The Nine Billion Names of God: The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke, 1951-1956 (Audiobook, mp3)
With so little serious sf currently available on unabridged audio, the release of this comprehensive collection of Clarke's short stories is an occasion for celebration, for he is an undisputed master of hard sf, that which combines creative storytelling with ideas grounded in plausible science. Clarke is, after all, best known as the writer behind 2001: A Space Odyssey, one of the few films that depicts space travel realistically.
"Most of us would like to be smarter," asserts Restak (The Brain, companion to PBS's series by the same name), neuropsychiatrist and clinical professor of neurology at George Washington University Medical Center. Restak claims that improving cognition is the answer. In accessible science-teacher style, Restak delineates the brain's attributes, from its weight (three pounds) to the number of nerve cells (100 billion) and its infinity of synapses, explaining what aids communication, informs memory and so forth.
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism
In Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows Joy investigates factory farming, exposing how cruelly the animals are treated, the hazards that meatpacking workers face, and the environmental impact of raising 10 billion animals for food each year. Controversial and challenging, this book will change the way you think about food forever.
My Billion Year Contract: Memoir of a Former Scientologist
To a young, teenage girl, Scientology seemed to be just what the author was looking for; a way to improve herself and attain spiritual enlightenment. But it was only after she joined Scientology s elite inner circle, the Sea Organization, and signed a Billion Year contract that she discovered the dark world of fanaticism and abuse at the center of Scientology s vast empire...
Historical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China
At 1.162 billion people in 1994, and estimates indicating a population of 1.255 billion people by 2000, China has the largest population in the world. Its history is undeniably long, from its beginnings as small settlements along the banks of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers up through the present rule by Jiang Yemin. The "Historical Dictionary of the People's Republic of China" looks at this country during the period of 1949 through 1997; a period marked by political turbulence and transformation but with substantial progress in economic growth, public health, and social-economic infrastructure.
