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Audiobooks Narrated by David Vickery
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An accessible analysis of the new forms of work whose seismic changes will increasingly determine the future of capitalism
Automation and the decline in industrial employment have lead to rising fears of a workless future. But what happens when your work itself is the thing that will make your job obsolete?
In the past few years, online crowdworking platforms-like Amazon's Mechanical Turk and Clickworker-have become an increasingly important source of work, particularly for those in the Global South. Here, small tasks are assigned to people online, and are often used to train algorithms to spot patterns, patterns through machine learning those same algorithms will then be able to spot more effectively than humans. Used for everything from the mechanics of self-driving cars to Google image search, this is an increasingly powerful part of the digital economy. But what happens to work when it makes itself obsolete. In this stimulating work that blends political economy, studies of contemporary work, and speculations on the future of capitalism, Phil Jones looks at what this often murky and hidden form of labor looks like, and what it says about the state of global capitalism.
With the SAS: Across the Rhine is the story of the latter part of Captain Ian Wellsted's military career with the Special Air Service. This is a very personal account, revealing the many emotional as well as physical strains placed upon men in the fighting line.
The author takes us back to his time employed with the 79th armored Division (the famous 'Hobart's Funnies') preparing for D-Day and his desire for more exciting action, which led first to the Parachute Regiment and then the SAS. Whilst we learn a little of his time with the maquis, the main focus of the story is his part in Operation Archway. A British special forces mission which involved the 1st and 2nd Special Air Service Regiments acting in support of the advance of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery's Allied 21st Army Group in operations Varsity and Plunder, this crossing of the Rhine was one of the largest and most diverse operations ever carried out by the SAS.In this offensive, the SAS teams were thrust deep into German territory, often having to battle their way through the enemy lines to get back to safety.
In one of these encounters, as the war was drawing to a close, Wellsted's troop found itself surrounded. In the ensuing firefight, Wellsted was wounded, bringing his active front line career to an end.
During the first millennium AD the most northerly part of Britain evolved into the country known today as Scotland. The transition was a long process of social and political change driven by the ambitions of powerful warlords. At first these men were tribal chiefs, Roman generals, or rulers of small kingdoms. Later, after the Romans departed, the initiative was seized by dynamic warrior-kings who campaigned far beyond their own borders. Armies of Picts, Scots, Vikings, Britons, and Anglo-Saxons fought each other for supremacy.
From Lothian to Orkney, from Fife to the Isle of Skye, fierce battles were won and lost. By AD 1000 the political situation had changed for ever. Led by a dynasty of Gaelic-speaking kings, the Picts and Scots began to forge a single, unified nation which transcended past enmities. In this book, the remarkable story of how ancient North Britain became the medieval kingdom of Scotland is told.
It is hard to overstate the role that John Milton played in the historical, political, and literary controversies of seventeenth century England; his writings and very life challenged the status quo. Struggling to reconcile his private beliefs with his involvement with a radical political experiment, a republic which involved the killing of the monarch, his star rose and fell several times during his life. Married three times, struck blind at a cruelly early age, he was a famed pamphleteer and political activist whose revolutionary political credos placed him in mortal danger after the Restoration.
This fascinating new biography is divided into two parts. The first separates the man from the myth, and elucidates the complicated details of Milton's life from his early years as a literary artist uncertain of his destiny, through his work as a propagandist for the Cromwellian republic, to his rewriting of the Old Testament story of the Fall as a poetic allegory of more recent history. The second looks at how biographers and critics from the seventeenth century to the present day have distorted and manipulated the personality of Milton to suit their biases.
For many people, ecosystems may be a remote concept, yet we eat, drink, breathe and interface with them in every moment of our lives. In this engaging textbook, ecosystems scientist Dr. Mark Everard considers a diversity of 'everyday things', including fascinating facts about their ecological origins: from the tea we drink, to the things we wear, read and enjoy, to the ecology of communities and space flight, and the important roles played by germs and 'unappealing creatures' such as slugs and wasps.
In today's society, we are so umbilically connected to ecosystems that we fail to notice them, and this oversight blinds us to the unsustainability of everyday life and the industries and policy environment that supports it. The Ecology of Everyday Things takes the listener on an enlightening, fascinating voyage of discovery, all the while soundly rooted in robust science. It will stimulate awareness about how connected we all are to the natural world and its processes, and how important it is to learn to better treat our environment. Ideal for use in undergraduate-and school-level teaching, it will also interest, educate, engage and enthuse a wide range of less technical audiences.
In Ten Short Lessons in Time Travel, Brian Clegg takes us on a fascinating and up-to-date tour of the workings of the universe that suggest the possibility of journeying back and forth through time.
Einstein's special theory of relativity made time travel to the future a possibility, and later his general theory of relativity showed us that loops in spacetime could exist, meaning that we might be able to bend time backwards, too. But what are the practicalities of making time travel possible? What do we still need to know? How do we deal with any paradoxical twists in time - and could quantum physics hold the answer?
About the series: The Pocket Einstein series is a collection of essential pocket-sized guides for anyone looking to understand a little more about some of the most important and fascinating areas of science in the twenty-first century. Broken down into ten simple lessons and written by leading experts in their field, discover the ten most important takeaways from those areas of science you've always wanted to know more about.
