By the mid-21st Century, technology had become much too complicated for humans to handle -- and the computer network that had grown up to keep civilization from tripping over its own shoelaces was also beginning to be overwhelmed. Something Had To Be Done.As a solution, Raymond Dyer's project developed the first genuinely self-aware artificial intelligence -- code name: Spartacus. But could Spartacus be trusted to obey its makers? And if it went rogue, could it be shut down? As an acid test, Spartacus was put in charge of a space station and programmed with a survival instinct. Dyer and his team had the job of seeing how far the computer would go to defend itself when they tried to pull the plug. Dyer didn't expect any serious problems to arise in the experiment.Unfortunately, he had built more initiative into Spartacus than he realized....And a superintelligent computer with a high dose of initiative makes a dangerous guinea pig.

The Two Faces of American Freedom boldly reinterprets the American political tradition from the colonial period to modern times, placing issues of race relations, immigration, and presidentialism in the context of shifting notions of empire and citizenship. Today, while the U.S. enjoys tremendous military and economic power, citizens are increasingly insulated from everyday decision-making. This was not always the case. America, Aziz Rana argues, began as a settler society grounded in an ideal of freedom as the exercise of continuous self-rule—one that joined direct political participation with economic independence. However, this vision of freedom was politically bound to the subordination of marginalized groups, especially slaves, Native Americans, and women. These practices of liberty and exclusion were not separate currents, but rather two sides of the same coin. However, at crucial moments, social movements sought to imagine freedom without either subordination or empire. By the mid-twentieth century, these efforts failed, resulting in the rise of hierarchical state and corporate institutions. This new framework presented national and economic security as society’s guiding commitments and nurtured a continual extension of America’s global reach. Rana envisions a democratic society that revives settler ideals, but combines them with meaningful inclusion for those currently at the margins of American life.

Like its widely praised predecessor False Dawn, Two Faces of Liberalism, hailed by the Los Angeles Times as ''elegant and powerful,'' offers a thoughtful and provocative analysis of the liberal tradition in politics. John Gray, an eminent professor at the London School of Economics, ''picks large and interesting topics and says arresting things about them,'' according to the New York Review of Books. Two Faces of Liberalism argues that, in its beginning, liberalism contained two contradictory philosophies of tolerance. In one, it put forward the enlightenment vision of a universal civilization. In the other, it framed terms for peaceful coexistence between warring communities and between different ways of life. In this major contribution to political theory, Gray's new book ''takes us beyond the current debate''(The New York Times Book Review) of traditional liberalism to keep up with the complex political realities of today's increasingly divided world.

SOS FROM A FUTURE THAT WILL NEVER BEIt's amazing enough when Murdoch Ross's brilliant grandfather invents a machine that can send messages to itself in the past or the future. But when signals begin to arrive without being sent, Murdoch realizes that every action he takes changes the future that would have been...and that the world he lives in has already been altered!Then a new message arrives from the future: The world is doomed!

The award-winning “classic psychological thriller” by the author of Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr. Ripley (USA Today). In a grubby Athens hotel, Rydal Keener is bored and killing time with petty scams. But when he runs into another American, Chester MacFarland, dragging a man’s body down the hotel hall, Rydal impulsively agrees to help, perhaps because Chester looks like his father. Then Rydal meets Collete, Chester’s younger wife, and captivated, becomes entangled in their sordid lives, as the drama marches to a shocking climax at the ruins of the labyrinth at Knossos. A winner of a Crime Writers of America award, The Two Faces of January was the basis of a film starring Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Dunst, and Oscar Isaac. “An offbeat, provocative and absorbing suspense novel.” —The New York Times “Patricia Highsmith is one of the few suspense writers whose work transcends genre.” —The Austin American-Statesman

Utopia is achieved in the 21st century--until a group calling themselves "overlord" build a time gate and go back in time to help Adolf Hitler win WW II. Now, only North America and Australia remain free. With smuggled technical information, an American time gate is built--code name "Proteus". As the final battle looms, a team leaps back to 1939. Their mission--stop Overlord before its agents can aid Hitler.

Civilization has grown too complex. A computer is needed that has logic and common sense. It is up to Raymond Dyer and his team to install a super computer on an orbiting satellite and program it to survive.

• Reviews of more than 900 manga series • Ratings from 0 to 4 stars • Guidelines for age-appropriateness • Number of series volumes • Background info on series and artists THE ONE-STOP RESOURCE FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN THE BEST AND THE REST! Whether you’re new to the world of manga-style graphic novels or a longtime reader on the lookout for the next hot series, here’s a comprehensive guide to the wide, wonderful world of Japanese comics! • Incisive, full-length reviews of stories and artwork • Titles rated from zero to four stars–skip the clunkers, but don’t miss the hidden gems • Guidelines for age-appropriateness–from strictly mature to kid-friendly • Profiles of the biggest names in manga, including CLAMP, Osamu Tezuka, Rumiko Takahashi, and many others • The facts on the many kinds of manga–know your shôjo from your shônen • An overview of the manga industry and its history • A detailed bibliography and a glossary of manga terms LOOK NO FURTHER, YOU’VE FOUND YOUR IDEAL MANGA COMPANION!

SKYNET MEETS THE MATRIX in two novels from New York Times best-selling author, and legendary science fiction storyteller, James Hogan. Contains Two Faces of Tomorrow and Real Time Interrupt. Skynet and The Matrix have got nothing on James Hogan in this great two-novel collection. Two Faces of Tomorrow Midway through the 21st century, a proposed major software upgrade_an artificial intelligence_will give the world communications system an unprecedented degree of independent decision-making. Now to fully assess the system, a new space-station habitat is deployed with an A.I. named Spartacus. The idea is that if Spartacus gets out of hand, the system can be shut down and the station destroyed_unless, that is, Spartacus decides to take matters into its own hands and take the fight to Earth. Realtime Interrupt Joe Corrigan awakens in a hospital to find that his life no longer exists. As director of the supersecret Oz Project, his job was to create a computerized environment virtually indistinguishable from reality. Oz failed. Now Joe, left alone to pick up the pieces of his shattered life, Joe finds himself in an unfamiliar world_a world where nothing is quite as it should be. Now Joe must discover a terrible truth about his new world_and figure out how to get out alive! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). About James P. Hogan: _Readers who like their science hard will find this one a diamond.Ó _ Publishers Weekly on James P. Hogans Mission to Minerva _ãcutting edge scientific approachãtruly fascinating and highly enjoyableãÓ_ Starlog _Stimulating and provocative.Ó _ Kirkus on James P. Hogans ground-breaking Cradle of Saturn _Pure science fictionãArthur C. Clarke, move over.Ó _ Isaac Asimov