Leigh Brackett Life[edit] Leigh Brackett was born December 7, 1915 in Los Angeles, California and grew up there. On December 31, 1946, at age 31, she married Edmond Hamilton in San Gabriel, California, and moved with him to Kinsman, Ohio. Career[edit] Author[edit] Brackett was first published in her mid-twenties. Brackett's first novel, No Good from a Corpse, published in 1944, was a hard-boiled mystery novel in the tradition of Raymond Chandler. In 1946, the same year that Brackett married science fiction author Edmond Hamilton, Planet Stories published the novella "Lorelei of the Red Mist". Brackett returned from her break from science-fiction writing, caused by her cinematic endeavors, in 1948. Brackett's stories thereafter adopted a more elegiac tone. This last story was published in the very last issue (Summer 1955) of Planet Stories, always Brackett's most reliable market for science fiction. But most of Brackett's writing after 1955 was for the more lucrative film and television markets.
The Better Angels of Our Nature: The Decline of Violence In History And Its Causes: Amazon.co.uk: Steven Pinker Good news, folks. Violence has been declining. We are getting kinder and gentler as a species. That doesn't just go for us in the West. Pinker has noticed it and others have, too. It is impossible to do this book justice in a review. The rise of the Leviathan is a necessary but not sufficient condition. Pacification is complemented by a normative shift: the humanitarian and rights revolutions. So the decline of violence is two fold. It is fashionable to denigrate the accomplishments of the Enlightenment. We humans share a common nature, and that nature is partially given to violence. But that is not the entire story, as you can infer from the title of the book. But this is a simplified summary that I fear does little justice to the richness of this book. You may think that this is Whiggish nonsense.
Speculative fiction History[edit] In mythography the concept of speculative fiction has been termed "mythopoesis" or mythopoeia, "fictional speculation", the creative design and generation of lore, regarding such works as J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.[9] Such supernatural, alternate history and sexuality themes continue in works produced within the modern speculative fiction genre.[10] The creation of speculative fiction in its general sense of hypothetical history, explanation, or ahistorical storytelling has also been attributed to authors in ostensibly non-fiction mode since as early as Herodotus of Halicarnassus, (fl. 5th century BCE) in his Histories,[11][12][13] and was already both practiced and edited out by early encyclopaedic writers like Sima Qian (ca. 145 or 135 BCE–86 BCE), author of Shiji.[14][15] In its English language usage in arts and literature since 20th century, "speculative fiction" as a genre term is often attributed to Robert A. Heinlein. See also[edit] History Genres Themes
Lucius Shepard Lucius Shepard (August 21, 1943 – March 18, 2014) was an American writer. Classified as a science fiction and fantasy writer, he often leaned into other genres, such as magical realism. His work is infused with a political and historical sensibility and an awareness of literary antecedents. Career[edit] A native of Lynchburg, Virginia where he was born in 1943,[1] Shepard's first short stories appeared in 1983, and his first novel, Green Eyes, appeared in 1984. Lucius Shepard resided in Portland, Oregon. Themes and evolution[edit] Shepard stopped writing fiction for much of the 1990s. Much of Shepard's later work was non-fiction. According to fellow author James Patrick Kelly, Shepard was an avid sports fan who has often used dramatic sports moments as inspiration to write.[7] In the summer of 2008, he moved to Neuchatel, Switzerland in order to work on several screenplays. He died in March 2014 at the age of 70.[8][1] Bibliography[edit] Novels and novellas[edit] Collections[edit] Comics[edit]
Stumbling on Happiness: Amazon.co.uk: Daniel Gilbert ‘“Stumbling on Happiness” is an absolutely fantastic book that will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how your own mind works. Ceaselessly entertaining, Gilbert is the perfect guide to some of the most interesting psychological research ever performed. Think you know what makes you happy? You won’t know for sure until you have read this book.’ ‘He does for psychology what Bill Bryson did for evolution.’ ‘In “Stumbling on Happiness”, Daniel Gilbert shares his brilliant insights into our quirks of mind, and steers us toward happiness in the most delightful, engaging ways. ‘This is a brilliant book, a useful book, and a book that could quite possibly change the way you look at just about everything. ‘Everyone will enjoy reading this book, and some of us will wish we could have written it. Q and A with Professor Gilbert What makes you happy? What makes you unhappy? You say that research shows that having children doesn't make us happier.
Zero History Several characters in Zero History e.g. Milgrim and Heidi, take journeys on the London Underground Tube system. Here is an image of a Transport for London Oyster Card - prepaid London Underground Tube and Bus travel card (but also a RFID / centralised database tracking and surveillance system) signed by William Gibson, at Forbidden Plant, London, Saturday 9th October 2010, To protect your privacy and personal security from 13.56 MHz licence free Industrial Scientific Medical radio frequency band snoopers (both legal and illegal). There is also the practical issue of preventing accidental deductions of money from your Oyster card, by maladjusted or poorly maintained or hacked Card Readers. See Foiling the Oyster Card Using the Oyster Card, leaves a financial and time / location database transaction trail, which is used anonymously in bulk, to help Transport for London optimise their services.
A. E. van Vogt Alfred Elton van Vogt (/vænvoʊt/; April 26, 1912 – January 26, 2000) was a Canadian-born science fiction author regarded as one of the most popular and complex[1] science fiction writers of the mid-twentieth century: the "Golden Age" of the genre. Early life and writings[edit] Van Vogt was born on a farm in Edenburg, a Russian Mennonite community east of Gretna, Manitoba, Canada. Until he was four years old, van Vogt and his family spoke only a dialect of Low German in the home.[2] Van Vogt's father, a lawyer, moved his family several times and his son found these moves difficult, remarking in later life: Childhood was a terrible period for me. Van Vogt's first completed novel, and one of his most famous, is Slan (Arkham House, 1946), which Campbell serialized in Astounding September to December 1940.[6] Using what became one of van Vogt's recurring themes, it told the story of a 9-year-old superman living in a world in which his kind are slain by Homo sapiens. Post-war philosophy[edit]
Anarchy, State and Utopia: Amazon.co.uk: Robert Nozick This is NOT light reading. Then again, it's a philosophy book, and nobody obliged me to read it. I kept reminding myself of this every time I had to re-read a paragraph for the third time before giving up on understanding it. So there you have it, I fully admit that whole sections of this book went over my head. But I'm glad I read it. Well, I'm not glad I read Chapter 1, which is entitled "Why State-of-Nature Theory?" Executive summary: 1. 2. 3. So here's why I'm glad I read the book. Also, the book is full of little gems. Would not want to make it sound like I found this to be a masterpiece. So this book does not flow in a straight line.
node Node Magazine: The Next Phase WARNING! This blog is SPOILER-HEAVY! If this is your first visit, you may want to start at the beginning. Thanks for taking the time to visit the blog that University College London professor / Guardian UK ciritic called “the future of literary criticism” and scifi legend William Gibson described as “cheap A.I.” and “completely original.” To learn more about the latest developments in the world of Spook Country and prepare for Gibson’s next novel Zero History, please visit nodemagazine.com. Thanks! Node 1, 2, 3… Memetic Engineer has now created a secret subsite annotating the Node tumblog in chronological order [a much more accessible method, especially for newcomers]. Patternboy interviews cyberpunk legend William Gibson during a noisy boksigning at the Boulder Bookstore asking, “What question do you wish more people were asking?” Node: “Remarkably Accurate and Inherently Unhealthy” Yeah, I’ve seen that. And Now, Towards Chapter 85… Chapter 84. Chapter 83.
Cordwainer Smith and His Remarkable Science Fiction