Showing posts with label NPR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NPR. Show all posts
Thursday, December 15, 2011
The Best Books Of 2011: The Complete List - NPR
The Best Books Of 2011: The Complete List
text size A A A November 20, 2011 Use the list below to browse NPR's Best Books Of 2011 recommendations. Each critic's list is presented separately. Click on the article names to read our critics' comments about the books.
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Year-End Wrap-Up: The 10 Best Novels Of 2011
Recommended by MAUREEN CORRIGAN
Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell, paperback, 400 pages, Random House, list price: $14.95
Open City, by Teju Cole, hardcover, 259 pages, Random House, list price: $25
The Submission, by Amy Waldman, hardcover, 299 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $26
The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little Brown & Co, list price: $25.99
The Illumination, by Kevin Brockmeier, hardcover, 257 pages, Random House, list price: $24.95
The Leftovers, by Tom Perrotta, hardcover, 355 pages, St Martins Press, list price: $25.99
The Marriage Plot, by Jeffrey Eugenides, hardcover, 406 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $28
State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 353 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99
Train Dreams, by Denis Johnson, hardcover, 116 pages, Farrar Straus & Giroux, list price: $18
The Pale King: An Unfinished Novel, by David Foster Wallace, hardcover, 548 pages, Little Brown & Co, list price: $27.99
... And Two Nonfiction Titles You Shouldn't Miss
In the on-air version of her year-end list, Maureen Corrigan also included two nonfiction recommendations:
To End All Wars: A Story Of Loyalty And Rebellion, 1914-1918, by Adam Hochschild, hardcover, 480 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $28
The Swerve: How The World Became Modern, by Stephen Greenblatt, hardcover, 320 pages, W.W. Norton & Company, list price: $26.95
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7 Books With Personality: Nancy Pearl's 2011 Picks
Recommended by Nancy Pearl
In Zanesville: A Novel, by Jo Ann Beard, hardcover, 289 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $23.99
A World On Fire: Britain's Crucial Role In The American Civil War, by Amanda Foreman, hardcover, 958 pages, Random House, list price: $35
Blind Sight, by Meg Howrey, hardcover, 289 pages, Random House, list price: $24.95
The Summer Of The Bear, by Bella Pollen, hardcover, 448 pages, PGW, list price: $24
By George: A Novel, by Wesley Stace, paperback, 383 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $14.99
Vaclav & Lena, by Haley Tanner, hardcover, 292 pages, Random House, list price: $25
Down The Mysterly River, by Bill Willingham, hardcover, 336 pages, Starscape, list price: $15.99
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Booksellers' Picks: Catch The Year's Freshest Reads
Recommended by Lucia Silva, Portrait of a Bookstore
A Christmas Tree For Pyn, by Olivier Dunrea, hardcover, 32 pages, Philomel, list price: $16.99
The Toaster Project: Or A Heroic Attempt To Build A Simple Electric Appliance From Scratch, by Thomas Thwaites, paperback, 191 pages, Chronicle Books LLC., list price: $19.95
Unpacking My Library: Writers And Their Books, by Leah Price, hardcover, 201 pages, Yale University Press, list price: $20
Forgotten Bookmarks: A Bookseller's Collection Of Odd Things Lost Between The Pages, by Michael Popek, hardcover, 182 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $18.95
How To Keep Your Volkswagen Alive, by Christopher Boucher, paperback, 239 pages, Random House, list price: $15
Recommended by Rona Brinlee, The Book Mark
Birds Of Paradise, by Diana Abu-Jaber, paperback, 368 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $15.95
The Girl Who Would Speak For The Dead, by Paul Elwork, hardcover, 308 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $24.95
A Good Hard Look, by Ann Napolitano, hardcover, 326 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $25.95
On Canaan's Side, by Sebastian Barry, hardcover, 256 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $25.95
Pasta By Design, by George L. Legendre, hardcover, 208 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $29.95
Rules Of Civility, by Amor Towles, hardcover, 335 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $26.95
Recommended by Daniel Goldin, Boswell Books
American Boy, by Larry Watson, hardcover, 251 pages, Milkweed Editions, list price: $24
The Unwanteds, by Lisa McMann, hardcover, 390 pages, Simon & Schuster, list price: $16.99
Gimbels Has It!, by Michael J. Lisicky, paperback, 157 pages, History Press, list price: $19.99
The White Woman On The Green Bicycle, by Monique Roffey, paperback, 439 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $16
Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, by Simon Garfield, hardcover, 356 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $27.50
This Burns My Heart, by Samuel Park, hardcover, 310 pages, Simon & Schuster, list price: $25
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Top 5 Books For Backseat Readers (Age 9 And Up)
Recommended by Michele Norris
Heart And Soul:The Story Of America And African Americans, by Kadir Nelson, hardcover, 108 pages, Harpercollins Childrens Books, list price: $19.99
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making, by Catherynne M. Valente, paperback, 272 pages, Feiwel & Friends, list price: $6.99
The Secret History Of Balls: The Stories Behind The Things We Love To Catch, Whack, Throw, Kick, Bounce, And Bat, by Josh Chetwynd and Emily Stackhouse, paperback, 221 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $13.95
Drawing From Memory, by Allen Say, hardcover, 63 pages, Scholastic, list price: $17.99
Saint Louis Armstrong Beach, by Brenda Woods, hardcover, 137 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $16.99
Honorable Mentions:
Tall Story, by Candy Gourlay, hardcover, 293 pages, Random House Childrens Books, list price: $16.99
Jefferson's Sons: A Founding Father's Secret Children, by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, hardcover, 360, [4] p., Penguin Group USA, list price: $17.99
Inside Out & Back Again, hardcover, 262 pages, Harpercollins Childrens Books, list price: $15.99
The Unforgotten Coat, by Frank Cottrell Boyce, hardcover, 112 pages, Gardners Books, list price: $17
The Romeo And Juliet Code, by Phoebe Stone, paperback, 304 pages, Scholastic Paperbacks, list price: $6.99
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Conversation Starters: 2011's Top 5 Book Club Picks
Recommended by Lynn Neary
State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 353 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99
The Sense Of An Ending, by Julian Barnes, hardcover, 150 pages, Random House, list price: $23.95
We The Animals, by Justin Torres, hardcover, 128 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $18
Caleb's Crossing, by Geraldine Brooks, hardcover, 306 pages, Penguin Group USA, list price: $26.95
The Sojourn, by Andrew Krivak, paperback, 191 pages, Consortium Book Sales & Distribution, list price: $14.95
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From Tiny To Tome, The Best Gift Books Of 2011
Recommended by John McAlley
The New York Times Magazine Photographs, by Kathy Ryan, hardcover, 448 pages, Aperture Foundation, list price: $75
Harry Potter Page To Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey, by Bob McCabe, hardcover, 540 pages, Harper Design International, list price: $75
Life Upon These Shores: Looking At African American History, 1513-2008, by Henry Louis Gates, hardcover, 512 pages, Knopf, list price: $50
The Art Museum, by Phaidon Press, hardcover, 992 pages, Phaidon Press, list price: $200
The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology Of Humor From Mark Twain To The Onion, by Andy Borowitz, hardcover, 461 pages, Penguin Group, list price: $27.95
Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty, by Andrew Bolton and Susannah Frankel, hardcover, 240 pages, Yale University Press, list price: $45
Pilgrimage, by Annie Leibovitz and Doris Kearns Goodwin, hardcover, 244 pages, Random House, list price: $50
Theodore Gray's Elements Vault: Treasures Of The Periodic Table With 20 Removable Archival Documents, A Model Pop-Up Atom, A Poster, Plus 10 Real Elements Including Pure Gold! by Theodore Gray and Nick Mann, hardcover, 128 pages, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers, list price: $39.95
The Art Of Walt Disney: From Mickey Mouse To The Magic Kingdoms And Beyond, by Christopher Finch and John Lasseter, hardcover, 503 pages, Harry N Abrams Inc, list price: $85
The American Heritage Dictionary Of The English Language, by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company, hardcover, 2112 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $60
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Plot Driven: Alan Cheuse's Top 5 Fiction Picks
Recommended by Alan Cheuse
The Tiger's Wife, by Tea Obreht, paperback, 337 pages, Random House, list price: $15
The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99
Once Upon A River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell, hardcover, 348 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $25.95
1Q84, by Haruki Murakami, hardcover, 925 pages, Random House, list price: $30.50
The Night Eternal, by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, hardcover, 384 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $26.99
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Sherlockian Mysteries That Will Keep You Tied Up
Recommended by Maureen Corrigan
The House Of Silk, by Anthony Horowitz, hardcover, 294 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $27.99
On Conan Doyle: Or, The Whole Art Of Storytelling, by Michael Dirda, hardcover, 210 pages, Princeton University Press, list price: $19.95
Ghost Hero, by S.J. Rozan, hardcover, 325 pages, St. Martins Press, list price: $25.99
The End Of The Wasp Season, by Denise Mina, hardcover, 390 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99
A Drop Of The Hard Stuff, by Lawrence Block, hardcover, 319 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99
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2011's Best Cookbooks: Revenge Of The Kitchen Nerds
Recommended by T. Susan Chang
Cook This Now, by Melissa Clark, hardcover, 396 pages, Hyperion Books, list price: $29.99
The Food Of Spain, by Claudia Roden, hardcover, 609 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $45
All About Roasting, by Molly Stevens, hardcover, 573 pages, WW Norton & Co., list price: $35
The Food52 Cookbook, by Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs, hardcover, 440 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $35
What Chefs Feed Their Kids, by Fanae Aaron, hardcover, 211 pages, Globe Pequot Press, list price: $24.95
The Country Cooking Of Italy, by Colman Andrews, hardcover, 392 pages, Chronicle Books LLC, list price: $50
Lidia's Italy In America, by Lidia Matticchio Bastianich and Tanya Bastianich Manuali, hardcover, 359 pages, Random House, list price: $35
The Food Of Morocco, by Paula Wolfert, hardcover, 517 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $45
Ruhlman's Twenty, by Michael Ruhlman, hardcover, 367 pages, Chronicle Books LLC, list price: $40
American Flavor, by Andrew Carmellini, hardcover, 323 pages, HarperCollins, list price: $34.99
The Rosie's Bakery All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking Book, by Judy Rosenberg, paperback, 418 pages, Workman Pub Co., list price: $15.95
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What Sticks: Five 2011 Books That Stay With You
Recommended by Heller McAlpin
The Sense Of An Ending, by Julian Barnes, hardcover, 150 pages, Random House, list price: $23.95
There But For The, by Ali Smith, hardcover, 236 pages, Random House, list price: $25
Blue Nights, by Joan Didion, hardcover, 188 pages, Random House, list price: $25
The Art Of Fielding, by Chad Harbach, hardcover, 512 pages, Little, Brown & Co., list price: $25.99
Moby-Duck, by Donovan Hohn, hardcover, 402 pages, Penguin Group, list price: $27.95
Thursday, August 11, 2011
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Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
August 11, 2011
More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The
winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and
contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on
how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.