In an era of rapidly developing technology and renewed ambition, the twenty-first century has ushered in an exciting new age of space flight. But what has brought us to this point in our exploration of the universe? And what does the future of space travel hold? From the amazing technology that has enabled us to look beyond the clouds to the possibilities of space tourism, 10 Short Lessons in Space Travel takes a timely look at the essential lessons learned from our voyages into outer space.
"Extremely authoritative. The best book on space travel since Arthur C. Clarke's classic, The Promise of Space." MARCUS CHOWN
Dr Stephen Peake takes us on a guided tour of the ten most essential aspects of this timely and fast-moving science, examining the important transition from fossil fuels to clean energy that is already happening around the world.
Renewable energy use is on the rise around the world, becoming a key focus of government policy and big business - and for very good reason. Not only are we facing the imminent depletion of the fossil fuels that we've relied on for so many centuries to heat our homes and power our industry, but it is clear that these alternative energy resources could also hold the key to combatting climate change. But what is energy? What are we doing to effectively harness the power of these renewable resources that are now becoming the fastest growing source of energy in the world? And what obstacles do we still need to overcome to achieve a cleaner and more sustainable energy future?
About the series: The Pocket Einstein series is a collection of essential pocket-sized guides for anyone looking to understand a little more about some of the most important and fascinating areas of science in the twenty-first century. Broken down into ten simple lessons and written by leading experts in their field, discover the ten most important takeaways from those areas of science you've always wanted to know more about.
Leading computer science expert Professor Peter J. Bentley breaks down the fast-moving world of computers in the time of automata into ten pivotal lessons.
In Ten Short Lessons in Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, leading expert Professor Peter J. Bentley breaks down the fast-moving world of computers in the time of automata into ten pivotal lessons, presenting the reader with the essential information they need to get to grips with our most powerful technology and its remarkable implications for our species. From the origins and motivation behind the birth of AI and robotics, to using smart algorithms that allow us to build good robots, to the technologies that enable computers to understand a huge range of sensory information, including language and communication, to the challenges of emotional intelligence, unpredictable environments and imagination in artificial intelligence, this is a cutting-edge, expert-led guide for curious minds. About the series: The Pocket Einstein series is a collection of essential pocket-sized guides for anyone looking to understand a little more about some of the most relevant science that affects us all in the twenty-first century. Broken down into ten simple lessons and written by leading experts in their field, discover the ten most important takeaways from those areas of science we should all know more about.
Postcolonialism explores the political, social, and cultural effects of decolonization, continuing the anti-colonial deconstruction of western dominance. This Very Short Introduction discusses both the history and key debates of postcolonialism, and considers its importance as a means of changing the way we think about the world.
Robert J. C. Young examines the key strategies that postcolonial thought has developed to engage with the impact of sometimes centuries of western political and cultural domination. Situating the discussion in a wide cultural and geographical context, he draws on examples such as the status of
indigenous peoples, of those dispossessed from their land, Algerian rai music, and global social and ecological movements. In this new edition he also includes updated material on race, slavery, and postcolonial gender politics. Above all, Young argues that postcolonialism offers a political
philosophy of activism that contests the current situation of global inequality, which in a new way continues the anti-colonial struggles of the past and enables us to decolonize our own lives in the present.
The delightfully comic account of a British couple and their imported cats starting over in a new country continues in Bucket to Greece Volume 4. The atmosphere is tense in the Bucket household, with Barry and Cynthia, or specifically Cynthia and her vile mutant cat, having outstayed their welcome. The race is on for them to find somewhere to live before their imminent wedding. Harold's house has potential, but Barry needs Victor's help to take advantage of the obnoxious Brit.
With chickens to tend and local politics to break into, Victor discovers retirement offers little time for lazing about. He takes to the sea, repping on the lazy day cruise in the company of the ouzo loving Kapetanios Vasos and his mute sidekick Sami, and crams up on Greek aphrodisiacs to prepare for a gastronomic excursion. Victor schemes to rid the house of superfluous kittens, hatches a plot to ensure the local taverna isn't turned into a tourist attraction, and lends a hand with the search when Spiros' uncle Leo goes on the missing list. Spiros, courting the fragrant Sampaguita, introduces her to the exciting ex-pat scene of inedible foreign dinners; Milton is targeted by vanity publishing scammers, and a stubborn sheep stalks the streets of Meli.
The delightfully comic account of a British couple and their imported cats starting over in a new country continues in Bucket to Greece Volume 3. Victor and Marigold really feel the heat of May when the ever precarious water supply runs dry, and Victor suffers self-doubt over his burgeoning mastery of the Greek language. No longer cheffing at the local taverna, Victor keeps busy in the kitchen at home, experimenting with the glut of garden courgettes.
Landing a part-time job as a tour guide to Ancient Olympia offers an opportunity to pontificate to a captive audience. Victor is forced to put his foot down when Marigold demands a swimming pool and air conditioning, convincing her they pose hygiene risks. Fortunately the arrival of an unexpected visitor delights and distracts Marigold, until catastrophe strikes when a moron takes a pot shot at her beloved feline, Catastrophe.
With marriage on his mind, Barry plans a permanent move to Greece and joins Victor in an early-morning snail hunt, leading to the great bucket breakout. A now sober Guzim secures employment on the coast with a crew that rumour soon has it are homicidal bandits. Spiros, smitten with the fragrant Filipino caregiver he employs to live-in with his infirm uncle, persuades Victor to help him poach some potential house buyers from under the despised Harold's nose.
