fantasy stories.
The world has been ravaged by a very contagious disease that destroys undeveloped frontal lobes of the brain, thereby turning all children, whose brains are not yet fully developed, into brainless automatons. In one family, the father is ready to commit suicide out of despair; at this point, the parents are expected to take their affected children with them. The wife refuses to give up hope that someone, somewhere is working on a cure.
A former stockbroker suffers from a debilitating disease which looks like ALS on the outside, but it isn't. It is as if his body is slowing down, almost to the point of stopping, and he is always cold, even in the middle of summer. A group of children are held prisoner by a man who, by playing his flute, can make them do anything, even throw themselves off a cliff. A woman has to deal with her dead ex-husband living in her house, eating pizza and using the shower. An elderly man, living alone in the woods, is asked about the disappearance of a member of another family also living in the woods.
A woman is in the process of giving birth to quintuplets, at home. The doctor is old enough to remember the Dionne quintuplets, who grew up as media darlings and were not allowed to live regular lives. He has a very difficult decision to make when two of the babies develop severe breathing problems. Having just returned from her husband's funeral, a woman does battle with a bluejay that got into her house, and will not leave her alone.
These are all first-rate stories. They are weird and spooky without going overboard. They will keep the reader entertained, and they are well worth reading.
Here is another group of imaginative tales from the Great White North. Because of the number of this volume, 13, this book focuses on horror and dark fantasy stories.
The world has been ravaged by a very contagious disease that destroys undeveloped frontal lobes of the brain, thereby turning all children, whose brains are not yet fully developed, into brainless automatons. In one family, the father is ready to commit suicide out of despair; at this point, the parents are expected to take their affected children with them. The wife refuses to give up hope that someone, somewhere is working on a cure.
A former stockbroker suffers from a debilitating disease which looks like ALS on the outside, but it isn't. It is as if his body is slowing down, almost to the point of stopping, and he is always cold, even in the middle of summer. A group of children are held prisoner by a man who, by playing his flute, can make them do anything, even throw themselves off a cliff. A woman has to deal with her dead ex-husband living in her house, eating pizza and using the shower. An elderly man, living alone in the woods, is asked about the disappearance of a member of another family also living in the woods.
A woman is in the process of giving birth to quintuplets, at home. The doctor is old enough to remember the Dionne quintuplets, who grew up as media darlings and were not allowed to live regular lives. He has a very difficult decision to make when two of the babies develop severe breathing problems. Having just returned from her husband's funeral, a woman does battle with a bluejay that got into her house, and will not leave her alone.
These are all first-rate stories. They are weird and spooky without going overboard. They will keep the reader entertained, and they are well worth reading.
Eastern Standard Tribe
Eastern Standard Tribe, Cory Doctorow, Tor Books, 2004
Here is a near-future novel about an industrial saboteur who finds himself on the roof of an insane asylum near Boston.
In a 24-hour, instant communication world the need for sleep is the only thing that hasn't changed. The world is splintering into tribes based on time zones; those in other time zones will be at lunch or sleeping when you need them. Only those in your own time zone can be depended upon.
Art lives in London, and he works for a European telecommunications mega-corporation. His "real job" is to make life as difficult as possible for those in the Greenwich Mean Tribe by inserting user-hostile software wherever he can. Of course, other tribes are doing the same thing to Art's "home tribe," the Eastern Standard Tribe.
Art is also working on managing data flow along the Massachusetts Turnpike. Most cars have some sort of onboard computer on which songs are stored, sometimes tens of thousands of songs. Art comes up with a system for wireless transfer of songs between cars, while they are driving on the Mass Pike. Art's business partner, Fede, sends him to Boston to sign an agreement selling the system to a local company. After several days of being told to wait, while "details" are being finalized, Art realizes that he is being screwed by Fede, and Art's girlfriend, Linda. The two met when Art hit her with his car in London. That is how Art finds himself on the roof of a forty-floor insane asylum near Boston; Fede and Linda had him committed there.
As with any Doctorow novel, this book is full of interesting ideas. It's easy to read, very plausible and very much recommended.