A quick word about what's here, and what's not: Our panel of experts reviewed hundreds of the most
popular nominations and tossed out those that didn't fit the survey's criteria (after — we assure you —
much passionate, thoughtful, gleefully nerdy discussion). You'll notice there are no young adult or
horror books on this list, but sit tight, dear reader, we're saving those genres for summers yet to come.
So, at last, here are your favorite science-fiction and fantasy novels. (And a printable version, to take
with you to the bookstore.)
1
The Lord Of The Rings
Tolkien's seminal three-volume epic chronicles the War of the
Ring, in which Frodo the hobbit and his companions set out to
destroy the evil Ring of Power and restore peace to Middle-earth.
The beloved trilogy still casts a long shadow, having established
Chris Silas Neal
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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some of the most familiar and enduring tropes in fantasy
literature. Literary Award Winner
2
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
In the first, hilarious volume of Adams' Hitchhiker's series,
reluctant galactic traveler Arthur Dent gets swept up in some
literally Earth-shattering events involving aliens, sperm whales, a
depressed robot, mice who are more than they seem, and some
really, really bad poetry.
3
Ender's Game
Young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, bred to be a genius, is drafted
to Battle School where he trains to lead the century-long fight against the alien
Buggers.
4
The Dune Chronicles
Follows the adventures of Paul Atreides, the son of a betrayed
duke given up for dead on a treacherous desert planet and adopted by its fierce,
nomadic people, who help him unravel his most unexpected destiny.
by Douglas Adams
by Orson Scott Card
by Frank Herbert
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5
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series
As the Seven Kingdoms face a generation-long winter, the
royal Stark family confronts the poisonous plots of the rival
Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, the
arrival of barbarian hordes, and other threats.
6
1984
A Novel
Portrays life in a future time when a totalitarian government
watches over all citizens and directs all activities.
7
Fahrenheit 451
A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but
one of the book burners suddenly realizes their merit, in a chilling
novel of a frightening near-future world.
by George R.R. Martin
by George Orwell
by Ray Bradbury
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8
The Foundation Trilogy
A band of psychologists, under the leadership of psychohistorian
Hari Seldon, plant a colony to encourage art, science, and technology in the
declining Galactic Empire and to preserve the accumulated knowledge of
humankind.
9
Brave New World
Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors
of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom.
10
by Isaac Asimov
by Aldous Huxley
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American Gods
On the plane home to attend the funerals of his wife and best
friend, Shadow, an ex-con, encounters an enigmatic stranger who seems to
know a lot about him. When Shadow accepts the stranger's job offer, he finds
himself plunged into a perilous game with the highest of stakes: the soul of
America itself.
11
The Princess Bride
S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale Of True Love And High Adventure
This tale of a handsome farm boy who, aided by a drunken
swordsman and a gentle giant, rescues a beautiful princess
named Buttercup comes with a slyly humorous, metafictional
edge: Goldman claims to have merely abridged an earlier text
by one "S. Morgenstern" (actually a pseudonym) and peppers
his text with clever commentary.
12
The Wheel Of Time Series
At 13 volumes and counting, this sweeping — some would say
sprawling – richly imagined epic chronicles the struggle between servants of the
Dark One and those of the champion of light known as the Dragon Reborn.
13
Animal Farm
by Neil Gaiman
by William Goldman
by Robert Jordan
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Farm animals overthrow their human owners and set up their own
deeply (and familiarly) flawed government. Orwell's mordant satire
of totalitarianism is still a mainstay of ninth-grade reading lists.
14
Neuromancer
Gibson's groundbreaking debut novel follows Case, a burned-out
computer whiz, who is asked to steal a security code that is locked in the most
heavily guarded databank in the solar system. A seminal work in the genre that
would come to be known as cyberpunk.
15
Watchmen
As former members of a disbanded group of
superheroes called the Crimebusters start turning
up dead, the remaining members of the group try to
discover the identity of the murderer before they,
too, are killed. A graphic novel.
16
I, Robot
by George Orwell
by William Gibson
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
by Isaac Asimov
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Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the
laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of
the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the
present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future — a future in which
humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.
17
Stranger In A Strange Land
Valentine Michael Smith, born and raised on Mars, arrives on
Earth stunning Western culture with his superhuman abilities.
18
The Kingkiller Chronicles
This suspenseful coming-of-age story folllows Kvothe as he
recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most
notorious wizard, musician, thief and assassin in his world.
19
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Robert A. Heinlein
by Patrick Rothfuss
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Billy Pilgrim returns home from World War II only to be kidnapped by aliens from
the planet Tralfamadore, who teach him that time is an eternal present.
20
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's chilling portrait of a scientist obsessed
with creating life (whose eventual success comes at
too great a cost) was among the first works of science
fiction ever produced. Its potent allegorical power,
compelling ethical and philosophical themes, and its
sheer creepiness have ensured it remains one of the
most enduring and influential as well.
21
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Dick's trippy novel tells of sophisticated off-world androids who turn
against their creators, slip back to a post-apocalyptic Earth, and
must be hunted down by bounty hunter Rick Deckard. The book
inspired — albeit very loosely — the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade
Runner.
22
The Handmaid's Tale
by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
by Philip K. Dick
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A chilling look at the near future presents the story of Offred, a
Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States, an
oppressive world where women are no longer allowed to read
and are valued only as long as they are viable for reproduction.
23
The Dark Tower Series
Roland, the world's last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in
Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other
worldly on his quest.
24
2001: A Space Odyssey
Two astronauts find their journey into space and their very lives
jeopardized by the jealousy of an extraordinary computer named
HAL.
25
The Stand
by Margaret Atwood
by Stephen King
by Arthur C. Clarke
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A monumentally devastating plague leaves only a few survivors
who, while experiencing dreams of a battle between good and evil,
move toward an actual confrontation as they migrate to Boulder,
Colo.
26
Snow Crash
Weaving contemporary imagery with Sumerian myths,
Stephenson's third novel revolves around a mysterious "pseudo
-narcotic" Snow Crash that is capable of affecting people both
within — and without — the alternate-reality Internet called the
"Metaverse."
27
The Martian Chronicles
The tranquillity of Mars is disrupted by the earthmen who have
come to conquer space, colonize the planet, and escape a
doomed Earth.
28
Cat's Cradle
by Stephen King
by Neal Stephenson
by Ray Bradbury
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A young writer decides to interview the children of a scientist
primarily responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb.
29
The Sandman Series
Gaiman originally told his tale of Morpheus, the Dream King, whose
interactions with mortals rarely end well, and whose fractious extended family
includes the personifications of Death, Despair, Desire and Destiny, in a 75-
issue comic book series over several years; the hugely influential series is now
collected in ten trade volumes.
30
A Clockwork Orange
Burgess created his own youth slang for this acid satire of
contemporary culture which follows young Alex as he makes
his merry way through a dystopia of drugs, sex and ruthless
violence, only to be chosen for a psychological experiment
meant to mend his ways.
31
Starship Troopers
by Kurt Vonnegut
by Neil Gaiman
by Anthony Burgess
by Robert A. Heinlein
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In one of Robert A. Heinlein's most controversial novels, a recruit of the future
goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe and into battle with the
Terran Mobile Infantry against humankind's most frightening enemy.
32
Watership Down
An allegorical tale of survival about a band of wild rabbits who
leave their ancestral home to build a more humane society
chronicles their adventures as they search for a safe place to
establish a new warren where they can live in peace.
33
Dragonflight
At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for
safety and only one Weyr trains the creatures and their riders, the Red Star
approaches Pern, threatening the planet with disaster.
34
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
by Richard Adams
by Anne McCaffrey
by Robert A. Heinlein
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A one-armed computer technician, a radical blond bombshell, an aging
academic and a sentient all-knowing computer lead the lunar population in a
revolution against Earth's colonial rule.
35
A Canticle For Leibowitz
Miller's 1959 novel follows the Monks of the Order of St.
Leibowitz as they attempt to preserve the remnants of
civilization after a nuclear war.
36
The Time Machine
Wells' classic 1895 story of an unassuming British inventor who
creates a device that sends him hurtling into the far future – A.D.
802,701, to be precise – where subterranean Morlocks prey upon the
childlike Eloi.
37
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
by H.G. Wells
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Professor Arronax and his two companions, trapped aboard a
fantastic submarine as prisoners of the deranged Captain Nemo,
come face to face with exotic ocean creatures and strange sights
hidden from the world above.
38
Flowers For Algernon
When brain surgery makes a mouse into a genius, dull-witted
Charlie Gordon wonders if it might also work for him.
39
The War Of The Worlds
With advanced machines of destruction, aliens from another planet
swoop down on planet Earth and begin their conquest, in the classic
sci-fi work by the author of The Time Machine.
40
The Amber Chronicles
by Jules Verne
by Daniel Keyes
by H.G. Wells
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Zelazny's tales of Corwin, prince of the "true world" of Amber (of
which our Earth is merely a shadow) and his son Merlin, a magic-user/computer
hacker, have spanned several decades. Amid the eternal struggle between
Order and Chaos, Zelazny delights in tossing in allusions to Shakespeare, the
Tarot and quantum mechanics.
41
The Belgariad
Edding's five-volume epic fantasy follows young farmboy Garion
as he is drawn into a quest for a stolen mystical orb, and the rich world of
prophecy and power that surrounds it.
42
The Mists Of Avalon
Retells the legend of King Arthur as perceived by the
women central to the tale, from the zealous Morgaine,
sworn to uphold her goddess at any cost, to the devout
Gwenhwyfar, pledged to the king but drawn to another.
43
Mistborn Trilogy
by Roger Zelazny
by David Eddings
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
by Brandon Sanderson
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In a world where special magic users called Allomancers can employ metals to
enhance their physical and mental abilities, a young thief discovers her destiny
and sets out to overthrow the Lord Ruler.
