Bad Dirt

Author: Annie Proulx
Series: Wyoming Stories, Book 2
Paperback: 219 pages
ISBN: 0007198876


Proulx's vision of Wyoming is of vast open spaces populated by a host of weird characters. This book of eleven short stories gives us a glimpse of wildlife rangers, talking badgers, a magic kettle, burning hay and talking badgers. A fascinating collection of stories with something for everyone.

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Snow Crash

Author: Neal Stephenson
Paperback: 440 pages
ISBN: 9780140232929


According to his business card Hiro Protagonist is the last of the freelance hackers, the greatest sword fighter in the world and a stringer for the Central Intelligence Corporation. Recently 'resigned' from his job as a pizza delivery driver he has returned to freelance hacking. When he is offered a cyber-drug which appears to have real world effects he knows that something is wrong with the world, but what and who can he trust to help him find out?

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Brute Force

Author: Matt Curtin
Hardback: 281 pages
ISBN: 0387201092


We all take for granted that appropriately strong encryption is used to safe guard our bank transactions, medical records and private information. During the late 1990's it was, however, far from clear that the encryption standard mandated by the US government, DES, was fit for purpose. In 1997 RSA Data Security launched a contest aimed at proving that DES was vulnerable to determined hackers. This book tells the inside story of the group that won the challenge and forced the government to change it's policies on encryption. Written by a member of the winning group this book documents a fascinating time in the growth of the Internet.

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The Ghost

Author: Robert Harris
Paperback: 416 pages
ISBN: 978-0099525127


Adam Lang, the recently ex British Prime Minister, is writing his autobiography. There is just one small problem, his ghost writer was just found dead and the publishing deadline is fast approaching. A new ghost is quickly drafted in and gets to work finishing the book. Unfortunately he keeps find discrepancies between archive material and Adam Lang's accounts of his past. As he investigates he suddenly finds himself in a whole world of trouble with no idea who to trust.

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The Murder of King Tut

Author: James Patterson and Martin Dugard
Paperback: 337 pages
ISBN: 978-0099527237


A strange mix of fact and fiction set during three different time periods; we see Tutankhamen grow up and become pharaoh, Howard Carter's career and his famous discovery, and James Patterson's present day investigation into "the ultimate cold case". Unfortunately none of the three time periods are well written or researched, contrary to what Patterson claims, and the "solving" of the murder is garbled and confused. It's redeeming feature? It is short and easy to ready!

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How Steam Locomotives Really Work

Author: P. W. B. Semmens and A. J. Goldfinch
Paperback: 368 pages
ISBN: 978-0198607823


Have you ever wondered how boiling water could possibly move the many tons of metal that make up a steam locomotive? If so then this book is definitely for you. It covers everything from boiler design to wheel balancing and at each step explains the physics and chemistry that harness the power of steam. Be warned though this book assumes some basic understanding of physics, although those sections could be skipped over without much loss of understanding.

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Googled. The End of the World As We Know It

Author: Ken Auletta
Paperback: 400 pages
ISBN: 978-0753522660


Few companies have grown so fast and become so influential as Google. In this riveting book Ken Auletta documents the rise of Google from it's humble beginnings to the Internet super-power it is today. Combining interviews with the founders and employees of Google and their competition this book details not just the Google of today but speculates on the Google of tomorrow and how that company could easily be the downfall of existing business such as advertisers, newspapers and traditional media.

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