Here is a near-future novel about an industrial saboteur who finds himself on the roof of an insane asylum near Boston.
In a 24-hour, instant communication world the need for sleep is the only thing that hasn't changed. The world is splintering into tribes based on time zones; those in other time zones will be at lunch or sleeping when you need them. Only those in your own time zone can be depended upon.
Art lives in London, and he works for a European telecommunications mega-corporation. His "real job" is to make life as difficult as possible for those in the Greenwich Mean Tribe by inserting user-hostile software wherever he can. Of course, other tribes are doing the same thing to Art's "home tribe," the Eastern Standard Tribe.
Art is also working on managing data flow along the Massachusetts Turnpike. Most cars have some sort of onboard computer on which songs are stored, sometimes tens of thousands of songs. Art comes up with a system for wireless transfer of songs between cars, while they are driving on the Mass Pike. Art's business partner, Fede, sends him to Boston to sign an agreement selling the system to a local company. After several days of being told to wait, while "details" are being finalized, Art realizes that he is being screwed by Fede, and Art's girlfriend, Linda. The two met when Art hit her with his car in London. That is how Art finds himself on the roof of a forty-floor insane asylum near Boston; Fede and Linda had him committed there.
As with any Doctorow novel, this book is full of interesting ideas. It's easy to read, very plausible and very much recommended.
If Wishes Were Horses
If Wishes Were Horses, Anne McCaffrey, Roc Books, 1998
This short fantasy novel explores the power of hope and love, and that dreams really can come true.
Lady Talarrie Eircelly has a well-known gift for healing in their small country village. Whether the malady is physical or emotional, she is The Person To See. Her husband, Lord Emkay Eircelly, is known as a fair ruler of the village. They have several children, including teenage twins, Tirza and Tracell. Life is pretty good in the village, until a messenger arrives from the king with news of war.
Lord Emkay rides off to war, along with every able-bodied man in the village, leaving Lady Talarrie in charge. The entire village goes into crisis mode. Flowers are pulled up, and vegetables are planted. Hunters scour the forest for any old or lame animals that would have died during the upcoming winter, and cull them earlier than expected. Nothing is more important than getting ready for the upcoming winter.
The war comes to the village, destroying most of the houses. This forces the whole village to move into the manor house for the winter. It's tight, but with lots of improvising, they survive the winter. When spring comes, the first priority is to start rebuilding the village. After a winter crammed into close quarters, people's tempers are almost gone.
An important part of growing up is receiving a present from your parents on your 16th birthday. Tirza's gift is all set, a special crystal from her mother to wear around her neck. Tracell, her brother, has always wanted a horse of his own; not just any horse, but a Cirgassian war horse. The war has not only taken all the able-bodied men, it has also taken all the able-bodied horses. Tracell's gift is hardly a sure thing.
This story is less than 100 pages, but it's pretty good. It's a very quick read, and it's worth the reader's time.
This short fantasy novel explores the power of hope and love, and that dreams really can come true.
Lady Talarrie Eircelly has a well-known gift for healing in their small country village. Whether the malady is physical or emotional, she is The Person To See. Her husband, Lord Emkay Eircelly, is known as a fair ruler of the village. They have several children, including teenage twins, Tirza and Tracell. Life is pretty good in the village, until a messenger arrives from the king with news of war.
Lord Emkay rides off to war, along with every able-bodied man in the village, leaving Lady Talarrie in charge. The entire village goes into crisis mode. Flowers are pulled up, and vegetables are planted. Hunters scour the forest for any old or lame animals that would have died during the upcoming winter, and cull them earlier than expected. Nothing is more important than getting ready for the upcoming winter.
The war comes to the village, destroying most of the houses. This forces the whole village to move into the manor house for the winter. It's tight, but with lots of improvising, they survive the winter. When spring comes, the first priority is to start rebuilding the village. After a winter crammed into close quarters, people's tempers are almost gone.
An important part of growing up is receiving a present from your parents on your 16th birthday. Tirza's gift is all set, a special crystal from her mother to wear around her neck. Tracell, her brother, has always wanted a horse of his own; not just any horse, but a Cirgassian war horse. The war has not only taken all the able-bodied men, it has also taken all the able-bodied horses. Tracell's gift is hardly a sure thing.
