Philip Chenevert
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Science fiction from the 50s by one of the masters, Alfred Bester. Society has committed itself to complete stability. Nothing is allowed to upset this stability, nothing that is not planned and approved and accounted for in advance. Yes, this is hard to imagine but this has produced decades, nay, centuries of predictable prosperity and peace. Even the newspapers have very little to write about. One reporter however is curious about the "Prog" building,...
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Moklins are the friendliest aliens humans ever encountered. They LOVE humans, and want to imitate them in every way they can. And evolution on Moklin is very helpful in this regard and extremely fast. After 40 years on Moklin, the humans on the planet enjoy the friendship of these helpful 'people'. There might be one little problem though. Just a tiny thing that will cause the humans to leave in a very big hurry. Not that it will do any good of course....
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This is a recording of a booklet given to new naturalized American citizens, it contains an explanation of fundamental documents, symbols and anthems of the United States. "Today you are a citizen of the United States of America- becoming "a peer of kings" as President Calvin Coolidge once said. This occasion is a defining moment that should not soon be forgotten, for it marks the beginning of a new era in your lifetime as a U.S. citizen. Naturalized...
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The Apology is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of "corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel" . "Apology" here has its earlier meaning of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions. The general term apology, in context to literature, defends a world from attack (opposite of satire-which...
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Earth is ruled by women. In fact it was worse than that! Only women could be Earth Citizens these days ever since the Male Desuffrage Act. Men must 'belong' to a woman to have a say in anything and have become weak and somewhat silly. William Tenn tells a delightful story here of the future where women indeed rule earth, but an entire shipload of women are on a space ship going to Venus looking for husbands because they have heard that real men are...
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The colony on Venus is struggling to survive. All animal life on the planet, from the deadly Arrow Birds to the huge Rhinosaurs are deadly and out to kill any human they can get at. But Venus is home to an extremely valuable resource, the claws and teeth of the little 'bears' called Marva. One of the beautiful diamond hard claws is worth a million dollars. Hunters flock to the planet to find and kill these bears. This story is about the first boy...
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Wahb (meaning White Bear) is an orphaned Grizzly Bear who learns to respect his fears, fight for peace, and trust the healing powers of a stinky hot-spring. The story is aptly titled The Biography of a Grizzly because it is about the life of a Grizzly. Seton writes with a folksy tone that will enlighten children to the gore and war that Grizzly Bears endure. I thought it was fun to learn (through Wahb's story) about their life span, their diet, their...
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Fritz Leiber speculates on whether the growing divide between pedestrians and car drivers will continue and bloom into full scale war in the future. Will society fracture due to intense economic pressure and become this type of homicidal war where powerful cars equipped with razor sharp hooks on their hoods, try to gather points and scraps of clothing for their trophy walls by blasting the people in the 'city' as they try to cross the street? And...
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Sometimes an invention is so good that no one will believe you. There you are, with a fabulous new piece of technology that is worth millions and you are still starving to death because you are a 'crackpot'. Well, if you are smart, like the inventor in this story, you learn your lesson and start telling people your invention is just something they know and use every day, just a bit better. Sure it's a lie but people have to believe before they will...
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As I write this, I have before me on my desk, propped up against the telephone, an old rag doll. Dear old Raggedy Ann! The same Raggedy Ann with which my mother played when a child. There she sits, a trifle loppy and loose-jointed, looking me squarely in the face in a straightforward, honest manner, a twinkle where her shoe-button eyes reflect the electric light. Evidently Raggedy has been to a "tea party" today, for her face is covered with chocolate....
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Flip Miller was a man about the universe, surviving one harrowing escapade after another and seeking for the lucky break that would make his fortune. Finally he had found in in a scrap of a map to a lost mine on Venus. Only he was foolish enough to search it out in the steaming jungle of that mud covered planet. But it was true and unbelievable riches were soon to be his. Well, as soon as he could get a ride out of the mud island where his plane had...
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In this little book, Brother Lawrence simply and beautifully explains how to continually walk with God - not from the head but from the heart. Brother Lawrence left the gift of a way of life available to anyone who seeks to know God's peace and presence; that anyone, regardless of age or circumstance, can practice -anywhere, anytime. Brother Lawrence also left the gift of a direct approach to living in God's presence that is as practical today as...
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A researcher goes on an expedition to find "The Tablets of the Gods" which have plagued his dreams since his boyhood. He finds them, and the horrible truth of humanity's true purpose in the universe. This story, "The Man Who Found Out" is an example to me of pure cosmic horror in that the horror comes totally from knowledge which is (in-story) so terrible that it forever blights the minds of anyone who discovers it. Two highly intelligent and well...
19) Tiger ! Tiger !
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Mowgli is the boy who was raised by wolves. As a very young child, little Mowgli had toddled into the jungle and away from the sight of his distraught mother. Tracked by the lame tiger, Sere Kahn as a tasty morsel to eat, he had been taken in by a wolf family in their lair and protected from the tiger. But the tiger, frustrated from having an easy meal, had vowed he would eat him one day and he plotted for years as the child grew to boyhood. This...
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Can a spaceship go crazy? Well, yes it can if it has a brain. And the new MG (magnetogravitic drive) experimental robot space ship does indeed have a 'brain'. Completely bewildered as to why the first six models of their supposedly perfect new ship model, the MG-YR, nicknamed the McGuire, have gone totally bonkers after activation and before they could ever be used, the company has called in the services of Daniel Oak. They suspect sabotage of course....