44
Ringworld
Niven's hugely influential 1970 novel of an outer space expedition to
a mysterious object – a vast artificial world in the shape of a ring –
that goes horribly wrong.
45
The Left Hand Of Darkness
While on a mission to the planet Gethen — a world whose
inhabitants can change their gender — earthling Genly Ai is sent by leaders of
the nation of Orgoreyn to a concentration camp. The exiled prime minister of the
nation of Karhide tries to rescue him.
46
The Silmarillion
by Larry Niven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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These creation myths of Tolkien's Middle-earth, for those who found The Lord of
the Rings too breezy and slight: In the author's characteristic Beowulfian prose,
he recounts the legends of the world's beginnings, the downfall of its gods and
men, and the events that changed the face of Middle-earth forever.
47
The Once And Future King
Describes King Arthur's life from his childhood to the coronation,
creation of the Round Table, and search for the Holy Grail.
48
Neverwhere
Gaiman's wry, darkly whimsical tale of an average young
businessman who stops to help a girl bleeding on a London
sidewalk and finds himself pulled into a bizarre subterranean world.
49
Childhood's End
by T.H. White
by Neil Gaiman
by Arthur C. Clarke
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The author questions the survival of mankind in this science-fiction tale about
Overlords from outer space who dominate the world.
50
Contact
In 1999, a multinational team of astronauts ventures deep into outer
space, where they come face to face with an advanced alien
civilization.
51
The Hyperion Cantos
Seven pilgrims undertake a voyage to the world of Hyperion —
dominated by a fearsome and mysterious creature called the Shrike — where
they hope to learn the secret that will save humanity.
52
by Carl Sagan
by Dan Simmons
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Stardust
In the quiet English hamlet of Wall, Tristran Thorn embarks on a
remarkable journey through the world of Faerie to recover a fallen
star for his lover, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester.
53
Cryptonomicon
More than 50 years after Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse and
Sergeant Bobby Shaftoe are assigned to Detachment 2702, a
secret cryptographic mission, their grandchildren — Randy and
Amy — join forces to create a "data haven" in the South Pacific,
only to uncover a massive conspiracy with roots in Detachment
2702.
54
World War Z
An Oral History Of The Zombie War
An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and
hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of
dozens of survivors — soldiers, politicians, civilians and others —
who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival.
55
The Last Unicorn
by Neil Gaiman
by Neal Stephenson
by Max Brooks
by Peter S. Beagle
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Recounts the quest of the last unicorn, who leaves the protection of the
enchanted forest to search for her own kind, and who is joined by Schmedrick
the Magician and Molly Grue in her search.
56
The Forever War
Drafted into the ranks of Earth's interstellar warriors, private
William Mandella finds his fight against the Taurans secondary to the sideeffects
of faster-than-light space travel, which affects the rate at which he ages.
57
Small Gods
A Novel Of Discworld
Brutha, a simple man leading a quiet life tending his garden, finds
his life irrevocably changed when his god, speaking to him
through a tortoise, sends him on a mission of peace.
58
The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever
by Joe Haldeman
by Terry Pratchett
by Stephen R. Donaldson
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In this first trilogy, reclusive, guilt-ridden writer Thomas Covenant finds himself
transported to a magical realm where he is hailed as a hero who wields powerful
magic — and where he finds his leprosy miraculously cured. Ultimately, he must
defeat the malevolent Lord Foul to save the Land — and his own sanity.
59
The Vorkosigan Saga
In a human colony on one of a series of planets connected
by wormholes, a young man who suffers from a series of physical disabilities (the
result of an assassination attempt on his royal parents) grows up to become a
powerful military leader.
60
Going Postal
A Novel Of Discworld
Sentenced to death for forgery and swindling, Moist von Lipwig
accepts an offer of a pardon in exchange for revamping an
ancient post office, but his efforts are thwarted by tons of
undelivered mail, an 18,000-year-old ghost postman, his shoewielding
new girlfriend, and murderous characters who want the
post office shut down.
61
The Mote In God's Eye
by Lois McMaster Bujold
by Terry Pratchett
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The accidental killing of a group of emissaries to
Earth threatens man's survival.
62
The Sword Of Truth Series
Young Richard Cypher gradually embraces his destiny as the
Seeker of Truth, and sets out to stop the evil that others would unleash.
63
The Road
In a novel set in an indefinite, futuristic, post-apocalyptic world,
a father and his young son make their way through the ruins of a devastated
American landscape, struggling to survive and preserve the last remnants of
their own humanity.
64
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
by Terry Goodkind
by Cormac McCarthy
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In nineteenth century England, all is going well for rich, reclusive
Mr Norrell, who has regained some of the power of England's
magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan
Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil.
65
I Am Legend
A lone human survivor in a world that is overrun by vampires,
Robert Neville leads a desperate life in which he must
barricade himself in his home every night and hunt down the
starving undead by day.
66
The Riftwar Saga
Evil entities have opened a rift in the fabric of space-time,
plunging the world of Medkemia into peril. As the battle between Order and
Chaos threatens to engulf everything, reluctant wizard Pug is the only hope of a
thousand worlds.
67
The Sword Of Shannara Trilogy
by Susanna Clarke
by Richard Matheson
by Raymond E. Feist
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Over the course of three novels, several generations of the
Ohmsford family find themselves retrieving magical artifacts in the desperate
hope to fight evil.
68
The Conan The Barbarian Series
Howard's original set of interlinked stories
featuring his muscle-bound warrior represents a classic kind of sword-andsorcery
fantasy adventure in all its pulpy, richly imaginative glory.
69
The Farseer Trilogy
An wily assassin plies his trade while his uncle the Prince confronts
attackers who are turning people into emotionless, zombie-like "Forged ones."
70
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Terry Brooks
by Robert E. Howard and Mark Schultz
by Robin Hobb
by Audrey Niffenegger
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Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their
marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a
condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.
71
The Way Of Kings
Introduces the world of Roshar through the experiences of a
war-weary royal compelled by visions, a high-born youth
condemned to military slavery, and a woman who is
desperate to save her impoverished house.
72
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Follows Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide
Hans as they venture deep into a volcanic crater in Iceland on a
journey that leads them to the center of the earth and to incredible
and horrifying discoveries.
73
The Legend Of Drizzt Series
by Brandon Sanderson
by Jules Verne
by R. A. Salvatore
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Drizzt Do'Urden, a Dark Elf, finds adventure, peril and awesome magical power
as he confronts the underground civilization of the evil and treacherous
matriarchal race of Drow elves.
74
Old Man's War
Enlisting in the Army on his 75th birthday, John Perry joins an
interstellar war between Earth and alien enemies who would stake
claims on the few existing inhabitable planets, unaware that the
conflict involves much more than he understands.
75
The Diamond Age
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl
capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a
young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device. Literary
Award Winner
76
by John Scalzi
by Neal Stephenson
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Rendezvous With Rama
During the 22nd century, a space probe's investigation of a
mysterious, cylindrical asteroid brings man into contact with an
extra-galactic civilization.
77
The Kushiel's Legacy Series
Sold into indentured servitude at the exotic Night Court as a
child, Phedre faces a difficult choice between honor and duty as she deals with a
world of glittering luxury, conspiracy, sacrifice, and betrayal. Two subsequent
trilogies chronicle the adventures of her adopted son and her distant
descendant.
78
The Dispossessed
An Ambiguous Utopia
Unwilling to accept that his anarchist world must be separated
from the rest of the civilized universe, Shevek, a brilliant
physicist, risks his life by traveling to the utopian mother planet
of Urras.
79
by Arthur C. Clarke
by Jacqueline Carey
by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Something Wicked This Way Comes
When the carnival comes to town, two boys unearth the terrifying
and horrible secrets that lurk within Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow
Show and learn the consequences of wishes, as a sinister and evil force is at
work in Green Town, Ill.
80
Wicked
The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West
Set in an Oz where a morose Wizard battles suicidal thoughts,
the story of the green-skinned Elphaba, otherwise known as the
Wicked Witch of the West, profiles her as an animal-rights
activist striving to avenge her dear sister's death.
81
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series
Erickson's densely plotted series jumps around in time to
chronicle the vicissitudes of the sprawling Malazan Empire, a place of shifting
alliances, mysterious mage guilds, assassin gods and military uprisings.
82
The Eyre Affair
by Ray Bradbury
by Gregory Maguire
by Steven Erikson
by Jasper Fforde
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In a world where you can actually get lost (literally) in literature, Thursday Next, a
notorious Special Operative in literary detection, races against time to stop the
world's Third Most Wanted criminal from kidnapping characters, including Jane
Eyre, from works of literature, forcing her to dive into the pages of a novel to stop
literary homicide, in a wildly imaginative, mesmerizing thriller.
83
The Culture Series
A science-fiction series by the author of the Wasp Factory features a
symbiotic human and machine society that is engaged in a galaxy-wide battle to
the death between the Idrians, who fight for their faith, and the Culture, which
defends its right to exist.
84
The Crystal Cave
Stewart's first chapter in her five-volume take on the Arthurian
legend is told from the point of view of young Merlin, who
reluctantly engineers the birth of Arthur.
85
Anathem
by Iain Banks
by Mary Stewart
by Neal Stephenson
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Raz, who has lived in a monastery since childhood, away from the violent
upheavals of the outside world, becomes one of a group of formerly cloistered
scholars who are appointed by a higher power to avert an impending disaster.
86
The Codex Alera Series
In the land of Alera, where people bond with the furies —
elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal — young Tavi struggles to cope
with his lack of magical talent, until his homeland erupts into conflict between
rebels and loyalists and Tavi discovers that he holds the key to his realm's
survival.
87
The Book Of The New Sun
In the distant future, after the sun has cooled and dimmed, the
disgraced torturer Sevarian recounts his hard-fought rise to absolute power.
88
The Thrawn Trilogy
by Jim Butcher
by Gene Wolfe
by Timothy Zahn
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Five years after the fall of the Empire, a dying part of the Empire all the more
dangerous near death has just discovered something that could bring it back, the
last of the Emperor's warlords, Admiral Thrawn.
89
The Outlander Series
Hurtled back through time more than 200 hundred years to
Scotland in 1743, Claire Randall finds herself in the midst of a world torn apart
by violence, pestilence and revolution, and haunted by her feelings for a young
soldier.