This story is less than 100 pages, but it's pretty good. It's a very quick read, and it's worth the reader's time.
And Afterward, The Dark
And Afterward, The Dark, Basil Copper, Arkham House, 1977
Hey, get your high-quality spooky stories here!
Sleeping in a rural guesthouse, a man wakes up in the middle of the night to find a dinner-plate sized spider on the ceiling directly above him. An academic buys a rural house so he can work on his magnum opus, a multi-volume work on superstitions. Some unknown force is writing messages in the dust on a shelf, including one with his name in it.
A well-known physicist, as rational and scientific a person as you will ever meet, is tormented by a strange dream while he sleeps. It is as if he is watching a movie inside his head, for the dream progresses a few minutes each night. In the dream, he is washed up on shore somewhere in the East, and many hundreds of years ago. He sees a great city a mile away, where his lady love awaits. Between him and the city are a band of horsemen riding toward him, brandishing huge swords. Each night, they get closer and closer. The physicist checks himself into an isolated mental hospital, for "observation." The swordsmen in the dream can't hurt him in reality, can they?
An isolated hamlet in the Alps is attacked by some sort of monster which is only heard, but never seen. In another rural house, a man becomes the private secretary to a man with a rather extreme interest in obituaries and chronicling people's deaths.
Copper is a veteran of the macabre literature field, and it shows here. The horror part of these stories is implied, but never thrown all over the page. If you can find a copy, this is really worth reading.
Hey, get your high-quality spooky stories here!
Sleeping in a rural guesthouse, a man wakes up in the middle of the night to find a dinner-plate sized spider on the ceiling directly above him. An academic buys a rural house so he can work on his magnum opus, a multi-volume work on superstitions. Some unknown force is writing messages in the dust on a shelf, including one with his name in it.
A well-known physicist, as rational and scientific a person as you will ever meet, is tormented by a strange dream while he sleeps. It is as if he is watching a movie inside his head, for the dream progresses a few minutes each night. In the dream, he is washed up on shore somewhere in the East, and many hundreds of years ago. He sees a great city a mile away, where his lady love awaits. Between him and the city are a band of horsemen riding toward him, brandishing huge swords. Each night, they get closer and closer. The physicist checks himself into an isolated mental hospital, for "observation." The swordsmen in the dream can't hurt him in reality, can they?
An isolated hamlet in the Alps is attacked by some sort of monster which is only heard, but never seen. In another rural house, a man becomes the private secretary to a man with a rather extreme interest in obituaries and chronicling people's deaths.
Copper is a veteran of the macabre literature field, and it shows here. The horror part of these stories is implied, but never thrown all over the page. If you can find a copy, this is really worth reading.
Halting State
Halting State, Charles Stross, Ace Books, 2008
This near-future story is about a bank robbery that exposes a whole lot more.
In Edinburgh, Scotland of the year 2018, a high-tech company called Hayek Associates suffers a bank robbery. A senior officer of the firm panics, and calls the local police, instead of taking care of things internally. Things get weird when Sergeant Sue Smith is told that the robbery took place inside a virtual reality games called Avalon Four. Forgetting for a moment that this is supposed to be impossible, Hayek Associates is about to have its Initial Public Offering of stock. If word gets out, the company (and its virtual economies) will crash hard. This may not be your average bank robbery, but the amount of money involved, over 26 million Euros, is very real.
Elaine Barnaby, a London-based forensic accountant, is sent to Edinburgh to audit the bank from the inside. The unspoken part is that, if anything goes wrong, her firm will plead ignorance, and her neck will be on the chopping block. She is provided with a guide through the world of online gaming named Jack Reed, who, coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) became unemployed the week before.
Very Important People in newly independent Scotland are interested in the case, including the Scottish equivalent of the FBI. Brussels (the home of the European Union) gets involved in the case. There are Chinese hackers involved, who may or may not be assisted by Chinese State Security. Copspace, a sort of private VR database system for the police, which is supposedly secure, gets hacked. It is a world where everyone has access to the Internet through their eyeglasses. There is even a zombie flash mob.
