Böcker utgivna av Prometheus Books

The new millennium. The Year 2000. Beyond Mayan prophecies, a more immediate danger loomed: Two-digit year date fields had been used by software programmers to conserve expensive computer storage space for decades. As a consequence, legacy systems reading "00" on January 1, 2000 would most probably interpret the date as 1900. Infrastructurescritical to civilization--including heat, electricity, water and sanitation--were at risk, all complete unknowns. There was fear of an accidental nuclear arms deployment. There was fear of monetary systems being jeopardized, infrastructure collapse, internet securities failures, and lapse of government-provided social programs. Banks experienced runs and law firms worked overtime to develop never-before-seen litigation plans. Year 2000: The Inside Story of Y2K Panic shares the untold story of the actors operating on the global stage responsible for managing computer hardware and software for Year 2000 compliance, thus keeping national infrastructures, finance, and commerce functioning. It turned out that the world did not end January 1, 2000. In fact, most people rang in the new year with the perception that nothing happened at all. This positive outcome was not a stroke of luck, nor was it because people overestimated or exaggerated Y2K risk. It was only possible because people across industries, from legal clerks to programmers to President Bill Clinton himself, worked tirelessly to offset disaster. But the millennium did not pass by completely harmlessly: it turns out that the United States, for a brief period, lost all satellite reconnaissance at 7:00 PM EST, midnight GMT, December 31, 1999.As a leading consultant and speaker on the challenges of Y2K during the lead-up to the new millennium, author Nancy P. James was directly involved in planning for Y2K on the local and global stage. Using first-person experience, primary source documents outlining Y2K fears, and the actions, influences, opinions, and strategies of those involved, James reveals the untold story of the behind-the-scenes scrambling that made Y2K - seemingly - come and go, and offers stark lessons on how the global community can unite to face problems that challenge our world at large.

At the turn of the twentieth century, a 1901 decree ordered the exhumation and relocation of over 150,000 graves in San Francisco- the only major metropolitan city in America to order a complete eviction of its dead. City of the Dead uncovers this fascinating and forgotten section of American history.

In this lively and timely tour, neuroscientist Ruth DeFoster and mass communication professor Natashia Swalve lead readers through the history and psychology behind widespread cultural fears of innocuous things, beginning with the most personal fears within our own bodies and moving outward to the home, our country, and finally to culture at its largest level.

A milestone of child psychology, The Child's Conception of the World explores the ways in which the reasoning powers of young children differ from those of adults.

Warren Buffett-widely considered the most successful investor of all time-has repeatedly acknowledged Benjamin Graham as the primary influence on his investment approach. Indeed, there is a direct line between the record-shattering investing performance of Buffett (and other value investors) and Graham's life. In six books and dozens of papers, Graham-known as the "Dean of Wall Street"-left an extensive account of an investing system that, as Buffett can attest, actually works! This biography of Benjamin Graham, the first written with access to his posthumously published memoirs, explains Graham's most essential wealth-creation concepts while telling the colorful story of his amazing business career and his multifaceted, unconventional personal life. The author distills the best from Graham's extensive published works and draws from personal interviews he conducted with Warren Buffett, Charles Brandes, and many other top US and global value investors, as well as Graham's surviving children and friends. Warren Buffett once said, "No one ever became poor by reading Graham." Find out for yourself by reading Carlen's lively account of Benjamin Graham's fascinating life and time-tested techniques for generating wealth.

Taking a rationalist, skeptical approach, a journalist and humanist advocatecritiques the famous BhagavadGita on many levels. Among other things, he points out the improbability of the historical events recounted, the logical inconsistencies in the work, and, above all, the retrograde moral perspective represented by the characters. He emphasizes that the long dialogue between the warrior Arjuna and Lord Krishna (an incarnation of the god Vishnu) ends up by condoning violence, even wholesale slaughter. Furthermore, the work extols the Hindu caste system as noble and reinforces superstitions about reincarnation and karma. All of this was anathema to the author, who spent much of his career working for human rights and critical thinking.For students of Indian literature in both the East and West, this critical appraisal of a classic Hindu epic will prove enlightening.

