Pages Of Doom

"All disasters are in some sense man-made." Setting the annus horribilis of 2020 in historical perspective, Niall Ferguson explains why we are getting worse, not better, at handling disasters. Disasters are inherently hard to predict. Pandemics, like earthquakes, wildfires, financial crises. and wars, are not normally distributed; there is no cycle of history to help us anticipate the next catastrophe. But when disaster strikes, we ought to be better prepared than the Romans were when Vesuvius erupted, or medieval Italians when the Black Death struck. We have science on our side, after all. Yet in 2020 the responses of many developed countries, including the United States, to a new virus from China were badly bungled. Why? Why did only a few Asian countries learn the right lessons from SARS and MERS? While populist leaders certainly performed poorly in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, Niall Ferguson argues that more profound pathologies were at work--pathologies already visible in our responses to earlier disasters. In books going back nearly twenty years, including Colossus, The Great Degeneration, and The Square and the Tower, Ferguson has studied the foibles of modern America, from imperial hubris to bureaucratic sclerosis and online fragmentation. Drawing from multiple disciplines, including economics, cliodynamics, and network science, Doom offers not just a history but a general theory of disasters, showing why our ever more bureaucratic and complex systems are getting worse at handling them. Doom is the lesson of history that this country--indeed the West as a whole--urgently needs to learn, if we want to handle the next crisis better, and to avoid the ultimate doom of irreversible decline.

From two Nebula nominees—the first novel in a terrifying space epic based on the classic game featuring Marine Corporal Flynn Taggart . . . The Gates were there on Phobos when mankind first arrived. Inert, unyielding, impossibly alien constructs, for twenty years they sat lifeless, mute testaments to their long-vanished creators, their secrets hidden. Then one day, they sprang to life . . . Meet Corporal Flynn Taggart, United States Marine Corps; serial number 888-23-9912. He’s the best warrior the twenty-first century has to offer, which is a damn good thing. Because Flynn Taggart is all that’s standing between the hell that just dropped in on Mars and an unsuspecting planet Earth . . .

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerful and compassionate account of what it’s like to be young, driven, and wildly creative. “To my taste, the greatest American myth of cosmogenesis features the maladjusted, antisocial, genius teenage boy who, in the insular laboratory of his own bedroom, invents the universe from scratch. Masters of Doom is a particularly inspired rendition. Dave Kushner chronicles the saga of video game virtuosi Carmack and Romero with terrific brio. This is a page-turning, mythopoeic cyber-soap opera about two glamorous geek geniuses—and it should be read while scarfing down pepperoni pizza and swilling Diet Coke, with Queens of the Stone Age cranked up all the way.”—Mark Leyner, author of I Smell Esther Williams

The S.S.M.P. goes up against their STINKIEST monster yet! Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Everything stinks! Alexander, Rip, and Nikki aren't in the same class anymore. The monster notebook is missing. And a HONKing monster is sliming Stermont! Plus, actual smelly stuff is going missing all over town. Could all of these stinky things be connected? The S.S.M.P. will have to sniff out their latest monster!

Monsters + Humor + Fun = THE NOTEBOOK OF DOOM! This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line called Branches, which is aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Alexander has just moved to a new town where he uncovers all sorts of monsters! He finds an old notebook with the word "DOOM" inscribed on the front cover. The Notebook of Doom, which Alexander now holds, contains top-secret information about the monsters! In this first book, Alexander goes up against spooky balloon goons--unique and twisted arm-waving balloon guys! This book is full of humor, engaging black-and-white illlustrations, and of course...monsters!

Could Principal Vanderpants be the BOSS-MONSTER?! Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!In book 12, the S.S.M.P. needs to track down the boss-monster and get their monster notebook back! Alexander, Rip, and Nikki are keeping their eyes open for clues. Then Alexander spots Principal Vanderpants carrying a white bucket filled with spaghetti through that mysterious locked door on the 13th floor. Why is the principal acting so strangely? Could SHE be the boss-monster?

A brand-new, monster-filled, action-packed, early chapter book series from the bestselling author-illustrator of The Notebook of Doom! Pick a book. Grow a Reader!This series is part of Scholastic's early chapter book line, Branches, aimed at newly independent readers. With easy-to-read text, high-interest content, fast-paced plots, and illustrations on every page, these books will boost reading confidence and stamina. Branches books help readers grow!Alexander Bopp is the leader of the Super Secret Monster Patrol, a club whose members are sworn to protect the town from monsters. But there haven't been monsters to fight for months... Alexander misses his best friends -- and fellow club members -- Rip and Nikki. Then he starts finding weird old-timey objects, cake crumbs, and creepy monster cards all over town! Could the monsters be back? The Super Secret Monster Patrol will have to get back together to find out! Fans of The Notebook of Doom are going to devour this exciting new series from bestselling author-illustrator Troy Cummings!

A full-color digital art book containing concept art and commentary from the development of DOOM Eternal, the next entry in the iconic first-person shooter series. The newest chapter in the quintessential game franchise from id Software is here. Witness DOOM Eternal! This epic volume explores the art and development of the hotly anticipated sequel to the 2016 Game Award-winner for Best Action Game! Explore the twisted demonic invasion of Earth, the cultist UAC facilities, and plunge into otherworldly and unknown locations new to the DOOM universe. Admire the dangerous glimmering edges of the Slayer's arsenal and armor. Examine the ancient designs and breeds of Hell's soldiers and lords--all in gloriously designed full color images straight from the files of the game's artists themselves! Dark Horse Books and id Software join forces to present The Art of DOOM Eternal, encompassing every detail you've come to love from DOOM!