I understood very little of the technical parts, because I know nothing about online gaming, but I loved reading this book. It is very cool and cutting edge, and works quite well as a straight thriller. If I could, I would give this book three thumbs up.
This near-future story is about a bank robbery that exposes a whole lot more.
In Edinburgh, Scotland of the year 2018, a high-tech company called Hayek Associates suffers a bank robbery. A senior officer of the firm panics, and calls the local police, instead of taking care of things internally. Things get weird when Sergeant Sue Smith is told that the robbery took place inside a virtual reality games called Avalon Four. Forgetting for a moment that this is supposed to be impossible, Hayek Associates is about to have its Initial Public Offering of stock. If word gets out, the company (and its virtual economies) will crash hard. This may not be your average bank robbery, but the amount of money involved, over 26 million Euros, is very real.
Elaine Barnaby, a London-based forensic accountant, is sent to Edinburgh to audit the bank from the inside. The unspoken part is that, if anything goes wrong, her firm will plead ignorance, and her neck will be on the chopping block. She is provided with a guide through the world of online gaming named Jack Reed, who, coincidentally (or not so coincidentally) became unemployed the week before.
Very Important People in newly independent Scotland are interested in the case, including the Scottish equivalent of the FBI. Brussels (the home of the European Union) gets involved in the case. There are Chinese hackers involved, who may or may not be assisted by Chinese State Security. Copspace, a sort of private VR database system for the police, which is supposedly secure, gets hacked. It is a world where everyone has access to the Internet through their eyeglasses. There is even a zombie flash mob.
I understood very little of the technical parts, because I know nothing about online gaming, but I loved reading this book. It is very cool and cutting edge, and works quite well as a straight thriller. If I could, I would give this book three thumbs up.
Lost Pages
Lost Pages, Paul Di Filippo, Four Walls Eight Windows Press, 1998
This bunch of previously published stories present a number of alternative visions of the 20th century.
Anne Frank emigrates to America, just ahead of the Nazis, and eventually becomes a famous movie star. She falls in love with Mickey Rooney, and later marries him. Anne divorces him after a few years, citing physical abuse. While a plague is ravaging the Northern Hemisphere, a man attempts to re-create Wings Over the World (from "Things to Come" by H.G. Wells) with help from a few surviving pilots in southern Africa. There is a tale about Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and the 1945 Trinity atomic bomb test.
In a Hamburg bar in the middle of World War III, a soldier listens to a very strange story. An average-looking man tells of a world destroyed by nuclear weapons in an all-out war. He happens to find a time machine and takes a one-way trip back to the early 20th century. Pretending to be a reporter, he systematically, and discreetly, kills any scientist involved in atomic physics, from Einstein to Oppenheimer. The atomic bombing of Japan is replaced by the American invasion of Japan, with heavy American casualties. The man realizes, to his dismay, that he may have taken nuclear weapons off the table, but he has done nothing about the forces that periodically push humanity to war.
A young Native American writer travels to 1930s New York City to meet the editor of a famous science fiction magazine, Joseph Campbell. In post-war America, a handful of people are sent on a private rocket ship to the Moon. Told that the Nazi High Command is there plotting a comeback, when they arrive, they don't find any Nazis. Then they are informed (by President Robert Heinlein) the real reason they are there.
Here are some memorable and imaginative stories. They are well-done and interesting from start to finish, and will give the reader plenty to think about.
This bunch of previously published stories present a number of alternative visions of the 20th century.
Anne Frank emigrates to America, just ahead of the Nazis, and eventually becomes a famous movie star. She falls in love with Mickey Rooney, and later marries him. Anne divorces him after a few years, citing physical abuse. While a plague is ravaging the Northern Hemisphere, a man attempts to re-create Wings Over the World (from "Things to Come" by H.G. Wells) with help from a few surviving pilots in southern Africa. There is a tale about Jack Kerouac, Neal Cassady and the 1945 Trinity atomic bomb test.
