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The Shark Mutiny (Arnold Morgan #5)
by Patrick RobinsonAn oil tanker mysteriously explodes in the Persian Gulf. Then a second . . . and a third. To the President's National Security Adviser Admiral Arnold Morgan it is more than a tragic coincidence-it is a brazen act of aggression that must not stand. In partnership with Iran, the Chinese navy has mined the Strait of Hormuz, intending to hold the world's oil supply hostage. Now eighty percent of America's active sea power is being mobilized-including U.S.S. Shark, an aging nuclear submarine on its final tour of duty-to dismantle a deadly alliance between two powerful enemies. But something goes terribly wrong during a bold retaliatory SEAL assault on China's Indian Ocean power plants-a disaster that spawns death, disbelief, rage . . . and rebellion. And with a volatile world on the brink of catastrophic conflict, the commanders of a nuclear boat in the twilight of glory must confront a nightmare as devastating as it is unthinkable: mutiny!
Evolution's Captain: The Story of the Kidnapping That Led to Charles Darwin's Voyage Aboard the "Beagle"
by Peter NicholsThis is the story of the man without whom the name Charles Darwin might be unknown to us today. That man was Captain Robert FitzRoy, who invited the 22-year-old Darwin to be his companion on board the Beagle .This is the remarkable story of how a misguided decision by Robert FitzRoy, captain of HMS Beagle , precipitated his employment of a young naturalist named Charles Darwin, and how the clash between FitzRoy’s fundamentalist views and Darwin’s discoveries led to FitzRoy’s descent into the abyss.One of the great ironies of history is that the famous journey—wherein Charles Darwin consolidated the earth-rattling ‘origin of the species’ discoveries—was conceived by another man: Robert FitzRoy. It was FitzRoy who chose Darwin for the journey—not because of Darwin’s scientific expertise, but because he seemed a suitable companion to help FitzRoy fight back the mental illness that had plagued his family for generations. Darwin did not give FitzRoy solace; indeed, the clash between the two men’s opposing views, together with the ramifications of Darwin’s revelations, provided FitzRoy with the final unendurable torment that forced him to end his own life.
The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink
by Robert D. MorrisWith the keen eyes of a scientist and the sensibilities of a seasoned writer, Dr. Robert Morris chronicles the fascinating and at times frightening story of our drinking water. His gripping narrative vividly recounts the epidemics that have shaken cities and nations, the scientists who reached into the invisible and emerged with controversial truths that would save millions of lives, and the economic and political forces that opposed these researchers in a ferocious war of ideas. In the gritty world of nineteenth-century England, amid the ravages of cholera, Morris introduces John Snow, the physician who proved that the deadly disease could be hidden in a drop of water. Decades later in the deserts of Africa, the story follows Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch as they raced to find the cause of cholera and a means to prevent its spread. In the twentieth century, burgeoning cities would subdue cholera and typhoid by bending rivers to their will, building massive filtration plants, and bubbling poisonous gas through their drinking water. However, with the arrival of the new millennium, the demon of waterborne disease is threatening to reemerge, and a growing body of research has linked the chlorine relied on for water treatment with cancer and stillbirths.In The Blue Death, Morris dispels notions of fail-safe water systems. Along the way he reveals some shocking truths: the millions of miles of leaking water mains, constantly evolving microorganisms, and the looming threat of bioterrorism, which may lead to catastrophe. Across time and around the world, this riveting account offers alarming information about the natural and man-made hazards present in the very water we drink.
