- Table View
- List View
How to Talk to Your Computer (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
by Seymour SimonRead and find out about the basics of computer language in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.Have you ever wondered how to get a computer to do something? First you need to speak in a way it can understand! Read and find out all about how to talk to your computer in this updated edition with new illustrations and simple engaging text that introduces conditions, loops, and functions.How to Talk to Your Computer comes packed with visual aids like charts, sidebars, an infographic, and a computer-less coding activity. This updated 2019 edition was vetted by Dr. Justin Solomon, Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.This is a clear and appealing science book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. It's a Level 2 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores more challenging concepts for children in the primary grades. The 100+ titles in this leading nonfiction series are:hands-on and visualacclaimed and trustedgreat for classroomsTop 10 reasons to love LRFOs:Entertain and educate at the same timeHave appealing, child-centered topicsDevelopmentally appropriate for emerging readersFocused; answering questions instead of using survey approachEmploy engaging picture book quality illustrationsUse simple charts and graphics to improve visual literacy skillsFeature hands-on activities to engage young scientistsMeet national science education standardsWritten/illustrated by award-winning authors/illustrators & vetted by an expert in the fieldOver 130 titles in print, meeting a wide range of kids' scientific interestsBooks in this series support the Common Core Learning Standards, Next Generation Science Standards, and the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) standards. Let's-Read-and-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series.
Jack & Jack: You Don't Know Jacks
by Jack Gilinsky Jack JohnsonVine ingenues, YouTube megastars, hip-pop sensations, and best friends Jack & Jack bring their own brand of irreverent comedy, on-point style, and heartfelt life advice to You Don’t Know Jacks. Nebraska natives Jack Gilinsky and Jack Johnson shot to instant fame after their first Vine, “Nerd Vandals,” was dubbed “a perfect Vine” by the Huffington Post. It’s been looped more than ten million times since—and that Vine was just the beginning.Now, after a number one hit on iTunes, nearly two million singles sold, live performances where they have shared the stage with Demi Lovato, Shawn Mendes, and Fifth Harmony, and over 26 million followers across all their social media channels, Jack & Jack are on a wild ride—and they’re not planning to slow down anytime soon. Fans will love reading about their journey from being two regular kids growing up in Omaha, Nebraska, to global superstardom. Complete with never-before-seen photos, behind-the-scenes stories, and hilarious personal anecdotes, You Don’t Know Jacks is an insider look at the lives of Jack & Jack, as told by the guys themselves.
Girl Code: Gaming, Going Viral, and Getting It Done
by Andrea Gonzales Sophie HouserA New York Public Library Best Book of 2017Perfect for aspiring coders everywhere, Girl Code is the story of two teenage tech phenoms who met at Girls Who Code summer camp, teamed up to create a viral video game, and ended up becoming world famous. The book also includes bonus content to help you start coding! Fans of funny and inspiring books like Maya Van Wagenen’s Popular and Caroline Paul’s Gutsy Girl will love hearing about Andrea “Andy” Gonzales and Sophie Houser’s journey from average teens to powerhouses.Through the success of their video game, Andy and Sophie got unprecedented access to some of the biggest start-ups and tech companies, and now they’re sharing what they’ve seen. Their video game and their commitment to inspiring young women have been covered by the Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, CNN, Teen Vogue, Jezebel, the Today show, and many more.Get ready for an inside look at the tech industry, the true power of coding, and some of the amazing women who are shaping the world. Andy and Sophie reveal not only what they’ve learned about opportunities in science and technology but also the true value of discovering your own voice and creativity.A Junior Library Guild selectionA Children's Book Council Best STEM Trade Book for Students K-12
Red vs. Blue Apple FF: The Ultimate Fan Guide
by Rooster Teeth Eddy Rivas Burnie BurnsIn Red vs. Blue, its creators at Rooster Teeth brings together more than a decades' worth of ephemera and behind-the-scenes information from the popular comedic web series, including:Character dossiers and fact sheetsCharacter-driven lists, including "The Wisdom of Caboose"Charts and statistics mapping out character, world, and episode triviaBest Red vs. Blue quotes. Of all timeAlternate stories and character arcs that were abandonedSpotlights on the cast and crew of Red vs. Blue, filled with unique anecdotes, behind-the-scenes stories, and insights into the series and their roleNew, never-before-seen content: Includes annotated scripts of some of the most-watching episodes, side-stores, expanded universe material, alternate endings, deleted scenes and triviaOriginal sketches and drawings