90
The Elric Saga
Elric of Melnibone, an albino prince, travels in the Ship Which
Sails Over Land and Sea to the city of Dhoz-Kam, through the Shade Gate to the
Pulsing Cavern where the magic swords Stormbringer and Mournblade await
him.
91
by Diana Gabaldon
by Michael Moorcock
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The Illustrated Man
Eighteen science fiction stories deal with love, madness and death
on Mars, Venus and in space.
92
Sunshine
All hope for stopping the vampiric elite from controlling Earth
depends on human SOFs (Special Other Forces) and the
success of their attempt to recruit Sunshine, the daughter of
legendary sorcerer Onyx Blaise.
93
A Fire Upon The Deep
Set in a far-future where space has been portioned into "regions of
thought," a human expedition to an ancient data archive unleashes
the Blight, a superintelligent entity capable of destroying thousands
of worlds.
94
The Caves Of Steel
by Ray Bradbury
by Robin McKinley
by Vernor Vinge
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Fearing a violent confrontation between Earthmen and Spacers,
Detective Baley and his new partner, a robot, investigate the
murder of a Spacetown scientist
95
The Mars Trilogy
On a mission to provide Mars with an Earth-like
atmosphere, John Boone, Maya Toitovna, Frank Chalmers and Arkady
Bogdanov meet stiff resistance from those who will fight to the death to prevent
Mars from being changed.
96
Lucifer's Hammer
As the great Hamner-Brown comet, dubbed
Lucifer's Hammer by the press, approaches Earth,
various business executives, politicians, criminals,
journalists and scientists await the impending
cataclysm and its general and personal effects with
decidedly differing feelings
97
by Isaac Asimov
by Kim Stanley Robinson
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
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Doomsday Book
Stranded in the 14th century — a time of superstition and fear —
time traveler Kivrin becomes an unlikely angel of hope during
history's darkest hour and awaits rescue by her comrades. Literary
Award Winner
98
Perdido Street Station
In the squalid, Gothic city of New Crobuzon, a mysterious halfhuman,
half-bird stranger comes to Isaac, a gifted but eccentric
scientist, with a request to help him fly, but Isaac's obsessive
experiments and attempts to grant the request unleash a terrifying
dark force on the entire city.
99
The Xanth Series
In Anthony's pun-besotted magical realm (which is shaped a lot
like Florida), every human is born with a unique magical ability, which they use
navigate a landscape full of dragons, goblins, harpies, centaurs and all manner
of eldritch creatures.
by Connie Willis
by China Mieville
by Piers Anthony
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100
The Space Trilogy
Philologist Edwin Ransom travels to Mars and Venus, and makes a
series of dramatic discoveries about Earth's place in the solar system – and the
nature of a threat it unwittingly faces.
Edited by Glen Weldon
by C.S. Lewis
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Your Picks: Top 100 Science-Fiction, Fantasy Books
August 11, 2011
More than 5,000 of you nominated. More than 60,000 of you voted. And now the results are in. The
winners of NPR's Top 100 Science-Fiction and Fantasy survey are an intriguing mix of classic and
contemporary titles. Over on NPR's pop culture blog, Monkey See, you can find one fan's thoughts on
how the list shaped up, get our experts' take, and have the chance to share your own.
A quick word about what's here, and what's not: Our panel of experts reviewed hundreds of the most
popular nominations and tossed out those that didn't fit the survey's criteria (after — we assure you —
much passionate, thoughtful, gleefully nerdy discussion). You'll notice there are no young adult or
horror books on this list, but sit tight, dear reader, we're saving those genres for summers yet to come.
So, at last, here are your favorite science-fiction and fantasy novels. (And a printable version, to take
with you to the bookstore.)
1
The Lord Of The Rings
Tolkien's seminal three-volume epic chronicles the War of the
Ring, in which Frodo the hobbit and his companions set out to
destroy the evil Ring of Power and restore peace to Middle-earth.
The beloved trilogy still casts a long shadow, having established
Chris Silas Neal
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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some of the most familiar and enduring tropes in fantasy
literature. Literary Award Winner
2
The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
In the first, hilarious volume of Adams' Hitchhiker's series,
reluctant galactic traveler Arthur Dent gets swept up in some
literally Earth-shattering events involving aliens, sperm whales, a
depressed robot, mice who are more than they seem, and some
really, really bad poetry.
3
Ender's Game
Young Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, bred to be a genius, is drafted
to Battle School where he trains to lead the century-long fight against the alien
Buggers.
4
The Dune Chronicles
Follows the adventures of Paul Atreides, the son of a betrayed
duke given up for dead on a treacherous desert planet and adopted by its fierce,
nomadic people, who help him unravel his most unexpected destiny.
by Douglas Adams
by Orson Scott Card
by Frank Herbert
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5
A Song Of Ice And Fire Series
As the Seven Kingdoms face a generation-long winter, the
royal Stark family confronts the poisonous plots of the rival
Lannisters, the emergence of the Neverborn demons, the
arrival of barbarian hordes, and other threats.
6
1984
A Novel
Portrays life in a future time when a totalitarian government
watches over all citizens and directs all activities.
7
Fahrenheit 451
A totalitarian regime has ordered all books to be destroyed, but
one of the book burners suddenly realizes their merit, in a chilling
novel of a frightening near-future world.
by George R.R. Martin
by George Orwell
by Ray Bradbury
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8
The Foundation Trilogy
A band of psychologists, under the leadership of psychohistorian
Hari Seldon, plant a colony to encourage art, science, and technology in the
declining Galactic Empire and to preserve the accumulated knowledge of
humankind.
9
Brave New World
Huxley's classic prophetic novel describes the socialized horrors
of a futuristic utopia devoid of individual freedom.
10
by Isaac Asimov
by Aldous Huxley
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American Gods
On the plane home to attend the funerals of his wife and best
friend, Shadow, an ex-con, encounters an enigmatic stranger who seems to
know a lot about him. When Shadow accepts the stranger's job offer, he finds
himself plunged into a perilous game with the highest of stakes: the soul of
America itself.
11
The Princess Bride
S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale Of True Love And High Adventure
This tale of a handsome farm boy who, aided by a drunken
swordsman and a gentle giant, rescues a beautiful princess
named Buttercup comes with a slyly humorous, metafictional
edge: Goldman claims to have merely abridged an earlier text
by one "S. Morgenstern" (actually a pseudonym) and peppers
his text with clever commentary.
12
The Wheel Of Time Series
At 13 volumes and counting, this sweeping — some would say
sprawling – richly imagined epic chronicles the struggle between servants of the
Dark One and those of the champion of light known as the Dragon Reborn.
13
Animal Farm
by Neil Gaiman
by William Goldman
by Robert Jordan
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Farm animals overthrow their human owners and set up their own
deeply (and familiarly) flawed government. Orwell's mordant satire
of totalitarianism is still a mainstay of ninth-grade reading lists.
14
Neuromancer
Gibson's groundbreaking debut novel follows Case, a burned-out
computer whiz, who is asked to steal a security code that is locked in the most
heavily guarded databank in the solar system. A seminal work in the genre that
would come to be known as cyberpunk.
15
Watchmen
As former members of a disbanded group of
superheroes called the Crimebusters start turning
up dead, the remaining members of the group try to
discover the identity of the murderer before they,
too, are killed. A graphic novel.
16
I, Robot
by George Orwell
by William Gibson
by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
by Isaac Asimov
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Isaac Asimov changed our perception of robots forever when he formulated the
laws governing their behavior. In I, Robot, Asimov chronicles the development of
the robot through a series of interlinked stories: from its primitive origins in the
present to its ultimate perfection in the not-so-distant future — a future in which
humanity itself may be rendered obsolete.
17
Stranger In A Strange Land
Valentine Michael Smith, born and raised on Mars, arrives on
Earth stunning Western culture with his superhuman abilities.
18
The Kingkiller Chronicles
This suspenseful coming-of-age story folllows Kvothe as he
recounts his transformation from a magically gifted young man into the most
notorious wizard, musician, thief and assassin in his world.
19
Slaughterhouse-Five
by Robert A. Heinlein
by Patrick Rothfuss
by Kurt Vonnegut
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Billy Pilgrim returns home from World War II only to be kidnapped by aliens from
the planet Tralfamadore, who teach him that time is an eternal present.
20
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley's chilling portrait of a scientist obsessed
with creating life (whose eventual success comes at
too great a cost) was among the first works of science
fiction ever produced. Its potent allegorical power,
compelling ethical and philosophical themes, and its
sheer creepiness have ensured it remains one of the
most enduring and influential as well.
21
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Dick's trippy novel tells of sophisticated off-world androids who turn
against their creators, slip back to a post-apocalyptic Earth, and
must be hunted down by bounty hunter Rick Deckard. The book
inspired — albeit very loosely — the 1982 Ridley Scott film Blade
Runner.
22
The Handmaid's Tale
by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
by Philip K. Dick
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A chilling look at the near future presents the story of Offred, a
Handmaid in the Republic of Gilead, once the United States, an
oppressive world where women are no longer allowed to read
and are valued only as long as they are viable for reproduction.
23
The Dark Tower Series
Roland, the world's last gunslinger, tracks an enigmatic Man in
Black toward a forbidding dark tower, fighting forces both mortal and other
worldly on his quest.
24
2001: A Space Odyssey
Two astronauts find their journey into space and their very lives
jeopardized by the jealousy of an extraordinary computer named
HAL.
25
The Stand
by Margaret Atwood
by Stephen King
by Arthur C. Clarke
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A monumentally devastating plague leaves only a few survivors
who, while experiencing dreams of a battle between good and evil,
move toward an actual confrontation as they migrate to Boulder,
Colo.
26
Snow Crash
Weaving contemporary imagery with Sumerian myths,
Stephenson's third novel revolves around a mysterious "pseudo
-narcotic" Snow Crash that is capable of affecting people both
within — and without — the alternate-reality Internet called the
"Metaverse."
27
The Martian Chronicles
The tranquillity of Mars is disrupted by the earthmen who have
come to conquer space, colonize the planet, and escape a
doomed Earth.
28
Cat's Cradle
by Stephen King
by Neal Stephenson
by Ray Bradbury
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A young writer decides to interview the children of a scientist
primarily responsible for the creation of the atomic bomb.
29
The Sandman Series
Gaiman originally told his tale of Morpheus, the Dream King, whose
interactions with mortals rarely end well, and whose fractious extended family
includes the personifications of Death, Despair, Desire and Destiny, in a 75-
issue comic book series over several years; the hugely influential series is now
collected in ten trade volumes.