The Last Lone Inventor: A Tale of Genius, Deceit, and the Birth of Television
by Evan I. Schwartz“…Fascinating… A riveting American classic of independent brilliance versus corporate arrogance. I found it more fun than fiction.” — James Bradley, author of Flags of Our Fathers“… The fascinating inside story of how this eccentric loner invented television and fought corporate America.” — Walter Isaacson, chariman, CNN“…Compelling…Strong, dramatic prose…” — Kirkus Reviews“…A lively and engaging account.” — Library Journal“[A] gripping and eminently readable saga of the birth of television and the death of the Edisonian myth.” — Darwin magazine
Master Mind: The Rise & Fall of Fritz Haber, the Nobel Laureate Who Launched the Age of Chemical Warfare
by Daniel CharlesFRITZ HABER -- a Nobel laureate in chemistry, a friend of Albert Einstein, a German Jew and World War I hero -- may be the most important scientist you have never heard of. The Haber-Bosch process, which he invented at the turn of the twentieth century, revolutionized agriculture by converting nitrogen to fertilizer in quantities massive enough to feed the world. The invention has become an essential pillar for life on earth; some two billion people on our planet could not survive without it. Yet this same process supplied the German military with explosives during World War I, and Haber orchestrated Germany's use of an entirely new weapon -- poison gas. Eventually, Haber's efforts led to Zyklon B, the gas later used to kill millions -- including Haber's own relatives -- in Nazi concentration camps.Haber is the patron saint of guns and butter, a scientist whose discoveries transformed the way we produce food and fight wars. His legacy is filled with contradictions, as was his personality. For some, he was a benefactor of humanity and devoted friend. For others, he was a war criminal, possessed by raw ambition. An intellectual gunslinger, enamored of technical progress and driven by patriotic devotion to Germany, he was instrumental in the scientific work that inadvertently supported the Nazi cause; a Jew and a German patriot, he was at once an enabler of the Nazi regime and its victim.Master Mind is a thought-provoking biography of this controversial scientist, a modern Faust who personifies the paradox of science, its ability to create and to destroy. It offers a complete chronicle of his tumultuous and ultimately tragic life, from his childhood and rise to prominence in the heady days of the German Empire to his disgrace and exile at the hands of the Nazis; from early decades as the hero who eliminated the threat of starvation to his lingering legacy as a villain whose work led to the demise of millions.
Rocketeers: Visionaries and Daredevils of the New Sp
by Michael Belfiore“That this story is still unfolding makes it especially exciting to read. These men are still in their workshops, tinkering their way into orbit.” —David Gelles, FORBESOn June 21, 2004, SpaceShipOne, built by aircraft designer Burt Rutan, entered space and ushered in the commercial space age. Investment capital began to pour into the new commercial spaceflight industry. Richard Branson’s VirginGalactic plans to ferry space tourists out of the atmosphere. Las Vegas hotelier Robert Bigelow is developing the world’s first commercial space station (i.e., space hotel). These space entrepreneurs, including Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, now see space as the next big thing.In Rocketeers, Michael Belfiore goes behind the scenes of this nascent industry, capturing its wild-west, anything-goes flavor. Likening his research to “hanging out in the Wright brothers’ barn,” Belfiore offers an inspiring and entertaining look at the people who are not afraid to make their bold dreams a reality.“The commercial space race is heating up so fast you need a cheat sheet to keep track of all the billionaires and gamblers vying to be the first private entrepreneur to blast paying customers into orbit. [Belfiore] does a stellar job introducing an intriguing cast of characters.” —Mark Horowitz, Wired“The privatization of space travel is an essential step toward realizing our cosmic destiny. In his engaging, highly readable Rocketeers, Michael Belfiore tells the fascinating story of the entrepreneurs who have already made it happen.” —Buzz Aldrin“A riveting, you-are-there account of how this ragtag collection of innovative thinkers, brave pilots, and bold visionaries is—right now—launching one of the most exciting new industries in history. Belfiore’s eloquent writing and exhaustive reporting really bring this mysterious, secretive world to life.” —Eric Adams, Popular Science
Officer Spence Makes No Sense! (My Weird School Daze #5)
by Dan GutmanThe weirdness never stops! <p><p> The security guard at Ella Mentry School has gone off the deep end! Somebody is stealing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from the vomitorium, and Officer Spence is on the case. He's arresting everybody in sight! Somebody is going to go to jail! Who is it? You'll have to read the book to find out.
Mrs. Jafee Is Daffy! (My Weird School Daze #6)
by Jim Paillot Dan GutmanThe weirdness never stops! <p><p> The new vice principal of Ella Mentry School has some crazy ideas on how to teach kids. A.J. and the gang have to stand on their heads while they do math! They have to take a spelling test underwater! Everybody has to do yoga! Could it possibly get any weirder?
