279 products in Books

“An elegant and beautiful writer.” ~ Julie Ponesse, Ethics Scholar, The Democracy Fund "Funny, brilliant, and personal perspectives." ~ Jennifer Grossman, CEO, The Atlas Society "A wonderful summary of complex ideas with a beautiful personal tone." Zubin Damania, MD, host of the Internet's #1 medical news and entertainment show Did the Covid-19 lockdowns and mandates serve society’s best interests? Science alone can’t answer the question. Philosophers have important things to say about it. So do psychologists, economists, novelists, and lawyers. The 46 thinkers showcased in this elegant book by Gabrielle Bauer, drawn from a variety of disciplines and political persuasions, agree on one thing: the policies crossed the line and the world lost its way. Some are internationally famous, others merely brilliant. Together, they hone in on the social and ethical breaches of the Covid era, such as emotional manipulation, disregard for civil liberties, and a stubborn refusal to consider the harms of freezing society. The author also recounts her own efforts to make sense of the Covid landscape, from Zoom psychotherapy to a visit to lockdown-free Sweden. The book challenges us to survey the damage of the Covid-19 policies from diverse angles, its voices offering fresh perspectives on the greatest social upheaval in modern history. “Really nicely written.” ~ David Bell, Executive Committee, PANDATA, former coordinator of the WHO’s malaria diagnostics strategy “Honored to be included in this book.” ~ Aaron Kheriaty, Director, Program in Bioethics and American Democracy, Ethics and Public Policy Center “A compelling blend of down-to-earth storytelling and journalistic chops, and a perfect launching point for reflecting on the fallout of the pandemic response. Bauer collects the voices of a wide range of insightful people who should have been part of the conversation about how to manage Covid.” ~ Yvon Wang, associate professor of history, University of Toronto “A well-written account exploring important questions about the pandemic.” ~ Zeb Jamrozik, bioethicist, Monash Bioethics Centre & University of Oxford "Many of the people featured in this book have had their views and values caricatured in media coverage of Covid policy. Gabrielle Bauer captures them with respect, accuracy and nuance as a basis for properly informed debate." ~ Robert Dingwall, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Nottingham University “I especially empathized with the author's feelings during the anti-lockdown demonstrations.” ~ Ehud Qimron, Professor, Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Tel Aviv University “A superb read.” ~ Sanjeev Sabhlok, economist, Executive Director, India Policy Institute “Flattered and honored to be part of the book.” ~ Lucy McBride, internist and mental health advocate, Washington, DC

Are you ready to take your productivity to new heights with the power of artificial intelligence? Look no further than "The Ultimate Guide to ChatGPT" by Percival C. Verena! In this comprehensive guide, you'll gain a deep understanding of prompt engineering and how to leverage the cutting-edge language model ChatGPT, developed by OpenAI, to unleash your full potential. You'll learn how to use ChatGPT to boost your creativity, solve complex problems, and supercharge your workflow. With easy-to-follow explanations and practical examples, "The Ultimate Guide to ChatGPT" is perfect for anyone, whether you're a student, researcher, or professional. Here are just a few of the amazing benefits you'll get from this must-have handbook: * Discover the Secrets of Prompt Engineering: You'll gain a deep understanding of the foundations of prompt engineering and learn how it is shaping the future of AI. * Learn How to Craft Effective Prompts: You'll master the art of creating prompts that yield the best results, allowing you to unleash the full power of ChatGPT. * Optimize Your Workflow: You'll learn how to integrate ChatGPT into your workflow and make the most of your AI-powered tools to streamline your work processes. * Avoid Common Pitfalls: You'll get expert advice on how to avoid common mistakes when working with ChatGPT and ensure that you get the most out of this powerful tool. * Take Your AI Skills to the Next Level: You'll learn how to unlock the full potential of AI and apply your skills to any field, giving you a competitive edge in today's fast-paced world. Don't miss out on this opportunity to become an AI master. "The Ultimate Guide to ChatGPT" is the ultimate resource for anyone looking to harness the power of artificial intelligence to improve their productivity and achieve their goals. CLICK THE "ADD TO CART" BUTTON TO GET YOUR COPY OF "THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO CHATGPT" TODAY AND START UNLOCKING THE FULL POTENTIAL OF AI!

