This book addresses the question of human uniqueness at a time when academic discourse has all but abandoned its long-held commitment to the value of individuality. Through an appraisal of the works of Emerson, Nietzsche, Heidegger, Derrida, and Foucault, the author establishes the ways in which the current critique of the self has grossly distorted the nature of the debate by reducing it to a simple choice between essential or constructed selves. Hans argues that the tradition that emerges from Emerson's work is based on a relational sense of the individual as much as it is devoted to the premise that we all have a specific form of integrity. Likewise, even though Nietzsche's critique of the fictional nature of the subject is the origin of contemporary visions of the fabricated self, Nietzsche is equally insistent that each of us is a productive uniqueness: we are all principles of selection whose links to the world embrace more than the social circumstances around us. Nietzsche's vision of our productive uniqueness is carried on in larger and smaller ways by Heidegger, Derrida, and Foucault, each of whom entertains a far more complex vision of the individual than those which currently dominate our ways of talking about what it means to be human.

An accessible illustrated introducton to the networks we use every day, from Facebook and Google to WiFi and the Internet What makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order search results? Is it really true that everyone on Facebook is connected by six steps or less? The Power of Networks answers questions like these for the first time in a way that all of us can understand. Using simple language, analogies, stories, hundreds of illustrations, and no more math than simple addition and multiplication, Christopher Brinton and Mung Chiang provide a smart and accessible introduction to the handful of big ideas that drive the computer networks we use every day. The Power of Networks unifies these ideas through six fundamental principles of networking. These principles explain the difficulties in sharing network resources efficiently, how crowds can be wise or not so wise depending on the nature of their connections, why there are many layers in a network, and more. Along the way, the authors also talk with and share the special insights of renowned experts such as Google’s Eric Schmidt, former Verizon Wireless CEO Dennis Strigl, and “fathers of the Internet” Vint Cerf and Bob Kahn.

They think nothing can tear their bond apart, until a long-buried secret threatens to destroy everything. Every year they have met up for a vacation, but their time away is much more than just a bit of fun. Over time, it has become a lifesaver, as each of them struggles with life’s triumphs and tragedies. Sophie, Emily, Amy and Melissa have been best friends since they were girls. They have seen each other through everything—from Sophie’s private fear that she doesn’t actually want to be a mother despite having two kids, to Amy’s perfect-on-the-outside marriage that starts to reveal troubling warning signs, to Melissa’s spiraling alcoholism, to questions that are suddenly bubbling up around the paternity of Emily’s son. But could a lie that spans just as long as their friendship be the thing that tears them apart?

Why do we share so much about our lives on social media when we often have little idea who might be reading or viewing? David R. Brake examines the causes and consequences of moving towards a radically open society.

The Avengers was a revolutionary series that always playfully twisted perceptions, pushed the boundaries of its genre and defied those who wished to pigeonhole it. The team behind The Avengers never forgot its primary objective was to entertain. And entertain it certainly did, inspiring successive generations to welcome The Avengers into their hearts. Right from its foreword by pioneering television historian Dave Rogers to its afterword by Jason Whiton of SpyVibe, Avengerworld celebrates the series, its international fandom and its fans. Over the course of more than forty essays, Avengers fans the world over relate how they first encountered the series, how they grew up with it at their sides, made friends, engaged with fandom and were inspired to do extraordinary things. Proceeds from this book will be donated to Champion Chanzige, a charity organisation that exists to improve conditions for underprivileged children at a primary school in Southern Tanzania - and helps them to do extraordinary things too.

JIM AND VIOLA HALBERT served as missionaries for 29 years, mostly in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) of West Africa. Viola wanted to be a missionary from the time she was five years old. Jim made his commitment as a teenager. Initially they pioneered in an area previously unreached by the gospel. They saw the Senoufo tribe churches grow from one believer to over 10,000. Their experiences included Africans being delivered from evil spirits and an African boy being made a human sacrifice. Viola was active in teaching children and women as well as providing a ministry of hospitality. Jim frequently served as a speaker at missionary and African conferences and camps. He was also a leader in nationwide and continentwide inter-mission cooperative ministries. He was knighted by the Ivoirien government for eminent services rendered to Cote d'Ivoire. Ivory in Our Hearts contains photos and maps, an 18-page index, and a foreword by Dr. Clyde Cook, president of BIOLA University.