Highest Duty: My Search for What Really Matters
by Chesley B. Sullenberger Jeffrey ZaslowIn this inspirational autobiography, Captain "Sully" Sullenberger, the airline pilot whose emergency landing on the Hudson River earned the world's admiration, tells his life story and talks about the essential qualities that he believes have been so vital to his success. In January 2009, the world witnessed one of the most remarkable emergency landings in history when Captain Sullenberger brought a crippled US Airways flight onto the Hudson River, saving the lives of all of the passengers and crew aboard. The successful outcome was the result of effective teamwork, Sully's dedication to airline safety, his belief that a pilot's judgment must go hand-in-hand with-- and can never be replaced by-- technology, and forty years of careful practice and training. From his earliest memories of learning to fly as a teenager in a crop duster's single-engine plane in the skies above rural Texas to his years in the United States Air Force at the controls of a powerful F-4 Phantom, Sully describes the experiences that have helped make him a better leader, particularly the importance of taking responsibility for everyone in his care. And he talks about what he believes is at the heart of America's "can do" spirit: the very human drive to prepare for the unexpected and to meet it with optimism and courage. His wife, Lorrie, has been a pillar of support through all the highs and lows that life has offered, from the challenges of commercial flying to the birth of their two daughters, from financial struggles to the event of January 15, 2009. Though the world may remember Sully as the hero of Flight 1549, the legacy he desires even more is that of a loving husband and father. Highest Duty is the intimate story of a man who has grown up to embrace what we think of as quintessential American values-- leadership, responsibility, commitment to hard work, and service to others. And it is a narrative that reminds us that cultivating seemingly ordinary virtues can prepare us to perform extraordinary acts. 31 pages of photo captions are included at the end.
Dr. Brad Has Gone Mad! (My Weird School Daze #7)
by Jim Paillot Dan GutmanThe weirdness never stops! Ella Mentry School's counselor wants everybody to stop arguing and get along with one another. He wants everybody to be polite! He wants everybody to live in peace and harmony! What is his problem? Now the boys have to play with dolls! The girls have to play with action figures! And that's only the start of Dr. Brad's weird methods. . . .
The Rare and the Beautiful: How the Garman Sisters Captured the Heart of Bohemian London
by Cressida ConnollyLike the better-known Mitfords, the Garman sisters took center stage in Bohemian London during the first half of the twentieth century. Beautiful, flamboyant, and headstrong, they broke away from middle-class conventions, seducing and inspiring a generation of artists. Kathleen, an enigmatic artist's model and aspiring pianist, was the lover and, later, wife of controversial American-born sculptor Jacob Epstein. Mary married the maverick poet Roy Campbell, whose verse attack on the Bloomsbury group following Mary's affair with Vita Sackville-West was the literary scandal of the epoch. Lorna, the youngest and most beautiful of the sisters, was the lover of both the painter Lucian Freud and the poet Laurie Lee.The Rare and the Beautiful offers the first portrait of a beguiling band of eccentric siblings who possessed an uncanny ability to turn heads, break hearts, and spark creative genius. Set against the exciting backdrop of London's decadent subculture, it evokes their extraordinary milieu of high culture, drama, and scandal.
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Democracy, the Internet, and the Overthrow of Everything
by Joe TrippiIn a blend of Wired magazine and The Boys on the Bus, the man who invented Internet politics tells the story of how it was done and reveals how every sector can benefit from tech revolution.Campaign manager Joe Trippi, who signed on to run Howard Dean’s campaign when there was less than $100,000 in the till and fewer than 500 people involved, transformed the most obsure candidate in the field into the Democratic frontrunner and all-but-coronated party nominee in less than a year. The secret of Trippi’s off-the-charts success: a revolutionary use of the Internet, and an impassioned, contagious desire to overthrow politics-as-usual. Before Dean knew it, he had a groundswell of 600,000 Americans behind him, was leading in every poll, and had raised $45 million—more money than any Democrat in history. We now know that unprecedented fundraising, unheard-of numbers of people checking in on the Internet, chatting on blogs, reaching out to their fellow voters and showing up at house parties really can compete with—and in so many ways exceed— the more traditional approaches to winning in politics. But the why’s and how’s leave much fertile ground to plow, and for the first time, Trippi, an icon to all the Dean supporters he energized, is sharing his lessons learned, along with colorful behind-the-scenes stories from the campaign trail. Perhaps lulled by the bust of the dot.com boom, many have dismissed the Internet as old news. But if Dean’s campaign wasn’t enough of a wake-up call, this book is: Trippi reveals just how the sleeping power of technology can be harnessed, and illuminates how every organization and individual in America can benefit from the tidal wave of change on the horizon.