Master professional-level coding in Rust. For developers who’ve mastered the basics, this book is the next step on your way to professional-level programming in Rust. It covers everything you need to build and maintain larger code bases, write powerful and flexible applications and libraries, and confidently expand the scope and complexity of your projects. Author Jon Gjengset takes you deep into the Rust programming language, dissecting core topics like ownership, traits, concurrency, and unsafe code. You’ll explore key concepts like type layout and trait coherence, delve into the inner workings of concurrent programming and asynchrony with async/await, and take a tour of the world of no_std programming. Gjengset also provides expert guidance on API design, testing strategies, and error handling, and will help develop your understanding of foreign function interfaces, object safety, procedural macros, and much more. You'll Learn: * How to design reliable, idiomatic, and ergonomic Rust programs based on best principles * Effective use of declarative and procedural macros, and the difference between them * How asynchrony works in Rust – all the way from the Pin and Waker types used in manual implementations of Futures, to how async/await saves you from thinking about most of those words * What it means for code to be unsafe, and best practices for writing and interacting with unsafe functions and traits * How to organize and configure more complex Rust projects so that they integrate nicely with the rest of the ecosystem * How to write Rust code that can interoperate with non-Rust libraries and systems, or run in constrained and embedded environments Brimming with practical, pragmatic insights that you can immediately apply, Rust for Rustaceans helps you do more with Rust, while also teaching you its underlying mechanisms.

From a former senior advisor to Senator John McCain comes an urgent wake-up call about how new technologies are threatening America's military might. For generations of Americans, our country has been the world's dominant military power. How the US military fights, and the systems and weapons that it fights with, have been uncontested. That old reality, however, is rapidly deteriorating. America's traditional sources of power are eroding amid the emergence of new technologies and the growing military threat posed by rivals such as China. America is at grave risk of losing a future war. As Christian Brose reveals in this urgent wake-up call, the future will be defined by artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and other emerging technologies that are revolutionizing global industries and are now poised to overturn the model of American defense. This fascinating, if disturbing, book confronts the existential risks on the horizon, charting a way for America's military to adapt and succeed with new thinking as well as new technology. America must build a battle network of systems that enables people to rapidly understand threats, make decisions, and take military actions, the process known as "the kill chain." Examining threats from China, Russia, and elsewhere, The Kill Chain offers hope and, ultimately, insights on how America can apply advanced technologies to prevent war, deter aggression, and maintain peace  

The author of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance examines life's essential issues as he recounts the journey down the Hudson River in a sailboat of his philosopher-narrator Phaedrus.

“Instead of 1984, read this.” —Washington Post From New York Times bestselling author Lionel Shriver, a near-future novel that explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating U.S. sovereign debt default on four generations of a once-prosperous American family In 2029, the United States is engaged in a bloodless world war that will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Overnight, on the international currency exchange, the “almighty dollar” plummets in value, to be replaced by a new global currency, the “bancor.” In retaliation, the president declares that America will default on its loans. “Deadbeat Nation” being unable to borrow, the government prints money to cover its bills. What little remains to savers is rapidly eaten away by runaway inflation. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their ninety-seven-year-old patriarch dies. Once the inheritance turns to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also—as the U.S. economy spirals into dysfunction—the challenge of sheer survival. Recently affluent, Avery is petulant that she can’t buy olive oil, while her sister, Florence, absorbs strays into her cramped household. An expat author, their aunt, Nollie, returns from abroad at seventy-three to a country that’s unrecognizable. Her brother, Carter, fumes at caring for their demented stepmother, now that an assisted living facility isn’t affordable. Only Florence’s oddball teenage son, Willing, an economics autodidact, will save this formerly august American family from the streets. The Mandibles is about money. Thus it is necessarily about bitterness, rivalry, and selfishness—but also about surreal generosity, sacrifice, and transformative adaptation to changing circumstances.

