Showing results by narrator "Graham Mack" in All Categories

Data is at the center of many challenges in system design today. Difficult issues such as scalability, consistency, reliability, efficiency, and maintainability need to be resolved. In addition, there's an overwhelming variety of systems, including relational databases, NoSQL datastores, data...

If you understand why people buy, you are already one step ahead in reaching out to them effectively with your products and services. Decoded: The Science Behind Why We Buy offers a groundbreaking exploration into the science of purchasing. The book specifically demonstrates why decision science has proven invaluable to the field of marketing by helping to explain purchasing behaviors.

Can octopuses feel pain and pleasure? What about crabs, shrimps, insects, or spiders? How do we tell whether a person unresponsive after severe brain injury might be suffering? When does a fetus in the womb start to have conscious experiences? Could there even be rudimentary feelings in miniature models of the human brain, grown from human stem cells? And what about AI? These are questions about the edge of sentience, and they are subject to enormous, disorienting uncertainty. We desperately want certainty, but it is out of reach.

There are approximately 25,000 "city killer" asteroids in near-Earth orbit—and most are yet to be found. Small enough to evade detection, they are capable of large-scale destruction, and represent our greatest cosmic threat. But in September 2022, against all odds, NASA's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission deliberately crashed a spacecraft into a carefully selected city killer, altering the asteroid's orbit. In How to Kill an Asteroid, award-winning science journalist Robin George Andrews reveals the development of the technology that made it possible

Julian Harris is haunted by dreams in which he becomes a monster—an evil beyond comprehension. Sometimes it feels like something is trying to get inside him. Or maybe it is already there, waiting for the chance to escape into the waking world. Godthorne, Julian’s picture-postcard hometown, hides a darkness of its own. Fifteen years ago, five girls vanished from its streets. Now another schoolgirl is missing. The man blamed for the original crimes is long dead. So is this the work of a copycat, or something far stranger?

Since he was a child in the 1950s watching Vampires and Meteors operating from RAF Turnhouse, Jim Walls wanted to fly aircraft; he just never envisaged that his flying career would be spent in the back seat as opposed to the front. This fascinating book showcases the vital role that air electronics operators held and the importance of radar and electronic warfare in the fight against enemy forces. It is also a tribute to the much-loved Cold War icons, the Nimrod and the Vulcan. This book will appeal to Cold War enthusiasts and fans of the iconic jets of that era.

Deep in the forest stands a cottage. A witch once lived there, or so they say. Hazel and her daughter Lily move to Blackmoss Cottage to escape a recent tragedy. At first the house feels like the perfect place to rebuild their lives. But appearances can be deceptive. In the surrounding villages...

1940, England. After a series of run-ins with his superiors, Flying Officer Angus Mackennelly is posted to Squadron 696—the Maverick unit full of misfits and outsiders. Angus has just returned from gunning down enemy aircraft when he is given a shocking top-secret mission. A spy is in their midst, feeding information to the Germans, and Angus is tasked with exposing him. MI6 pin their suspicions on one of the squadron's foreign pilots, but Angus is not convinced. He needs to get closer to the men in his unit to try and unravel their secrets.

What began as a normal game for a retired veteran who, after a long and eventful life, decided to spend his few remaining days inside of a virtual world, has abruptly started acquiring features of reality. A terrible, dysfunctional, and sometimes murderous reality. For a while, Volper only manages to survive thanks solely to his combat experience. And then he meets others he simply cannot pass by, because of one of his two weaknesses.

The first full reappraisal of one of Britain's great fighter aces, this book examines the truth behind Tuck's 1956 biography, Fly for Your Life. It looks at the evidence behind the myths, checks out some of the exaggerated stories and reveals the real Stanford Tuck. In January 1942 Bob Tuck was the top-scoring British fighter ace with an official score of twenty-nine enemy aircraft destroyed. During the Battle of Britain his legendary prowess grew and he was posted to command a leaderless and demoralized squadron, this time flying Hurricanes.

Elderly military veteran Volper had no idea what to expect when he entered the virtual world of Alpha Rome. But he now realizes that it’s not a game, after all. The number of times you can respawn by replicating in special capsules is limited and might one day run out. Volper has also had to take on a group of teenagers and has managed to turn them into a lethal combat squad. However, their success has not gone unnoticed, and the team has caught the attention of some powerful corporations.

Twenty meters below water, the oceanographer François Sarano came face to face with a five-and-a-half-meter great white shark. Seduced by the gentle elegance of this majestic creature, Sarano experienced a profound sense of affinity with her as they swam side by side, shoulder to shoulder, eye to eye, cutting a single figure through the ocean depths. It was an experience which made him realize the depth of our ignorance of the lives of sharks, leading him to become a passionate advocate for their protection.

An old military veteran wanted to add a little color to his lonely existence. So, he entered Alpha Rome. This virtual world has given him the chance to feel young again and have one last taste of the spice of life. The prospect of death is no longer daunting, as anyone who dies is reborn by replicating in a purpose-built capsule. Volper’s military experience, keen eye and sharp negotiating skills have helped him get off to a successful start, but his view of the project has taken a sharp turn. More and more questions are popping up and there are no answers in sight.

More than half a billion years ago, our world was completely covered by glaciers, a "Snowball Earth" that persisted for millions of years. Incredibly, this unimaginable cold led to the remarkable diversification of life on earth known as the Cambrian explosion. With a geologist's eye and a knack for storytelling, Graham Shields explores when and how such inhospitable conditions enabled animals to evolve, radiate, and diversify into our earliest ancestors.

When Jan Morris passed away in 2020, she was considered one of Britain's best-loved writers. The author of Venice, Pax Britannica, Conundrum, and more than fifty other books, her work was known for its observational genius, lyricism, and humor, and had earned her a passionate readership around the world.

As the years start running out, you often find that life has left you completely alone. This is what has happened to one military veteran who’s lived through many of history’s “flash points”. In order to inject some color into his final days, the former soldier signs a contract with a company that has developed a fully immersive virtual world. Project Alpha Rome is a multi-level city plagued by endless wars between humans and mutants. You can play as either species. The best argument in favor of living here is the firepower and the reflexes of your weapons.

We all overthink! That’s who we are and that’s what we do. The brain process to think is always on. And without notice or warning we begin to overthink. But is overthinking bad? Can it be harmful? Or, because we do it all the time is it possible that overthinking can be helpful? This book is meant to be a guide and a resource to help you find relief from the daily stress, anxiety and needless worry you may encounter from overthinking. If you believe that you think too much then it's essential that you understand how overthinking affects your day-to-day life.

The Wars of the Roses were a tumultuous period in English history, with family fighting family over the greatest prize in the kingdom—the throne of England. But what gave the eventual victor of these brutal and complex wars, Henry Tudor, the right to claim the crown? What made his Beaufort mother the great heiress of medieval England, and how exactly did an illegitimate line come to challenge the English monarchy? This book uncovers the rise of the Beauforts and tracks their fall during the 1460s and 1470s.

In a world reeling from an unusual plague, monsters lurk in the streets while terrified survivors arm themselves and roam the countryside in packs. Or perhaps something very different is happening. When a disease affects how reality is perceived, it's hard to be certain of anything . . . Spence is one of the "cured" living at the Ironside rehabilitation facility. Haunted by guilt, he refuses to face the changed world until a new inmate challenges him to help her find her old crew. But if he can't tell the truth from the lies, how will he know if he has earned the redemption he dreams of?

Are you winning the game of business? Has your business plateaued, or are you feeling stuck? Play the Game outlines 18 strategies from game-changing leaders and disruptors on how to break the cycle that stunts your business growth.