Science Myths

The first robot to walk the earth was a bronze giant called Talos. This wondrous machine was created not by MIT Robotics Lab, but by Hephaestus, the Greek god of invention, more than 2,500 years ago. In this groundbreaking account of the earliest expressions of the timeless impulse to create artificial life, Adrienne Mayor tells the fascinating story of how ancient Greek, Roman, Indian, and Chinese myths envisioned artificial life, automata, self-moving devices, and human enhancements - and how these visions relate to and reflect the ancient invention of real animated machines.

Inspired by classic fairy tales, but with a dark and sinister twist, Grim contains short stories from some of the best voices in young adult literature today: Ellen Hopkins, Amanda Hocking, Julie Kagawa, Claudia Gray, Rachel Hawkins, Kimberly Derting, Myra McEntire, Malinda Lo, Sarah Rees-Brennan, Jackson Pearce, Christine Johnson, Jeri Smith Ready, Shaun David Hutchinson, Saundra Mitchell, Sonia Gensler, Tessa Gratton, Jon Skrovron.

Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it's clear whatever this is - it's huge. Marshall has no idea what's happening to him, but he's soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend, Cooper, who's been missing for over a week.

After their strange mission in the desert, Coco, Fox, Velvet, and Yatsuhashi are back at Shade Academy, doing some “extracurricular” work to track down The Crown, a mysterious force that’s snatching up people with powerful semblances. The job should be easier with Team SSSN by their side, but The Crown continues to evade them. Out of options and worried that a bigger plot is in motion, CFVY and SSSN notify Theodore, the Headmaster of Shade Academy, but Theodore has problems of his own.

In this ninth volume of Glenn G. Thater’s Harbinger of Doom saga, Theta arrives at Jutenheim, hot on the heels of Korrgonn and the League of Shadows. Their fateful confrontation is fast approaching, if only they pass the Black Elf king and the ancient evils that lurk in his subterranean domain. But do the Black Elves serve the dark powers or the light?

When Destiny McCree wakes up beside a dead man on an Oregon beach, she knows only this: she has to keep moving, keep searching, and keep one step ahead of the forces that have been pursuing her from the heart of Scotland to this isolated spot. Why? The death of her lover has left her alone, with little memory of her past. A glimmering serpent-shaped ring is the one clue she has---and a bargaining chip in a most dangerous game.

All Alice Liddell wants is to escape her Normal life in Oxford and find the parents who abandoned her ten years ago. But she gets more than she bargained for when her older sister Charlotte is arrested for having the infamous Wonder Gene—the key to unlocking the curious Wonderland Reality. Soon, Alice receives a rather cryptic invitation to play for Team Heart in this year’s annual—and often deadly—Wonderland Trials. Now she has less than twenty-four hours to find her way into Wonderland where nothing is impossible...or what it seems.

In 2016, presidential candidate Donald Trump declared, "I think the big problem this country has is being politically correct". Reeling from his victory, Democrats blamed the corrosive effect of "identity politics". When banned from Twitter for inciting violence, Trump and his supporters claimed that the measure was an assault on "free speech". In We Need New Stories, Nesrine Malik explains that all of these arguments are political myths - variations on the lie that American values are under assault.

It is taken for granted in the knowledge economy that companies must employ the most talented performers to compete and succeed. Many firms try to buy stars by luring them away from competitors. But Boris Groysberg shows what an uncertain and disastrous practice this can be.

It's always been just Kate and her mom - and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family, and the fear her mother won't live past the fall. Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld - and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests. Kate is sure he's crazy - until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

When Henry H. Neff published the second book of his Tapestry series, Kirkus Reviews proclaimed that “young readers will clamor for more.” With The Fiend and the Forge, Neff unveils his most riveting adventure yet. Astaroth has claimed the Book of Origins, and the world is thick with goblins and trolls.

“Compelling,” (Cal Newport) “Liberating,” (Amy Dickinson) and “as entertaining as it is important” (Steven Levitt) — How to Do Nothing meets Think Again in this lively and inspiring exploration of how quitting is, counterintuitively, the key to success. "If you’re thinking...

Sometimes solving climate change seems impossibly complex. This book offers hope. Drawing on the latest research, Mark Jaccard shows us how to recognize the absolutely essential actions (decarbonizing electricity and transport) and policies (regulations that phase out coal plants and gasoline vehicles, carbon tariffs). Rather than feeling paralyzed and pursuing ineffective efforts, we can all make a few key changes in our lifestyles to reduce emissions, to contribute to the urgently needed affordable energy transition in developed and developing countries.

How Molly has survived military life this long, we'll never know. When her implanted computer interface is hacked by a nascent AI, Molly has to escape. Between the militaries' high tech security shields and advanced personnel protocols, it makes getting out in one piece for Molly nigh on impossible...And her biggest problem? The swiftest and most efficient way to get out is also the most embarrassing.

Sophie Flufftail's Brave Plan: Lily and Jess are delighted to return to their friends in Friendship Forest. Emily Prickleback's Clever Idea: Best friends Jess and Lily visit Friendship Forest, where animals can talk and magic exists! Jess and Lily can't wait to attend the Rushy River boat race in Friendship Forest. Ruby Fuzzybrush's Star Dance: Lily and Jess can't wait to see the Fuzzybrush fox family wake the stars with their magical dance. But wicked witch Grizelda's black dragon is determined to make the forest dark...

While the Western was dying a slow death across the cultural landscape, it was blazing back to life as a video game in the early twenty-first century. Rockstar Games' Red Dead franchise, beginning with Red Dead Revolver in 2004, has grown into one of the most critically acclaimed video game franchises of the twenty-first century. Red Dead Redemption: History, Myth, and Violence in the Video Game West offers a critical, interdisciplinary look at this cultural phenomenon at the intersection of game studies and American history.

Lann knows nothing of his mysterious past, but by his 15th birthday he will come face to face with destiny. For Lann must wield the Dreadblade, an ancient sword forged to defeat terrible monsters. Across the mountains a King has been murdered. His daughter, Astrid, is a warrior with no desire to bear the crown. Only she can uncover her father’s killer before her brother is framed for the crime. Evil is stirring. Lann and Astrid are the kingdom’s last defence. Together, they must face the greatest darkness their world has ever known.

The Royal Trials were never meant to be easy, not even for an imposter like Rybet Waise. But nothing could have prepared her for the magical storms, mutated animals, and malicious gods standing in her way. There is no time for tears. Mere hours after being bathed in Prince Alexander’s blood, Rybet must embark on a quest. The second trial dictates she find a missing magical artefact - Queen Ophelia’s crown. Released from the overbearing confines of the royal palace, Rybet competes not only with the other remaining ladies, but also with the land itself.

Saxony Cagney counts herself lucky when she wins a position as an au pair in Venice for the summer. It’s her responsibility to take care of two young boys - speak to them in English, make sure they get to their swimming lessons on time. Piece of cake, right? She forms a strong bond with the youngest boy–Isaia. She also meets two Italian men… both are smart, successful, sexy. So far things are going her way. Who doesn’t like options?

This book examines one of the most contested issues facing feminists, human rights activists, and governments around the globe - the international sex trade. For decades, the liberal left has been conflicted as to whether pro-prostitution activists or abolitionists hold the correct view, and debates are ongoing as to who holds the key to the solutions facing the women and girls involved.