It S Alive

Why we are on the cusp of a new economic era that will make the changes and challenges of the Information Era seem like child’s play From the bestselling authors of Blur—a defining book of the Information Age—comes a startling glimpse into the near future and the emerging economy that awaits us. It’s Alive foretells the jolt the world is about to receive as the science of molecular evolution races out of the laboratories and into the business world. Think back to the early 1970s. Imagine the opportunities for your business, career choice, and investments had you received an advance report on the ways in which computer and information technology would revolutionize the world. It’s Alive provides that opportunity today: a realistic and persuasive look into the future—the molecular economy—and how it is starting to overtake and reshape the Information Age. Today’s gene mapping and molecular engineering are equivalent to the introduction of transistor radios at the advent of the information economy. Solid-state technology moved from the labs into the business arena, providing in turn the transistor, the microprocessor, and the modem—and the information business. During the next ten years, molecular technology will follow the same pattern, moving from the lab and into the basic operation of the corporation itself. Chris Meyer and Stan Davis are our guides in understanding this new future. They show that not only biological systems evolve. The rules of evolution help explain the process of change in biology, business, and the economy, thereby providing a management guide to the business world around the corner. It’s Alive is not science fiction or futurism. It bases its insights and predictions on the impact the molecular economy is already having in such diverse business environments as manufacturing, financial services, and energy. Through in-depth case studies of Capital One Financial, the U.S. Marine Corps, British Petroleum, and the biotech firm Maxygen, Meyer and Davis show how adaptive behavior works in the real world. As the rules of evolution combine with the connected economy, our business world will become unpredictable, volatile, and continually adaptive—in other words, alive. Also available as an eBook.

Goosebumps now on Disney+! Livvy and Jayden are the stars of their school's robotics team. Livvy is especially enthusiastic because her own mother works in a robotics lab and experiments with Artificial Intelligence. To impress her mom, Livvy and Jayden build a robot. Livvy wants to name their robot "Francine," but Jayden thinks that's too silly for their creation. Desperate to win, Livvy and Jayden "borrow" an Artificial Intelligence module. They soon realize they've made a terrible mistake. Francine has too much brain power. She's alive! And using this newly gained brain power to dream up a deadly contest!

There are few other human inventions that are likely to have as large an impact on our lives as machines that can think . . . The steam engine liberated our muscles; the computer is set to liberate our minds. The development of Artificial Intelligence is an adventure as bold and ambitious as any that humans have attempted. And the truth is that thinking machines are already an indispensable part of our lives. Without them, Google couldn’t answer your questions in a fraction of a second. Autonomous cars would exist only in science fiction. And your smartphone would be . . . just a phone. In countless ways, with every passing day, AI is shaping and reshaping our world. But where will AI technologies take us in the future? Will thinking machines destroy our jobs? Could their intelligence surpass our own? Could the rise of AI threaten the very existence of humanity? Leading researcher Toby Walsh takes us on a surprising and inspiring journey through the story of Artificial Intelligence – revealing how it is already transforming our societies, our economies and even ourselves – and makes ten fascinating predictions about what it will have achieved by the year 2050. ‘A whirlwind tour through the history and the future of AI - and why it matters to all of us. A must-read.’ —Sebastian Thrun, CEO of Udacity, a Google Fellow and VP, and a Research Professor at Stanford University. ‘Toby Walsh’s story of how artificial intelligence evolved from the dreams of Alan Turing to a powerful technological force today is exciting, insightful and incisive. Will his predictions about how AI will change life as we know it in the coming decades prove equally dead-on? I, for one, would not bet against him!’ —Henry Kautz, past President of the Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence, and Founding Director of Institute for Data Science and Professor at University of Rochester ‘It’s Alive! addresses a broad range of issues in clear and refreshingly non-technical language that is suitable for readers who are looking to explore the subject without being scared off by too much scientific jargon.’ —Chris Saliba, Books+Publishing ‘Toby Walsh is one of those rare individuals who combine a deep knowledge of AI technology, a serious interest in its economic and social implications, and a verve for lively and engaging writing. If you want real insights about the coming future of machines that think better and faster than humans in more and more domains, then you need to read this book.’ —Erik Brynjolfsson, professor at MIT and coauthor of The Second Machine Age and Machine, Platform, Crowd

The B-movie monster—be it gap-toothed gorilla, ripped-from-time dinosaur, overstretched arachnid, or another outrageous anthropomorphic fantasy—has thrilled moviegoers for decades, and firmly sunk its claws into popular culture. In It’s Alive!, Michael LaBarbera delves into the science behind these characters’ construction, from the biology surrounding tyrannosaurid postures in Jurassic Park and King Kong to the questionable physics employed by The Incredible Shrinking Man. Accompanied by a treasure trove of images from old movie posters and stills, and ranging from the 1930s to such recent films as The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the latest installments of the Alien franchise, It’s Alive! cleverly uses science to remind us that the best parts of moviemaking might indeed be magic–for all creatures, great and small.

