Michael Blumlein was one of the most singular writers to be associated with the science fiction genre. Active from the 1980s until his death in 2019, he produced a body of work notable for its literary ambition, its urbanity, its depth and breadth of subject matter, and its sly deadpan humor.A medical doctor and San Francisco native, Blumlein’s profession and locale deeply informed his fiction. The physician and the author were fascinated by the human body, mind, and spirit, and th...

THE OUTRAGEOUS NO.1 INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER, NOW AN OSCAR- AND BAFTA-WINNING FILMFrom the jungles of the trading floor to the casinos of Las Vegas, The Big Short, Michael Lewis's No.1 bestseller, tells the story of the misfits, renegades and visionaries who saw that the biggest credit bubble of all time was about to burst, bet against the banking system - and made a killing.'In the hands of Michael Lewis, anything is possible ... if you want to kn...

The #1 New York Times bestseller—Now a Major Motion Picture from Paramount PicturesFrom the author of The Blind Side and Moneyball, The Big Short tells the story of four outsiders in the world of high-finance who predict the credit and housing bubble collapse before anyone else. The film adaptation by Adam McKay (Anchorman I and II, The Other Guys) features Academy Award® winners Christian Bale, Brad Pi...

The #1 New York Times bestseller: "It is the work of our greatest financial journalist, at the top of his game. And it's essential reading."-Graydon Carter, Vanity FairThe real story of the crash began in bizarre feeder markets where the sun doesn't shine and the SEC doesn't dare, or bother, to tread: the bond and real estate derivative markets where geeks invent impenetrable securities to profit from the misery of lower- and middle-class Americans who can't pay their debts. The smart peop...

Martin Heidegger, considered by some to be the greatest charlatan ever to claim the title of 'philosopher', by some as an apologist for Nazism, and by others as an acknowledged leader in continental philosophy, is probably the most divisive thinker of the twentieth century. In the second edition of this Very Short Introduction, Michael Inwood focuses on Heidegger's most important work, Being and Time, to explore its major themes of existence in the world, inauthenticity, ...

What is socialism? Does it have a future, or has it become an outdated ideology in the 21st century? This Very Short Introduction considers the major theories in socialism, and explores its historical evolution from the French Revolution to the present day. Michael Newman argues that socialism has always been a diverse doctrine, while nevertheless containing a central core of interconnected values and goals: a critique of capitalism; an optimistic view of human beings; and the bel...

This title chronicles the song and dance genius of the King of Pop, whose recent death reinforced the level of his global influence and stardom.While covering controversies and oddities - from the trial on molestation charges to his cosmetic surgeries to his amusement-park house Neverland, the book also details his incredible songs, videos, work habits, childhood, and groundbreaking career.Jackson's music is still popular with young people, especially with the convenience o...

LAPD Detective Harry Bosch tackles a trio of tough cases in an exclusive eBook containing three compelling short stories.In CHRISTMAS EVEN, the case of a burglar killed in mid-heist leads Bosch to retrace a link to his past. In FATHER'S DAY, Bosch investigates a young boy's seemingly accidental death and confronts his own fears as a father. In ANGLE OF INVESTIGATION, Bosch delves into one of the first homicides he ever worked back as a uniformed rookie patrolman, a...

The issue of medical ethics, from thorny moral questions such as euthanasia and the morality of killing to political questions such as the fair distribution of health care resources, is rarely out of today's media. This area of ethics covers a wide range of issues, from mental health to reproductive medicine, as well as including management issues such as resource allocation, and has proven to hold enduring interest for the general public as well as the medical practitioner. This Very ...

Fresh in his boots and three days in-country, Michael Herr is in a Chinook when a young soldier across from him is gunned. “It took me a month to lose that feeling of being a spectator to something that was part game, part show.”Written in unforgettable and unflinching detail, Herr captures the chaos and fervor of the war and the surreal insanity of life in that singular combat zone. Selected from Dispatches, one of "the best book to have been written about the Vietnam War...

The Mughal Empire dominated India politically, culturally, socially, economically and environmentally, from its foundation by Babur, a Central Asian adventurer, in 1526 to the final trial and exile of the last emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar at the hands of the British in 1858. Throughout the empire's three centuries of rise, preeminence and decline, it remained a dynamic and complex entity within and against which diverse peoples and interests conflicted. The empire's significance continues to...

Having spent centuries in the shadows of its neighbours China and Japan, Korea is now the object of considerable interest for radically different reasons-- the South as an economic success story and for its vibrant popular culture; the North as the home to one of the world's most repressive regimes, at once both bizarre and menacing. This Very Short Introduction explores the history, culture, and society of a deeply divided region. Michael Seth considers what it means to be Korean...