Brain Ships

Now in one volume--in two bestselling sequels to to Anne McCaffrey's "The Ship Who Sang," two physically impaired young girls become "brains" controlling their own starships.

A young woman becomes paralyzed and must become a brainship¾and find her Brawn, her human soul mate, so that she can discover a cure for her illness. Tia Cade is a headstrong, smart, and very normal girl until she contracts a terrible illness that leaves her with the bare semblance of life. Tia's only hope: to become the oldest person ever to train to be one of the legendary star travelers, the brainships. But now that Tia is free of her ravaged body, there still remains the task of finding the right partner to be her Brawn, the human element every brainship requires. And when the disease that debilitated Tia threatens thousands more, selecting a Brawn who is her true soul mate may allow Tia to find the origin of the terrible plague¾and perhaps even a cure. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).

Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved—saved to be schooled, programmed, and implanted into the sleek titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner—male or female—to share her exhilirating excapades in space! Her life was to be rich and rewarding . . . resplendent with daring adventures and endless excitement, beyond the wildest dreams of mere mortals. Gifted with the voice of an angel and being virtually indestructable, Helva XH-834 antipitated a sublime immortality. Then one day she fell in love!

Two novels in one large volume, both set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang: The City Who Fought: Simeon was bored with running the mining and processing station that made up his "body." If anyone was to survive, somehow he must transform his wargaming hobby into the real thing and become The City Who Fought. The Ship Avenged: Ten years later, Joat, the eleven year old techno-demon heroine of the first novel is now an adult herself. She and her ship are on the trail of the Kolnari space raiders, trying to stop them before they can spread an infectious, mind-destroying disease among the inhabited stars and destroy civilization throughout the galaxy. At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "Anne McCaffrey and S.M. Stirling have, in The City Who Fought, combined her brain-ships and his military expertise to produce a superior book." ¾Chicago Sun-Times "McCaffrey and Stirling create vivid heroes and villains in a complex and deadly game." ¾Publishers Weekly "Intriguing . . . McCaffrey and Stirling have produced a book that expands the boundaries of the series to which it belongs, yet remains consistent with the cycle's overall design. Fans of both writers should be more than pleased." ¾Dragon "[The Ship Avenged is a] compelling story of resourcefulness and politics in space." ¾ Midwest Book Review

Two Top-Selling Sequels to Anne McCaffrey's The Ship Who Sang in One Volume Two novels in one large volume, both set in the same universe as The Ship Who Sang: The Ship Who Searched: Tia, a bright and spunky seven-year old contracted an unknown neural disorder which made her lose control of her body. So she became a shell person¾controlling a spaceship as if it were her body and searching for the origin of the disease that laid her low, so that no other little girl will ever suffer the fate of The Ship Who Searched. PartnerShip: Nancia is a brand new member of the elite Courier Service of the Central Worlds. She's the "brains" of an advanced interstellar ship. The last thing she needed was a cynical "brawn" partner like Forister. But idealistic Nancia and worldly-wise Forister together just might save the galaxy. Neither of them would be satisfied to go through life in a glorified wheelchair; like Helva, The Ship Who Sang, they decided to strap on a spaceship! At the publisher's request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management). "Quite entertaining . . . captures the spirit of The Ship Who Sang . . . a single, solid plot. . . ." ¾Locus "Splendidly paced and filled with lively characters . . . [PartnerShip is] excellent entertainment." ¾Rave Reviews "A perfect combination of SF, adventure, and romance, this is sure to please a wide variety of readers." ¾Kliatt "[The Ship Who Searched is] superb . . . Lackey and McCaffrey have created a marvelous love story in an exciting science fictional setting and then topped it all off with an ingeniously spiffy resolution." ¾Rave Reviews

Send your brain to boot camp by completing the more than 350 puzzles in this book! Modeled after questions on real IQ tests, the puzzles in Brain Boot Camp will test your mental mettle and push your brain to think faster and smarter. Quizzes include topics such as logical deduction, spatial reasoning, conceptual thinking, concentration, and many more. So put on your thinking cap and get started! More than 350 puzzles await.