In a Hamburg bar in the middle of World War III, a soldier listens to a very strange story. An average-looking man tells of a world destroyed by nuclear weapons in an all-out war. He happens to find a time machine and takes a one-way trip back to the early 20th century. Pretending to be a reporter, he systematically, and discreetly, kills any scientist involved in atomic physics, from Einstein to Oppenheimer. The atomic bombing of Japan is replaced by the American invasion of Japan, with heavy American casualties. The man realizes, to his dismay, that he may have taken nuclear weapons off the table, but he has done nothing about the forces that periodically push humanity to war.
A young Native American writer travels to 1930s New York City to meet the editor of a famous science fiction magazine, Joseph Campbell. In post-war America, a handful of people are sent on a private rocket ship to the Moon. Told that the Nazi High Command is there plotting a comeback, when they arrive, they don't find any Nazis. Then they are informed (by President Robert Heinlein) the real reason they are there.
Here are some memorable and imaginative stories. They are well-done and interesting from start to finish, and will give the reader plenty to think about.
Fifth Life of the Catwoman
Fifth Life of the Catwoman, Kathleen Dexter, Berkley Trade Signature, 2002
This novel is about a woman who lives alone, inside a mirage, in the mountains of present-day New Mexico.
Kat O'Malley is not your average recluse. Several hundred years ago, O'Malley, then named Josefina, and her brother, Julio, received a gift, or curse, from their mother just before she was killed for being a witch. They were given nine lives, and made part cat. Kat is now on her fifth life. Her other lives did not end well. She was drowned for being a witch, stoned to death for being "too well liked" by cats, and she died in childbirth after giving birth to 13 daughters (not all at the same time).
Today, O'Malley has a justifiable fear of the outside world. She is happy to live with 50 cats, with whom she communicates telepathically. One day, a man named Angelo DiVita arrives at her door; it is actually Julio, her brother, from 400 years ago. He is now headmaster at a local commune/alternative high school. She reluctantly accepts his invitation to teach a history course at the school two days a week. Her only conditions are that she does it her way, and that there are no visitors to the class.
As at any other school, there are those on the Board of Directors who just have to stick their noses where they are not welcome, including one who thinks of herself as some New Age goddess. As the semester goes on, Kat exposes her students to the sort of history that won't be found in any textbook. Her refusal to allow visitors to her class leads to resentment and prejudice on the part of the Board (she won't allow visitors, so, therefore, she must be filling their heads with something evil). Kat has seen this before. When tragedy strikes near the end of the semester, what will become of Kat?
This tale easily reaches the level of Wow. It's very contemporary, with just a little bit of weirdness. The author does a wonderful job throughout, and this is very much recommended.
This novel is about a woman who lives alone, inside a mirage, in the mountains of present-day New Mexico.
Kat O'Malley is not your average recluse. Several hundred years ago, O'Malley, then named Josefina, and her brother, Julio, received a gift, or curse, from their mother just before she was killed for being a witch. They were given nine lives, and made part cat. Kat is now on her fifth life. Her other lives did not end well. She was drowned for being a witch, stoned to death for being "too well liked" by cats, and she died in childbirth after giving birth to 13 daughters (not all at the same time).
Today, O'Malley has a justifiable fear of the outside world. She is happy to live with 50 cats, with whom she communicates telepathically. One day, a man named Angelo DiVita arrives at her door; it is actually Julio, her brother, from 400 years ago. He is now headmaster at a local commune/alternative high school. She reluctantly accepts his invitation to teach a history course at the school two days a week. Her only conditions are that she does it her way, and that there are no visitors to the class.
As at any other school, there are those on the Board of Directors who just have to stick their noses where they are not welcome, including one who thinks of herself as some New Age goddess. As the semester goes on, Kat exposes her students to the sort of history that won't be found in any textbook. Her refusal to allow visitors to her class leads to resentment and prejudice on the part of the Board (she won't allow visitors, so, therefore, she must be filling their heads with something evil). Kat has seen this before. When tragedy strikes near the end of the semester, what will become of Kat?
This tale easily reaches the level of Wow. It's very contemporary, with just a little bit of weirdness. The author does a wonderful job throughout, and this is very much recommended.
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