The Department of Mad Scientists: How DARPA Is Remaking Our World, from the Internet to Artificial Limbs
by Michael BelfioreThe first-ever inside look at DARPA—the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency—the maverick and controversial group whose futuristic work has had amazing civilian and military applications, from the Internet to GPS to driverless cars America's greatest idea factory isn't Bell Labs, Silicon Valley, or MIT's Media Lab. It's the secretive, Pentagon-led agency known as DARPA. Founded by Eisenhower in response to Sputnik and the Soviet space program, DARPA mixes military officers with sneaker-wearing scientists, seeking paradigm-shifting ideas in varied fields—from energy, robotics, and rockets to peopleless operating rooms, driverless cars, and planes that can fly halfway around the world in just hours. DARPA gave birth to the Internet, GPS, and mind-controlled robotic arms. Its geniuses define future technology for the military and the rest of us.Michael Belfiore was given unprecedented access to write this first-ever popular account of DARPA. Visiting research sites across the country, he watched scientists in action and talked to the creative, fearlessly ambitious visionaries working for and with DARPA. Much of DARPA's work is classified, and this book is full of material that has barely been reported in the general media. In fact, DARPA estimates that only 2 percent of Americans know much of anything about the agency. This fascinating read demonstrates that DARPA isn't so much frightening as it is inspiring—it is our future.
Whiplash: Whiplash (Dreamland Thrillers #11)
by Dale Brown Jim DeFeliceA high-tech covert strike force takes aim at a nuclear armed extremist in the New York Times–bestselling co-author’s military techno-thriller.The world is watching as the U.S. and Iran agree to lay down their swords. But one man hiding in Africa holds the power to obliterate the peace. Shrouded by the bloody madness of tribal warfare, Iranian functionary-turned-fanatic Bani Aberhadji has created a vast network dedicated to unleashing a nuclear nightmare. Only by chance are American agents now learning of its existence . . . and it may already be too late.The covert strike force Whiplash is armed and ready to spring into action. Born from the ashes of Dreamland, it possesses the most cutting-edge military technology on Earth. But Aberhadji’s web of death is wide and well concealed . . . and the doomsday clock is ticking.
Cyber War: The Next Threat to National Security and What to Do About It
by Richard A. Clarke Robert KnakeRichard A. Clarke warned America once before about the havoc terrorism would wreak on our national security--and he was right. Now he warns us of another threat, silent but equally dangerous. Cyber War is a powerful book about technology, government, and military strategy; about criminals, spies, soldiers, and hackers. This is the first book about the war of the future--cyber war--and a convincing argument that we may already be in peril of losing it. Cyber War goes behind the "geek talk" of hackers and computer scientists to explain clearly and convincingly what cyber war is, how cyber weapons work, and how vulnerable we are as a nation and as individuals to the vast and looming web of cyber criminals. From the first cyber crisis meeting in the White House a decade ago to the boardrooms of Silicon Valley and the electrical tunnels under Manhattan, Clarke and coauthor Robert K. Knake trace the rise of the cyber age and profile the unlikely characters and places at the epicenter of the battlefield. They recount the foreign cyber spies who hacked into the office of the Secretary of Defense, the control systems for U.S. electric power grids, and the plans to protect America's latest fighter aircraft. Economically and militarily, Clarke and Knake argue, what we've already lost in the new millennium's cyber battles is tantamount to the Soviet and Chinese theft of our nuclear bomb secrets in the 1940s and 1950s. The possibilities of what we stand to lose in an all-out cyber war--our individual and national security among them-- are just as chilling. Powerful and convincing, Cyber War begins the critical debate about the next great threat to national security.
Mr. Docker Is Off His Rocker! (My Weird School #10)
by Jim Paillot Dan Gutman<P>Something weird is going on! <P>Mr. Docker must be a mad scientist! He does nutty experiments and he has an evil, demented, cackling laugh. Plus he invented a car that runs onto potatoes. Mr. Docker is the weirdest science teacher ever! Is he trying to take over the world?
Mr. Granite Is from Another Planet! (My Weird School Daze #3)
by Jim Paillot Dan GutmanIt's the start of a new school year, and A.J.'s third-grade teacher, Mr. Granite, is out of this world! He's a supergenius who talks weird, acts weird, and looks weird. He knows everything. Is he a computer posing as a person, or does he come from another planet?
