"A rollicking history of the telephone system and the hackers who exploited its flaws." — Kirkus Reviews, starred reviewBefore smartphones, back even before the Internet and personal computers, a misfit group of technophiles, blind teenagers, hippies, and outlaws figured out how to hack the world's largest machine: the telephone system. Starting with Alexander Graham Bell's revolutionary "harmonic telegraph," by the middle of the twentieth century the phon...

The Secret Life of Money leads readers on a fascinating journey to uncover the sources of our monetary desires. By understanding why money has the power to obsess us, we gain the power to end destructive patterns and discover riches of the soul. Midas who can turn all to gold, fishermen who will not share their catch, Dorothy and her companions on the golden road to the Emerald City, Scrooge who cannot give, the hunter who shares not only food but also debt, money that falls from ...

The bestselling cyberpunk author "has produced by far the most stylish report from the computer outlaw culture since Steven Levy's Hackers" ( Publishers Weekly).Bruce Sterling delves into the world of high-tech crime and punishment in one of the first books to explore the cyberspace breaches that threaten national security. From the crash of AT&T's long-distance switching system to corporate cyberattacks, he investigates government and law enforce...

Government and politics might seem twisted today, but they’ve always been strange.There’s something about public office that, throughout time, has transcended normalcy. Politics Weird-o-Pedia presents some of the oddest and most interesting political absurdities and tidbits from around the world, from Peter the Great’s tax on beards to a lawmaker’s mistress whom he kept on the congressional payroll despite her admission that “I can't type, I can't file, I ...

The American Story of the Bookstores on Fourth Avenue from the 1890s to the 1960sNew York City has eight million stories, and this one unfolds just south of Fourteenth Street in Manhattan, on the seven blocks of Fourth Avenue bracketed by Union Square and Astor Place. There, for nearly eight decades from the 1890s to the 1960s, thrived the New York Booksellers’ Row, or Book Row.This richly anecdotal memoir features historical photographs and the rags-to-ric...

This is the story the British Expeditionary Forces part in the final days of the Advance to Victory. It starts with the massive offensive against the Hindenburg Line at the end of September 1918. Second Army launched the first of the British attacks in Flanders on the 28th, followed by Fourth Army the next day along the St Quentin Canal.Both First and Third Armies joined in, breaking the Hindenburg Line across the Lys plain and the Artois region, taking Cambrai by 10 October. The narrative...

The New York Times bestseller from the host of CNN podcast Behind the Desk tells the true story—and backstage drama—of late-night comedy.When beloved host Johnny Carson announced his retirement after thirty years on The Tonight Show, millions of Americans mourned. But inside the television industry, the news ignited a battle between two amazing talents—Jay Leno and Da...

The geeks will inherit the earth.With well over two hundred episodes and a dozen seasons, The Big Bang Theory is one of America’s favorite television series, bringing a new class of character to mainstream television: the science nerd.In spite of its evident popularity and influence in shaping public attitudes to science and scientists, there are relatively few books that explore the show’s culture and social dimension. The Science of The Big B...

30+ Years of Peer-Reviewed Studies on the Corporate Ties and Vested Interests that Influence Scientific ResearchFor over 500 years, groups and organizations with political, economic, and personal interests have successfully exercised influence on the pursuit of scientific inquiry and knowledge. History is replete with examples like the Papal authority muddying research into studies of the cosmos, but far less attention is paid today to the various corporate and spe...

**"An invaluable tool to help you collect the information your attorney needs." —Michael Cragun, Utah State Tax CommissionerAn Accessible Guide to Estate Planning**With *Estate Planning (in Plain English)*®, readers will learn to comprehend the legal jargon and navigate the complex rules involved in preparing one’s estate. The authors provide clear information and cite actual cases to help readers approach the process with the confidence and knowledge they need to make the ...

A Wall Street Journal BestsellerAn Amazon Bestseller for MemoirPublisher's Weekly BookLife Prize for Memoir"In dark times like these, the ability to find what binds us is vital. In Monkey Bridges and Bánh Mì Sandwiches, Oanh Ngo Usadi brings empathy and vivid storytelling to her young life as a Vietnamese girl fleeing the country with her family after the Vietnam War. At once an od...

"A fascinating, elegiac account" of the bond between two of the Civil Rights Era's most important leaders—from the journalist and author of Strange Fruit ( Chicago Tribune).With vision and political savvy, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy set the United States on a path toward fulfilling its promise of liberty and justice for all. In The Promise and the Dream, Margolick examines their unique bond, both in life and in their tr...