30
A Clockwork Orange
Burgess created his own youth slang for this acid satire of
contemporary culture which follows young Alex as he makes
his merry way through a dystopia of drugs, sex and ruthless
violence, only to be chosen for a psychological experiment
meant to mend his ways.
31
Starship Troopers
by Kurt Vonnegut
by Neil Gaiman
by Anthony Burgess
by Robert A. Heinlein
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In one of Robert A. Heinlein's most controversial novels, a recruit of the future
goes through the toughest boot camp in the universe and into battle with the
Terran Mobile Infantry against humankind's most frightening enemy.
32
Watership Down
An allegorical tale of survival about a band of wild rabbits who
leave their ancestral home to build a more humane society
chronicles their adventures as they search for a safe place to
establish a new warren where they can live in peace.
33
Dragonflight
At a time when the number of Dragonriders has fallen too low for
safety and only one Weyr trains the creatures and their riders, the Red Star
approaches Pern, threatening the planet with disaster.
34
The Moon Is A Harsh Mistress
by Richard Adams
by Anne McCaffrey
by Robert A. Heinlein
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A one-armed computer technician, a radical blond bombshell, an aging
academic and a sentient all-knowing computer lead the lunar population in a
revolution against Earth's colonial rule.
35
A Canticle For Leibowitz
Miller's 1959 novel follows the Monks of the Order of St.
Leibowitz as they attempt to preserve the remnants of
civilization after a nuclear war.
36
The Time Machine
Wells' classic 1895 story of an unassuming British inventor who
creates a device that sends him hurtling into the far future – A.D.
802,701, to be precise – where subterranean Morlocks prey upon the
childlike Eloi.
37
20,000 Leagues Under The Sea
by Walter M. Miller Jr.
by H.G. Wells
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Professor Arronax and his two companions, trapped aboard a
fantastic submarine as prisoners of the deranged Captain Nemo,
come face to face with exotic ocean creatures and strange sights
hidden from the world above.
38
Flowers For Algernon
When brain surgery makes a mouse into a genius, dull-witted
Charlie Gordon wonders if it might also work for him.
39
The War Of The Worlds
With advanced machines of destruction, aliens from another planet
swoop down on planet Earth and begin their conquest, in the classic
sci-fi work by the author of The Time Machine.
40
The Amber Chronicles
by Jules Verne
by Daniel Keyes
by H.G. Wells
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Zelazny's tales of Corwin, prince of the "true world" of Amber (of
which our Earth is merely a shadow) and his son Merlin, a magic-user/computer
hacker, have spanned several decades. Amid the eternal struggle between
Order and Chaos, Zelazny delights in tossing in allusions to Shakespeare, the
Tarot and quantum mechanics.
41
The Belgariad
Edding's five-volume epic fantasy follows young farmboy Garion
as he is drawn into a quest for a stolen mystical orb, and the rich world of
prophecy and power that surrounds it.
42
The Mists Of Avalon
Retells the legend of King Arthur as perceived by the
women central to the tale, from the zealous Morgaine,
sworn to uphold her goddess at any cost, to the devout
Gwenhwyfar, pledged to the king but drawn to another.
43
Mistborn Trilogy
by Roger Zelazny
by David Eddings
by Marion Zimmer Bradley
by Brandon Sanderson
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In a world where special magic users called Allomancers can employ metals to
enhance their physical and mental abilities, a young thief discovers her destiny
and sets out to overthrow the Lord Ruler.
44
Ringworld
Niven's hugely influential 1970 novel of an outer space expedition to
a mysterious object – a vast artificial world in the shape of a ring –
that goes horribly wrong.
45
The Left Hand Of Darkness
While on a mission to the planet Gethen — a world whose
inhabitants can change their gender — earthling Genly Ai is sent by leaders of
the nation of Orgoreyn to a concentration camp. The exiled prime minister of the
nation of Karhide tries to rescue him.
46
The Silmarillion
by Larry Niven
by Ursula K. Le Guin
by J.R.R. Tolkien
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These creation myths of Tolkien's Middle-earth, for those who found The Lord of
the Rings too breezy and slight: In the author's characteristic Beowulfian prose,
he recounts the legends of the world's beginnings, the downfall of its gods and
men, and the events that changed the face of Middle-earth forever.
47
The Once And Future King
Describes King Arthur's life from his childhood to the coronation,
creation of the Round Table, and search for the Holy Grail.
48
Neverwhere
Gaiman's wry, darkly whimsical tale of an average young
businessman who stops to help a girl bleeding on a London
sidewalk and finds himself pulled into a bizarre subterranean world.
49
Childhood's End
by T.H. White
by Neil Gaiman
by Arthur C. Clarke
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The author questions the survival of mankind in this science-fiction tale about
Overlords from outer space who dominate the world.
50
Contact
In 1999, a multinational team of astronauts ventures deep into outer
space, where they come face to face with an advanced alien
civilization.
51
The Hyperion Cantos
Seven pilgrims undertake a voyage to the world of Hyperion —
dominated by a fearsome and mysterious creature called the Shrike — where
they hope to learn the secret that will save humanity.
52
by Carl Sagan
by Dan Simmons
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Stardust
In the quiet English hamlet of Wall, Tristran Thorn embarks on a
remarkable journey through the world of Faerie to recover a fallen
star for his lover, the hauntingly beautiful Victoria Forester.
53
Cryptonomicon
More than 50 years after Lawrence Pritchard Waterhouse and
Sergeant Bobby Shaftoe are assigned to Detachment 2702, a
secret cryptographic mission, their grandchildren — Randy and
Amy — join forces to create a "data haven" in the South Pacific,
only to uncover a massive conspiracy with roots in Detachment
2702.
54
World War Z
An Oral History Of The Zombie War
An account of the decade-long conflict between humankind and
hordes of the predatory undead is told from the perspective of
dozens of survivors — soldiers, politicians, civilians and others —
who describe in their own words the epic human battle for survival.
55
The Last Unicorn
by Neil Gaiman
by Neal Stephenson
by Max Brooks
by Peter S. Beagle
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Recounts the quest of the last unicorn, who leaves the protection of the
enchanted forest to search for her own kind, and who is joined by Schmedrick
the Magician and Molly Grue in her search.
56
The Forever War
Drafted into the ranks of Earth's interstellar warriors, private
William Mandella finds his fight against the Taurans secondary to the sideeffects
of faster-than-light space travel, which affects the rate at which he ages.
57
Small Gods
A Novel Of Discworld
Brutha, a simple man leading a quiet life tending his garden, finds
his life irrevocably changed when his god, speaking to him
through a tortoise, sends him on a mission of peace.
58
The Chronicles Of Thomas Covenant The Unbeliever
by Joe Haldeman
by Terry Pratchett
by Stephen R. Donaldson
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In this first trilogy, reclusive, guilt-ridden writer Thomas Covenant finds himself
transported to a magical realm where he is hailed as a hero who wields powerful
magic — and where he finds his leprosy miraculously cured. Ultimately, he must
defeat the malevolent Lord Foul to save the Land — and his own sanity.
59
The Vorkosigan Saga
In a human colony on one of a series of planets connected
by wormholes, a young man who suffers from a series of physical disabilities (the
result of an assassination attempt on his royal parents) grows up to become a
powerful military leader.
60
Going Postal
A Novel Of Discworld
Sentenced to death for forgery and swindling, Moist von Lipwig
accepts an offer of a pardon in exchange for revamping an
ancient post office, but his efforts are thwarted by tons of
undelivered mail, an 18,000-year-old ghost postman, his shoewielding
new girlfriend, and murderous characters who want the
post office shut down.
61
The Mote In God's Eye
by Lois McMaster Bujold
by Terry Pratchett
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The accidental killing of a group of emissaries to
Earth threatens man's survival.
62
The Sword Of Truth Series
Young Richard Cypher gradually embraces his destiny as the
Seeker of Truth, and sets out to stop the evil that others would unleash.
63
The Road
In a novel set in an indefinite, futuristic, post-apocalyptic world,
a father and his young son make their way through the ruins of a devastated
American landscape, struggling to survive and preserve the last remnants of
their own humanity.
64
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
by Terry Goodkind
by Cormac McCarthy
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In nineteenth century England, all is going well for rich, reclusive
Mr Norrell, who has regained some of the power of England's
magicians from the past, until a rival magician, Jonathan
Strange, appears and becomes Mr Norrell's pupil.
65
I Am Legend
A lone human survivor in a world that is overrun by vampires,
Robert Neville leads a desperate life in which he must
barricade himself in his home every night and hunt down the
starving undead by day.
66
The Riftwar Saga
Evil entities have opened a rift in the fabric of space-time,
plunging the world of Medkemia into peril. As the battle between Order and
Chaos threatens to engulf everything, reluctant wizard Pug is the only hope of a
thousand worlds.
67
The Sword Of Shannara Trilogy
by Susanna Clarke
by Richard Matheson
by Raymond E. Feist
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Over the course of three novels, several generations of the
Ohmsford family find themselves retrieving magical artifacts in the desperate
hope to fight evil.
68
The Conan The Barbarian Series
Howard's original set of interlinked stories
featuring his muscle-bound warrior represents a classic kind of sword-andsorcery
fantasy adventure in all its pulpy, richly imaginative glory.
69
The Farseer Trilogy
An wily assassin plies his trade while his uncle the Prince confronts
attackers who are turning people into emotionless, zombie-like "Forged ones."
70
The Time Traveler's Wife
by Terry Brooks
by Robert E. Howard and Mark Schultz
by Robin Hobb
by Audrey Niffenegger
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Passionately in love, Clare and Henry vow to hold onto each other and their
marriage as they struggle with the effects of Chrono-Displacement Disorder, a
condition that casts Henry involuntarily into the world of time travel.
71
The Way Of Kings
Introduces the world of Roshar through the experiences of a
war-weary royal compelled by visions, a high-born youth
condemned to military slavery, and a woman who is
desperate to save her impoverished house.
72
Journey To The Center Of The Earth
Follows Professor Lidenbrock, his nephew Axel and their guide
Hans as they venture deep into a volcanic crater in Iceland on a
journey that leads them to the center of the earth and to incredible
and horrifying discoveries.
73
The Legend Of Drizzt Series
by Brandon Sanderson
by Jules Verne
by R. A. Salvatore
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Drizzt Do'Urden, a Dark Elf, finds adventure, peril and awesome magical power
as he confronts the underground civilization of the evil and treacherous
matriarchal race of Drow elves.