Beef: The Untold Story of How Milk, Meat, and Muscle Shaped the World
by Andrew Rimas Evan FraserThe cow. The most industrious animal in the world. A beast central to human existence since time began, it has played a vital role in our history not only as a source of food, but also as a means of labor, an economic resource, an inspiration for art, and even as a religious icon. Prehistoric people painted it on cave walls; explorers, merchants, and landowners traded it as currency; many cultures worshipped it as a god. So how did it come to occupy the sorry state it does today—more factory product than animal?In Beef, Andrew Rimas and Evan D. G. Fraser answer that question, telling the story of cattle in its entirety. From the powerful auroch, a now extinct beast once revered as a mystical totem, to the dairy cows of seventeenth-century Holland to the frozen meat patties and growth hormones of today, the authors deliver an engaging panoramic view of the cow's long and colorful history.Peppered with lively anecdotes, recipes, and culinary tidbits, Beef tells a story that spans the globe, from ancient Mediterranean bullfighting rings to the rugged grazing grounds of eighteenth-century England, from the quiet farms of Japan's Kobe beef cows to crowded American stockyards to remote villages in East Africa, home of the Masai, a society to which cattle mean everything. Leaving no stone unturned in its exploration of the cow's legacy, the narrative serves not only as a compelling story but as a call to arms, offering practical solutions for confronting the current condition of the wasteful beef and dairy industries. Beef is a captivating history of an animal whose relationship with humanity has shaped the world as we know it, and readers will never look at steak the same way again.
Reinventing Gravity: A Physicist Goes Beyond Einstein
by John W. MoffatEinstein's gravity theory—his general theory of relativity—has served as the basis for a series of astonishing cosmological discoveries. But what if, nonetheless, Einstein got it wrong?Since the 1930s, physicists have noticed an alarming discrepancy between the universe as we see it and the universe that Einstein's theory of relativity predicts. There just doesn't seem to be enough stuff out there for everything to hang together. Galaxies spin so fast that, based on the amount of visible matter in them, they ought to be flung to pieces, the same way a spinning yo-yo can break its string. Cosmologists tried to solve the problem by positing dark matter—a mysterious, invisible substance that surrounds galaxies, holding the visible matter in place—and particle physicists, attempting to identify the nature of the stuff, have undertaken a slew of experiments to detect it. So far, none have.Now, John W. Moffat, a physicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada, offers a different solution to the problem. The capstone to a storybook career—one that began with a correspondence with Einstein and a conversation with Niels Bohr—Moffat's modified gravity theory, or MOG, can model the movements of the universe without recourse to dark matter, and his work challenging the constancy of the speed of light raises a stark challenge to the usual models of the first half-million years of the universe's existence. This bold new work, presenting the entirety of Moffat's hypothesis to a general readership for the first time, promises to overturn everything we thought we knew about the origins and evolution of the universe.
The Hungry Scientist Handbook
by Patrick Buckley Lily BinnsInventive, (mostly) edible DIY gadgets and projects guaranteed to captivate The Hungry Scientist Handbook brings DIY technology into the kitchen and onto the plate. It compiles the most mouthwatering projects created by mechanical engineer Patrick Buckley and his band of intrepid techie friends, whose collaboration on contraptions started at a memorable 2005 Bay Area dinner party and resulted in the formation of the Hungry Scientist Society--a loose confederation of creative minds dedicated to the pursuit of projects possessing varying degrees of whimsy and utility. Featuring twenty projects ranging from edible origami to glowing lollipops, cryogenic martinis to Tupperware boom boxes, the book draws from the expertise of programmers, professors, and garden-variety geeks and offers something to delight DIYers of all skill levels.
A Splintered History of Wood: Belt-Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers & Baseball Bats
by Spike CarlsenIn a world without wood, we might not be here at all. Without wood, we wouldn't have had the fire, heat, and shelter that allowed us to expand into the colder regions of the planet. If civilization somehow did develop, our daily lives still would be vastly different: there would be no violins, baseball bats, chopsticks, or wine corks. The book you are now holding wouldn't exist. At the same time, many of us are removed from the world where wood is shaped and celebrated every day. That world is inhabited by a unique assortment of eccentric craftsmen and passionate enthusiasts who have created some of the world's most beloved musical instruments, feared weapons, dazzling architecture, sacred relics, and bizarre forms of transportation. In A Splintered History of Wood, Spike Carlsen has uncovered the most outlandish characters and examples, from world-champion chainsaw carvers to blind woodworkers, the Miraculous Staircase to the Lindbergh kidnapping case, and many more, in a passionate and personal exploration of nature's greatest gift.