We are profoundly social creatures--more than we know. In Social, renowned psychologist Matthew Lieberman explores groundbreaking research in social neuroscience revealing that our need to connect with other people is even more fundamental, more basic, than our need for food or shelter. Because of this, our brain uses its spare time to learn about the social world--other people and our relation to them. It is believed that we must commit 10,000 hours to master a skill. According to Lieberman, each of us has spent 10,000 hours learning to make sense of people and groups by the time we are ten. Social argues that our need to reach out to and connect with others is a primary driver behind our behavior. We believe that pain and pleasure alone guide our actions. Yet, new research using fMRI--including a great deal of original research conducted by Lieberman and his UCLA lab--shows that our brains react to social pain and pleasure in much the same way as they do to physical pain and pleasure. Fortunately, the brain has evolved sophisticated mechanisms for securing our place in the social world. We have a unique ability to read other people’s minds, to figure out their hopes, fears, and motivations, allowing us to effectively coordinate our lives with one another. And our most private sense of who we are is intimately linked to the important people and groups in our lives. This wiring often leads us to restrain our selfish impulses for the greater good. These mechanisms lead to behavior that might seem irrational, but is really just the result of our deep social wiring and necessary for our success as a species. Based on the latest cutting edge research, the findings in Social have important real-world implications. Our schools and businesses, for example, attempt to minimalize social distractions. But this is exactly the wrong thing to do to encourage engagement and learning, and literally shuts down the social brain, leaving powerful neuro-cognitive resources untapped. The insights revealed in this pioneering book suggest ways to improve learning in schools, make the workplace more productive, and improve our overall well-being.

Have you ever wondered. * How an ATM verifies your identification and account information and dispenses cash in a matter of seconds? * What, if anything, is able to escape from a black hole? * Why workplace surveillance is becoming more common? * Whether human cloning is possible? In this full-color follow-up to the bestselling How Stuff Works, Marshall Brain travels inside your computer, to the depths of diamond mines, across the African plains, and on board an Apache helicopter to explain the magic behind how stuff works. Based on the much-lauded Web site HowStuffWorks.com, this book is your A-to-Z guide to PDAs, MRIs, LEDs, and dozens of other intriguing topics! With More How Stuff Works, you'll never again look the same way at a car wash, clothes dryer, or electronic scanner. * More than 125 captivating articles * Hundreds of full-color photos and illustrations * Fun facts and sidebars * A special chapter on "Police, Military, and Defense" Praise for HowStuffWorks.com: "A+" -Washington Post Online " Top 100 Classics." -PC Magazine "Best Science & Technology Resource." -Yahoo! InternetLife "A-" -Entertainment Weekly "Great Site." -MSNBC "Super Site." -TBS Superstation

Two distinguished authors, renowned anthropologist Lionel Tiger and pioneering neuroscientist Michael McGuire, elucidate the perennial questions about religion: What is its purpose? How did it arise? What is its source? Why does every known culture have some form of it?Their answer is deceptively simple, yet at the same time highly complex: The brain creates religion and its varied concepts of God, and then in turn feeds on its creation to satisfy innate neurological and associated social needs.Brain science reveals that humans and other primates alike are afflicted by unavoidable sources of stress that the authors describe as "brainpain." To cope with this affliction people seek to "brainsoothe." We humans use religion and its social structures to induce brainsoothing as a relief for innate anxiety. How we do this is the subject of this groundbreaking book.In a concise, lively, accessible, and witty style, the authors combine zoom-lens vignettes of religious practices with discussions of the latest research on religion's neurological effects on the brain. Among other topics, they consider religion's role in providing positive socialization, its seeming obsession with regulating sex, the common biological scaffolding between nonhuman primates and humans and how this affects religion, and evidence that the palliative effects of religion on brain chemistry are not matched by nonreligious remedies.This fascinating book provides key insights into the complexities of our brain and the role of religion, perhaps its most remarkable creation.

For women, understanding how the brain works during the key stages of life - in utero, childhood, puberty and adolescence, pregnancy and motherhood, menopause and old age - is essential to their health. Dr Sarah McKay is a neuroscientist who knows everything worth knowing about women's brains, and shares it in this fascinating, essential book. This is not a book about the differences between male and female brains, nor a book using neuroscience to explain gender-specific behaviours, the 'battle of the sexes' or 'Mars-Venus' stereotypes. This is a book about what happens inside the brains and bodies of women as they move through the phases of life, and the unique - and often misunderstood - effects of female biology and hormones. Dr McKay give insights into brain development during infancy, childhood and the teenage years (including the onset of puberty) and also takes a look at mental health as well as the ageing brain. The book weaves together findings from the research lab, case studies and interviews with neuroscientists and other researchers working in the disciplines of neuroendocrinology, brain development, brain health and ageing. This comprehensive guide explores the brain during significant life stages, including: In utero Childhood Puberty The Menstrual Cycle The Teenage Brain Depression and Anxiety Pregnancy and Motherhood Menopause The Ageing Brain