The Smear: How Shady Political Operatives and Fake News Control What You See, What You Think, and How You Vote
by Sharyl AttkissonNew York Times BestsellerEver wonder how politics turned into a take-no-prisoners blood sport? The New York Times bestselling author of Stonewalled pulls back the curtain on the shady world of opposition research and reveals the dirty tricks those in power use to influence your opinions.Behind most major political stories in the modern era, there is an agenda; an effort by opposition researchers, spin doctors, and outside interests to destroy an idea or a person. The tactic they use is the Smear. Every day, Americans are influenced by the Smear without knowing it. Paid forces cleverly shape virtually every image you cross. Maybe you read that Donald Trump is a racist misogynist, or saw someone on the news mocking the Bernie Sanders campaign. The trick of the Smear is that it is often based on some shred of truth, but these media-driven "hit pieces" are designed to obscure the truth. Success hinges on the Smear artist’s ability to remain invisible; to make it seem as if their work is neither calculated nor scripted. It must appear to be precisely what it is not.Veteran journalist Sharyl Attkisson has witnessed this practice firsthand. After years of being pitched hit jobs and puff pieces, she’s an expert at detecting Smear campaigns. Now, the hard-hitting investigative reporter shares her inside knowledge, revealing how the Smear takes shape and who its perpetrators are—including Clinton confidant Sidney Blumenthal and, most influential of all, "right-wing assassin turned left-wing assassin" (National Review) political operative David Brock and his Media Matters for America empire.Attkisson exposes the diabolical tactics of Smear artists, and their outrageous access to the biggest names in political media—operatives who are corrupting the political process, and discouraging widespread citizen involvement in our democracy.
Chaos Monkeys: Obscene Fortune and Random Failure in Silicon Valley
by Antonio Garcia Martinez<P>Liar's Poker meets The Social Network in an irreverent exposé of life inside the tech bubble, from industry provocateur Antonio García Martínez, a former Twitter advisor, Facebook product manager and startup founder/CEO. <P>The reality is, Silicon Valley capitalism is very simple:Investors are people with more money than time.Employees are people with more time than money.Entrepreneurs are the seductive go-between.Marketing is like sex: only losers pay for it. Imagine a chimpanzee rampaging through a datacenter powering everything from Google to Facebook. Infrastructure engineers use a software version of this "chaos monkey" to test online services' robustness--their ability to survive random failure and correct mistakes before they actually occur. Tech entrepreneurs are society's chaos monkeys, disruptors testing and transforming every aspect of our lives, from transportation (Uber) and lodging (AirBnB) to television (Netflix) and dating (Tinder). One of Silicon Valley's most audacious chaos monkeys is Antonio García Martínez. <P>After stints on Wall Street and as CEO of his own startup, García Martínez joined Facebook's nascent advertising team, turning its users' data into profit for COO Sheryl Sandberg and chairman and CEO Mark "Zuck" Zuckerberg. Forced out in the wake of an internal product war over the future of the company's monetization strategy, García Martínez eventually landed at rival Twitter. He also fathered two children with a woman he barely knew, committed lewd acts and brewed illegal beer on the Facebook campus (accidentally flooding Zuckerberg's desk), lived on a sailboat, raced sport cars on the 101, and enthusiastically pursued the life of an overpaid Silicon Valley wastrel. <P>Now, this gleeful contrarian unravels the chaotic evolution of social media and online marketing and reveals how it is invading our lives and shaping our future. Weighing in on everything from startups and credit derivatives to Big Brother and data tracking, social media monetization and digital "privacy," García Martínez shares his scathing observations and outrageous antics, taking us on a humorous, subversive tour of the fascinatingly insular tech industry. <P>Chaos Monkeys lays bare the hijinks, trade secrets, and power plays of the visionaries, grunts, sociopaths, opportunists, accidental tourists, and money cowboys who are revolutionizing our world. The question is, will we survive? <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
They Both Die at the End: The Uk No. 1 Bestseller!