In this original interpretation of the Harry Potter sensation, Edmund M. Kern argues that the attraction of these stories to children comes not only from the fantastical elements embedded in the plots, but also from their underlying moral messages. Children genuinely desire to follow Harry, as he confronts a host of challenges in an uncertain world, because of his desire to do the right thing. Harry's coherent yet flexible approach to dealing with evil reflects an updated form of Stoicism, says Kern. He argues that Rowling's great accomplishment in these books is to have combined imaginative fun and moral seriousness.Kern also shows adults how much they can gain by discussing with children the moral conundrums faced by Harry and other characters. The author outlines the central morals of each book, explains the Stoic principles found in the stories, considers the common critiques of the books, discusses Rowling's skillful blend of history, legend, and myth, and provides important questions for guiding children through Harry's adventures.This fresh, instructive, and upbeat guide to Harry Potter will give parents many useful and educational suggestions for discussing the moral implications of this continuously popular series of books with their children. Note: This book is not authorized, approved, licensed, or endorsed by J. K. Rowling, Warner Bros., or any other individual or entity associated with the Harry Potter books or movies. Harry Potter is a registered trademark of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.

A deaf-mute woman waiting for her brother to pick her up in front of shop window is arrested by two members of the Saudi "morality police" (mutawas) on suspicion of prostitution. They report their allegation to the governor of Riyadh, who accepts it without question and passes sentence. The next Friday she is stoned to death in public. A German woman married to a Saudi man makes the mistake of taking a taxi downtown without a male escort. For her "crime" she is arrested, raped, and thrown into prison. Later her German-Saudi baby son is taken away and she is deported to Cyprus without passport and money. A Syrian truck driver is accused of stealing the truck he is driving. As a consequence, both of his hands are amputated. Are these incredible but true incidents merely aberrations, the result of a few power-crazed officials acting outrageously outside the reach of a generally law-abiding society? Unfortunately, they are all too common in the theocratic police state that is contemporary Saudi Arabia. As the author vividly recounts in this shocking expose, in the wealthy Saudi oil kingdom there is no such thing as secular law or modern courts. Instead, Saudi princes create the laws, based on Sharia, Islamic law derived from the Koran and Hadith, and the muttawas act as judges, enforcers, and executioners. The author lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for many years. A fluent speaker of Arabic, he was told about the many appalling incidents reported in this book by victims and their friends and relatives. He cross-checked all the accounts here given through multiple interviews. Amazingly, in some cases, the actual victimizers themselves openly, often with condescending and smug contempt, corroborated the events. This revealing portrait of intolerance and social oppression presents an image that foreign reporters never see in the carefully controlled Saudi kingdom.

The inside story of China's organtransplant business and its macabre connection with internment camps and killing fields for arrested dissidents, especially the adherents of Falun Gong. Mass murder is alive and well. That is the stark conclusion of this comprehensive investigation into the Chinese state's secret program to get rid of political dissidents while profiting from the sale of their organs--in many cases to Western recipients. Based on interviews with top-ranking police officials and Chinese doctors who have killed prisoners on the operating table, veteran China analyst Ethan Gutmann has produced a riveting insider's account--culminating in a death toll that will shock the world. Why would the Chinese leadership encourage such a dangerous perversion of their medical system? To solve the puzzle, Gutmann journeyed deep into the dissident archipelago of Falun Gong, Tibetans, Uighurs and House Christians, uncovering an ageless drama of resistance, eliciting confessions of deep betrayal and moments of ecstatic redemption. In an age of compassion fatigue, Gutmann relies on one simple truth: those who have made it back from the gates of hell have stories to tell. And no matter what baggage the reader may bring along, their preconceptions of China will not survive the trip.

She¿s Gone collects the true stories of five different women living in different decades who all have one thing in common: one moment they were busy living their lives and the next moment ¿ they were gone.

Exploring basic pharmacological insights, cutting-edge science, and the arc of new-drug development, Medicine Wars will change the way readers think about medicine.

A New Masculinity is a practical guide for men of all ages to embrace their on-going process of developing a balanced, compassionate, and positive masculinity.

Losing Our Religion tells us how we became religious, why we¿re leaving faith behind, and how we can get along with others across the religious divides we¿ve culturally evolved.

For anyone looking to learn a new skill, teach someone else to do the same, or to better understand how our brains evolve and excel, this fascinating tour of cognition will reveal the path to surprising potential.

In this smartly curated book, author Guy P. Harrison collects 1,001 of the most influential and transformative quotations over the centuries of sci-fi.

