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Book Picks

How to Catch a Robot Rat: When Biology Inspires Innovation

Posted on December 6, 2010

by Agnès Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer. 2010. 226 pages. MIT Press. $29.95.

Human engineers draw some of their best inspirations from nature, according to technology researchers Agnès Guillot and Jean-Arcady Meyer in How to Catch a Robot Rat. The authors introduce readers to “the new bionics,” a field that integrates biology and engineering.

How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times

Posted on September 17, 2010
Image of How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It: Tactics, Techniques, and Technologies for Uncertain Times
Author(s): James Wesley Rawles
Publisher: Plume (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 336 pages
List Price: $18.00

by James Wesley Rawles. Plume. 2009. 153 pages. Paperback. $17.

Civilization is still standing now, but that does not mean it always will, cautions survival expert James Wesley Rawles in How to Survive the End of the World As We Know It.

Integrationalism: Essays on the Rationale of Abundance

Posted on May 17, 2011
Image of Integrationalism: essays on the rationale of abundance
Author(s): James Felton Keith
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (2010)
Binding: Paperback, 204 pages
List Price: $20.00

Integrationalism is a philosophical framework that is inspiring new thought on the ideal transition from human creation, to human continuity, and finally to human cultivation, by acknowledging the technological extension that have yielded modern discovery, development, and deployment.

It Pays to Share

Posted on June 14, 2012
The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing
Image of The Mesh: Why the Future of Business Is Sharing
Author(s): Lisa Gansky
Publisher: Portfolio Hardcover (2010)
Binding: Hardcover, 256 pages
List Price: $25.95

A new business model is emerging based on sharing rather than selling and owning. Entrepreneur Lisa Gansky calls the new model the Mesh and reports that a variety of new businesses are using it to become far more responsive to their customers’ wants and needs.

Knowledge of Evolution Is Power

Posted on June 6, 2012
Evolving: The Human Effect and Why It Matters
Image of Evolving: The Human Effect and Why It Matters
Author(s): Daniel J. Fairbanks
Publisher: Prometheus Books (2012)
Binding: Paperback, 352 pages
List Price: $19.00

Evolution did not just take place in humanity’s past, according to Utah Valley University geneticist Daniel Fairbanks. He argues that it is occurring and shaping human life now, and that it will continue to do so.

Law and Digital Records

Posted on August 6, 2012
Burdens of Proof: Cryptographic Culture and Evidence Law in the Age of Electronic Documents
Image of Burdens of Proof: Cryptographic Culture and Evidence Law in the Age of Electronic Documents
Author(s): Jean-François Blanchette
Publisher: The MIT Press (2012)
Binding: Hardcover, 288 pages
List Price: $30.00

Paper documents were the standard of proof in law, business, and everyday life throughout the twentieth century, but the fairly recent conversion of nearly all of our written records into digitized data stored in computers is a whole new paradigm with some never-before-seen challenges, according to UCLA information-studies professor Jean-François Blanchette.

Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World

Posted on September 16, 2010
Image of Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World (Bk Business)
Author(s): Bob Johansen
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 194 pages
List Price: $28.95

by Bob Johansen. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. 2009. 191 pages. $26.95.

Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20

Posted on September 17, 2010
Image of Lightcraft Flight Handbook LTI-20: Hypersonic Flight Transport for an Era Beyond Oil
Author(s): Leik N. Myrabo, John S. Lewis
Publisher: Collector's Guide Publishing, Inc. (2009)
Binding: Paperback, 304 pages
List Price: $29.95

by Leik Myrabo and John S. Lewis. Apogee. 2009. 284 pages. Paperback. $29.95.

Jet airplanes and rocket-propelled spacecraft are profligate fossil-fuel burners and carbon-dioxide emitters, according to aerospace engineer Leik Myrabo and planetary-sciences professor John S. Lewis. They look forward to the debut—possibly by 2025—of carbon-free “lightcraft.”

Making the Invisible Visible: Essays by the Fellows of the International Leadership Forum

Posted on September 17, 2010
Image of Making the Invisible Visible: Essays by the Fellows of the International Leadership Forum
Author(s): Richard Farson
Publisher: Greenway Communications (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 154 pages
List Price: $29.00

edited by Richard Farson. Western Sciences Behavioral Institute. 2009. 153 pages. $29.

Mega Disasters: The Science of Predicting the Next Catastrophe

Posted on September 17, 2010
Image of Megadisasters: The Science of Predicting the Next Catastrophe
Author(s): Florin Diacu
Publisher: Princeton University Press (2009)
Binding: Hardcover, 216 pages
List Price: $24.95

by Florin Diacu. Princeton University Press. 2010. 195 pages. $24.95.

It is possible to mathematically predict the directions in which stars, planets, and other objects in space will travel, but can we also predict how things will unfold here on Earth? Yes, in many cases, argues mathematician Florin Diacu.