by Adam Silvera<P>From the bestselling author of HISTORY IS ALL YOU LEFT ME comes another unforgettable story of life, loss and making each day count <P>On September 5th, a little after midnight, Death-Cast calls Mateo Torrez and Rufus Emeterio to give them some bad news: they're going to die today. Mateo and Rufus are total strangers, but, for different reasons, they're both looking to make a new friend on their End Day. The good news: there's an app for that. It's called the Last Friend, and through it, Rufus and Mateo are about to meet up for one last great adventure - to live a lifetime in a single day. <P><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality
by Blake J. HarrisThe dramatic, larger-than-life true story behind the founding of Oculus and its quest for virtual reality, by the bestselling author of Console Wars. Drawing on over a hundred interviews with the key players driving this revolution, The History of the Future weaves together a rich, cinematic narrative that captures the breakthroughs, breakdowns and human drama of trying to change the world. The result is a super accessible and supremely entertaining look at the birth of a game-changing new industry.From iconic books like Neuromancer to blockbuster films like The Matrix, virtual reality has long been hailed as the ultimate technology. But outside of a few research labs and military training facilities, this tantalizing vision of the future was nothing but science fiction. Until 2012, when Oculus founder Palmer Luckey—then just a rebellious teenage dreamer living alone in a camper trailer—invents a device that has the potential to change everything. With the help of a videogame legend, a serial entrepreneur and many other colorful characters, Luckey’s scrappy startup kickstarts a revolution and sets out to bring VR to the masses. As with most underdog stories, things don’t quite go according to plan. But what happens next turns out to be the ultimate entrepreneurial journey: a tale of battles won and lost, lessons learned and neverending twists and turns—including an unlikely multi-billion-dollar acquisition by Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, which shakes up the landscape in Silicon Valley and gives Oculus the chance to forever change our reality. Drawing on over a hundred interviews with the key players driving this revolution, The History of the Future weaves together a rich, cinematic narrative that captures the breakthroughs, breakdowns and human drama of trying to change the world. The result is a super accessible and supremely entertaining look at the birth of a game-changing new industry.
OpTic Gaming: The Making of eSports Champions
by Fwiz H3cz Midnite Scump Optic J Bigtymer NadeshotOpTic Gaming, the four-time Call of Duty Major League Gaming Champions and one of the top eSports teams in the world, now takes fans behind the controller--into the game and the minds of the greatest gamers in the world--in this fascinating and unique memoir and insider guide.Emerging on the scene in 2006, OpTic Gaming has dominated the Call of Duty e-sports arena, thanks to the talents of legendary players such as Matt "NaDeSHoT" Haag, the biggest eSports personality on earth; Seth "Scump" Abner, the best Call of Duty player in the world; Midnite, one of the first girl gamers to rise to stardom on YouTube; and Hector "H3CZ" Rodriguez, the team founder and CEO. With over 14 million followers across social platforms like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, no other team of players in eSports can match OpTic's popularity or ability to bring fans into the game.Now, these remarkable players have collaborated to produce this one-of-a-kind book. In OpTic Gaming, they candidly share their story of becoming Call of Duty's global royalty--ESPN XGAMES, MLG, ESWC and GFINITY champions--laying bare their lives, exploring what it takes to make it in professional gaming, and speaking honestly about the consequences of their newfound fame. These best-of-the-best take you behind the controller, offering insights, knowledge, and strategies to help you improve your shot, master the most complex maps, and conquer the game with the ultimate weapons. Going beyond their number-one game, the team also discusses the rest of their lineups and how to become a champion in any arena. Revealing their go-to strategies, best missions, and favorite challenges, OpTic Gaming brings fans closer to these wildly popular professional gamers more than ever before.