74
Old Man's War
Enlisting in the Army on his 75th birthday, John Perry joins an
interstellar war between Earth and alien enemies who would stake
claims on the few existing inhabitable planets, unaware that the
conflict involves much more than he understands.
75
The Diamond Age
The story of an engineer who creates a device to raise a girl
capable of thinking for herself reveals what happens when a
young girl of the poor underclass obtains the device. Literary
Award Winner
76
by John Scalzi
by Neal Stephenson
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Rendezvous With Rama
During the 22nd century, a space probe's investigation of a
mysterious, cylindrical asteroid brings man into contact with an
extra-galactic civilization.
77
The Kushiel's Legacy Series
Sold into indentured servitude at the exotic Night Court as a
child, Phedre faces a difficult choice between honor and duty as she deals with a
world of glittering luxury, conspiracy, sacrifice, and betrayal. Two subsequent
trilogies chronicle the adventures of her adopted son and her distant
descendant.
78
The Dispossessed
An Ambiguous Utopia
Unwilling to accept that his anarchist world must be separated
from the rest of the civilized universe, Shevek, a brilliant
physicist, risks his life by traveling to the utopian mother planet
of Urras.
79
by Arthur C. Clarke
by Jacqueline Carey
by Ursula K. Le Guin
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Something Wicked This Way Comes
When the carnival comes to town, two boys unearth the terrifying
and horrible secrets that lurk within Cooger & Dark's Pandemonium Shadow
Show and learn the consequences of wishes, as a sinister and evil force is at
work in Green Town, Ill.
80
Wicked
The Life And Times Of The Wicked Witch Of The West
Set in an Oz where a morose Wizard battles suicidal thoughts,
the story of the green-skinned Elphaba, otherwise known as the
Wicked Witch of the West, profiles her as an animal-rights
activist striving to avenge her dear sister's death.
81
The Malazan Book Of The Fallen Series
Erickson's densely plotted series jumps around in time to
chronicle the vicissitudes of the sprawling Malazan Empire, a place of shifting
alliances, mysterious mage guilds, assassin gods and military uprisings.
82
The Eyre Affair
by Ray Bradbury
by Gregory Maguire
by Steven Erikson
by Jasper Fforde
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In a world where you can actually get lost (literally) in literature, Thursday Next, a
notorious Special Operative in literary detection, races against time to stop the
world's Third Most Wanted criminal from kidnapping characters, including Jane
Eyre, from works of literature, forcing her to dive into the pages of a novel to stop
literary homicide, in a wildly imaginative, mesmerizing thriller.
83
The Culture Series
A science-fiction series by the author of the Wasp Factory features a
symbiotic human and machine society that is engaged in a galaxy-wide battle to
the death between the Idrians, who fight for their faith, and the Culture, which
defends its right to exist.
84
The Crystal Cave
Stewart's first chapter in her five-volume take on the Arthurian
legend is told from the point of view of young Merlin, who
reluctantly engineers the birth of Arthur.
85
Anathem
by Iain Banks
by Mary Stewart
by Neal Stephenson
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Raz, who has lived in a monastery since childhood, away from the violent
upheavals of the outside world, becomes one of a group of formerly cloistered
scholars who are appointed by a higher power to avert an impending disaster.
86
The Codex Alera Series
In the land of Alera, where people bond with the furies —
elementals of earth, air, fire, water, and metal — young Tavi struggles to cope
with his lack of magical talent, until his homeland erupts into conflict between
rebels and loyalists and Tavi discovers that he holds the key to his realm's
survival.
87
The Book Of The New Sun
In the distant future, after the sun has cooled and dimmed, the
disgraced torturer Sevarian recounts his hard-fought rise to absolute power.
88
The Thrawn Trilogy
by Jim Butcher
by Gene Wolfe
by Timothy Zahn
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Five years after the fall of the Empire, a dying part of the Empire all the more
dangerous near death has just discovered something that could bring it back, the
last of the Emperor's warlords, Admiral Thrawn.
89
The Outlander Series
Hurtled back through time more than 200 hundred years to
Scotland in 1743, Claire Randall finds herself in the midst of a world torn apart
by violence, pestilence and revolution, and haunted by her feelings for a young
soldier.
90
The Elric Saga
Elric of Melnibone, an albino prince, travels in the Ship Which
Sails Over Land and Sea to the city of Dhoz-Kam, through the Shade Gate to the
Pulsing Cavern where the magic swords Stormbringer and Mournblade await
him.
91
by Diana Gabaldon
by Michael Moorcock
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The Illustrated Man
Eighteen science fiction stories deal with love, madness and death
on Mars, Venus and in space.
92
Sunshine
All hope for stopping the vampiric elite from controlling Earth
depends on human SOFs (Special Other Forces) and the
success of their attempt to recruit Sunshine, the daughter of
legendary sorcerer Onyx Blaise.
93
A Fire Upon The Deep
Set in a far-future where space has been portioned into "regions of
thought," a human expedition to an ancient data archive unleashes
the Blight, a superintelligent entity capable of destroying thousands
of worlds.
94
The Caves Of Steel
by Ray Bradbury
by Robin McKinley
by Vernor Vinge
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Fearing a violent confrontation between Earthmen and Spacers,
Detective Baley and his new partner, a robot, investigate the
murder of a Spacetown scientist
95
The Mars Trilogy
On a mission to provide Mars with an Earth-like
atmosphere, John Boone, Maya Toitovna, Frank Chalmers and Arkady
Bogdanov meet stiff resistance from those who will fight to the death to prevent
Mars from being changed.
96
Lucifer's Hammer
As the great Hamner-Brown comet, dubbed
Lucifer's Hammer by the press, approaches Earth,
various business executives, politicians, criminals,
journalists and scientists await the impending
cataclysm and its general and personal effects with
decidedly differing feelings
97
by Isaac Asimov
by Kim Stanley Robinson
by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle
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Doomsday Book
Stranded in the 14th century — a time of superstition and fear —
time traveler Kivrin becomes an unlikely angel of hope during
history's darkest hour and awaits rescue by her comrades. Literary
Award Winner
98
Perdido Street Station
In the squalid, Gothic city of New Crobuzon, a mysterious halfhuman,
half-bird stranger comes to Isaac, a gifted but eccentric
scientist, with a request to help him fly, but Isaac's obsessive
experiments and attempts to grant the request unleash a terrifying
dark force on the entire city.
99
The Xanth Series
In Anthony's pun-besotted magical realm (which is shaped a lot
like Florida), every human is born with a unique magical ability, which they use
navigate a landscape full of dragons, goblins, harpies, centaurs and all manner
of eldritch creatures.
by Connie Willis
by China Mieville
by Piers Anthony
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100
The Space Trilogy
Philologist Edwin Ransom travels to Mars and Venus, and makes a
series of dramatic discoveries about Earth's place in the solar system – and the
nature of a threat it unwittingly faces.
Edited by Glen Weldon
by C.S. Lewis
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Monday, July 25, 2011
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple by STUART KAUFFMAN
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple by STUART KAUFFMAN
Categories: Science and Policy
09:23 am
July 25, 2011
When asked, the great mathematician John von Neumann intuited that money was
somehow related to physical energy.
The intuition has rested there. I believe von Neumann was on the right track and it
probably bears on our current economic mess.
In physics, energy is defined as "the capacity to cause change." The root of this in
physics lies in Newton's three laws of motion.
The first law, we recall, states that a body in motion continues in straight-line motion
at a constant velocity. Newton rests this on the concept of inertia, from Galileo.
Technically, "velocity" includes speed and direction of motion.
The second law of motion is central to us: Any change in straight line motion at a
constant velocity requires an outside force which changes, or "accelerates" that
motion. The famous equation is F = MA. Force equals mass times acceleration,
where acceleration is the rate of change, positive or negative of the speed of motion,
or the direction of motion.
The third law will not concern us: For every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Sandra Mu/Getty Images
Cash money
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It is from the second law which defines force as that which "changes" motion, that we
get with some manipulations, an expression for energy E = 1/2MV squared.
Fine. Some time ago a group of friends including myself and Mike Brown, former
CFO of Microsoft and Chairman of NASDAQ were wondering how von Neumann
could be right. We realized we needed an "Economic First Law of Motion." But none
exists in the text books. So we invented one: It starts with "Trade or die."
Indeed, Mike had spearheaded an effort to build our proud agent-based "Partecon"
model with agents and a set of goods. Agents had to trade within a given period or
die.
Is this "trade or die" rule sensible? Yes. (It is the economic analogue of "inertia" in
fact.)
It is 50,000 years ago. I have caught a rabbit today, you have caught nothing today.
"I'll give you half my rabbit today if you'll give me an equal weight of what you catch
in the next while," I offer you. You accept. Note that credit has just been created, for
you owe me a share of whatever you catch in the next while, say a month.
Then, 50,000 years ago, with food scarce and problematic, we trade or die. If there
are several goods and hunting and gathering, we hunt, gather (i.e. produce food) and
trade or die. Sometimes we trade for what we like more but do not have, traded for
what we have too much of, which is the economist's advantages of trade and
Edgeworth box.
So we have a first law of economic motion: Trade or Die, within some bounded
period is the roughly conserved average economic inertia. Then that first law states:
In the absence of outside forces, the total rate of trade in the clan will be, on average,
constant — like Newton's first law. Note clan GDP is constant.
Now let salt emerge as a favored good we all want and use as money to facilitate
trade among many parties with diverse goods and preferences.
Now let paper money emerge. The Chinese were the first to invent it, and the
emperor, it seems, entranced, printed vast amounts and induced fantastic, ruinous
inflation.
Which brings us to the "money supply." In a simplest, steady state economic theory,
if the money supply suddenly doubles, more money in our hands chases the same
number of goods, so prices double. If this price doubling were to happen in an
instant, the average rate of trade remains constant. The Economic First Law would
hold.
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But the steady state economic theory is wrong. Price changes lag a change in money
supply. Suppose instead a slow, steady increase in the money supply. What will
really happen in this case is that prices will indeed rise, but with a lag, say of eight
months or so.
Then, given a slowly increasing money supply and a lag in price rises, we really do
have more money per good at their current prices, even as money supply continues
to slowly increase.
So what happens? We really do purchase more goods and produce more goods to
match. In short, the total average rate of trades increases, and increases steadily if
the money supply continues to increase and prices continue to lag.
