This NATO AS! was the third in the series of Advanced Study Institutes on neutron stars, which started with 'Timing Neutron Stars', held in Qe§me near izmir, Turkey (April 1988), followed by 'Neutron Stars, an Interdis ciplinary Subject', held in Agia Pelagia on the island of Crete (September 1990). The first school centered on our main observational access to neu tron stars, i. e. the timing of radio pulsars and accretion powered neutron stars, and on what timing of neutron stars teaches us of their structure and environment. The second school had as its theme the interplay between diverse areas of physics which find interesting, even exotic applications in the extreme conditions of neutron stars and their magnetospheres. As the field has developed, with the number of observed neutron stars rapidly in creasing, and our knowledge of many individual neutron stars getting deeper and more detailed, an evolutionary picture of neutron stars has started to emerge. This led us to choose 'The Lives of the Neutron Stars' as the uni fying theme of this third Advanced Study Institute on neutron stars. Different types of neutron star activity have been proposed to follow one another in stages during the lives of neutron stars in the same basic population; the evolutionary connection between low-mass X-ray binaries and millisecond radio pulsars is perhaps the prime example.

The divide between the digital and the real world no longer exists: we are connected all the time. How do we find out who we are within this digital era? Where do we create the space to explore our identity? How can we come together and create solidarity? The glitch is often dismissed as an error, a faulty overlaying, but, as Legacy Russell shows, liberation can be found within the fissures between gender, technology and the body that it creates. The glitch offers the opportunity for us to perform and transform ourselves in an infinite variety of identities. In Glitch Feminism, Russell makes a series of radical demands through memoir, art and critical theory, and the work of contemporary artists who have travelled through the glitch in their work. Timely and provocative, Glitch Feminism shows how the error can be a revolution.

How does automation affect us, our environment, and our imaginations? What actions should we take in response to automation? Beyond grand narratives and technology-driven visions of the future, what more can automation offer? With these questions in mind, The De Gruyter Handbook of Automated Futures provides a framework for thinking about and implementing automation differently. It consolidates automated futures as an inter- and transdisciplinary research field, embedding the imaginaries, interactions, and impacts of automation technology within their social, historical, societal, cultural, and political contexts. Promoting a critical yet constructive and engaging agenda, the handbook invites readers to collaborate with rather than resist automation agendas. It does so by pushing the agenda for social science, humanities and design beyond merely assessing and evaluating existing technologies. Instead, the handbook demonstrates how the humanities and social sciences are essential to the design and governance of sustainable sociotechnical systems. Methodologically, the handbook is underpinned by a pedagogical approach to staging co-learning and co-creation of automated futures with, rather than simply for, people. In this way, the handbook encourages readers to explore new and alternative modes of research, fostering a deeper engagement with the evolving landscape of automation.

Dr. Maya Summer works at Arizona Public Health, overseeing and researching a myriad of public health issues. A passionate advocate for a motorcycle helmet law, she also monitors disease-bearing mosquitoes, rabid bobcats, and the opioid epidemic—along with many other concerns. To maintain her clinical skills, she spends time at the nearby family medicine residency, seeing patients and teaching new physicians. Maya also navigates a complicated personal life: a somewhat troubled romantic relationship with a cardiologist; a retired physician-friend searching for new meaning; an undocumented neighbor raising a young son; and a cherished ailing old horse. A new danger looms when she sparks the anger of local biker gangs who want to stop her helmet campaign. As the intimidating warnings reach an unsettling highpoint, a past trauma that had been fueling her work now starts to haunt her—threatening to derail her carefully choreographed life. Dr. Alex Reddish, a faculty member at the residency, enjoys Maya’s company every week. He longs to know her better but also knows she is involved with a prominent cardiologist. A former shy chess champion, Alex has worked to remake himself into a more socially engaged person, though he cannot completely shed his reclusive past. His professional life is complicated by two resident physician advisees: a depressed and poorly performing man, and a seductive woman. And now someone seems determined to harm him. Maya and Alex turn accomplices when they try to unravel a spate of unusual illnesses afflicting residency staff, and discover disturbing trends. As Maya and Alex become closer, they must also tackle their personal pasts and individual demons, and find the courage to move forward.

Living Abyss is a collection of stories by author Benjamin Granger. It includes the novel Roses of the Dreamer, Alpha 13 (Mars Uncharted), and The Shattering Crystal. There are three books in this compilation. Roses of the Dreamer is a story about two people who find a secret book that may open the gateway to time travel, but must keep it out of the wrong hands. Alpha 13 is about space explorers who discover a conspiracy within the confines of a government outpost on Mars. The Shattering Crystal is a collection of horror and suspense tales, filled with terrifying surprises, and shocking twists. Contains seven stories of horror and mystery that delve into the deepest recesses of the human mind, and fear. The Shattering Crystal contains stories ranging from ghosts, to the paranormal visions of the supernatural, sure to scare even the bravest of readers. This compilation contains some of the best works of author Benjamin Granger, and they are sure to keep you reading to the last page.

With humor, pathos and absurdity, Dying Planet Living Dream chronicles life on the edge during the last half of the 20th Century in America. A host of off-beat and often damaged characters populate these twelve stories of addictions and obsessions with food, sex, drugs, death, and dreams. Stories of murder, redemption, passionate love affairs, parental neglect, pathological mother worship, fatal diseases, miraculous cures, idealism and anarchy. Stories of little boys who lose their mother抯 love and spend the rest of their lives looking for a substitute. Stories that wander all over the country, and even into the future. From the teeming multi-ethnic suburbs of Los Angeles to the moss-draped woods of the Pacific Northwest to the smoky bars of late night New York to the redolent cemeteries of New Orleans and the empty horizons along West Texas highways. Many of these stories read as if they were written on cocktail napkins, odd scraps of paper, on the backs of notebooks, in the pink light of dawn and in the middle of the night. Take this book to bed with you. It may keep you up laughing out loud. But when sleep comes, these stories may come alive in your dreams. Barry Gremillion lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Linda. He writes, produces and hosts the Firehead Mythological Radio Theater, was a Location Manager for 16 years on films like The Doors and the Twin Peaks television series. His other books include I Killed Charles Bronson's Cat and Magasun Hall. author photo for back cover: authorphoto.tif