The lion cannot guard himself from the toils, nor the fox from wolves. A Prince must therefore be a fox to discern toils, and a lion to drive off wolves. The modern-day term “Machiavellian” is used to describe deception, dishonesty, and cruelty to meet a goal. The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli was written as a guide for autocrats on how to govern using means that were meant to deceive and manipulate a government’s constituency—to the extent of advocating the use of evil for political expediency. In this classic work, the end justifies the means reigns paramount to Machiavelli’s system of government.

The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky with an introduction by Agnes Cardinal, Prince Myshkin returns to Russia from an asylum in Switzerland. As he becomes embroiled in the frantic amatory and financial intrigues which centre around a cast of brilliantly realised characters and which ultimately lead to tragedy, he emerges as a unique combination of the Christian ideal of perfection and Dostoevsky's own views, afflictions and manners. His serene selflessness is contrasted with the worldly qualities of every other character in the novel. Dostoevsky supplies a harsh indictment of the Russian ruling class of his day who have created a world which cannot accomodate the goodness of this idiot.

"A provocative and very funny page-turner..."--Wall Street Journal With dry wit and psychological acuity, this near-future novel explores the aftershocks of an economically devastating U.S. sovereign debt default on four generations of a once-prosperous American family. Down-to-earth and perfectly realistic in scale, this is not an over-the-top Blade Runner tale. It is not science fiction. In 2029, the United States is engaged in a bloodless world war that will wipe out the savings of millions of American families. Overnight, on the international currency exchange, the “almighty dollar” plummets in value, to be replaced by a new global currency, the “bancor.” In retaliation, the president declares that America will default on its loans. “Deadbeat Nation” being unable to borrow, the government prints money to cover its bills. What little remains to savers is rapidly eaten away by runaway inflation. The Mandibles have been counting on a sizable fortune filtering down when their ninety-seven-year-old patriarch dies. Once the inheritance turns to ash, each family member must contend with disappointment, but also—as the U.S. economy spirals into dysfunction—the challenge of sheer survival. Recently affluent, Avery is petulant that she can’t buy olive oil, while her sister, Florence, absorbs strays into her cramped household. An expat author, their aunt, Nollie, returns from abroad at seventy-three to a country that’s unrecognizable. Her brother, Carter, fumes at caring for their demented stepmother, now that an assisted living facility isn’t affordable. Only Florence’s oddball teenage son, Willing, an economics autodidact, will save this formerly august American family from the streets. The Mandibles is about money. Thus it is necessarily about bitterness, rivalry, and selfishness—but also about surreal generosity, sacrifice, and transformative adaptation to changing circumstances.

Have you, like the rest of the world, speculated as to the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, anonymous creator of Bitcoin? The world's first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin went online in 2009 and has since revolutionized our concepts of currency and money. Not supported by any government or central bank, completely electronic, Bitcoin is a virtual currency based on advanced cryptographic systems. Like the currency he created, the identity of Bitcoin's creator Satoshi Nakamoto is virtual, existing only online. The Nakamoto persona, which may represent an individual or a group, exists only in the online publications that introduced and explained Bitcoin during its earliest days. Here, collected and professionally published for the first time are the essential writings that detail Bitcoin's creation. Included are • Satoshi Nakamoto Emails and Posts on Computer Forums Presented in Chronological Order • Bitcoin Fundamentals Presented in Layman's Terms • Bitcoin's Potential and Profound Economic Implications • The Seminal Paper Which Started It All The Book of Satoshi provides a convenient way to parse through what Bitcoin's creator wrote over the span of the two years that constituted his "public life" before he disappeared from the Internet . . . at least under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Beginning on November 1st 2009 with the publication of the seminal paper describing Bitcoin, this public life ends at about the time PC World speculated as to a possible link between Bitcoin and WikiLeaks, the infamous website that publishes leaked classified materials. Was there a connection? You be the judge. Nakamoto's true identity may never be known. Therefore the writings reproduced here are probably all the world will ever hear from him concerning Bitcoin's creation, workings, and theoretical basis. Want to learn more about Bitcoin? Go directly to the source-the writings of the creator himself, Satoshi Nakamoto!

