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Showing 1 - 6 of 6 items
Keeping watch: a history of American time
By Michael O'Malley. 1990
The author chronicles the interest in time that developed as early nineteenth-century America slowly linked up cities. O'Malley ponders the…
political and social implications of the move from farmers' almanacs to mechanical devices. But neither railroad schedules, punchclocks, efficiency experts, nor standard time zones can regulate the rituals of some groups who still defer to solar timeSincère ou tricheuse?: roman (J'ai lu #3017. Roman, ISSN 0296-0678)
By Barbara Cartland. 1991
Mr g
By Alan Lightman. 2012
"As I remember, I had just woken up from a nap when I decided to create the universe." So begins…
Alan Lightman's playful and profound new novel, Mr g, the story of Creation as told by God. Barraged by the constant advisements and bickerings of Aunt Penelope and Uncle Deva, who live with their nephew in the shimmering Void, Mr g proceeds to create time, space, and matter. Then come stars, planets, animate matter, consciousness, and, finally, intelligent beings with moral dilemmas. Mr g is all powerful but not all knowing and does much of his invention by trial and error.Even the best-laid plans can go awry, and Mr g discovers that with his creation of space and time come some unforeseen consequences--especially in the form of the mysterious Belhor, a clever and devious rival. An intellectual equal to Mr g, Belhor delights in provoking him: Belhor demands an explanation for the inexplicable, requests that the newly created intelligent creatures not be subject to rational laws, and maintains the necessity of evil. As Mr g watches his favorite universe grow into maturity, he begins to understand how the act of creation can change himself, the Creator.With echoes of Calvino, Rushdie, and Saramago, combining science, theology, and moral philosophy, Mr g is a stunningly imaginative work that celebrates the tragic and joyous nature of existence on the grandest possible scale.The Time Machine Hypothesis: Extreme Science Meets Science Fiction (Science and Fiction)
By Damien Broderick. 2019
Every age has characteristic inventions that change the world. In the 19th century it was the steam engine and the…
train. For the 20th, electric and gasoline power, aircraft, nuclear weapons, even ventures into space. Today, the planet is awash with electronic business, chatter and virtual-reality entertainment so brilliant that the division between real and simulated is hard to discern. But one new idea from the 19th century has failed, so far, to enter reality—time travel, using machines to turn the time dimension into a two-way highway. Will it come true, as foreseen in science fiction? Might we expect visits to and from the future, sooner than from space? That is the Time Machine Hypothesis, examined here by futurist Damien Broderick, an award-winning writer and theorist of the genre of the future. Broderick homes in on the topic through the lens of science as well as fiction, exploring some fifty different time-travel scenarios and conundrums found in the science fiction literature and film.La gente como nosotros no tiene miedo
By Shani Boianjiu. 2012
Una revelación literaria: una joven autora con una audaz y provocadora novela sobre la vida de las chicas soldado en…
el Ejército Israelí. La premiada autora israelí Shani Boianjiu desvela una realidad desconocida, al tiempo que capta la energía sexual y la efervescente angustia de la adolescencia. Lea, Avishag y Yael son amigas de la escuela en un pequeño pueblo al norte de Israel. Durante las clases sueñan despiertas con los chicos que les gustan. Cuando cumplen los dieciocho años, son reclutadas por el Ejército y su vida cambia de forma inesperada. Yael se acuesta con un chico al que entrena como tirador. Avishag hace guardias y observa a los refugiados que se abalanzan sobre la alambrada. Lea, destinada en un puesto de control, imagina las historias que se ocultan tras los rostros familiares que pasan ante ella día tras día. Las tres viven al filo de la muerte, en la intensidad de ese instante eterno antes de queel peligro estalle. Ganadora del premio «5 Under 35» de la National Book Foundation (nominada por Nicole Krauss), finalista del premio Sami Rohr y del Women#s Prize for Fiction y traducida a 23 idiomas. Reseñas:«Una primera novela tensa como un thriller, romántica y psicológicamente audaz... Boianjiu escribe sobre la atrocidad y el absurdo de una guerra sin fin.»More «Irreverente, conmovedora. Una autora con un inusual talento literario para transportarnos hasta un sitio absolutamente remoto... Un libro provocador e inquietante.»The Jewish Journal «Memorable... Un retrato feroz y hermoso del daño causado por la guerra.»The Washington Post «Único y desgarrador. Leerlo es sentir como si te partieran el corazón en dos.»Etgar Keret «La gente como nosotros no tiene miedo describe en profundidad y con agudeza el efecto desorientador que el miedo produce en las mentes jóvenes.»The Observer «Un debut impresionante sobre la transición a la madurez de tres adolescentes que experimentan lo absurdo de la vida y el amor en el abismo de la violencia.»Vogue «La vida en el Ejército inicia la metamorfosis de niña a mujer. La descripción que Boianjiu realiza de la mente de estas jóvenes es fascinante... La prosa se lee como una pesadilla o un sueño, pero es en esta indecisión febril donde reside su poder.»The Economist «Con su mezcla de brutal hilaridad y emocionante angustia, esta es una primera novela brillante.»The Boston Globe «Las reflexiones de la novela sobre el amor y la pérdida, el deseo y la desesperación, son pura poesía... En esta novela, conviven lo cómico y lo grotesco, al igual que en el Israel de hoy en día.»Los Angeles Review of Books «Shani Boianjiu ha hallado el modo de exponer los efectos de la guerra y la doctrina nacional en la vida de los jóvenes israelíes... Incluso cuando escribe sobre la muerte, Boianjiu está mucho más llena de vida que cualquier otro escritor joven con el que me haya topado en mucho tiempo.»Nicole Krauss «Shani Boianjiu nos ofrece una visión reveladora sobre la juventud de un país marcado por el terrorismo y las fronteras hostiles... La gente como nosotros no tiene miedo marca la llegada de una escritora brillante.»Wall Street JournalGods of Tin: The Flying Years
By James Salter. 2004
A singular life often circles around a singular moment, an occasion when one's life in the world is defined forever…
and the emotional vocabulary set. For the extraordinary writer James Salter, this moment was contained in the fighter planes over Korea where, during his young manhood, he flew more than one hundred missions.James Salter is considered one of America's greatest prose stylists. The Arm of Flesh (later revised and retitled Cassada) and his first novel, The Hunters, are legendary in military circles for their descriptions of flying and aerial combat. A former Air Force pilot who flew F–86 fighters in Korea, Salter writes with matchless insight about the terror and exhilaration of the pilot's life.