Books with author C.K. Thompson

Secrets surround me. Some I've uncovered, a few remain hidden, just beneath the surface...With Mara Shade's journal pointing the way to the past and a surprising revelation from Quinn, the truth hiding in Shifters University will be revealed, and my life will never be the same. Books in this series:Shifter's University (book 1)Forest of Lost Souls (book 2)House of Secrets (book 3)

Hello, world.Facebook's algorithms shaping the news. Self-driving cars roaming the streets. Revolution on Twitter and romance on Tinder. We live in a world constructed of code--and coders are the ones who built it for us. From acclaimed tech writer Clive Thompson comes a brilliant anthropological reckoning with the most powerful tribe in the world today, computer programmers, in a book that interrogates who they are, how they think, what qualifies as greatness in their world, and what should give us pause. They are the most quietly influential people on the planet, and Coders shines a light on their culture.In pop culture and media, the people who create the code that rules our world are regularly portrayed in hackneyed, simplified terms, as ciphers in hoodies. Thompson goes far deeper, dramatizing the psychology of the invisible architects of the culture, exploring their passions and their values, as well as their messy history. In nuanced portraits, Coders takes us close to some of the great programmers of our time, including the creators of Facebook's News Feed, Instagram, Google's cutting-edge AI, and more. Speaking to everyone from revered "10X" elites to neophytes, back-end engineers and front-end designers, Thompson explores the distinctive psychology of this vocation--which combines a love of logic, an obsession with efficiency, the joy of puzzle-solving, and a superhuman tolerance for mind-bending frustration. Along the way, Coders thoughtfully ponders the morality and politics of code, including its implications for civic life and the economy. Programmers shape our everyday behavior: When they make something easy to do, we do more of it. When they make it hard or impossible, we do less of it. Thompson wrestles with the major controversies of our era, from the "disruption" fetish of Silicon Valley to the struggle for inclusion by marginalized groups.In his accessible, erudite style, Thompson unpacks the surprising history of the field, beginning with the first coders -- brilliant and pioneering women, who, despite crafting some of the earliest personal computers and programming languages, were later written out of history. Coders introduces modern crypto-hackers fighting for your privacy, AI engineers building eerie new forms of machine cognition, teenage girls losing sleep at 24/7 hackathons, and unemployed Kentucky coal-miners learning a new career. At the same time, the book deftly illustrates how programming has become a marvelous new art form--a source of delight and creativity, not merely danger. To get as close to his subject as possible, Thompson picks up the thread of his own long-abandoned coding skills as he reckons, in his signature, highly personal style, with what superb programming looks like. To understand the world today, we need to understand code and its consequences. With Coders, Thompson gives a definitive look into the heart of the machine.

From the internationally acclaimed author of Blankets (“A triumph for the genre.”—Library Journal), a highly anticipated new graphic novel. Sprawling across an epic landscape of deserts, harems, and modern industrial clutter, Habibi tells the tale of Dodola and Zam, refugee child slaves bound to each other by chance, by circumstance, and by the love that grows between them. We follow them as their lives unfold together and apart; as they struggle to make a place for themselves in a world (not unlike our own) fueled by fear, lust, and greed; and as they discover the extraordinary depth—and frailty—of their connection. At once contemporary and timeless, Habibi gives us a love story of astounding resonance: a parable about our relationship to the natural world, the cultural divide between the first and third worlds, the common heritage of Christianity and Islam, and, most potently, the magic of storytelling.

