"An exciting new book about real-life technology derived from science fiction and its impact on the world"-- "Science fiction is a vital part of popular culture, influencing the way we all look at the world. TV shows like Star Trek and movies from Forbidden Planet to Inception have influenced scientists to enter the profession and have shaped our futures. Science fiction doesn't set out to predict what will happen - it's far more about how human...

"In the twelve unforgettable tales of Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century, the strange is made familiar and the familiar strange, such that a girl growing wings on her legs feels like an ordinary rite of passage, while a bug-infested house becomes an impossible, Kafkaesque nightmare. Each story builds a new world all its own: a group of children steal a haunted doll; a runaway bride encounters a sea monster; a vendor sells toy boxes that seemingly...

Reveals how books and the materials that make them reflect the history of human civilization, tracing the development of writing, printing, illustrating, and binding to demonstrate the transition from cuneiform tablets and papyrus scrolls to the mass-distributed books of today. "We may love books, but do we know what lies behind them? In The Book, Keith Houston reveals that the paper, ink, thread, glue, and board from which a book is made tell as...

A nascent AI, assisted by droids, continues to edge toward world domination and the ruin of humankind, accepting no limits. It fears no one, except John Connor. The machines know John, now 16, is the future head of the resistance and know of his growing abilities. They must find and terminate him. But Sarah Connor is there, protecting and instructing her son as he becomes the man he's destined to be. There will be powerful revelations, breathless...