For more than thirty years, Skeptical Inquirer has steadfastly championed science and reason, and has been the leading voice for reliable scientific examination of the paranormal and other questionable claims popularized by the media and mass culture. In this collection of outstanding articles, editor Kendrick Frazier has selected some of the best writing on topics of current interest. Among the highlights are:- "A Skeptical Look at September 11th," which prompted a drove of responses (many angry) and was selected by Richard Dawkins for the Best Science and Nature Writing of 2003. - Carl Sagan's final question-and-answer piece on the topic of science and skeptical inquiry.- Ann Druyan's beautifully expressed "Science, Religion, Wonder, and Awe."- NASA scientist Stuart Jordan's excellent appraisal of the scientific evidence for global warming, which prompted much critical response and led to another follow-up article. - Perspectives by Judge John E. Jones III, Barbara Forrest, David Morrison, Massimo Pigliucci, and Charles Sullivan and Cameron McPherson Smith on the evolution vs. intelligent design controversy. - Articles by physicians Steven Novella and Richard G. Judelsohn that strongly defend the value of vaccinations and critique the anti-vaccination movement. Additional distinguished contributors include Mario Bunge, Martin Gardner, Paul Kurtz, Chris Mooney, Steven Pinker, Ray Hyman, Joe Nickell, and many others. This collection of stimulating articles exploring science and skeptical inquiry, examining public controversies, and investigating pseudoscientific claims is a must for scientists, educators, skeptics, and everyone concerned about scientific literacy.

Forty-three essays by thirty-nine authors, including Isaac Asimov, Martin Gardner, Carl Sagan, Ray Hyman, Paul Kurtz, and James Randi, examine aspects of paranormal and fringe-science beliefs from an authoritative, scientific point of view.

UNREASON: Exploring Pseudoscience, Conspiracies, and Extraordinary Claims is a collection of forty-five of the best articles the legendary Skeptical Inquirer magazine has published in the past decade. Featuring articles from writers including Neil deGrasse Tyson on the process of science, Richard Dawkins on the standards of truth, Elizabeth Loftus on memory, Steven Pinker on the notion of progress, and many others covering topics from the politicization of science to the frightening rise of misinformation, each entry in this collection se scientific examination to bear in order to ferret out the facts and misconceptions behind popular claims.All of the articles within are interesting and readable. Yet they are also quite diverse. Some articles reinforce and complement each other; others (as happens in science) may voice disagreements or differing perspectives. But they all have one thing in common: a respect for evidence¿a demand for the best, most well-tested, most scientifically reliable information. Readers will learn: Why and how conspiracy rumors start, spread, and readily gain believers How to stay afloat in a sea of disinformation and survive the age of misinformation Why and how we form beliefs and adhere to them so powerfullyHow and why memory is fallible¿and what we can do about itHow pseudoexperiments mislead the public about scienceUnreason will arm readers with scientific knowledge to curb the misinformation and misconceptions that increasingly threaten our civil discourse. Even further, these essays present a way for us to be better citizens, equipped to deal with the winds of misinformation and disinformation swirling about us and better able to look ahead to a world where science and reason¿indeed just good old common sense¿can prevail.

Do polygraph tests really detect lies? Can memories be implanted? Is subliminal perception a reality? What is the relationship between science and belief?Experts in the fields of physical/biological science, psychology, philosophy, social science, and forensic science bring their perspectives to controversies that affect the way we think and how we perceive reality and the natural world. From science's influence on beauty to antiscience in our universities and from UFO mythologies to near-death experiences, this volume spans the gamut of pseudoscience today.Contributors include James Alcock, Susan Blackmore, Alan Cromer, Mandy Fowler, Christopher C. French, Martin Gardner, Thomas Gilovich, Theodore Goertzel, Paul R. Gross, Peter Huston, Ray Hyman, Noretta Koertge, Paul Kurtz, Dan Larhammar, Leon M. Lederman, James Lett, Norman Levitt, Scott O. Lilienfeld, Elizabeth Loftus, Lee Loevinger, Katy McCarthy, Joe Nickell, Bernard Oritz de Montellano, Debbie Peers, Anthony Pratkanis, Carl Sagan, Kenneth Savitsky, Glenn Seaborg, Elie Shneour, Matthew Smith, Victor Stenger, Jeffrey F. Victor, Jeff Wiseman, and Richard Wiseman.

UFOs and space aliens are visiting Earth?! Now it's time to get the facts!Did a "flying saucer" really crash near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, and have we been victims of a sinister government conspiracy to hide its alien occupants in a secret facility? Is there truth behind the swirled crops phenomenon? Have humans been abducted by aliens?In an effort to counter media misinformation The UFO Invasion offers definitive, behind-the-scenes accounts of each case of extraterrestrial visitations and paranormal claims. This fully documented look at sightings, encounters, the Roswell incident, "MJ-12" documents, crop circles, the "alien autopsy," and more will challenge, illuminate, anger and amuse. Included are revealing articles by Robert A. Baker, Robert E. Bartholomew, Joseph A. Bauer, William B. Blake, Robyn M. Dawes, C. Eugene Emery, Zen Faulkes, John F. Fischer, Kingston A. George, Jr., Philip J. Klass, Joe Nickell, James E. Oberg, Peter J. Reeven, Ian Ridpath, Robert Sheaffer, Armando Simon, Lloyd Stires, Trey Stokes, Dave Thomas, Richard L. Weaver (Col. USAF), Jeff Wells, and Robert P. Young. Also, SETI coordinator Thomas P. McDonough ponders searching for extraterrestrial intelligence.