Almost two decades after the human race fell to the might and fury of the ancient dragons, the last of humanity is gathered together in Nottinghill Castle. Barely a thousand souls have survived in that time and they face constant threats from the evil forces of the Chaos lords. But thanks to their mages, their warriors, and the indomitable human spirit, they have managed to cling to life. So far.But things are now changing on the New Earth. The dwarves, long isolated in their empire deep beneath the surface, have been attacked by the goblin hordes and this has roused the dwarven people's fury. They have finally realized that, even in their secluded cities hundreds of miles below the ground, they are not safe.And now, a new player has returned to the world. The elves have been driven from their home of Trillfarness, a planet given to them in ancient times by the lords of Light. Evil has destroyed that sanctuary and only a handful of survivors have managed to return to the world where they were first created. Shattered but not broken, the elves are weak and vulnerable and in need of allies. But who can they turn to in their darkest hour?Old suspicions linger between the elves and the dwarves. Once rivals, neither race trusts the other and many dwarves would rather stand alone. Will they be able to work out their differences in time to save the world and themselves? The human race may be the key.If they can bring both sides together and forge an alliance between all three of the mortal races, perhaps they can finally take the fight to the forces of Darkness and take back their world. If not, then the New Earth may finally fall to evil.

Adam Black Water has guarded his tribe's secret for as long as he remember. As leader of his pack, he thinks he knows everything that being a Keeper entails - from protecting the forest, to searching for the elusive killer that stalks the Appalachian Trail.What he isn't ready for - is her. When he meets Nikki Harmon, one thing will become very clear. She is the one who holds the power to change it all.***Author's Note: "The One" is a retelling of "Hidden Moon" from Adam's point-of-view. ***The Keeper Saga recommended reading order:Hidden Moon (book one)Once Upon a Haunted Moon (book two)The Wolf (book three, a short story prequel)Wynter's War (book four)Charmed (book five, a short story)

Soon after 2:00 a.m. on Easter morning 2008, the fishing trawler Alaska Ranger began taking on water in the middle of the frigid Bering Sea. While the first mate broadcast Mayday calls to a remote Coast Guard station more than eight hundred miles away, the men on the ship’s icy deck scrambled to inflate life rafts and activate beacon lights. By 4:30 a.m., most of the forty-seven crew members were in the water. Many knew that if they weren’t rescued soon, they would drown or freeze to death. Two Coast Guard helicopter rescue teams were woken up in the middle of the night to save the crew of the Alaska Ranger. Many of the men thought the mission would be routine. They were wrong. The helicopter teams battled snow squalls, enormous swells, and gale-force winds as they tried to fulfill one guiding principle: save as many as possible. Deadliest Sea is a daring and mesmerizing adventure tale that chronicles the power of nature against man. Veteran journalist Kalee Thompson recounts the harrowing stories of both the rescuers and the rescued while paying tribute to the courage, tenacity, and skill of the dedicated people who risk their lives for the lives of others.

Why would a smart New York investment banker pay $12 million for the decaying, stuffed carcass of a shark? By what alchemy does Jackson Pollock’s drip painting No. 5, 1948 sell for $140 million? Intriguing and entertaining, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark is a Freakonomics approach to the economics and psychology of the contemporary art world. Why were record prices achieved at auction for works by 131 contemporary artists in 2006 alone, with astonishing new heights reached in 2007? Don Thompson explores the money, lust, and self-aggrandizement of the art world in an attempt to determine what makes a particular work valuable while others are ignored. This book is the first to look at the economics and the marketing strategies that enable the modern art market to generate such astronomical prices. Drawing on interviews with both past and present executives of auction houses and art dealerships, artists, and the buyers who move the market, Thompson launches the reader on a journey of discovery through the peculiar world of modern art. Surprising, passionate, gossipy, revelatory, The $12 Million Stuffed Shark reveals a great deal that even experienced auction purchasers do not know.

Before the legend of the Keepers, came the story of the Wolf.Once upon a time, there lived a man whose fate would rest with two sisters. One will hold his heart. With her, he will find a love that will last forever, though it will come with a price.But the other sister holds the power to destroy all he holds dear. For as easily as one sister captures his heart, the other will trap his soul.Recommended reading order for the Keeper Saga:Hidden Moon (Book 1)Once Upon a Haunted Moon (Book 2)The Wolf (Book 3, a short story)Wynter's War (Book 4)Charmed (Book 5, a short story)The One (Book 6. Slated for release late summer 2016)