From the middle of the second century CE, The Roman Empire faced increasing Germanic tribe infiltration along the Danubian and Rhine borders, and internal political chaos. Without efficient imperial succession, Romans in from the third century set up generals as emperors, who were quickly deposed by rival claimants. Facilitating further territorial losses to Barbarian tribes, this continued until Diocletian (r. 284-305). He and Constantine (324-337) administratively reorganized the empire, engineering an absolute monarchy. Cultivating a secluded imperial tenor, Constantine the Great patronized Christianity, particularly in his new city Constantinople, founded on the ancient site of Byzantium. Christianization, in the Hellenized and Mediterranean cities and among certain Barbarian newcomers, proceeded with imperial support, and became the state religion under Theodosius (r. 379-95).

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR | SHORT-LISTED FOR THE 2018 LIONEL GELBER PRIZE | NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY: FINANCIAL TIMES * THE TIMES (LONDON) * AMAZON “Allison is one of the keenest observers of international affairs around.”— JOE BIDEN, former vice president of the United States China and the United States are heading toward a war neither wants. The reason is Thucydides’s Trap: when a rising power threatens to displace a ruling one, violence is the likeliest result. Over the past five hundred years, these conditions have occurred sixteen times; war broke out in twelve. Today, as an unstoppable China approaches an immovable America, and both Xi Jinping and Donald Trump promise to make their countries “great again,” the seventeenth case looks grim. A trade conflict, cyberattack, Korean crisis, or accident at sea could easily spark a major war. In Destined for War, eminent Harvard scholar Graham Allison masterfully blends history and current events to explain the timeless machinery of Thucydides’s Trap—and to explore the painful steps that might prevent disaster today. “[A] must-read book in both Washington and Beijing.”— NIALL FERGUSON, BOSTON GLOBE “[Allison is] a first-class academic with the instincts of a first-rate politician.”— BLOOMBERG NEWS “[Full of] wide-ranging, erudite case studies that span human history . . . [A] fine book.”— NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

Marx and Engels were right when they observed in the Communist Manifesto that free markets had in a short time created greater prosperity and more technological innovation than all previous generations combined. A century and a half later, all the evidence shows that capitalism has lifted millions and millions from hunger and poverty. Today's story about global capitalism, shared by right-wing and left-wing populists, but also by large sections of the political and economic establishment, does not deny that prosperity has been created, but it says it ended up in far too few hands. This in turn has made it popular to talk about the global economy as a geopolitical zero-sum game, where we have to fight to control new innovations, introduce trade barriers and renationalize value chains. While, more broadly, capitalism is accused of fueling glaring inequality, populist revolts, climate change and China's global conquest. In this incisive and passionate investigation, Johan Norberg instead states the case for capitalism and the vital role played by the free market in today's uncertain world. Ultimately, he argues that that a move away from global capitalism would not only squeeze the growth out of the economy but also deepen an already large social exclusion for the vulnerable - for the world's poor, it would be a killing blow.

This book is a necessary read both for persons who see a living through scamming and for persons who want to avoid scammers. Failure to read this book is failure to get rich quick or avoid scammers. This is a book for educational purpose. Get rich by reading it now or don't read it and get scammed. The choice is yours.

'Does the world seem right, to you?'Years ago, Dana Mayer had a vision of a better world: one where women are in charge. Now her manifesto, The Quickening, has established the rules for a new order, designed to elevate and protect women. A genteel and peaceful society that prioritises nature, good manners and aesthetics. Of course, in order for women to maintain control, the freedoms of men have been necessarily limited. Arthur Alden loves Dana Mayer but hates the world she has created. But can he find a way to resist, without losing everything? And with Dana intent on making men pay reparations for their past crimes, can Arthur be allowed to live without punishment?

