Search results for ""Melville House""

A revealing exploration into how trust defines our lives, how it can be won and lost, and what its future might look like, in this fascinating title in the Melville House's FUTURES series.In a society battered by economic, political, cultural and ecological collapse, where do we place our trust, now that it is more vital than ever for our survival? How has that trust – in our laws, our media, our governments – been lost, and how can it be won back? Examining the police, the rule of law, artificial intelligence, the 21st century city and social media, Ros Taylor imagines what life might be like in years to come if trust continues to erode.Have conspiracy theories permanently damaged our society? Will technological advances, which require more and more of our human selves, ultimately be rejected by future generations? And in a world fast approaching irreversible levels of ecological damage, how can we trust the custodians of these institutions to do the

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An endlessly inventive mind and generosity of spirit that alone should give us hope. - The WireThrowing Muses frontwoman and critically acclaimed solo artist Kristin Hersh meditates on the future of her craft in this wry, existential and passionate addition to Melville House’s new series, FUTURES.Over a long, hot Christmas in Australia, Throwing Muses frontwoman and critically acclaimed solo artist Kristin Hersh considers her future as a songwriter. Is it possible to create music and not show off about it? How can artists establish and refine a following without becoming part of the commercial problem? And just how many times is it healthy to watch It's A Wonderful Life in 3 weeks? In The Future of Songwriting, Hersh chooses to interrogate these questions through philosophical dialogue. From in-depth conversations with a comedian friend about the similarities between songs and jo

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Wales is a nation of contradictions. It boasts incredible natural resources and crushing poverty; fierce patriotism and a stark north/south divide; an energy surplus, and some of the highest bills in the UK. It also has a famously rugby-mad culture - but its football team are lighting up international tournaments. So what''s going on? And how might Wales look in decades to come? Rhys Thomas hails from Laugharne - the village on which, it is rumoured, Dylan Thomas based Under Milk Wood''s ''Llareggub'' (read it backwards). In this affectionate investigation into his home country - via Welsh geography, food, culture and sport - he aims for the heart of its contrasts. In doing so, Thomas builds a mosaic-like image of how Wales looks today - and how it might look in the future.

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The Age of Intelligent Machines is upon us, and as we approach the end of human intellectual superiority, we as a species need to plan for a monumental shift. A Human Algorithm examines the immense impact intelligent technology will have on humanity. These machines, while challenging our personal beliefs and our socio-economic world order, also have the potential to transform our health and well-being, alleviate poverty and suffering, and reveal the mysteries of intelligence and consciousness. International human rights attorney Flynn Coleman deftly argues that it is critical we instill values, ethics, and morals into our robots, algorithms, and other forms of AI. Equally important, we need to develop and implement laws, policies, and oversight mechanisms to protect us from tech's insidious threats. Ultimately, A Human Algorithm is a clarion call for building a more humane future and moving conscientiously into a new frontier of our own design.

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William Tyce is a boy without parents, left under the care of an eccentric, absent uncle. To impose order on the sudden chaos of his life, he crafts a glossary-style list, through which he imparts his particular wisdom and thoughts on subjects ranging from asphalt paths, betta fish, and mullet, to mortal betrayal, nihilism, and revelation. His improbable quest-to create a reference volume specific to his existence-takes him on a journey down the river by raft (see mystical vision, see navigating big rivers by night). He seeks to discover how his mother died (see absence) and find reasons for his father's disappearance (see uncertainty, see vanity). But as he goes about defining his changing world, all kinds of extraordinary and wonderful things happen to him. Unlocking an earnest, clear-eyed way of thinking that might change your own, A Key to Treehouse Living is a story about keeping your own record straight and living life by a different code.

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'The skin was smooth and bright as porcelain, but looked as if it would give to the touch. What manner of wood had he used? What tools to exact such detail? What paints, tints or stains to flush her with life?' So wonders the window dresser Colton Kemp when he sees the first mannequin of his new rival, a silent man the inhabitants of Marumaru simply call The Carpenter. Rocked by the sudden death of his wife in childbirth and left with twins to raise, Kemp hatches a dark and selfish plan to make his name and thwart his rival. What follows is a gothic tale of art and deception, strength and folly, love and transgression, which ranges from small-town New Zealand to the graving docks of the River Clyde in Scotland. Along the way we meet a Prussian strongman, a family of ship's carvers with a mysterious affliction, a septuagenarian surf lifesaver and a talking figurehead named Vengeance. Lives and stories will intertwine as fate takes its cruel trajectory, leaving you feeling as if waking from an unsettling dream.

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Twenty-something Holly has moved to Brighton to escape. But now she's here, sitting on a bench, listening to the sea sway… How is she supposed to fill the void her boyfriend left when he died, leaving her behind? She had thought she'd want to be on her own, but when she meets Frank, a retired magician who has experienced his own loss, the tide begins to shift. A moving and powerful debut, Let Me Be Like Water is a book about the humdrum and extraordinariness of everyday life; of lost and new connections; of loneliness and friendship.

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Based on over six million internal CIA documents and years in the making, The Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture was originally released in 2014 and details secret prisons, prisoner deaths, and interrogation practices by the CIA on detainees in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. The report also examines charges that the CIA deliberately deceived elected officials about the extent and legality of its operations.

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Wittgenstein Jr. is the nickname Peters and his gang of fellow Philosophy undergrads give to their lecturer; a brooding, complicated, melancholic academic who is determined to make them grasp the very essence of philosophical thought. But the students are too busy getting drunk on lethal homemade cocktails, falling in and out of love, and coming to terms with the life waiting for them after Cambridge. As Wittgenstein Jr. becomes more withdrawn and depressive, the students come to realise how much he needs them.

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