The narrator of Cat's Cradle purports to be engaged in compiling a responsibly factual account of what certain interested Americans were doing at the precise moment the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Through correspondence with the three children of the late Felix Hoenikker, Nobel Prize winner and so-called ''father of the atomic bomb,'' he evolves a portrait of the man in relation to his family and the community.
(1971 Hugo for Best Novel, 1970 Nebula for Best Novel)
In the first book of this award-winning series, a huge architectural ring is constructed in outer space. In time it will house the inhabitants of the dying Earth. A whole new world is emerging, a world of huge dimensions, encompassing an area three million times the area of the Earth. Ringworld has a gravitational field and high walls to preserve its atmosphere. Its proximity to the sun maintains the new planet's climate. With those kinds of resources at its disposal, humankind can begin anew -- but not without meeting the disquieting challenges of a brave new world. Breath- taking ingenious from start to finish, RINGWORLD is fast becoming a science fiction classic.
Primary Classic Readers - The Ugly Duckling (Level 1)
New Editions Primary Classic Readers is a three-level series of classic tales comprising some of the best-loved children's stories. The stories have been retold and carefully adapted for each level. The books are graded in terms of vocabulary and grammar to reflect students' capabilities at each level, making reading for pleasure in English simple and enjoyable.
The future is a very dark place, where people work in dangerous jobs for low wages, but employment is still extremely hard to get. Ben Richards knows that the only way his wife and daughter can get out of the low class lifestyle is for him to try to win money on one of the many gameshows on television.
These are no ordinary gameshows, because they make you suffer, or even die, and Richards has been chosen for the top show of all - The Running Man. The rules are fairly straightforward. $100 for every hour that you stay alive, and if you manage to stay alive for 30 days, you win One Billion Dollars!
Charles Dikkens - Great Expectations[abridged audiobook with text] Great Expectations is written in a semi-autobiographical style, and is the story of the orphan Pip, tracing his life from his early days of childhood until adulthood. The story can also be considered semi-autobiographical of Dickens, like much of his work, drawing on his experiences of life and people.