Only Humans Need Apply: Winners & Losers in the Age of Smart Machines
by Thomas H. Davenport Julia KirbyAn invigorating, thought-provoking, and positive look at the rise of automation that explores how professionals across industries can find sustainable careers in the near future.Nearly half of all working Americans could risk losing their jobs because of technology. It’s not only blue-collar jobs at stake. Millions of educated knowledge workers—writers, paralegals, assistants, medical technicians—are threatened by accelerating advances in artificial intelligence.The industrial revolution shifted workers from farms to factories. In the first era of automation, machines relieved humans of manually exhausting work. Today, Era Two of automation continues to wash across the entire services-based economy that has replaced jobs in agriculture and manufacturing. Era Three, and the rise of AI, is dawning. Smart computers are demonstrating they are capable of making better decisions than humans. Brilliant technologies can now decide, learn, predict, and even comprehend much faster and more accurately than the human brain, and their progress is accelerating. Where will this leave lawyers, nurses, teachers, and editors?In Only Humans Need Apply, Thomas Hayes Davenport and Julia Kirby reframe the conversation about automation, arguing that the future of increased productivity and business success isn’t either human or machine. It’s both. The key is augmentation, utilizing technology to help humans work better, smarter, and faster. Instead of viewing these machines as competitive interlopers, we can see them as partners and collaborators in creative problem solving as we move into the next era. The choice is ours.
What to Think About Machines That Think: Today's Leading Thinkers on the Age of Machine Intelligence
by Mr John BrockmanAs the world becomes ever more dominated by technology, John Brockman’s latest addition to the acclaimed and bestselling “Edge Question Series” asks more than 175 leading scientists, philosophers, and artists: What do you think about machines that think? <P><P> The development of artificial intelligence has been a source of fascination and anxiety ever since Alan Turing formalized the concept in 1950. Today, Stephen Hawking believes that AI “could spell the end of the human race.” At the very least, its development raises complicated moral issues with powerful real-world implications—for us and for our machines. <P> In this volume, recording artist Brian Eno proposes that we’re already part of an AI: global civilization, or what TED curator Chris Anderson elsewhere calls the hive mind. And author Pamela McCorduck considers what drives us to pursue AI in the first place. <P> On the existential threat posed by superintelligent machines, Steven Pinker questions the likelihood of a robot uprising. Douglas Coupland traces discomfort with human-programmed AI to deeper fears about what constitutes “humanness.” Martin Rees predicts the end of organic thinking, while Daniel C. Dennett explains why he believes the Singularity might be an urban legend.
The Elementia Chronicles: Herobrine's Message (Elementia Chronicles #3)
by Sean Fay WolfeAn unofficial Minecraft-fan adventure series inspired by the bestselling game!Fans of the bestselling video game Minecraft, middle grade readers, and action-adventure story enthusiasts of all ages will experience an exciting journey that will take them far beyond the world they know.The Republic of Elementia is in ruins after the Noctem Alliance wages war on Element City. President Stan and his council are scattered across the server, trying to find their way back to one another to continue their fight for freedom. And a mysterious figure has joined their world—one with the power to save or destroy them all. In the stunning conclusion to the Elementia Chronicles trilogy, Stan, Kat, Charlie, and their friends make a last stand for the world they love in an epic battle of good vs. evil.Written when he was seventeen years old, Sean Fay Wolfe's The Elementia Chronicles Book III: Herobrine's Message is the third and final novel in The Elementia Chronicles trilogy.Disclaimer: This book is not authorized, sponsored, endorsed, or licensed by Mojang AB, Microsoft Corp., or any other person or entity owning or controlling any rights to the Minecraft name, trademarks, or copyrights. Minecraft is a registered trademark of Mojang Synergies AB.
The Elementia Chronicles: An Unofficial Minecraft-fan Adventure (Elementia Chronicles #2)
by Sean Fay WolfeAn unofficial Minecraft-fan adventure series inspired by the bestselling game!Fans of the bestselling video game Minecraft, middle grade readers, and action-adventure story enthusiasts of all ages experience an exciting journey that will take them far beyond the world they know.President Stan has led his people through an epic battle and brought peace to the Republic of Elementia. But dissent is rippling through the countryside. King Kev's loyal followers are still at large, and a new organization, the Noctem Alliance, is poised to strike terror throughout the land. With new threats on the horizon and citizens of the Republic dividing between two loyalties, Stan must decide the best way forward for his people and stop the Noctem Alliance before it destroys them all.Written when he was seventeen years old, Sean Fay Wolfe's The Elementia Chronicles Book Two: The New Order is the second novel in The Elementia Chronicles trilogy.Disclaimer: This book is not authorized, sponsored, endorsed, or licensed by Mojang AB, Microsoft Corp., or any other person or entity owning or controlling any rights to the Minecraft name, trademarks, or copyrights. Minecraft is a registered trademark of Mojang Synergies AB.