A Gallop poll surveyed 506 American teenagers, aged 13 to 18 and discovered the following:- 69% believe in angels - 59% believe in ESP- 55% believe in astrology - 28% believe in clairvoyance- 24% believe in Bigfoot - 22% believe in witchcraft- 20% believe in ghosts - 18% believe in the Loch Ness MonsterCarl Sagan has said that the wonders of real science far surpass the supposed and imagined mysteries of fringe science. Yet, as statistics show, the paranormal is still an endless source of fascination for people around the world.This collection of critical essays and investigative reports examines virtually every area of fringe science and the paranormal from a refreshingly scientific and clear-minded viewpoint. The authors are noted scientists, philosophers, psychologists, and writers. All bring to the task a determination to sift sense from nonsense and fact from fiction in an area notorious for misinformation, misperception, self-delusion, and wishful thinking. They do so in a way that highlights the differences between real science and pseudoscience. They've made special efforts first to find the actual facts behind numerous claims that have popular appeal, and then to explain and communicate what scientific investigation and reasoning reveal about them. Subjects treated to incisive and entertaining examination include astrology, ESP, psychic detectives, psychic predictions, parapsychology, remote-viewing, UFOs, creationism, the Shroud of Turin, coincidences, cult archaeology, palmistry and fringe medicine.There are also explorations of the implications of paranormal beliefs for science education.

Headlines and television news reports feature accounts of reincarnation, the predictions of astrologers, and psychic "miracles." Citizens report UFO sightings. Police departments call on psychics to provide clues in baffling crimes. From every available information source, the public is bombarded with unsubstantiated claims of paranormal phenomena. How much of the evidence is reliable? What is the truth behind these claims?Paranormal Borderlands of Science is an exciting, well-informed examination of the most publicized and exotic claims of astrology, ESP, psychokinesis, precognition, UFOs, biorhythms, and other phenomena. Written by respected psychologists, astronomers and other scientists, philosophers, investigative journalists, and magicians, the 47 articles in this superb collection present a skeptical treatment of pseudoscientific claims - an aspect often sorely neglected in sensationalized media reports.This book is an effort to help readers sort fact from fiction and sense from nonsense among the astonishing variety of assertions labeled "paranormal." Never before published in book form, the essays in this anthology originally appeared in the Skeptical Inquirer, a leading magazine devoted to the critical investigation of pseudoscience from a scientific viewpoint.Among the contributors are: Isaac Asimov (distinguished science fiction author), Martin Gardner (Scientific American columnist), James Randi (The Amazing Randi), Philip Klass (noted UFO skeptic), Scot Morris (Omni), and James Oberg (NASA).An essential contribution to skeptical literature, this book will be of lasting value to all those wishing to balance the case for paranormal claims by reading the dissenting critics.

Fear is a universal emotion and is typically depicted as a despicable one. While fear is regarded as nature's imperfect wisdom, often undesirable, and a sign of weakness, its role in maintaining human life is overlooked. In the middle of ubiquitous repulsion against fear, there is minuscule literature on the beneficial effects of fear and the consequences of fearlessness. Recent research has thrown light into the unconscious processing of fear. In sharp contrast to the existing literature, this book argues that fear, overriding all other emotions, operates relentlessly in the unconscious mind as a motivating force and renders life compatible with survival. Fear appeals can bring healthy behavioral changes; the stronger the appeal, the more persuasive it is. Moderate anxiety can improve performance that involves dominant responses. Social anxiety is regarded as the root cause of conscientiousness. This hypothesis is supported by the latest research that reveals impaired fear processing in patients with psychopathy, a condition that is associated with crimes. This book expands the concept of eustress, a positive reaction to stress, and describes the beneficial aspects of fear. The book gives a twist to the conventional view of fear as an unwanted emotion and draws a new hypothesis that fear is the primary emotion and a constant psychological operative, a lack of which poses dangerous consequences.

