Philip Chenevert
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Science fiction from the 50s by one of the masters, Alfred Bester. Society has committed itself to complete stability. Nothing is allowed to upset this stability, nothing that is not planned and approved and accounted for in advance. Yes, this is hard to imagine but this has produced decades, nay, centuries of predictable prosperity and peace. Even the newspapers have very little to write about. One reporter however is curious about the "Prog" building,...
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This is a recording of a booklet given to new naturalized American citizens, it contains an explanation of fundamental documents, symbols and anthems of the United States. "Today you are a citizen of the United States of America- becoming "a peer of kings" as President Calvin Coolidge once said. This occasion is a defining moment that should not soon be forgotten, for it marks the beginning of a new era in your lifetime as a U.S. citizen. Naturalized...
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Other than boasting of having a thousand moons, this nasty planet could only brag of having the most numerous, vicious, mean, death dealing set of animals every encountered anywhere. The atmosphere was nice though if you didn't mind the screams of pain constantly in the air. And did I mention that the most notorious space pirate in the universe has you captive there. Things are not looking good for Lance Kenniston and his Jovian sidekick at the moment....
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Can a spaceship go crazy? Well, yes it can if it has a brain. And the new MG (magnetogravitic drive) experimental robot space ship does indeed have a 'brain'. Completely bewildered as to why the first six models of their supposedly perfect new ship model, the MG-YR, nicknamed the McGuire, have gone totally bonkers after activation and before they could ever be used, the company has called in the services of Daniel Oak. They suspect sabotage of course....
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This famous Pohl story explores cybernetic robots and implanted personalities (long before they were cool) in a way that certainly expanded my way of looking at reality. Is that wall really a wall? or is it just kinda, sorta real? And who am I? The protagonist, Guy Burckhardt, wakes up screaming from a horrible dream of explosions, searing fire, choking gas and other terrible ways to die. But he wakes up so it must have been just a bad nightmare,...
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This gore drenched story finds Eric Stark, the fierce and barely civilized warrior raised on Mercury struggling to bring a dying Martian friend back to his home city in the North of Mars before he passes away. Unfortunately his friend does die on the way and lays a most unwanted last request on Stark before the end; to bring a precious stolen talisman back to the city. The journey there introduces the intimidating Black Amazon of Mars. "Grimly Eric...
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Wahb (meaning White Bear) is an orphaned Grizzly Bear who learns to respect his fears, fight for peace, and trust the healing powers of a stinky hot-spring. The story is aptly titled The Biography of a Grizzly because it is about the life of a Grizzly. Seton writes with a folksy tone that will enlighten children to the gore and war that Grizzly Bears endure. I thought it was fun to learn (through Wahb's story) about their life span, their diet, their...
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In this little book, Brother Lawrence simply and beautifully explains how to continually walk with God - not from the head but from the heart. Brother Lawrence left the gift of a way of life available to anyone who seeks to know God's peace and presence; that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice -anywhere, anytime. Brother Lawrence also left the gift of a direct approach to living in God's presence that is as practical today as...
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Personality Plus is an early novel by American author Edna Ferber. Originally published in 1914, Personality Plus is the second of three volumes chronicling the travels and events in the life of Emma McChesney. Ferber achieved her first successes with a series of stories centering around this character, a stylish and intelligent divorced mother who rises rapidly in business
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Buzz, buzz, buzz. A fascinating and beautifully written explanation of the life of the honey bee. Maeterlinck, who won the Noble Prize for Literature, wrote a more scholarly work called The Life of the Bee but then rewrote it in simpler terms so that children could appreciate what goes in a hive. The book describes in simple language the inner workings of a hive from its beginning with a swarm to the fully functional hive with thousands of workers,...
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We've all heard of the wonderful invention that the Big Corporation or the Utilities suppressed...? The one that would revolutionize society with it's simplicity? Well usually, that Wonderful Invention won't work, actually. But what if there really was one or two like that? Would the oil industry, or he power conglomerates, or the auto monopolies actually be nasty enough to suppress something that would help the rest of the world just so they could...
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Simon Grue found a two-inch mermaid in his bathtub. It had arms, hips, a finny tail, and (here the real trouble began) a face that reminded him irresistibly of Grushenka Stulnikov-Gurevich.... and so begins this strange tale of tiny mermaids and other things that could only come from the odd mind of Fritz Leiber. Enjoy!
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"Guide a black galleon to the lost, fear-haunted Citadel of the Xanthi wizards-into the very jaws of Doom? Corun, condemned pirate of Conahur, laughed. Aye, he'd do it, and gladly. It would mean a reprieve from the headsman's axe-a few more precious moments of life and love ... though his lover be a witch!" Witch of the Demon Seas is an entertaining romp with pirates, witches, wizards and bizarre sea aliens. And yet there are some more serious elements...
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Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–76 that inspired people in the Thirteen Colonies to declare and fight for independence from Great Britain in the summer of 1776. In clear, simple language it explained the advantages of and the need for immediate independence. It was published anonymously on January 10, 1776, at the beginning of the American Revolution and became an immediate sensation. It was sold and distributed widely...
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Now that the latest world wide war has ended, Captain Garin, the hottest fighter pilot of the American force, is reduced to poverty and hunger as a civilian. He is approached to work for an expedition to Antarctica to investigate an odd mist that obscures everything. Eagerly accepting the job he finds himself 'summoned' by strange creatures in that mist to fight the Caves of Darkness. His mission is mysterious but exciting and apparently foretold....
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Doctor Dolittle, the man who can speak with the animals, is back home but running short of money to care for all the animals who need his help. He invites animals into his garden and encourages them to build their own societies and come and go as they please. This works very well. He has a mouse and rat town, a dog community, a burrow for badgers, and so forth. This does not make any money and only gets him into trouble with his neighbors. But the...
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Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. was an American science fiction author best known for the 1965 novel Dune and its five sequels. Though he became famous for his novels, he also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, photographer, book reviewer, ecological consultant, and lecturer.
Old Rambling House is a short story notable for its atmosphere and the dystopian multiverse in which no hope of freedom is left, which is atypical for...
19) Equation of Doom
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A world weary space pilot on the lam from earth for crimes unspecified; the most beautiful (earthly) tri-D woman in the universe who is determined to be the most powerful too; a planet of crafty and unscrupulous giant frogs intent on kicking out all aliens; and finally beings who live outside of time. Mix them all together and some very interesting things happen. Very interesting. And disastrous. But there's more! Why did 3000 worlds across the galaxy...
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Bill Nye was a famous American humor columnist in the middle 1800's. He said "We can never be a nation of snobs so long as we are willing to poke fun at ourselves." And he did exactly that in hundreds of newspaper columns that were later collected into books. This is a selection of just 35 of the most humorous, wry and downright funny cogitations of his, written of course in the somewhat convoluted style common in the 19th century which just adds...