The Elementia Chronicles: Quest for Justice (Elementia Chronicles #1)
by Sean Fay WolfeIntroducing an unofficial Minecraft-fan adventure series inspired by the bestselling game!Fans of the bestselling video game Minecraft, middle grade readers, and action-adventure story enthusiasts of all ages are about to embark on an exciting journey that will take them far beyond the world they know.Dark forces are at work on the Elementia server, and when new players Stan, Kat, and Charlie arrive on the scene, they quickly find themselves in peril. Targeted by more experienced players, the noobs must band together against the king, battle the natural forces of the game, and unravel the mysteries of Elementia in the name of justice.Written when he was sixteen, Sean Fay Wolfe's Quest for Justice is the debut novel by an unstoppable young storyteller and the first book in The Elementia Chronicles trilogy.Disclaimer: This book is not authorized, sponsored, endorsed or licensed by Mojang AB, Microsoft Corp. or any other person or entity owning or controlling any rights to the Minecraft name, trademarks or copyrights. Minecraft is a registered trademark of Mojang Synergies AB.
Alibaba: The House That Jack Ma Built
by Duncan ClarkIn just a decade and half Jack Ma, a man who rose from humble beginnings and started his career as an English teacher, founded and built Alibaba into the second largest Internet company in the world. The company’s $25 billion IPO in 2014 was the world’s largest, valuing the company more than Facebook or Coca Cola. Alibaba today runs the e-commerce services that hundreds of millions of Chinese consumers depend on every day, providing employment and income for tens of millions more. A Rockefeller of his age, Jack has become an icon for the country’s booming private sector, and as the face of the new, consumerist China is courted by heads of state and CEOs from around the world.Granted unprecedented access to a wealth of new material including exclusive interviews, Clark draws on his own first-hand experience of key figures integral to Alibaba’s rise to create an authoritative, compelling narrative account of how Alibaba and its charismatic creator have transformed the way that Chinese exercise their new found economic freedom, inspiring entrepreneurs around the world and infuriating others, turning the tables on the Silicon Valley giants who have tried to stand in his way. Duncan explores vital questions about the company’s past, present, and future: How, from such unremarkable origins, did Jack Ma build Alibaba? What explains his relentless drive and his ability to outsmart his competitors? With over 80% of China’s e-commerce market, how long can the company hope to maintain its dominance? As the company sets its sights on the country’s financial and media markets, are there limits to Alibaba’s ambitions, or will the Chinese government act to curtail them? And as it set up shop from LA and San Francisco to Seattle, how will Alibaba grow its presence and investments in the US and other international markets?Clark tells Alibaba’s tale within the wider story of China’s economic explosion—the rise of the private sector and the expansion of Internet usage—that haver powered the country’s rise to become the world’s second largest economy and largest Internet population, twice the size of the United States. He also explores the political and social context for these momentous changes. An expert insider with unrivaled connections, Clark has a deep understanding of Chinese business mindset. He illuminates an unlikely corporate titan as never before, and examines the key role his company has played in transforming China while increasing its power and presence worldwide.
Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are
by Seth Stephens-DavidowitzForeword by Steven PinkerBlending the informed analysis of The Signal and the Noise with the instructive iconoclasm of Think Like a Freak, a fascinating, illuminating, and witty look at what the vast amounts of information now instantly available to us reveals about ourselves and our world—provided we ask the right questions.By the end of on average day in the early twenty-first century, human beings searching the internet will amass eight trillion gigabytes of data. This staggering amount of information—unprecedented in history—can tell us a great deal about who we are—the fears, desires, and behaviors that drive us, and the conscious and unconscious decisions we make. From the profound to the mundane, we can gain astonishing knowledge about the human psyche that less than twenty years ago, seemed unfathomable. Everybody Lies offers fascinating, surprising, and sometimes laugh-out-loud insights into everything from economics to ethics to sports to race to sex, gender and more, all drawn from the world of big data. What percentage of white voters didn’t vote for Barack Obama because he’s black? Does where you go to school effect how successful you are in life? Do parents secretly favor boy children over girls? Do violent films affect the crime rate? Can you beat the stock market? How regularly do we lie about our sex lives and who’s more self-conscious about sex, men or women? Investigating these questions and a host of others, Seth Stephens-Davidowitz offers revelations that can help us understand ourselves and our lives better. Drawing on studies and experiments on how we really live and think, he demonstrates in fascinating and often funny ways the extent to which all the world is indeed a lab. With conclusions ranging from strange-but-true to thought-provoking to disturbing, he explores the power of this digital truth serum and its deeper potential—revealing biases deeply embedded within us, information we can use to change our culture, and the questions we’re afraid to ask that might be essential to our health—both emotional and physical. All of us are touched by big data everyday, and its influence is multiplying. Everybody Lies challenges us to think differently about how we see it and the world.
Strategy Rules
by Michael A. Cusumano David B. YoffieBetween 1968 and 1976, Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs launched three companies that would define the world of high technology, create more than a trillion dollars in value, and transform our lives. How did they realize these incredible achievements? Strategy Rules examines these three individuals collectively for the first time--their successes and failures, comonalities and differences--revealing the business strategies and practices they pioneered while building their firms.Eminent business professors David Yoffie and Michael Cusumano have studied these three leaders and their companies for nearly thirty years, while teaching business strategy, innovation, and entrepreneurship at Harvard Business School and the MIT Sloan School of Management. In this enlightening guide, they show how Gates, Grove, and Jobs became masters of strategy. As CEOs, each approached strategy and execution in remarkably similar ways--yet markedly differently from their erstwhile competitors--keeping their focus on five rules: Look Forward, Reason Back: They determined where they want their companies to be in the future and could "reason back" to identify the moves that would take them there. Make Big Bets, Without Betting the Company: All three men made enormous strategic bets but rarely took gambles that put the financial viability of their companies at undue risk. Build Platforms and Ecosystems: Technology leaders have to create industry platforms that enable other firms to create complementary products and services that make the platforms increasingly valuable. Exploit Leverage and Power: Gates, Grove, and Jobs often turned opponents' strengths into weaknesses and used enormous resources (once they had them) to dominate competitors. Shape the Company around Your Personal Anchor: From Gates' understanding of software to Grove's devotion to process discipline and Jobs' obsession with design, all three built their companies around their personal strengths while compensating for their weaknesses.Strategy Rules brings together the best practices in strategic management and high-tech entrepreneurship, providing unique insights for start-up executives as well as the heads of modern multinationals.
Digital Gold
by Nathaniel PopperBitcoin, the landmark digital money and financial technology, has spawned a global social movement with utopian ambitions. The notion of a new currency, maintained by the computers of users around the world, has been the butt of many jokes, but that has not stopped it from growing into a technology worth billions of dollars, supported by the hordes of followers who have come to view it as the most important new idea since the creation of the internet.Believers from Beijing to Buenos Aires see the potential for a financial system free from banks and governments, and a new global money for the digital age. An unusual tale of group invention, Digital Gold tells the story of the colorful characters who have built Bitcoin, including a Finnish college student, an Argentinian millionaire, a Chinese entrepreneur, Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Bitcoin's elusive creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, and the founder of the Silk Road online drug market, Ross Ulbricht.With Digital Gold, New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper offers a brilliant and engrossing account of this new technology--one filled with dramatic booms and busts that have led to untold riches for some and prison terms for others. But at each step of the way, Bitcoin has provided one of the most fascinating tests of how money works, who benefits from it, and what it might look like in the future.