An all-encompassing guide to skeptical thinking from podcast host and academic neurologist at Yale University School of Medicine Steven Novella and his SGU co-hosts, which Richard Wiseman calls "the perfect primer for anyone who wants to separate fact from fiction." It is intimidating to realize that we live in a world overflowing with misinformation, bias, myths, deception, and flawed knowledge. There really are no ultimate authority figures-no one has the secret, and there is no place to look up the definitive answers to our questions (not even Google). Luckily, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe is your map through this maze of modern life. Here Dr. Steven Novella-along with Bob Novella, Cara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein-will explain the tenets of skeptical thinking and debunk some of the biggest scientific myths, fallacies, and conspiracy theories-from anti-vaccines to homeopathy, UFO sightings to N- rays. You'll learn the difference between science and pseudoscience, essential critical thinking skills, ways to discuss conspiracy theories with that crazy co- worker of yours, and how to combat sloppy reasoning, bad arguments, and superstitious thinking. So are you ready to join them on an epic scientific quest, one that has taken us from huddling in dark caves to setting foot on the moon? (Yes, we really did that.) DON'T PANIC! With The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe, we can do this together. "Thorough, informative, and enlightening, The Skeptic's Guide to the Universe inoculates you against the frailties and shortcomings of human cognition. If this book does not become required reading for us all, we may well see modern civilization unravel before our eyes." -- Neil deGrasse Tyson "In this age of real and fake information, your ability to reason, to think in scientifically skeptical fashion, is the most important skill you can have. Read The Skeptics' Guide Universe; get better at reasoning. And if this claim about the importance of reason is wrong, The Skeptics' Guide will help you figure that out, too." -- Bill Nye

'As though walking through a deep dream, I saw steel helmets approaching through the craters. They seemed to sprout from the fire-harrowed soil like some iron harvest ...'Storm of Steel is one of the greatest works to emerge from the catastrophe of the First World War. A memoir of astonishing power, savagery and ashen lyricism, it illuminates like no other book the horrors but also the fascination of total war, presenting the conflict through the eyes of an ordinary German soldier. As an account of the terrors of the Western Front and of the sickening allure that made men keep fighting on for four long years, Storm of Steel has no equal.

Книга "Луна - суровая хозяйка", восставшая из золотого века научной фантастики и ставшая бесспорной классикой, прототипом философии личной ответственности и политической свободы.

Masters of Doom is the amazing true story of the Lennon and McCartney of video games: John Carmack and John Romero. Together, they ruled big business. They transformed popular culture. And they provoked a national controversy. More than anything, they lived a unique and rollicking American Dream, escaping the broken homes of their youth to co-create the most notoriously successful game franchises in history—Doom and Quake—until the games they made tore them apart. Americans spend more money on video games than on movie tickets. Masters of Doom is the first book to chronicle this industry’s greatest story, written by one of the medium’s leading observers. David Kushner takes readers inside the rags-to-riches adventure of two rebellious entrepreneurs who came of age to shape a generation. The vivid portrait reveals why their games are so violent and why their immersion in their brilliantly designed fantasy worlds offered them solace. And it shows how they channeled their fury and imagination into products that are a formative influence on our culture, from MTV to the Internet to Columbine. This is a story of friendship and betrayal, commerce and artistry—a powerful and compassionate account of what it’s like to be young, driven, and wildly creative. “To my taste, the greatest American myth of cosmogenesis features the maladjusted, antisocial, genius teenage boy who, in the insular laboratory of his own bedroom, invents the universe from scratch. Masters of Doom is a particularly inspired rendition. Dave Kushner chronicles the saga of video game virtuosi Carmack and Romero with terrific brio. This is a page-turning, mythopoeic cyber-soap opera about two glamorous geek geniuses—and it should be read while scarfing down pepperoni pizza and swilling Diet Coke, with Queens of the Stone Age cranked up all the way.”—Mark Leyner, author of I Smell Esther Williams

The Story of Civilization, Volume II: A history of Greek civilization from the beginnings, and of civilization in the Near East from the Death of Alexander to the Roman Conquest. This is the second volume of the classic Pulitzer Prize-winning series.

"A colorful page-turner." —Walter Isaacson, New York Times Book Review"As important a book on space as has ever been written." —Homer Hickam, Author of Rocket BoysThe dramatic inside story of the historic flights that launched SpaceX—and Elon Musk—from a shaky startup into the world's leading-edge rocket companySpaceX has enjoyed a miraculous decade. Less than 20 years after its founding, it boasts the largest constellation of commercial satellites in orbit, has pioneered reusable rockets, and in 2020 became the first private company to launch human beings into orbit. Half a century after the space race it is private companies, led by SpaceX, standing alongside NASA pushing forward into the cosmos, and laying the foundation for our exploration of other worlds.But before it became one of the most powerful players in the aerospace industry, SpaceX was a fledgling startup, scrambling to develop a single workable rocket before the money ran dry. The engineering challenge was immense; numerous other private companies had failed similar attempts. And even if SpaceX succeeded, they would then have to compete for government contracts with titans such as Lockheed Martin and Boeing, who had tens of thousands of employees and tens of billions of dollars in annual revenue. SpaceX had fewer than 200 employees and the relative pittance of $100 million in the bank.In Liftoff, Eric Berger, senior space editor at Ars Technica, takes readers inside the wild early days that made SpaceX. Focusing on the company’s first four launches of the Falcon 1 rocket, he charts the bumpy journey from scrappy underdog to aerospace pioneer. We travel from company headquarters in El Segundo, to the isolated Texas ranchland where they performed engine tests, to Kwajalein, the tiny atoll in the Pacific where SpaceX launched the Falcon 1. Berger has reported on SpaceX for more than a decade, enjoying unparalleled journalistic access to the company’s inner workings. Liftoff is the culmination of these efforts, drawing upon exclusive interviews with dozens of former and current engineers, designers, mechanics, and executives, including Elon Musk. The enigmatic Musk, who founded the company with the dream of one day settling Mars, is the fuel that propels the book, with his daring vision for the future of space.Filled with never-before-told stories of SpaceX’s turbulent beginning, Liftoff is a saga of cosmic proportions.