We have our second economic law of motion: An increasing money supply and
lagging prices increases (positively accelerates) the average rate of trade. The
economy grows, clan GDP grows and there is slow inflation. The increasing money
supply and lagging price increases is the analogue of F = MA, an economic force
acting to accelerate the First economic law of motion of constant rate of trade. The
appropriate integral of this force will be the analogue of economic energy added to
the economy.
But conversely, and critically, if money supply gradually decreases and price drops
lag, we really have less money per good and so purchase less and produce less. Trade
slows, or decelerates. In short, the "velocity of money" slows, GDP drops and
economic energy is drained from the economy.
Then what has driven so much growth in the First World since WWII? In some part,
there has been a global fluctuating increase in debt, from credit card debt, to
mortgage debt, to sovereign debt. This has slowly increased the money supply with
lagging price increases, and so driven an increase of trade, i.e. GDP growth.
I suspect, with most of us, that the debt rubber band is very stretched. We have only
to look at Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and our own mushrooming debt.
At some point, say now, you do not repay my half-rabbit in a month but in five years.
I'm no longer willing to extend credit to you.
We may be there now. A credit bubble may be about to start a long contraction with
price drops lagging, sapping economic energy from our First World economy in a
long downward spiral.
This world is not this simple. I'm sure von Neumann would smile, even if he liked
this version of money as economic energy. But I doubt he would think the above is
entirely wrong.
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR Page 3 of 4
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Categories: Science and Policy
09:23 am
July 25, 2011
When asked, the great mathematician John von Neumann intuited that money was
somehow related to physical energy.
The intuition has rested there. I believe von Neumann was on the right track and it
probably bears on our current economic mess.
In physics, energy is defined as "the capacity to cause change." The root of this in
physics lies in Newton's three laws of motion.
The first law, we recall, states that a body in motion continues in straight-line motion
at a constant velocity. Newton rests this on the concept of inertia, from Galileo.
Technically, "velocity" includes speed and direction of motion.
The second law of motion is central to us: Any change in straight line motion at a
constant velocity requires an outside force which changes, or "accelerates" that
motion. The famous equation is F = MA. Force equals mass times acceleration,
where acceleration is the rate of change, positive or negative of the speed of motion,
or the direction of motion.
The third law will not concern us: For every action there is an equal and opposite
reaction.
13.7: Cosmos And Culture
Sandra Mu/Getty Images
Cash money
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR Page 1 of 4
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It is from the second law which defines force as that which "changes" motion, that we
get with some manipulations, an expression for energy E = 1/2MV squared.
Fine. Some time ago a group of friends including myself and Mike Brown, former
CFO of Microsoft and Chairman of NASDAQ were wondering how von Neumann
could be right. We realized we needed an "Economic First Law of Motion." But none
exists in the text books. So we invented one: It starts with "Trade or die."
Indeed, Mike had spearheaded an effort to build our proud agent-based "Partecon"
model with agents and a set of goods. Agents had to trade within a given period or
die.
Is this "trade or die" rule sensible? Yes. (It is the economic analogue of "inertia" in
fact.)
It is 50,000 years ago. I have caught a rabbit today, you have caught nothing today.
"I'll give you half my rabbit today if you'll give me an equal weight of what you catch
in the next while," I offer you. You accept. Note that credit has just been created, for
you owe me a share of whatever you catch in the next while, say a month.
Then, 50,000 years ago, with food scarce and problematic, we trade or die. If there
are several goods and hunting and gathering, we hunt, gather (i.e. produce food) and
trade or die. Sometimes we trade for what we like more but do not have, traded for
what we have too much of, which is the economist's advantages of trade and
Edgeworth box.
So we have a first law of economic motion: Trade or Die, within some bounded
period is the roughly conserved average economic inertia. Then that first law states:
In the absence of outside forces, the total rate of trade in the clan will be, on average,
constant — like Newton's first law. Note clan GDP is constant.
Now let salt emerge as a favored good we all want and use as money to facilitate
trade among many parties with diverse goods and preferences.
Now let paper money emerge. The Chinese were the first to invent it, and the
emperor, it seems, entranced, printed vast amounts and induced fantastic, ruinous
inflation.
Which brings us to the "money supply." In a simplest, steady state economic theory,
if the money supply suddenly doubles, more money in our hands chases the same
number of goods, so prices double. If this price doubling were to happen in an
instant, the average rate of trade remains constant. The Economic First Law would
hold.
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR Page 2 of 4
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But the steady state economic theory is wrong. Price changes lag a change in money
supply. Suppose instead a slow, steady increase in the money supply. What will
really happen in this case is that prices will indeed rise, but with a lag, say of eight
months or so.
Then, given a slowly increasing money supply and a lag in price rises, we really do
have more money per good at their current prices, even as money supply continues
to slowly increase.
So what happens? We really do purchase more goods and produce more goods to
match. In short, the total average rate of trades increases, and increases steadily if
the money supply continues to increase and prices continue to lag.
We have our second economic law of motion: An increasing money supply and
lagging prices increases (positively accelerates) the average rate of trade. The
economy grows, clan GDP grows and there is slow inflation. The increasing money
supply and lagging price increases is the analogue of F = MA, an economic force
acting to accelerate the First economic law of motion of constant rate of trade. The
appropriate integral of this force will be the analogue of economic energy added to
the economy.
But conversely, and critically, if money supply gradually decreases and price drops
lag, we really have less money per good and so purchase less and produce less. Trade
slows, or decelerates. In short, the "velocity of money" slows, GDP drops and
economic energy is drained from the economy.
Then what has driven so much growth in the First World since WWII? In some part,
there has been a global fluctuating increase in debt, from credit card debt, to
mortgage debt, to sovereign debt. This has slowly increased the money supply with
lagging price increases, and so driven an increase of trade, i.e. GDP growth.
I suspect, with most of us, that the debt rubber band is very stretched. We have only
to look at Greece, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and our own mushrooming debt.
At some point, say now, you do not repay my half-rabbit in a month but in five years.
I'm no longer willing to extend credit to you.
We may be there now. A credit bubble may be about to start a long contraction with
price drops lagging, sapping economic energy from our First World economy in a
long downward spiral.
This world is not this simple. I'm sure von Neumann would smile, even if he liked
this version of money as economic energy. But I doubt he would think the above is
entirely wrong.
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR Page 3 of 4
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/07/25/138671362/a-downward-spiral-economics-made-too-simple 7/25/2011
A Downward Spiral? Economics Made Too Simple : 13.7: Cosmos And Culture : NPR Page 4 of 4
http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2011/07/25/138671362/a-downward-spiral-economics-made-too-simple 7/25/2011
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
3 Grown-Up Books For The Hogwarts Grad by ANNIE ROPEIK
3 Grown-Up Books For The Hogwarts Grad by ANNIE ROPEIK
The Harry Potter franchise has its last hurrah on Friday, and fans like me are facing a forcible graduation from the protection of a fictional universe we've always known. I was 7 when Harry began, but I'm 21 now, and it's time to broaden my horizons beyond Hogwarts.
But what to pick up first? To me, the perfect post-Potter book isn't an imitator, but rather something entirely different (darker, perhaps, or less padded with childhood optimism) that's laced with threads of familiar territory. Through striking and unexpected lenses, these three books give new life to my favorite foundations of Harry's literary magic.
The Magicians
By Lev Grossman, Paperback, 416 pages, Viking Adult, list price: $16.
Cry derivative all you want — Lev Grossman's novel, hailed as Harry Potter for adults, is all that and more. Combine Narnia, Potter and your sullen, booze-fueled college existentialist phase, and you'll have the world of Quentin Coldwater, a high school senior from Brooklyn who finds himself enrolled at Brakebills College, where he studies to be a magician. It's everything you'd want from a freewheeling postgrad wizardry experience, and the magic itself is wonderfully scientific — messy, sprawling, while technical in a way that Potter forgoes. But it's in the self-reflective thread of Quentin's journey, which culminates in a true-to-genre magical quest undercut by a vein of harsh realism, that The Magicians shines. The endgame is a heartrending, cathartic examination of the nature of magic and our relationship to the stories we wanted to live in as kids — required reading for anyone trying to recover from a lifelong love affair with a fictional world.
Ender's Game
By Orson Scott Card, Paperback, 352 pages, Top Science Fiction, List Price $6.99.
The first installment in Orson Scott Card's classic science-fiction series offers a gripping study of how to make a soldier, told through the eyes of child prodigy Andrew "Ender" Wiggin. Set at a futuristic school where kids learn the art of war through battle simulators, Ender's Game shows the vicious toll that thankless expectation exerts on young people, while Ender's own journey has an uneasy sort of "chosen one" edge to it. Card expertly twists your emotions as you watch the boy genius molded — not entirely with his own permission — into the perfect leader, with his capacity for love and hurt compartmentalized behind ruthless cunning. Ender's voice is a mesmerizing mix of childlike wonder and calculating cynicism, and it's stunningly easy to get lost in his war games. This exemplary piece of sci-fi is a chilling and heartbreaking take on what happens when children inherit war.
The Secret History
By Donna Tartt, Paperback, 576 pages, Vintage, list price: $16.
Donna Tartt's acclaimed novel centers on a group of classics majors at a small college in New England whose aspirations toward antiquity careen terrifyingly out of control. But folded into the thrilling story, which is tinged with a crisp, dizzied academic appeal, are dark ruminations on the gifts and curses of the ancients. These ubiquitous archetypes, models and moral codes make up every story we know to some degree — whether it's a reluctant hero's quest, a battle between good and evil or simply a journey through a life. In The Secret History, Tartt offers a fascinating perspective on the influence of the classics on our lives, with a stunningly written moral narrative that warps and coils in on itself to reveal truths about good and evil that most would be afraid to discover.
These books aren't the fantastical J.K. Rowling adventures of my childhood, and they're certainly far less cheerful than a certain epilogue. But they embody what I'll always love about Harry Potter— meditations on magic, morality and growing up, shot through with the understanding that while real life isn't always just like storybooks, there's learning in that, too.
Thursday, June 02, 2011
Summer Books 2011: The Complete List
Use the list below to browse NPR's Summer Books 2011 recommendations. Each critic's list is presented separately. Click on the article names to read our critics' comments about the books.