Active Memory
by Dan WellsFrom Dan Wells, author of the New York Times bestselling Partials Sequence, comes the third installment in a thrilling sci-fi noir series set in 2050 Los Angeles.Even in a world where technology connects everyone’s minds, it would seem that some secrets can still remain hidden.For all the mysteries teen hacker Marisa Carneseca has solved, one has always eluded her: When she was two years old, she was in a car accident in which she lost her arm and a mob boss’s wife, Zenaida de Maldonado, lost her life. No one can tell her what she was doing in that car, or how it led to the feud between the Carnesecas and the Maldonados. The secrets from the past rise violently to the surface when Zenaida's freshly severed hand shows up at the scene of a gangland shooting. If Zenaida is—or was—still alive, it means there’s even more about Marisa’s past that she doesn’t know.And when everyone from Los Angeles gangs to the world’s largest genetic engineering firms becomes involved in the case, it’s clear there’s more happening under the surface than anyone cares to admit.The truth is out there, and Marisa will have to thread together lost friends, corporate assassins, a gang lord’s digital brain, and what might be a literal ghost from the past in order to find it.
When You Find Out the World Is Against You: And Other Funny Memories About Awful Moments
by Kelly Oxford“Kelly is part geek, part freak. When You Find Out The World Is Against You shows us ourselves: our sensitivities, our awkward moments, our strange desires. She takes us through summer camp, dating, rape culture, Trump, death . . . Kelly Oxford c’est moi.” — James Franco“Two things I’m grateful for: how imperfect Kelly Oxford is at life and decision-making, and how terrific she is at writing about what a goddamn mess she is.” — Patton Oswalt“Kelly Oxford’s writing is hilarious and fearless. She’s the badass Canadian sister I never had.” — Mindy Kaling“I have worshipped the mind of Kelly Oxford for eons. Kelly Oxford’s concise, whip-smart observations feel eerily universal. When You Find Out the World is Against You shows that there is something to be learned from even the most absurd or devastating moments of life.” — Jill Soloway“Kelly Oxford is a beautiful writer. She finds beauty in the mundane and humor in everyday eccentricities. She is our present-day, funny Joan Didion.” — Gia Coppola
Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future
by Ashlee Vance<p>In the spirit of Steve Jobs and Moneyball, <i>Elon Musk</i> is both an illuminating and authorized look at the extraordinary life of one of Silicon Valley's most exciting, unpredictable, and ambitious entrepreneurs--a real-life Tony Stark--and a fascinating exploration of the renewal of American invention and its new "makers". <p>Ashlee Vance spotlights the technology and vision of Elon Musk, the renowned entrepreneur and innovator behind SpaceX, Tesla, and SolarCity, who sold one of his Internet companies, PayPal, for $1.5 billion. Ashlee Vance captures the full spectacle and arc of the genius's life and work, from his tumultuous upbringing in South Africa and flight to the United States to his dramatic technical innovations and entrepreneurial pursuits. <p>Vance uses Musk's story to explore one of the pressing questions of our age: can the nation of inventors and creators who led the modern world for a century still compete in an age of fierce global competition? He argues that Musk--one of the most unusual and striking figures in American business history--is a contemporary, visionary amalgam of legendary inventors and industrialists including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Howard Hughes, and Steve Jobs. More than any other entrepreneur today, Musk has dedicated his energies and his own vast fortune to inventing a future that is as rich and far-reaching as the visionaries of the golden age of science-fiction fantasy. <p>Thorough and insightful, <i>Elon Musk</i> brings to life a technology industry that is rapidly and dramatically changing by examining the life of one of its most powerful and influential titans.</p> <p><b>A New York Times Bestseller</b></p>
Explore/Create: My Life in Pursuit of New Frontiers, Hidden Worlds, and the Creative Spark
by Richard Garriott David FisherAn inventor, adventurer, entrepreneur, collector, and entertainer, and son of legendary scientist-astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard Garriott de Cayeux has been behind some of the most exciting undertakings of our time. A legendary pioneer of the online gaming industry—and a member of every gaming Hall of Fame—Garriott invented the multi-player online game, and coined the term “Avatar” to describe an individual’s online character.A lifelong adventurer and member of the Explorers Club, Garriott has used the fortune he amassed from the gaming business to embark on a number of thrilling expeditions. He has plumbed the depths of the Atlantic ocean to see the remains of the Titanic, hunted for meteorites in Antarctica, and in 2008 became one of the first private citizens to be launched into space. Richard has been one of the foremost pioneers of the private space industry, investing his time and energy into making space travel more accessible.In this fascinating memoir, Garriott invites readers on the great adventure that is his life. Yet his is no ordinary autobiography; throughout, Garriott engages readers with interactive activities and challenges them with “secret codes” for his games. An audacious genius with an insatiable curiosity and an irrepressible playfulness, Garriott takes readers on an unforgettable intellectual experience that is enlightening, adventurous, and fun.
