Ghost Hunters: The Victorians and the Hunt for Proof of Life After Death

Ghost Hunters: The Victorians and the Hunt for Proof of Life After Death

Deborah Blum

Science / History / Nonfiction

In Victorian Britain, a group of eminent scientists got together to found a society expressly to prove the existence of ghosts. The age of Darwin represented the greatest scientific advances known to man. The tension between science and religion was exposed by Darwin's On the Origin of the Species in 1859, which challenged the basic tenets of belief. Yet many of those in the forefront of the scientific revolution could not give up the idea of a higher reality. Life after death was the unknown frontier. Victorian society was full of mediums claiming they could communicate with the spirits of the dead. Baffling psychic phenomena occurred every day at séances: mysterious rappings were heard, furniture moved, ghostly forms appeared, the mediums spoke in the altered voices of the dead with information only their nearest could possibly know. Pyschometry involving locks of hair and watches and children's toys; telepathy; ouija boards; apparitions; astral projection: all were commonplace. In 1882 the Society of Psychical Research was founded in London to investigate all these phenomena: it was a group led by some of the greatest scientists of the age but its membership also included Alfred, Lord Tennyson, Leslie Stephen, Virginia Woolf's father, John Ruskin, the Reverend Charles Dodgson (Lewis Carroll) and Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Six months later William James, Professor of Psychology at Harvard, and the brother of Henry James visited London and went on to set up American branch. Their experiments went on for years. Many mediums, like the notorious Madame Blavatsky, were exposed as charlatans yet there were some mediums who continued to communicate directly with another world, who despite every rigorous scientific test seemed to prove that souls survived death. This is the story of this group of forward thinkers: many of whom were driven to the spirit world by personal tragedy, some whose feeling of loss lead to their own suicides. It is the story of the greatest ghost hunt of any age.
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The God Engines

The God Engines

John Scalzi

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science / Humor

Captain Ean Tephe is a man of faith, whose allegiance to his lord and to his ship is uncontested. The Bishopry Militant knows this -- and so, when it needs a ship and crew to undertake a secret, sacred mission to a hidden land, Tephe is the captain to whom the task is given. Tephe knows from the start that his mission will be a test of his skill as a leader of men and as a devout follower of his god. It's what he doesn't know that matters: to what ends his faith and his ship will ultimately be put -- and that the tests he will face will come not only from his god and the Bishopry Militant, but from another, more malevolent source entirely....
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Pale Eyes

Pale Eyes

James Welsh

Science / Nonfiction / Health

When the invincible Zeus is killed, his daughter Athena must rally her chaotic family of gods against a rising darkness, one that will not stop until Greece’s beauty is in ashes.Zeus, the immortal King of Everything, has been ruled by a prophecy that only his firstborn can kill him and take his throne. In spite of his best efforts, Athena – a brilliant warrior – is born. Instead of killing her father, though, Athena loves Zeus as much as she hates the idea of becoming queen. Meanwhile, thousands of feet beneath the world, King Hades of the Dead is jealous of the power his brother Zeus has held over him. Hungry for revenge, Hades tricks Athena into killing her father and assuming the throne. With the royalty of the gods now in chaos, Hades plans an invasion of the world that can only end with him as the supreme god, finally unchallenged. And so, with Zeus imprisoned in the depths of the Underworld, Athena must convince her unruly and suspicious family to cooperate with her, else Zeus and the world they love will become lost forever.
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Dia Thorpe (Origins Part 5)

Dia Thorpe (Origins Part 5)

W Bradley

Science / Physics

It has been weeks since Dia Thorpe met the alien known as Gheid. Her memories are still lost to her but perhaps she should forget about the old ones and create some new. Her day is about to become a little complicated.This is a short story of 2,400 words. It is part five in the 'Origins' series of stories which connect with one another in unexpected ways.The story of Jonathan, head chef at Chez Davide restaurant when he meets Janet, his next-door neighbor.
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Only A Lower Paradise

Only A Lower Paradise

Michael Bryson

Science / Biographies & Memoirs / Literature & Fiction

"I mean, so what? Order, chaos, order, chaos. We have real problem here!" exclaims one character in Only a Lower Paradise, the comic, profound, and likely blasphemous story of heartache, emotional crisis, and the fickle quest for meaning in our post-post-modern world. The book begins with Martha, a guardian angel, being late for an assignment. What is going on in heaven?If you do not have the abilities to turn cliché gifts into unique gifts, you do not have achoice but to look for something unique. A unique gift is distinctive and can not bematched. Since it is uncommon, this type of gifts is not simple to forget. We cry when welose them or despise the ones who take them away from us. They enter into us and theirmemories are such that we desire to hold on to for life. We hate it when we see somethingthe same as them, due to the fact that we really do not desire them to be compared. Whenother deems them unimportant, we get harmed.
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Imperial Earth

Imperial Earth

Arthur C. Clarke

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science

Imperial Earth is the fascinating odyssey of Duncan Makenzie, traveling from Titan, a moon of Saturn, to Earth, as a diplomatic guest of the United States for the celebration of its Quincentennial in the year 2276. Titan, an independent republic, was originally colonized from Earth three generations earlier. Duncan's initial challenge is to prepare, physically and intellectually, for the 500-million-mile trip to Earth. Once there, he is caught up in a sweep of new experiences, including the social and political whirl in Washington, a strange visit to a carefully preserved ancient city once prominent in the 20th century, and a search for and meeting with a woman he loved since she visited Titan years before.
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Twice Seven (1998) SSC

