Seventeen essays in which the amazing author once again displays that he is the master of all he surveys ...

Isaac Asimov's death on April 6, 1992, was a great loss to literature, science, and freethought. The vision of one of America's most prolific authors is unmatched today, and his pointed honesty shines through in this fascinating collection of essays, now reissued in this special tribute edition. Asimov demonstrates his extraordinary skill at disseminating knowledge from across the spectrum of scientific disciplines as his roving mind ranges from the polemical to the persuasive, from the speculative to the realistic. The sixty-two essays in this volume include such subjects as creationism, the distinction between real science and pseudoscience, censorship, the population explosion, technophobia, the social consequences of technological progress, cloning, the possibility of contacting extraterrestrial life, and the wonders of the cosmos. There are also thoughts on his style of writing, stories about his personal life, and recollections of family history - all written in the clear and elegant prose for which Asimov was noted.

Arguably the greatest science fiction writer who ever lived, Isaac Asimov also possessed one of the most brilliant and original minds of our time. His accessible style and far-reaching interests in subjects ranging from science to humor to history earned him the nickname “the Great Explainer.” I. Asimov is his personal story—vivid, open, and honest—as only Asimov himself could tell it. Here is the story of the paradoxical genius who wrote of travel to the stars yet refused to fly in airplanes; who imagined alien universes and vast galactic civilizations while staying home to write; who compulsively authored more than 470 books yet still found the time to share his ideas with some of the great minds of our century. Here are his wide-ranging thoughts and sharp-eyed observations on everything from religion to politics, love and divorce, friendship and Hollywood, fame and mortality. Here, too, is a riveting behind-the-scenes look at the varied personalities—Campbell, Ellison, Heinlein, Clarke, del Rey, Silverberg, and others—who along with Asimov helped shape science fiction. As unique and irrepressible as the man himself, I. Asimov is the candid memoir of an incomparable talent who entertained readers for nearly half a century and whose work will surely endure into the future he so vividly envisioned.

A thorough handbook covering the facts, history, and controversies surrounding our most controversial and misunderstood unconventional weapons. Unlike most books on this topic, the expanded second edition of Mauroni's popular reference handbook is neither sensationalistic nor moralistic. Instead, it offers readers a reasoned, thorough, and fact-based introduction to this highly charged issue. Covering the period from World War I through the Iraq War, Chemical and Biological Warfare not only describes the development of key chemical and biological agents, such as anthrax, tularemia, brucellosis, VEE, Q fever, and botulinum toxin, it also assesses the threats we face, compares military CB warfare with terrorist incidents, explains effective defensive measures, and clarifies the responsibilities of the various federal agencies charged to address these issues. With extensive new material, this edition provides an authoritative and up-to-date introduction to this vitally important topic.

Discussing everything from God to Santa Claus, Prozac to the Taliban and beyond, the author asserts that ethics is balderdash.

Debunks cherished theories of mainstream consensus and reveals the deeper mysteries of the science of the unseen • Reveals a new “Theory of Everything” to replace the standard model and complete our knowledge of Earth Science, anthropology, psychology, and spirituality • Explains the failings of the Big Bang, evolution, ice age theory, and global warming • Shows how the Freudian and Jungian theories of the unconscious have grossly misrepresented the spirit of man and the psyche of humanity What if science and society’s most darling theories, taught as fact, were 100% wrong? What if the anomalies that disprove these theories were covered up and distorted and any serious challenges brushed off as lunacy, hysteria, junk science, and dissension? In this primer in deprogramming, Susan B. Martinez reveals the disinformation at the root of mainstream consensus thinking. She punches gaping holes in the cherished theories of the Big Bang, Darwinian evolution, ice ages, and global warming. Drawing on the ancient science of the unseen and revelations from the Oahspe Bible as well as some of the most advanced thinkers in astrophysics, she explains a new “Theory of Everything” to replace the standard model. She explores the concept of vortexya, the cosmic whirlwind of our own geomagnetic field, which explains quite simply the subtle changes that take place on Earth and in the universe over time without the “magical thinking” of the Big Bang, global warming, or ice ages. Martinez reveals how the instability of society itself has found its way into our theories, positing explosive change and acceleration where there is none. She explains how homo sapiens’ evolution did not suddenly accelerate 40,000 years ago and culture did not accelerate to birth civilization a mere 6,000 years ago. She shows how the theories of the Freudian and Jungian unconscious and of reincarnation have grossly misrepresented the spirit of man and the psyche of humanity. Resurrecting the majestic order that was once recognized at the basis of reality, Martinez shows that the shift from the Age of Disinformation to the Age of Understanding is well underway.

A tantalizing collection of classic essays from one of the most gifted writers of his generation. • "The brainy, sarcastic, tender intelligence at the center of these pieces can make you laugh out loud: they can also move you to tears." —People Martin Amis brings the same megawatt wit, wickedly acute perception, and ebullient wordplay that characterize his novels. He encompasses the full range of contemporary politics and culture (high and low) while also traveling to China for soccer with Elton John and to London's darts-crazy pubs in search of the perfect throw. Throughout, he offers razor-sharp takes on such subjects as: American politics: "If history is a nightmare from which we are trying to awake, then the Reagan era can be seen as an eight-year blackout. Numb, pale, unhealthily dreamless: eight years of Do Not Disturb." Chess: "Nowhere in sport, perhaps in human activity, is the gap between the tryer and the expert so astronomical.... My chances of a chess brilliancy are the 'chances' of a lab chimp and a type writer producing King Lear." "His fascination with the observable world is utterly promiscuous: he will address a cathedral and a toilet seat with the same peeled-eyeball intensity." —John Updike

A collection of Langford parodies and pastiches incorporating the whole of The Dragonhiker's Guide to Battlefield Covenant at Dune's Edge: Odyssey Two (1988, long out of print) plus some 40,000 words of additional material.