Terms of Service: Social Media and the Price of Constant Connection
by Jacob SilvermanSocial networking has grown into a staple of modern society, but its continued evolution is becoming increasingly detrimental to our lives. Shifts in communication and privacy are affecting us more than we realize or understand. Terms of Service crystalizes this current moment in technology and contemplates its implications: the identity-validating pleasures and perils of online visibility; our newly adopted view of daily life through the lens of what is share-worthy; and the surveillance state operated by social media platforms—Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others—to mine our personal data for advertising revenue, an invasion of our lives that is as pervasive as government spying.Jacob Silverman calls for social media users to take back ownership of their digital selves from the Silicon Valley corporations who claim to know what's best for them. Integrating politics, sociology, national security, pop culture, and technology, he reveals the surprising conformity at the heart of Internet culture—explaining how social media companies engineer their products to encourage shallow engagement and discourage dissent. Reflecting on the collapsed barriers between our private and public lives, Silverman brings into focus the inner conflict we feel when deciding what to share and what to "like," and explains how we can take the steps we need to free ourselves from its grip.
Console Wars: Sega, Nintendo, and the Battle that Defined a Generation
by Blake J. HarrisNow a documentary on CBS All Access. Following the success of The Accidental Billionaires and Moneyball comes Console Wars—a mesmerizing, behind-the-scenes business thriller that chronicles how Sega, a small, scrappy gaming company led by an unlikely visionary and a team of rebels, took on the juggernaut Nintendo and revolutionized the video game industry. In 1990, Nintendo had a virtual monopoly on the video game industry. Sega, on the other hand, was just a faltering arcade company with big aspirations and even bigger personalities. But that would all change with the arrival of Tom Kalinske, a man who knew nothing about videogames and everything about fighting uphill battles. His unconventional tactics, combined with the blood, sweat and bold ideas of his renegade employees, transformed Sega and eventually led to a ruthless David-and-Goliath showdown with rival Nintendo.The battle was vicious, relentless, and highly profitable, eventually sparking a global corporate war that would be fought on several fronts: from living rooms and schoolyards to boardrooms and Congress. It was a once-in-a-lifetime, no-holds-barred conflict that pitted brother against brother, kid against adult, Sonic against Mario, and the US against Japan.Based on over two hundred interviews with former Sega and Nintendo employees, Console Wars is the underdog tale of how Kalinske miraculously turned an industry punchline into a market leader. It’s the story of how a humble family man, with an extraordinary imagination and a gift for turning problems into competitive advantages, inspired a team of underdogs to slay a giant and, as a result, birth a $60 billion dollar industry.A best book of the year: NPR, Slate, Publishers Weekly, Goodreads
#AskGaryVee: One Entrepreneur's Take on Leadership, Social Media, and Self-Awareness
by Gary VaynerchukThe New York Times bestselling author draws from his popular show #AskGaryVee to offer surprising, often outrageous, and imminently useful and honest answers to everything you’ve ever wanted to know—and more—about navigating the new world.Gary Vaynerchuk—the inspiring and unconventional entrepreneur who introduced us to the concept of crush it—knows how to get things done, have fun, and be massively successful. A marketing and business genius, Gary had the foresight to go beyond traditional methods and use social media tools such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to reach an untapped audience that continues to grow.#AskGaryVee showcases the most useful and interesting questions Gary has addressed on his popular show. Distilling and expanding on the podcast’s most urgent and evergreen themes, Gary presents practical, timely, and timeless advice on marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and everything else you’ve been afraid to ask but are dying to know. Gary gives you the insights and information you need on everything from effectively using Twitter to launching a small business, hiring superstars to creating a personal brand, launching products effectively to staying healthy—and even buying wine.Whether you’re planning to start your own company, working in digital media, or have landed your first job in a traditional company, #AskGaryVee is your essential guide to making things happen in a big way.