The Battery: How Portable Power Sparked a Technological Revolution
by Henry SchlesingerIn the tradition of Mark Kurlansky's Cod and David Bodanis's E=MC2, The Battery is the first popular history of the technology that harnessed electricity and powered the greatest scientific and technological advances of our time.What began as a long-running dispute in biology, involving a dead frog's twitching leg, a scalpel, and a metal plate, would become an invention that transformed the history of the world: the battery. From Alessandro Volta's first copper-and-zinc model in 1800 to twenty-first-century technological breakthroughs, science journalist Henry Schlesinger traces the history of this essential power source and demonstrates its impact on our lives.Volta's first battery not only settled the frog's leg question, it also unleashed a field of scientific research that led to the discovery of new elements and new inventions, from Samuel Morse's telegraph to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone to Thomas Edison's incandescent lightbulb. And recent advances like nanotechnology are poised to create a new generation of paradigm-shifting energy sources.Schlesinger introduces the charlatans and geniuses, paupers and magnates, attracted to the power of the battery, including Michael Faraday, Guglielmo Marconi, Gaylord Wilshire, and Hugo Gernsback, the publisher and would-be inventor who coined the term "science fiction." A kaleidoscopic tour of an ingenious invention that helped usher in the modern world, The Battery is as entertaining as it is enlightening.
Mrs. Lizzy Is Dizzy! (My Weird School Daze #9)
by Dan Gutman Jim PaillotThe weirdness never stops! Help! With the Recess Enrichment Program, A.J. and the gang have to take classes even during recess! The new teacher, Mrs. Lizzy, teaches how to make balloon animals, how to compost worms, and lots of other weird useless skills that nobody would ever want to know in a million hundred years!
Water: The Epic Struggle for Wealth, Power, and Civilization
by Steven Solomon“I read this wide-ranging and thoughtful book while sitting on the banks of the Ganges near Varanasi—it's a river already badly polluted, and now threatened by the melting of the loss of the glaciers at its source to global warming. Four hundred million people depend on it, and there's no backup plan. As Steven Solomon makes clear, the same is true the world over; this volume will give you the background to understand the forces that will drive much of 21st century history.” —Bill McKibben In Water, esteemed journalist Steven Solomon describes a terrifying—and all too real—world in which access to fresh water has replaced oil as the primary cause of global conflicts that increasingly emanate from drought-ridden, overpopulated areas of the world. Meticulously researched and undeniably prescient, Water is a stunningly clear-eyed action statement on what Robert F Kennedy, Jr. calls “the biggest environmental and political challenge of our time.”
Hamlet's BlackBerry: A Practical Philosophy for Building a Good Life in the Digital Age
by William PowersA crisp, passionately argued answer to the question that everyone who's grown dependent on digital devices is asking: "Where's the rest of my life?"At a time when we're all trying to make sense of our relentlessly connected lives, this revelatory book presents a bold new approach to the digital age. Part intellectual journey, part memoir, Hamlet's BlackBerry sets out to solve what William Powers calls the conundrum of connectedness. Our computers and mobile devices do wonderful things for us. But they also impose an enormous burden, making it harder for us to focus, do our best work, build strong relationships, and find the depth and fulfillment we crave.Hamlet's BlackBerry argues that we need a new way of thinking, an everyday philosophy for life with screens. To find it, Powers reaches into the past, uncovering a rich trove of ideas that have helped people manage and enjoy their connected lives for thousands of years. New technologies have always brought the mix of excitement and stress that we feel today. Drawing on some of history's most brilliant thinkers, from Plato to Shakespeare to Thoreau, he shows that digital connectedness serves us best when it's balanced by its opposite, disconnectedness. Using his own life as laboratory and object lesson, Powers demonstrates why this is the moment to revisit our relationship to screens and mobile technologies, and how profound the rewards of doing so can be. Lively, original, and entertaining, Hamlet's BlackBerry will challenge you to rethink your digital life.