A comprehensive and authoritative exploration of Bitcoin and its place in monetary history When a pseudonymous programmer introduced “a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party” to a small online mailing list in 2008, very few people paid attention. Ten years later, and against all odds, this upstart autonomous decentralized software offers an unstoppable and globally accessible hard money alternative to modern central banks. The Bitcoin Standard analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications. While Bitcoin is an invention of the digital age, the problem it purports to solve is as old as human society itself: transferring value across time and space. Author Saifedean Ammous takes the reader on an engaging journey through the history of technologies performing the functions of money, from primitive systems of trading limestones and seashells, to metals, coins, the gold standard, and modern government debt. Exploring what gave these technologies their monetary role, and how most lost it, provides the reader with a good idea of what makes for sound money, and sets the stage for an economic discussion of its consequences for individual and societal future-orientation, capital accumulation, trade, peace, culture, and art. Compellingly, Ammous shows that it is no coincidence that the loftiest achievements of humanity have come in societies enjoying the benefits of sound monetary regimes, nor is it coincidental that monetary collapse has usually accompanied civilizational collapse. With this background in place, the book moves on to explain the operation of Bitcoin in a functional and intuitive way. Bitcoin is a decentralized, distributed piece of software that converts electricity and processing power into indisputably accurate records, thus allowing its users to utilize the Internet to perform the traditional functions of money without having to rely on, or trust, any authorities or infrastructure in the physical world. Bitcoin is thus best understood as the first successfully implemented form of digital cash and digital hard money. With an automated and perfectly predictable monetary policy, and the ability to perform final settlement of large sums across the world in a matter of minutes, Bitcoin’s real competitive edge might just be as a store of value and network for the final settlement of large payments―a digital form of gold with a built-in settlement infrastructure. Ammous’ firm grasp of the technological possibilities as well as the historical realities of monetary evolution provides for a fascinating exploration of the ramifications of voluntary free market money. As it challenges the most sacred of government monopolies, Bitcoin shifts the pendulum of sovereignty away from governments in favor of individuals, offering us the tantalizing possibility of a world where money is fully extricated from politics and unrestrained by borders. The final chapter of the book explores some of the most common questions surrounding Bitcoin: Is Bitcoin mining a waste of energy? Is Bitcoin for criminals? Who controls Bitcoin, and can they change it if they please? How can Bitcoin be killed? And what to make of all the thousands of Bitcoin knockoffs, and the many supposed applications of Bitcoin’s ‘block chain technology’? The Bitcoin Standard is the essential resource for a clear understanding of the rise of the Internet’s decentralized, apolitical, free-market alternative to national central banks.

Now a National Bestseller!  Climate change is real but it’s not the end of the world. It is not even our most serious environmental problem. Michael Shellenberger has been fighting for a greener planet for decades. He helped save the world’s last unprotected redwoods. He co-created the predecessor to today’s Green New Deal. And he led a successful effort by climate scientists and activists to keep nuclear plants operating, preventing a spike of emissions. But in 2019, as some claimed “billions of people are going to die,” contributing to rising anxiety, including among adolescents, Shellenberger decided that, as a lifelong environmental activist, leading energy expert, and father of a teenage daughter, he needed to speak out to separate science from fiction. Despite decades of news media attention, many remain ignorant of basic facts. Carbon emissions peaked and have been declining in most developed nations for over a decade. Deaths from extreme weather, even in poor nations, declined 80 percent over the last four decades. And the risk of Earth warming to very high temperatures is increasingly unlikely thanks to slowing population growth and abundant natural gas. Curiously, the people who are the most alarmist about the problems also tend to oppose the obvious solutions. What’s really behind the rise of apocalyptic environmentalism? There are powerful financial interests. There are desires for status and power. But most of all there is a desire among supposedly secular people for transcendence. This spiritual impulse can be natural and healthy. But in preaching fear without love, and guilt without redemption, the new religion is failing to satisfy our deepest psychological and existential needs.