Five Percent Chance

The Star Trek: Signature Edition series continues with this thrilling adventure featuring Commander Spock, Captain Kirk, and the U.S.S. Enterprise. Of all the experiences shared by Captain Kirk and the crew of the Starship Enterprise™ during their first five-year mission, two were among the most perilous: a journey to the nonphysical realm of Transition where the massive computer known as Memory Prime was situated, and the nightmarish mission to Talin IV, a world poised on the brink of destruction that Kirk was forbidden to save. In the twenty-third century, a hundred years before a sentient artificial life-form would be allowed to earn a Starfleet commission, the Federation considers the use of self-aware artificial intelligences to be little more than slavery, except for the immense computer system of Memory Prime—the key hub in the Federation's vast network of interstellar library planets. There, the A.I.s known as Pathfinders inhabit Transition—a virtual world so different from our universe that the A.I.s themselves debate whether or not the physical universe is real. But when an ancient enemy reaches out from the shadows of Vulcan's darkest history and threatens to destroy the Federation, Spock must risk his career, and his life, to enter the Pathfinders' realm. Technologically and politically, Talin IV is little different from late-twentieth century Earth. But as a series of mysterious events pushes that world closer to self-annihilation, the Prime Directive prevents Captain Kirk and his crew from doing anything to prevent it. When the worst appears to happen and Kirk takes desperate action to give the Talin a chance to step back from the nuclear abyss, Talin IV is consumed by radioactive fire. Now, with a world destroyed and the Enterprise dead in space, the careers of Kirk and his crew are over. Disgraced and despised, Kirk has only one chance to redeem himself and his crew: Somehow, he must make his way back to Talin IV and discover what really happened, even if it means proving that a world died because he broke Starfleet's most sacred law.

Do politicians listen to the public? When? How often? Or are the views of the public manipulated and used strategically by elites? In this text, leading scholars of American politics assess and debate the impact of public opinion on policy making. Central issues include the changing relationship between opinion and policy over time, how key actors use public opinion to formulate domestic and foriegn policy and how measurment techniques might improve our understanding of the results of polls and survey research.

Distributed to some depository libraries in microfiche.

A Business Week, New York Times Business, and USA Today Bestseller "Ambitious and readable . . . an engaging introduction to the oddsmakers, whom Bernstein regards as true humanists helping to release mankind from the choke holds of superstition and fatalism." —The New York Times "An extraordinarily entertaining and informative book." —The Wall Street Journal "A lively panoramic book . . . Against the Gods sets up an ambitious premise and then delivers on it." —Business Week "Deserves to be, and surely will be, widely read." —The Economist "[A] challenging book, one that may change forever the way people think about the world." —Worth "No one else could have written a book of such central importance with so much charm and excitement." —Robert Heilbroner author, The Worldly Philosophers "With his wonderful knowledge of the history and current manifestations of risk, Peter Bernstein brings us Against the Gods. Nothing like it will come out of the financial world this year or ever. I speak carefully: no one should miss it." —John Kenneth Galbraith Professor of Economics Emeritus, Harvard University In this unique exploration of the role of risk in our society, Peter Bernstein argues that the notion of bringing risk under control is one of the central ideas that distinguishes modern times from the distant past. Against the Gods chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. "An extremely readable history of risk." —Barron's "Fascinating . . . this challenging volume will help you understand the uncertainties that every investor must face." —Money "A singular achievement." —Times Literary Supplement "There's a growing market for savants who can render the recondite intelligibly-witness Stephen Jay Gould (natural history), Oliver Sacks (disease), Richard Dawkins (heredity), James Gleick (physics), Paul Krugman (economics)-and Bernstein would mingle well in their company." —The Australian

A classic collection of titles from one of the world's greatestfinancial writers One of the foremost financial writers of his generation, thelate Peter Bernstein had the unique ability to synthesizeintellectual history and economics with the theory and practice ofinvestment management. Now, with the Peter L. Bernstein ClassicsCollection e-bundle, you will be able to enjoy some of the mostimportant and critically acclaimed books by this engaginginvestment writer—Capital Ideas, Against the Gods, ThePower of Gold, and Capital Ideas Evolving. Capital Ideas and Capital Ideas Evolving tracesthe origins of modern Wall Street, from the pioneering work ofearly scholars and the development of new theories in risk,valuation, and investment returns, to the actual implementation ofthese theories in the real world of investment management Against the Gods skillfully explores one of the mostprofound issues of our time—the role of risk in oursociety—in a non-technical and accessible style The Power of Gold tells the story of how history's mostcoveted, celebrated, and inglorious asset has inspired romanticmyths, daring explorations, and titanic struggles for money andpower Engaging and informative, Peter L. Bernstein ClassicsCollection puts the insights of one of the greatest financialwriters of our time at your fingertips.