“Жизнь 3.0. Быть человеком в эпоху искусственного интеллекта” – увлекательная научно-популярная книга, вторая книга Макса Тегмарка, физика и космолога, профессора Массачусетского технологического института. В ней он рассматривает возможные сценарии развития событий в случае появления на Земле сверхразумного искусственного интеллекта, анализирует все плюсы и минусы и призывает специалистов объединить свои усилия в борьбе за кибербезопасность и “дружественный” искусственный интеллект.

Глубокое обучение – это вид машинного обучения, наделяющий компьютеры способностью учиться на опыте и понимать мир в терминах иерархии концепций. Книга содержит математические и концептуальные основы линейной алгебры, теории вероятностей и теории информации, численных расчетов и машинного обучения в том объеме, который необходим для понимания материала. Описываются приемы глубокого обучения, применяемые на практике, в том числе глубокие сети прямого распространения, регуляризация, алгоритмы оптимизации, сверточные сети, моделирование последовательностей и др. Рассматриваются такие приложения, как обработка естественных языков, распознавание речи, компьютерное зрение, онлайновые рекомендательные системы, биоинформатика и видеоигры. Издание предназначено студентам вузов и аспирантам, а также опытным программистам, которые хотели бы применить глубокое обучение в составе своих продуктов или платформ.

«Виноваты звёзды» — шестой роман американского писателя Джона Грина, который был опубликован в 2012 году. Был включён в список бестселлеров по версии Publishers Weekly в 2013 и 2014 годах.

Взгляд с наветренной стороны — это научно-фантастический роман шотландского писателя Иэна М. Бэнкса, впервые опубликованный в 2000 году. Это шестой роман в серии «Культура».

«Дю́на» — научно-фантастический роман американского писателя Фрэнка Герберта, впервые опубликованный в 1963-1965 годах в виде серии глав в журнале Analog Science Fiction and Fact и в 1965 году впервые изданный отдельной книгой. Книга, сделавшая Герберта знаменитым, была удостоена премий Хьюго и Небьюла.

Мэтью Соболь, гений программирования, основатель CyberStorm Entertainment, один из самых богатых и могущественных среди элиты Силиконовой Долины, мертв, но его последнее творение живет дальше, чтобы исполнить свою последнюю волю и завещание. В момент смерти Соболя оживают компьютерные программы по всему миру, создавая сущность, известную как Демон. Демон проникает в наше гиперсвязанное общество, собирая секреты, крадя личности. Вскоре у него появляется возможность изменять жизни, а также забирать их: те, кто служит Демону, вознаграждаются; те, кто бросает ему вызов, уничтожаются. Вербовавшись из числа обездоленных и недовольных, даемон обеспечивает растущее удушение самым ценным в мире товаром - информацией. И как только вы контролируете саму информацию, насколько легко будет переделать мир?

Искусственный интеллект помогает выбрать, какие книги вы покупаете, какие фильмы вы видите и даже с кем встречаетесь. Он это "смарт" в вашем смартфоне и вскоре будет управлять вашим автомобилем. Он производит большую часть сделок на Уолл-стрит и контролирует жизненно важную энергетическую, водную и транспортную инфраструктуру. Искусственный интеллект также может угрожать нашему существованию. Всего за десять лет ИИ может сравниться с человеческим интеллектом, а затем превзойти его.

Книга "Луна - суровая хозяйка", восставшая из золотого века научной фантастики и ставшая бесспорной классикой, прототипом философии личной ответственности и политической свободы.