From the New York Times–bestselling authors, this "chilling and engrossing" nuclear-showdown thriller packs "a multi-megaton wallop" ( Chicago Tribune).Originally published during the Cuban Missile Crisis, this suspenseful novel takes off as a group of American bombers—armed with a deadly payload of nuclear weapons—heads towards Moscow, their motives unknown. Suddenly, a nuclear apocalypse looms closer than it ever has, and the lives of millions d...

The Ugly American, novel by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, published in 1958. A fictionalized account of Americans working in Southeast Asia, the book was notable chiefly for exposing many of the deficiencies in U.S. foreign-aid policy and for causing a furor in government circles. Eventually the uproar led to a congressional review of foreign aid. Although some of the novelís characters are committed to the local people, many others are incompetent and out of touch with and ill-in...

The Ninth Wave, published in 1956, follows a political campaign complete with then cutting-edge innovations of opinion polling, computers and the use of campaign consultants. Though we now know – even in a world of Facebook and Obama – that data and numbers can't quite predict and control political outcomes in the way the book lays out, the world has turned out close enough to Burdick's picture of the future to make The Ninth Wave a prescient and still relevant story, and one that should b...

Released not long after President John F. Kennedy’s assassination, in the run-up to the 1964 national election, Eugene Burdick’s blockbuster political novel, The 480, foresaw the rise of social media and twenty-first century analytical data manipulation, the use of computer-generated voter profiles to shape—for better or for worse—the outcome of a major national election. Burdick—coauthor of The Ugly American and Fail-Safe—was a true socio-political visionary, ah...

The basis for Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece, Dr. Strangelove: A chilling Cold War thriller in which unchecked power unleashes total nuclear disaster.Air Force Brigadier General Quinten is a dying man suffering from the paranoid delusion that he can make the world a better place by ordering a full-scale nuclear attack on the Soviet Union. Receiving word of the attack already underway, the president of the United States and his advisors now must work frantic...

**The Oscar-shortlisted documentary Command and Control, directed by Robert Kenner, finds its origins in Eric Schlosser's book and continues to explore the little-known history of the management and safety concerns of America's nuclear aresenal.“A devastatingly lucid and detailed new history of nuclear weapons in the U.S. Fascinating.” —Lev Grossman, TIME Magazine“Perilous and gripping . . . Schlosser skillfully weaves together an engrossing account of bot...

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTUREA mission to Mars. A freak accident. One man’s struggle to survive. From the author of Project Hail Mary comes “a hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire” (Chicago Tribune).“Brilliant . . . a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years . . . utterly compelling.”—The Wall Stre...

"The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack" presents 25 more mind-bending excursions through time and space, with great stories by such authors as Arthur C. Clarke, Nancy Kress, Lawrence Watt-Evans, George Zebrowski, Philip K. Dick, and many more! Included are:OUT OF ALL THEM BRIGHT STARS, by Nancy KressTHE HANGING STRANGER, by Philip K. DickWALKING JOHN AND BIRD, by Neal AsherTHE SYMPHONIC ABDUCTION, by Hannes BokTHE NINE BILLION NAMES OF GOD, by Arthur C. Cla...

Packed with startling revelations, this inside look at the secret side of the Cold War exposes just how close America came to total annihilation."With access to newly declassified documents, Keeney delivers a jolting year-by-year history of SAC's transformation into a massive worldwide force primed to launch bombers within 15 minutes of the order." — Publishers WeeklyOne of the most detailed pictures yet of the com...

The Coalition of Asian States, (CAS) allied with the Greater Islamic Republic (GIR), has invaded North America, defeated and occupied the whole of Australia, and taken Siberia from the Russians and invaded Russia. The entire Pacific rim has fallen. Israel stands alone in the Mid east, and Europe has been invaded. Heavy fighting is occurring throughout Central and South America and brutal attacks continue within the mainland of the United States.As America and her allies develop fan...

Hours of great reading await, with tales from some of the 20th century's most renowned science fiction authors, Here are 25 science fiction stories (plus a bonus short-short):ARENA, by Fredric BrownEXPEDITER, by Mack ReynoldsONE-SHOT, by James BlishSHAMBLEAU, by C. L. MooreSHIPWRECK IN THE SKY, by Eando BinderZEN, by Jerome BixbyTHE LITTLE BLACK BAG, by C.M. KornbluthLANCELOT BIGGS COOKS A PIRATE, by Nelson S. BondLIGHTER THAN...

The Greater Islamic Republic, led by Iran, and the Coalition of Asian States, led by Red China have allied and conspired together to defeat America and her allies on the world stage. The two leaders, Hassan Sayeed and Jien Zemin have planned and conducted surprise attacks against America and pushed American forces back with staggering losses.High technology supercavitating weapons are proving a scourge to the US Navy as American military research and development rush to find answer...