Keeper Of The Bride

Author: Tess Gerritsen
Paperback: 328 pages
ISBN: 9780778303411
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Nina is having a seriously bad day. First her fiancé leaves her at the alter, then the church is blown up by a bomb and then a stranger tries to run her off the road. It's clear someone is out to kill her but why?

Code: The Hidden Language of Computer Hardware and Software

Author: Charles Petzold
Paperback: 382 pages
ISBN: 0735611319
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Whilst modern society relies heavily on computers few of us fully understand how they work. In this book Charles Petzold takes us on a journey from Morse code to the modern computer showing how codes are at the heart of every piece of computer hardware and software. To explain how computers work we are shown how you would go about building one from scratch using nothing more complex than 19th century telegraph equipment. All computer science students should read this book and anyone who wants to understand what goes on inside a modern computer will find this book interesting. Well worth a read!

Professor Stewart's Hoard of Mathematical Treasures

Author: Ian Stewart
Series: Follow-up to Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities
Paperback OR Hardback: 339 pages
ISBN: 978-1846682926
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A veritable treasure trove of mathematical puzzles, conundrums, trivia and jokes. From code breaking to card tricks this book has something for everyone. Can you turn a sphere inside out without creasing it? Can you comb a hair ball? And how would you go about calculating pi using just the stars in the night sky? All this and lots lots more in Professor Stewart's fantastic book.

Superfreakonomics

Author: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner
Series: Follow-up to Freakonomics
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 0713999918
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Economics seems from the outside to be exceptionally dull and boring. What happens though if you try and apply the ideas from economics to more interesting topics? The answer, a whole new area called Freakonomics. In this their second book on the subject Levitt and Dubner use economics to tell us such varied and interesting things as why prostitutes are like department store Santas, why suicide bombers should buy life insurance and many many more interesting but often counter intuitive facts about modern life.

Cryptonomicon

Author: Neal Stephenson
Paperback: 918 pages
ISBN: 0099410672
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As a geek I tend to get exceptionally annoyed with most films, books and TV shows as their depiction of technology is nearly always woefully inaccurate, Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon is a rare exception. The story bounces back and forth between World War II and the present day with the theme of encryption and privacy the connecting theme. A cracking good thriller!

Along The Penistone Line

Author: Peter Thomas
Paperback: 159 pages
ISBN: 978-0750946193
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The Penistone railway line linking Huddersfield with Sheffield has survived many attempts to close it over the years since it was first opened. For those of us who live along the line it is invaluable. This fascinating book tells the history not only of the building of the railway but also of the villages, towns and interesting places that can be easily visited from any of it's many stations. If you live near the Penistone line you should own a copy of this book!