"Steven Lesk, after a medical career dedicated to those affected by schizophrenia and a determination to find the answer to its existence, presents a groundbreaking theory that will forever change the lives of the mentally ill. In [this book], Lesk threads evolutionary evidence with neurological evidence, turning the mysteries of our minds into a tapestry of logic. With his breakthrough theory and this unprecedented book, Lesk will invite necessary cultural dialogue about this stigmatized illness, provoke new psychiatric and pharmacological research, and provide unequivocal comfort to those afflicted and affected by schizophrenia"--

We live in a world where things come and go, rise and fall, grow and decay, tracing out cycles of change that are ordered and predictable.But amongst those well-behaved rhythms hide other phenomena, pulsing and fizzing and refusing to play by the same rules. Earth and the life upon it have evolved over billions of years to be right where we are now only because of feedbacks that pushed those systems until they broke. And then those systems adapted, reorganized, and rebuilt. With each new cycle of growth it was feedbacks that created order from disorder and gave rise to a world perfectly optimized for everything it needed to be. Now the latest scientific research is revealing that the exact same patterns that describe plate tectonics, evolution, and mass extinctions also emerge in the heartbeat of our everyday lives, underpinning everything from the cohesion of our social networks and personal relationships to our emotional well-being and spiritual beliefs. In Feedback, we embark on a backstage journey revealing how these lesser-known processes keep us operating right where we need to be, poised at the edge of chaos. In a world simultaneously threatened with social and environmental disasters this journey uncovers the hidden connections that unite us not just to those around us but also across vast scales of time and space to the very fabric of the universe

Presenting a history of science, this book chronicles the intrepid explorations of scientists and adventurers who studied the transits of Venus in the quest for scientific understanding.

How do we explain the lurid fascination that most people experience when confronted by real or simulated acts of violence, murder, horror, and crime? This is the subject examined in this candid assessment of our dark vicarious thrills. Based on a series of interviews with perpetrators, victims, and "consumers" of violence, including several celebrities, the author of a best-selling book on serial killers explores what there is about this subject that draws such a wide audience. Unlike many other books that attempt to probe the murky psyches of deviant individuals, this book focuses on normal, average people who, despite themselves, enjoy getting close to the most forbidden, perverse side of destruction and evil. The persons interviewed range from homicide detectives and emergency room personnel to a heavyweight boxer and groupies of serial killers on death row. The author considers ideas from a variety of theories and research to explain our responses to violence, raises questions about the shifting line between normal and abnormal, evaluates the confusion and ambivalence that many people feel when witnessing others' suffering, and suggests future trends in society's attitudes toward violence.

In this enlightening and entertaining book, author and Skeptical Inquirer editor Kendrick Frazier takes readers on a journey to the contentious boundary zone between science and its antagonists: pseudoscience (pretend science) and anti-science (open hostility to science).

Spy With No Country tells the gripping story of a brilliant scientist whose information about the plutonium bomb, including detailed drawings and measurements, proved to be integral to the Soviet¿s development of nuclear capabilities.

Edmond Halley is known far and wide thanks largely to the comet bearing his name, the nature of which he predicted in 1705. While that discovery is enough to make the career of any scientist, Halley¿s massive contributions to the fields of astronomy, philosophy, history, mathematics, engineering, and actuarial science ¿ the latter of which he founded single-handedly ¿ as a young man and eventually as Astronomer Royal are mostly overlooked. Edmond Halley: The Astronomer Royal Who Brought the Universe to Earth is a revelatory and deeply researched biography of a man whose defining achievement isn¿t even the half of it. A jack-of-all-trades when it came to scientific reasoning, an all-around academic, Renaissance man, and workaholic who couldn¿t leave well enough alone, Halley was amazingly productive and prolific. He was behind some of the most groundbreaking pieces of discovery in human history: it was Halley who was the first to survey the skies and plot the stars of the southern hemisphere; he published Isaac Newton¿s Principia Mathematica, which many argue is the most important scientific text ever written; in the field of history, he translated the works of ancient Greek mathematician Apollonius and calculated the date of Julius Caesar¿s arrival in Britain; he captained the ship Paramore on a scientific expedition to plot the Earth¿s magnetic fields, not losing a single original crewmember on the mission; Halley was the first to calculate mortality annuities, creating the foundation for actuarial science; he made improvements to the diving bell, surveyed the tides of the English channel, and led the movement to accurately measure the distance between the Earth and Sun, unlocking the key to determining the distance to the nearest stars. In this incisive and surprising biography, author David K. Love reveals the boundless mind and endless curiosity of Edmond Halley, a man whom many readers may think they already know. From his inventions and innovations to his personal life, Edmond Halley firmly cements the legacy of the second Astronomer Royal among the first-rate scientists of his time.