Twice Seven (1998) SSC

Ben Bova

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science

From the acclaimed bestseller Mars to his phenomenal Moonbase Saga, Ben Bova deftly uses the mysterious possibilities of science and technology t create SF that astonishes and captivates us. Here are fourteen exhilarating stories--each a shining testament to this Hugo-Award-winning author's extraordinary talent as a master storyteller. Accompanied by specially written introductions that illuminate his thoughts on the creative process, these stories pull us into Bova's uniquely crafted worlds--realms that challenge, enthral and entertain. Consider the possibilities: a time traveler on a desperate mission from the future brings together H.G. Wells and Albert Einstein at an Austrian cafe. The strange but true fate of President John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe is revealed by none other than Howard Hughes. A lonely young woman aboard an asteroid-mining ship is all that stands between earth and cosmic annihilation. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb and other baseball legends compete in a game sure to be every fan's field of dreams come true.
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King of the Fields

King of the Fields

Isaac Bashevis Singer

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Literature & Fiction / Science

From the winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Isaac Bashevis Singer, comes a fictional exploration of primitive history. Singer's novel portrays an era of superstition and violence in a country emerging from the darkness of savagery. Set in Poland in the dark ages, it describes the brutality, prejudice and subjugation that occur when hunter-gatherers and farmers struggle for supremacy over the land. Part parable of modern civilization, part fascinating historical novel, this modern myth is a philosophical examination of man and his beliefs, and reaffirms the author's reputation as a master of narrative invention.
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Cradle

Cradle

Arthur C. Clarke

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science

In 1994, the Marines test a new missile. After launch it mysteriously disappears. If it reaches civilian areas they'll be in big trouble. Carol Dawson, a journalist, is alerted by an unusual sight of whales in the Miami area & decides to write about it. Armed with equipment provided by her friend, Dr. Dale Michaels from the Miami Oceanographic Institute, she goes to investigate the rumors of a missing missile that could be behind the mysterious whale behavior. She hires the services of Nick Williams & Jefferson Troy, boat owners, so she can get to the Mexican Gulf to investigate. They find an unknown artifact. They have doubts about its nature, hoping it's part of a lost treasure. Old friends of Williams & Troy notice their discovery & want to steal it. In the story's background, the authors describe a submarine snake civilization on a planet called Canthor, & how they struggled to stay alive despite threats to their ecosystem. It's revealed that the artifact is actually a cradle that contains seeds with altered superhumans extracted from Earth millions of years ago & altered so they could live with other species--including the submarine snakes--on Earth. The spaceship that carries the cradle is manned by robots/cyborgs & has hidden itself on the ocean floor to make repairs. Dawson, Williams & Troy are asked to gather materials so the ship can be repaired & return to its mission. The ship...
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Tug of War

Tug of War

Jeffrey Zweig II

Science / Science Fiction & Fantasy / Short Stories

Brody is tempted by an old lifestyle after a gentle afternoon with Karen turns ugly. But is her will strong enough to keep him from the excitement of that life?INSIDE — SPECIAL DAYTIME EMMY AWARDS NEWS EDITION — Here We Go Again: Eric Braeden Out? Why Y&R Is Writing Out Victor Newman During Contract Negotiations! Inside Sony’s New Battle With Daytime’s Biggest Superstar! DAYS Casts Eric Brady! Find Out Who’s Playing Sami’s Twin! Yep, Eileen Davidson IS DAYS-Bound! Inside the Sony Deal That Pissed Off Davidson! DAYS: Gay Storyline On The Backburner! Kirsten Storms Back On GH? Plus: Exclusive Interview: Jen Lilley On Losing Her Job! AMC/ONE LIFE To Live On? B&B’s Kay Alden: “I’d Love To Head Writer Y&R With Sally Sussman Morina!” Susan Lucci Headed to GH? Emmy Awards Roundup! This Just In: Joanna Johnson Out At B&B! And What That Means For Crystal Chappell! Why Adrienne Frantz Cleaned Out Her Dressing Room At B&B! Plus: Her Near-Death Experience! Guess Where Peter Reckell’s Moving To? Why GH’s Bradford Anderson Was Kicked Off The Emmy Red Carpet! GH Secret: Who Is Finola Hughes’s Newest Co-Star? Y&R’s Jess Walton Update! Latest on DAYS’s New Book! Which Vixen Is Headed Back To Y&R? Is Jackie MacInnes Wood Leaving B&B? Plus: Unbelievable Blind Items!
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Exiles Trilogy

Exiles Trilogy

Ben Bova

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science

EPUB (reformatted)When all the best of Earth's scientists are forced into exile to a space station to prevent their work from upsetting the status quo, they decide to embark on an even grander adventure to the stars. An epic three-volume saga from a science fiction master, all in one book: EXILED FROM EARTH FLIGHT OF EXILES END OF EXILE THE EXILES TRILOGY was highlighted in Discover Magazine as one of the top ten sources that inspired people's interest in science! Dr. Ben Bova is a six-time Hugo Award winner, and author of over 125 futuristic novels and nonfiction books about science and technology.
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The Sound of Rebellion

The Sound of Rebellion

John Scalzi

Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science / Humor

The Colonial Defense Forces usually protect humanity from alien attack, but now the stability of the Colonial Union has been threatened, and Lieutenant Heather Lee and her squad are called to squash a rebellion on a colony world. It seems simple enoughbut theres a second act to the rebellion that finds Lee captive, alone, and armed with only her brains to survive.
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