'Indie Booksellers Target Summer's Best Reads'Recommended by Lucia Silva, Portrait of a Bookstore
The Great Night, by Chris Adrian, hardcover, 304 pages, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, list price: $26
The Ada Poems, by Cynthia Zarin, hardcover, 80 pages, Knopf, list price: $25
The Family Fang, by Kevin Wilson, hardcover, 320 pages, Ecco, list price: $23.99
The Sisters Brothers, by Patrick DeWitt, hardcover, 336 pages, Ecco, list price: $23.88
A Moment In The Sun, by John Sayles, hardcover, 968 pages, McSweeney's, list price: $29
Recommended by Daniel Goldin, Boswell Book Co.
The Sorcerer's Apprentices: A Season In The Kitchen At Ferran Adria's elBulli , by Lisa Abend, hardcover, 304 pages, Free Press, list price: $26
My Korean Deli: Risking It All For A Convenience Store, by Ben Ryder Howe, hardcover, 320 pages, Henry Holt and Co., list price: $25
Ex Libris: The Art Of Bookplates, by Kevin Wilson, paperback, 112 pages, Yale University Press, list price: $15
The Solitude Of Prime Numbers, by Paolo Giordano, hardcover, 288 pages, Pamela Dorman Books, list price: $25.95
Wingshooters, by Nina Revoyr, paperback, 230 pages, Akashic Books, list price: $15.95
My American Unhappiness, by Dean Bakopoulos, paperback, 288 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $24
Recommended by Rona Brinlee, The BookMark
You Know When The Men Are Gone, by Siobhan Fallon, hardcover, 227 pages, Amy Einhorn Books/Putnam, list price: $23.95
22 Britannia Road, by Amanda Hodgkinson, hardcover, 336 pages, Pamela Dorman Books, list price: $26.95
World Without Fish, by Mark Kurlansky, illustrated by Frank Stockton, hardcover, 192 pages, Workman Publishing Company, list price: $16.95
Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell, hardcover, 320 pages, Knopf, list price: $24.95
The Poison Tree, by Erin Kelly, hardcover, 336 pages, Pamela Dorman Books, list price: $26.95
Books Preview: Spotting Summer's High FliersRecommended by Rachel Syme
State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 353 pages, Harper, list price: $26.99
Demon Fish: Travels Through The Hidden World of Sharks, by Juliet Eilperin, hardcover, 320 pages, Pantheon, list price: $26.95
Before I Go To Sleep, by S.J. Watson, hardcover, 368 pages, Harper, list price: $25.99
The Storm at the Door, by Stefan Merrill Block, hardcover, 368 pages, Random House, list price: $25
Bright's Passage: A Novel, by Josh Ritter, hardcover, 208 pages, The Dial Press, list price: $22
Once Upon a River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell, hardcover 348 pages, W.W. Norton, list price: $25.95
The Kid, by Sapphire, hardcover, 384 pages, Penguin Press, list price: $25.95
Turn of Mind, by Alice LaPlante, hardcover, 320 pages, Atlantic Monthly Press, list price: $24
The Last Werewolf, by Glen Duncan, hardcover, 304 pages, Knopf, list price: $25.95
Sex On The Moon: The Amazing Story Behind The Most Audacious Heist In History, by Ben Mezrich, hardcover, 320 pages, Doubleday, list price: $26.95
Supergods: What Masked Vigilantes, Miraculous Mutants, And A Sun God From Smallville Can Teach Us About Being Human, by Grant Morrison, hardcover, 464 pages,s Spiegel & Grau, list price: $28
Northwest Corner: A Novel, by John Burnham Schwartz, hardcover, 304 pages, Random House, list price: $26
Skyjack: The Hunt For D.B. Cooper, by Geoffrey Gray, hardcover, 352 pages, Crown, list price: $25
Ghosts In The Wires: My Adventures As The World's Most Wanted Hacker, by Kevin Mitnick, hardcover, 432 pages, Little, Brown and Company, list price: $25.99
Anatomy Of A Disappearance, by Hisham Matar, hardcover, 240 pages, The Dial Press, list price: $22
Crime Fiction Picks Serve Up Summertime SuspenseRecommended by Maureen Corrigan
The Snowman, by Jo Nesbo, translated by Don Bartlett, hardcover, 393 pages, Knopf, list price: $25.95
Among The Missing, by Morag Joss, hardcover, 260 pages, Delacourte, list price: $25
What You See In The Dark, by Matthew Munoz, hardcover, 251 pages, Algonquin Books, list price: $23.95
Save Me, by Lisa Scottoline, hardcover, 384 pages, St. Martin's, list price: $27.99
A Drop Of That Hard Stuff, by Lawrence Block, hardcover, 320 pages, Little, Brown and Co., list price: $25.99
Back To Basics: 2011's Simple, Summery Cookbooks
Recommended by T. Susan Chang
Recommended by T. Susan Chang
Heartland: The Cookbook, by Judith Fertig, hardcover, 304 pages, Andrews McMeel, list price: $35
Sara Foster's Southern Kitchen, by Sara Foster, hardcover, 416 pages, Random House, list price: $35
A Southerly Course: Recipes and Stories from Close to Home, by Martha Hall Foose, hardcover, 256 pages, Clarkson Potter, list price: $32.50
Maine Classics: More than 150 Delicious Recipes From Down East, by Mark Gaier and Clark Frasier, hardcover, 320 pages, Running Press, list price: $30
Good Fish: Sustainable Seafood Recipes from the Pacific Coast, by Becky Selengut, paperback, 288 pages, Sasquatch Books, list price: $29.95
Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat, by Deborah Krasner, hardcover, 400 pages, Stewart, Tabori and Chang, list price: $40
Super Natural Every Day: Well-Loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen, by Heidi Swanson, paperback, 256 pages, 10 Speed Press, list price: $23
Radically Simple: Brilliant Flavors with Breathtaking Ease: 325 Inspiring Recipes by Award-Winning Chef Rozanne Gold, by Rozanne Gold, hardcover, 352 pages, Rodale Books, list price: $35
Fresh & Fast Vegetarian: Recipes That Make a Meal, by Marie Simmons, paperback, 256 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $17.95
Milk & Cookies: 89 Heirloom Recipes from New York's Milk & Cookies Bakery, by Tina Casaceli, hardcover, 176 pages, Chronicle, list price: $24.95
Insane Science: 5 New Books That Explain The Brain
Recommended by Michael Schaub
Recommended by Michael Schaub
The Compass Of Pleasure: How Our Brains Make Fatty Foods, Orgasm, Exercise, Marijuana, Generosity, Vodka, Learning, And Gambling Feel So Good, by David J. Linden, hardcover, 240 pages, Viking, list price: $26.95
The Believing Brain: From Ghosts To Gods To Politics And Conspiracies — How We Construct Beliefs And Reinforce Them As Truths, by Michael Shermer, hardcover, 400 pages, Times Books, list price: $28
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through The Madness Industry, by Jon Ronson, hardcover, 288 pages, Riverhead, list price: $25.95
The Optimism Bias: A Tour Of The Irrationally Positive Brain, by Tali Sharot, hardcover, 272 pages, Pantheon, list price: $25.95
A Billion Wicked Thoughts: What The World's Largest Experiment Reveals About Human Desire, by Ogi Ogas and Sai Gaddam, hardcover, 416 pages, Dutton, list price: $26.95
Mind-Bending Sci-Fi Books For A Fantastical SummerRecommended by Glen Weldon
Heaven's Needle, by Liane Merciel, paperback, 480 pages, Pocket Star, list price: $7.99
Embassytown, by China Mieville, hardcover, 368 pages, Del Rey, list price: $26
The Quantum Thief, by Hannu Rajaneimi, hardcover, 336 pages, Tor, list price: $24.99
Graveminder, by Melissa Marr, hardcover, 336 pages, William Morrow, list price: $22.99
2030: The Real Story Of What Happens To America, by Albert Brooks, hardcover, 384 pages, St. Martin's, list price: $25.99
Nancy Pearl Presents 10 Terrific Summer ReadsRecommended by Nancy Pearl
Midnight Riot, by Ben Aaronovitch, paperback, 320 pages, Del Ray, list price: $7.99
Matched, by Ally Condie, hardcover, 384 pages, Dutton Juvenille, list price: $17.99
Castle Waiting & Castle Waiting II, by Linda Medley, hardcover, 472 pages and 384 pages, Fantagraphic Books, list price: $29.95 each
Emily, Alone, by Stewart O'Nan, hardcover, 272 pages, Viking Adult, list price: $29.95
The Watery Part Of The World, by Michael Parker, hardcover, 272 pages, Algonquin Books, list price: $23.95
The White Woman On The Green Bicycle, by Monique Roffey, paperback, 448 pages, Penguin, list price: $16
Evening Is The Whole Day, by Preeta Samarasan, paperback, 352 pages, Mariner Books, list price: $13.95
The Coffins Of Little Hope, by Timothy Schaffert, hardcover, 272 pages, Unbridled Books, list price: $24.95
Tooth And Claw, by Jo Walton, paperback, 336 pages, Orb Books, list price: $15.95
Three Critics Pick The Best Books For SummerRecommended by Laura Miller
The Hypnotist, by Lars Kepler, hardcover, 512 pages, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, list price: $27
The Man In The Rockefeller Suit, by Mark Seal, hardcover, 336 pages, Viking Adult, list price: $26.95
Recommended by Ron Charles
State Of Wonder, by Ann Patchett, hardcover, 368 pages, Harper, list price: $26.99
Doc, by Mary Doria Russell, hardcover, 416 pages, Random House, list price: $26
West Of Here, by Jonathan Evison, hardcover, 496 pages, Algonquin Books, list price: $24.95
Recommended by Rigoberto Gonzalez
Orientation: And Other Stories, by Daniel Orozco, hardcover, 176 pages, Faber & Faber, list price: $23
Silver Sparrow, by Tayari Jones, hardcover, 352 pages, Algonquin, list price: $19.95
Dive Into Fiction: Five Picks From Alan CheuseRecommended by Alan Cheuse
Miss New India, by Bharati Mukherjee, hardcover, 336 pages, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, list price: $25
Three Stages Of Amazement, by Carol Edgarian, hardcover, 304 pages, Scribner, list price: $25
The Astral, by Kate Christensen, hardcover, 320 pages, Doubleday, list price: $25.95
All The Time In The World, New And Selected Short Stories, by E.L. Doctorow, hardcover, 304 pages, Random House, list price: $26
Kurt Vonnegut: Novels & Stories, 1963-1973, by Kurt Vonnegut, hardcover, 848 pages, Library of America, list price: $35
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