The only thing harder than raising the dead is making a movie about raising the dead. In the summer of 1931, life was good for Junior Laemmle. Though only twenty-three years old, he was the head of all movie production for Universal Pictures, and under his reign, the studio flourished. So much so, he was about to be bestowed with the greatest honor a young executive can receive in Hollywood: a promotion to vice president of the entire company. What’s more, Carl Laemmle, his father and founder of the studio, was returning to California for the first time in years to personally present the honor to his son. Or so Junior thought. When his father arrives, Junior discovers that instead of being grateful for transforming and catapulting the out-of-date studio into the future, his father is obsessed with Junior’s next production: Frankenstein. Like the year before, Carl is fervently against making another grisly and gothic film, despite Dracula becoming a huge hit—a project which Junior fought for and personally oversaw through production. Also not helping Junior’s cause, though the film is just days away from beginning production, the final choice between Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff to play the role of the Monster, has yet to be made. It’s Alive! is a thrilling and vibrant portrait of 1930s Hollywood centered around the chaotic and exciting days just before the filming of the beloved cult-classic film, Frankenstein. Woven with hopeful passion, emotional vulnerability, staunch determination, and creative fulfillment, readers will be swept along with breathless cinematic pace through events that will not only change the lives of everyone involved, but Hollywood itself.

The creators of the award-winning science podcast for kids, Brains On!, present a humorous, highly illustrated, fact- and fun-filled look at life on Earth— from deep sea creatures and carnivorous plants to the human body and stinky bacteria. Perfect for STEM collections! Did you ever wonder why jellyfish sting? Or if trees communicate with each other? How about why you can't tickle yourself? Well hold on to your noggins, because you're about to find out! Join the creators of the award-winning science podcast Brains On! as they explore the uber-awesome and sometimes gross world of biology—aka the study of living things. Inside these pages, you'll meet animals with superpowers, plants that eat meat, brains that trick you, and tiny microbes that live, well . . . all over you! Packed with mind-boggling facts and laugh-out-loud jokes, this book promises a brain-bending, jaw-dropping, belly-laughing good time as readers watch the world around them come ALIVE.

It's Alive! is a comprehensive and entertaining account of Universal's classic Monster series. It reveals the studio politics, the shameless publicity gimmicks, and the sheer Hollywood madness that made the eight films of Universal's Frankenstein saga the most successful and widely viewed horror films ever produced. It examines the personalities and analyzes the special contributions of such great horror stars as the gentle, mysterious Boris Karloff, the proud, tragic Bela Lugosi, the erratic Lon Chaney, Jr. It provides descriptions of unrivaled detail and accuracy of the ingenious makeups and the strange series of set accidents that are part of the legend and lore of these remarkable motion pictures. The book contains richly detailed production and cast credits, the most exhaustive ever published on these films. There are full synopses of all eight films, a feature sure to inspire nostalgic recollections among the legions of late-night viewers who habitually search the TV listing to see if one of their favorite Frankenstein films is playing--again. Complete production histories furnish an insider's view of how all that film magic was created. Film historian Gregory William Mank conducted numerous exclusive interviews with series survivors, adding a moving and informative personal dimension to his book. Readers get firsthand information from such central figures as Charles Barton(director of Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein), leading ladies like Elena Verdugo (House of Frankenstein) and Josephine Hutchinson (Son of Frankenstein), screenwriter Curt Siodmak (who wrote the screenplay for Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man), Lugosi's ex-wife Lillian, Karloff's daughter Sara Jane, and the "Bride of Frankenstein" herself, Elsa Lanchester. An entire chapter, entitled "Denouement," details the strange fates and tragedies that awaited many veterans of the Frankenstein series. And an extensive Biographical Appendix covers the careers of virtually every significant participant in the films. A section on later Frankenstein films demonstrates the lasting impact of this classic horror theme and evaluates the more recent pictures in relation to the great prototypes. The authoritative and readable text is visually supported by over 150 illustrations: portraits, stills from the various films, candid set photographs, and poster reproductions--many never before published. It's Alive! The Classic Cinema Saga of Frankenstein colorfully and factually presents the total, candid, revealing history behind one of the most beloved of motion picture series. It is an invaluable reference volume that also promises hours of pleasure reading. -- Inside jacket flaps.

"Cuozzo writes with anecdotal wit of his experiences at the nation's oldest continuously published daily newspaper, founded in 1801 by Alexander Hamilton. His story begins in 1972, when he debuted as a copyboy and The Post was still Dorothy Schiff's respectable but flagging liberal afternoon paper. When Rupert Murdoch became the once and future proprietor in 1977, he immediately infused the pages with energy, reenvisioning their politics, their prose, their sensibility. Call it loud, call it brassy, but the reinvented Post became "the engine of the shift in the popular imagination" that drove the renewal of America's healthy tabloid culture." "It's Alive! is also the inside account of how the paper became a tabloid saga in itself. Its will to live was remarkable. In 1987, when Murdoch lost his battle with the FCC to own both The Post and six television stations, his first tenure on South Street came to an end, precipitating the paper's first brush with death. What lay ahead was a "harrowing five-year parenthesis in The Post's rightful ownership." Under new owner Peter Kalikow, the paper was soon locked in the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash and a death-duel with the archenemy Daily News. In fits and starts, The Post ground its way into 1993, bouncing checks and praying for credit." "When Kalikow, in personal bankruptcy, announced suspension of publication, mystery man Steven Hoffenberg at first appeared to be a savior. But with his own assets frozen by a federal court, Hoffenberg faced travails worse than Kalikow's. Desperate for credibility and cash, he brought in literary legend Pete Hamill as editor, and parking garage magnate Abraham Hirschfeld as a partner." "Hirschfeld wrested control, dumped Hamill for controversial Amsterdam News publisher Wilbert Tatum, and announced a far-fetched plan to "combine" the two papers. Cuozzo tells the riveting - and hilarious - story of how executives and union members alike banded together to oust Hirschfeld from the scene. Hamilton's face appeared on page one, shedding a tear. Governor Mario Cuomo pitched in to help the mutineers. And Murdoch returned to save the day, beginning the paper's transformation into a vehicle as much focused on issues as on individuals."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved