Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke, Smoke

Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke, Smoke
Average customer rating:

Latest in a BRILLIANT series...

Comic book writing and art just don't get better than this

Good, but a bit short

Love this comic series!

Filler

Ex Machina Vol. 5: Smoke, Smoke
Brian K. Vaughan
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401213227

Customer Reviews:

Latest in a BRILLIANT series..........2007-09-06

As any lover of Brian K Vaughan could tell you, this guy is a genius. Whether it's a group of misfit, teen-age, evil-villian-parent-murdering crimestoppers; a family of bomb-dodging lions that escape a half-demolished zoo in Baghdad; a man named Yoric who survives a "plague" that wipes out every male on earth (except him and his pet capuchin Ampersand); or, in the case of Ex Machina, a hero-turned-polictician who just happens to be able to communicate with machinery, Vaughan delivers, every time. NOBODY who calls themselves comic book geek can live without reading this series. END OF REVIEW :):)

Comic book writing and art just don't get better than this.......2007-07-02

For anyone who grew up with comic books and love the medium, this is the perfect series to graduate to. It is stunningly beautiful and the writing is topical and smart. It's such a cliche, but it feels like an HBO show done in comic book form. Mayor Mitchell Hundred deals with tricky political situations with integrity, but never finds an easy time of it. He has a wisdom about him, but isn't above revisiting his ethics and decisions as he does in this volume with his arrest of a small-time pot dealer.

Trade paperback is the ideal format for Ex Machina, as the collected issues focus on themes and a collection of storylines. It's far more satisfying than reading it in monthly comics form. I highly recommend this volume and this series!

Good, but a bit short.......2007-05-14

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 4 volumes in this series, but this one disappointed me a bit. It didn't really seem to progress the story behind The Great Machine's origins as much as the past few entries in the series. It seemed a bit more caught up in the political issues facing Mitch as mayor in the "current" timeline.

Love this comic series!.......2007-05-07

Love this comic series! I hope it is never spoilt into a crappy movie saga...
Best regards from Barcelona,
Sergi

Filler.......2007-03-28

This book felt like Vaughn's prepping you for some big event later on. The story moves but it just seems to sit between Journal's death in the last book and whatever is brewing for the next.

Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
Play like graphic novel in a realistic setting
Meh
Excellent mature comic book
Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days

Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days
Brian K. Vaughan , and Tony Harris
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401206123

Book Description

The first volume of the Eisner Award-winning series featuring Eisner Award-winners author Brian K. Vaughanand artist Tony Harris. Set in our modern-day world, EX MACHINA tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America's first living, breathing super-hero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually Mitchell tires of risking his life merely to maintain the status quo, retires from masked crimefighting and runs for mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide. But Mayor Hundred has to worry about more than just budget problems and an antagonistic governor, especially when a mysterious hooded figure begins assassinating plow drivers during the worst snowstorm in the city's history!

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Mitchell Hundred used to be a superhero. That is, until he failed to stop the destruction of both Twin Towers in New York, by terrorists, only leaving one.

He decides to become a politician, and because of hassles and disagreements, gives the party system the arse and runs as an independent.

Play like graphic novel in a realistic setting.......2007-06-08

I haven't been into too many comic books. Mostly because superheros were never really my thing. A friend of mine was telling me about a few comics, and recommended this one to me. Being a bit skeptical I picked it up and read the volume.

The story started a bit slow to get in to. Probably because of my skepticism. However at the end I wanted to read more, and more. Not because of a cliffhanger either. The art is done beautifully, modeled from actual people. It is told naturally, but it seems like they put it together like a play. It is realistic in the sense of a lot of actual things in New York city exist. The way it is told is real. Without a little "magic" in it (no spoilers), you would think it was a true political story.

Meh.......2007-04-05

Some people probably rate Ex Machina versus the universe of graphic novels or comic books, or perhaps even including written sci-fi. This first volume likely stacks up pretty well there. I rate it versus a larger universe, where really great art is ... rare. In this genre, so far, there are, for me, two standouts: Watchmen, and slightly lesser, but still great, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. This doesn't even come close, and would get, charitably, three stars.

Now, price. I paid $10-ish for the first volume of many, which barely lasted me an hour of reading. You can have the complete sets of the above masterpieces for around $10-15 per. I'm sorry, but I'm not a comic-book guy, so this just feels slightly like a rip-off to me. Minus one star.

Excellent mature comic book.......2007-04-05

A very interesting exploration of the concepts of "hero"/"politician" and of the subtle and not so subtle contradictions within any power structure.
Also very funny!

Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days.......2007-04-04

Good story.
Good pictures.
Why not...it sure beats the cookie-cutter superheroes and the way he uses his power is niffty.
AND he can balance the budget too!

Average customer rating:

Graphic SF Reader
Bouncing Back
Best volume yet
Quite excellent.
i'd recommend this book heartily to my enemies...

Ex Machina, Vol. 4: March to War
Brian K. Vaughan
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ex Machina Vol. 1: The First Hundred Days

ASIN: 1401209971

Book Description

Ex Machina, the Eisner Award-winning series that Entertainment Weekly voted "One of the 10 Best Fiction Books of 2005," tells the story of Mitchell Hundred, who becomes the Great Machine, America's first superhero, after a strange accident gives him amazing powers.Eventually tiring of risking his life merely to maintain the status quo, Mitchell retires from masked crime-fighting and becomes the mayor of New York City. In this volume, a shocking tragedy strikes an Iraq War protest in downtown Manhattan, and Mayor Hundred must choose between the liberty of his constituents and the security of his city.Plus, a tale from the past finally reveals the origin of his mysterious archenemy, Jack Pherson.

Customer Reviews:

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Mayor Hundred has some serious political stuff to deal with as he has to allow protesters to demonstrate about Iraq, and deal with the flak he gets from their political opposites at the same time.

An interview also sparks thoughts of an old enemy, and hence the writers delve into the backstory of this bloke.

Bouncing Back.......2007-02-25

After a disappointing volume 3 'Ex Machina' is back in top form with Volume 4 'The March to War'. The Iraq war was a subject that Vaughan would have to tackle eventually in this series and here he does it with a fine even-handed approach.
One of Mayor Hundred's staff resigns to participate in an anti-war demonstration and Hundred is left to figure out how to provide security for the city while not trampling on the rights of free speech of the protestors. The ending of this story leaves Hundred at his most disheartened about his ability to change the world through public service.
A second story that includes the 'Ex Machina' special flashes back to Hundred as he is campaigning for the Mayor's office. In an interview he is asked about the death penalty which prompts a flashback to a fight with a super villian who Hundred is locked in a battle to the death with. Both stories together make for the best trade so far for this series and a must read for fans of intellegent and sophisticated comics.

Best volume yet.......2007-02-01

This book has never been able to fully engage me, yet I always pick up the trades. While the writing has never really sold me, there has always been obvious potential and the art by Tony Harris is very nice. So even if the book has failed to live up to expectations set by others, it is still better than a large number of other books that I buy (I'm not a very hard guy to sell a comic book to), so I continue to support the book.

This volume experienced a noticeable and substantial improvement - particularly over the third volume (which I didn't care for). There are essentially two stories in this trade. The first deals with Mayor Hundred trying to support the rights of protesters of the Iraqi war while at the same time trying to keep them safe from terrorist themed attacks. I thought Vaughn did a fine job of playing with the balance between these two sometimes conflicting goals (political freedom and physical security) without sinking to the use of clichés.

The second story gives us some back story on Hundred's nemesis. This portion of the trade was not as strong as the prior story arc, but still did an excellent job of tying together Hundred's super-hero exploits with his subsequent political career.

Either the book spiked in quality, or I'm just finally coming around - but I really enjoyed this trade paperback. I hope the next volume continues in the same direction.

Quite excellent........2006-12-12

I finished this book less than eight hours after it arrived at my door and immediately after reading the last page, I checked to see when the next volume of this series will be published. That should say all that needs to be said about the quality of this work.

i'd recommend this book heartily to my enemies..........2006-12-08

so they could be bored to death by this poseur.

Average customer rating:

A good comic gets better
Graphic SF Reader
Sci-Fi Politics
Ex Machina's story really takes off
Vaughan's Political Sci-Fi Continues To Impress

Ex Machina, Vol. 2: Tag
Brian K. Vaughan
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401206263

Book Description

This second volume of Eisner Award-winner(Best Writer, Best New Series) Brian K. Vaughan's Ex Machina collects the TAG story arch. Plus, learn how much the National Security Agency had on the career of the Great Machine.What forced Mayor Hundred to make one of the most controversial decisions in the history of New Yrok politics.This volume features an introduction by the Wachowski brothers and an all new cover by Eisner Award-winning artist Tony Harris

Customer Reviews:

A good comic gets better.......2007-09-06

Mitchell Hundred continues his third career: engineer, unwilling superhero, and now willing but inept mayor of NYC. Well, if you want something done strangely, count on an engineer. They're generally so honest that there's no way to guess what they'll do next - something logical, usually, and that always takes everyone by surprise.

This fictional world moves through the year or so after the 9/11 attacks on NYC and DC. In that world, though, Hundred managed to save one of the towers. And now, as mayor, he has the privelege presiding over the wedding of one of those heroic first responders, Todd Wylie, and his boyfriend. While that ruckus gets up to full volume, something quieter and more deadly is taking shape under the city ...

Vaughn and crew give a lot to like. The story is current and topical, but distant enough for escapist fiction. Vaughn's artwork carries the book - it's skilled and expressive, it has some of Chaykin's monumental quality, but with livelier and more natural poses. Continuing that "more natural" theme. Vaughn isn't afraid of ladies with shoulders, hips, and curves, or of the occasional goofy look on someone's face. The lines are gentler and the palette more subdued than Chaykin, too - but there's nothing imitative in the visual style.

I alrady have the next collection of Ex Machina on my to-read heap, and I expect more to follow it. It got that Eisner award for a reason - if you've read this far and haven't tried this title yet, you probably should.

-- wiredwierd

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Mitchell, now Mayor Hundred, still has the superhuman abilities gained from a strange accident. He no longer operates as The Great Machine, but something from he past may have triggered a serial killer that is now operating.

Taking some unpopular political stances, a good looking writer goes out with him, and will offer some advice and perhaps more.

Sci-Fi Politics.......2007-05-10

This second installment in the Ex Machina series explains how the main character got his powers and became mayor.

Ex Machina's story really takes off.......2007-02-25

'Tag' the second volume in the Ex Machina really takes off. Not only do we get a better understanding of Mitchell Hundred's powers and how he came to be Mayor but we get an outstanding thriller. Deaths are being linked throughout the city to a symbol that has some link to Mitchell's origin and he has to figure things out fast to save lives.
Meanwhile, Mitchell also has to deal with the day to day politics of New York and the hot button issue he sparks when he agrees to marry a gay firefighter and his lover. An excellent second volume really moves the series into high gear and we get a taste of how this might evolve into one of te best comic book series of all time.

Vaughan's Political Sci-Fi Continues To Impress.......2006-05-20

In the next five issues of Ex Machina, Brian K. Vaughan's story of a superhero-turned-mayor of New York City, Mitchell Hundred's administration has to contend with more hotbed political issues as well as some "unnatural" occurreneces that are connected to the device that gave Hundred his powers.
After a brief, and fairly unsuccessful, stint as the superhero The Great Machine, Hundred hung up his tights and jetpack and became New York City's mayor. A strange device gave him the ability to "communicate" with machines, but while he tries to put that life behind him in his new political career, Hundred can't seem to get away from his old life.
Hundred's political career is put in jeopardy when he decides to not only endorse, but perform a gay marriage between the brother of his Deputy Mayor and his conservative boyfriend. If that weren't enough, a mysterious symbol that was found on the device that gave Hundred his powers has been showing up throughout the city, and it is having dire effects on people who stare at it for too long. Along the way, we see flashbacks of Hundred's life during his campaign and we see his history with the NSA.
While the explanation for events at the end was a little confusing, this is still a solid collection. Vaughan can't seem to go wrong as there is nothing by him that I've read that I haven't liked. Runaways, Y: The Last Man, Ultimate X-Men, and this have all been great reads.

Lingua ex Machina: Reconciling Darwin and Chomsky with the Human Brain

Average customer rating:

The usual lie
Conversation on conversation

Lingua ex Machina: Reconciling Darwin and Chomsky with the Human Brain
William H. Calvin , and Derek Bickerton
Manufacturer: The MIT Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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A Brief History of the Mind: From Apes to Intellect and Beyond
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Language Evolution (Studies in the Evolution of Language)

ASIN: 0262032732

Amazon.com

Over the last four decades, most of the significant contributions to the study of language origins and evolution have come from outside the field of linguistics, which has been dominated by theories of transformational-generative grammar. As articulated by Noam Chomsky, these theories generally agree that the ability to learn and use language is innate and specific to humans; they mostly sidestep the issue of how this ability came to be, preferring to treat it as a given of the human mind.

But, neurophysiologist William Calvin and linguist Derek Bickerton observe in this lively book, language is probably not a deus ex machina invention "tacked onto an ape brain." Instead, it evolved, along with the brain, to accommodate an ever more complex social calculus. The authors suggest that this evolution had two major phases. The first ushered in "protolanguage," individual words with only a rudimentary syntax, while the second brought forth a more complicated syntax that allowed the conception and utterance of antitruths, conditionals, and outright falsehoods. Bickerton writes that "it's words, not sentences, that dramatically distinguish our species from others," while Calvin takes a more pointed interest in neural adaptations that allowed for "structured language"--that is, long statements with embedded clauses and phrases. Their account of human language's origins and development does not reject Chomskyan views of language out of hand, as so many scholars have tried to do. Instead, it attempts to forge a reconciliation of notions of innate structure with those of natural selection.

That's a tall order, and, although their book advances some controversial ideas about the relative importance of social intelligence in language formation, Calvin and Bickerton make a fine and comprehensible effort in its pages. --Gregory McNamee

Book Description

A machine for language? Certainly, say the neurophysiologists, busy studying the language specializations of the human brain and trying to identify their evolutionary antecedents. Linguists such as Noam Chomsky talk about machinelike "modules" in the brain for syntax, arguing that language is more an instinct (a complex behavior triggered by simple environmental stimuli) than an acquired skill like riding a bicycle.

But structured language presents the same evolutionary problems as feathered forelimbs for flight: you need a lot of specializations to fly even a little bit. How do you get them, if evolution has no foresight and the intermediate stages do not have intermediate payoffs? Some say that the Darwinian scheme for gradual species self-improvement cannot explain our most valued human capability, the one that sets us so far above the apes, language itself.

William Calvin and Derek Bickerton suggest that other evolutionary developments, not directly related to language, allowed language to evolve in a way that eventually promoted a Chomskian syntax. They compare these intermediate behaviors to the curb-cuts originally intended for wheelchair users. Their usefulness was soon discovered by users of strollers, shopping carts, rollerblades, and so on. The authors argue that reciprocal altruism and ballistic movement planning were "curb-cuts" that indirectly promoted the formation of structured language. Written in the form of a dialogue set in Bellagio, Italy, Lingua ex Machina presents an engaging challenge to those who view the human capacity for language as a winner-take-all war between Chomsky and Darwin.

Customer Reviews:

The usual lie.......2000-06-09

Calvin bases his ideas on this 'observation' in chapter 7:

"The axon acts like an express train, skipping many intermediate stops, giving off synapses only when about 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 mm away from the tall dendrite (and sometimes continuing for a few millimeters farther, maintaining the integer multiples of the basic metric, 0.5 mm). "

This is a plain lie.

Conversation on conversation.......2000-04-03

The so-called "reconcilation" promised by the title is not entirely delivered. Both Calvin and Bickerton seem too taken with their respective ideas. It is an interesting discussion nonetheless, and good points are made by both writers.

Average customer rating:

More development in a good comic
Graphic SF Reader
The Likable Unlikely Premise
Trial and Error
fact:

Ex Machina Vol. 3: Fact v. Fiction
Brian K. Vaughan
Manufacturer: Wildstorm
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1401209882

Book Description

EX MACHINA tells the story of civil engineer Mitchell Hundred, who becomes America's first living, breathing super-hero after a strange accident gives him amazing powers. Eventually Mitchell tires of risking his life merely to maintain the status quo and runs for mayor of New York City, winning by a landslide.This new collection features three unique storylines of the Eisner Award-winning series which Playboy calls "a two-fisted blend of super-hero action and political debate!"

Customer Reviews:

More development in a good comic.......2007-09-08

Despite its slight super-hero flavor, Ex Machina sustains a fairly believable story line - NYC's new mayor, an ex-engineer, in way over his head and trying to apply rational logic to political machinery. His super-thing isn't what keeps the reader interested, it's his very human doggedness and determination to do what he thinks is right in problems with no right answers.

This time, that includes the everyday drama of jury duty (with a wild turn of plot), family revelations, and flashbacks to the kind of scene that no one could ever forget. The artwork excels, not in an out-there and edgy way, but as a vehicle for carrying the story across a jagged and varied terrain. Color sets moods well, but the dynamic and varied figures and faces really make it work.

Ex Machina doesn't blaze new trails in visual storytelling or exotic conjecture. Instead, it delivers credible characters and recognizable-enough situations - an enjoyable moment away from my otherwise busy world.

-- wiredweird

Graphic SF Reader.......2007-09-03

Mayor Hundred is getting pretty stressed about doing this whole running a huge city thing. First, the weather has turned very bad, which an extremely bad storm leaving the city snowbound. To cap that off another killer is running around bumping off snowplough drivers, of all people.

It is tempting to break out the superpowers when something like this happens.

The Likable Unlikely Premise.......2007-06-27

In the twenty plus years I've collected comics the writing has improved by leaps and bounds. The likes of Alan Moore, Frank Miller, and Neil Gaiman have not only pushed the envelope, they've blown it apart. Brian K. Vaughn is one of those taking advantage of the more sophisticated bounds available. He gets the unlikely premise out of the way up front. Once you accept that premise (which is easy as pie for a comics reader), Vaughn gives us real life problems to deal with. He shows us shades of gray, that not all problems can be solved easily or satisfactorily. Be sure to start with Vol. 1, but then you'll definitely want Vol. 2 and this one and so on...

Trial and Error.......2007-02-25

The third Ex Machina graphic novel unfortunately trots out the tired old story of an imposter of the Great Machine running around New York. Fortunately that isn't all this volume has. The story of Mitchell serving Jury Duty is an excellent plot that helps make up for some of the obviousness of the imposter story.
The volume also includes a two part story where we meet Mitchell's mother and learn about the death of his father which sheds some new light on the background of our protagonist. Not the best of this series by a long shot but still worth reading.

fact:.......2006-12-08

vaughan is the world's biggest poseur and the worst writer in the history of the english language

Average customer rating:

An overview of the works of a master
Well worth it!
Great book for the price!
Photographer Very Good; Taschen Publishing So-So
A great collection by a great artist

Deus Ex Machina (Klotz)
Ralph Gibson
Manufacturer: Taschen
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Ex Libris: Ralph Gibson Photographs

ASIN: 3822866075

Customer Reviews:

An overview of the works of a master.......2003-04-16

Gibson was one of my early favorites when I became interested in photography back in 1973. I have always found his work to be thought-provoking and inspiring. This is a huge collection that covers his work from the beginning. If he has produced one indispensible book, this is it. My only complaint about the book is the format. It's just too many pages to be presented in a paperback. As much as I return to this volume, the binding is showing rapid wear.

Well worth it!.......2002-04-09

This is a very comprehensive collection of Gibson's photographs, spanning his career right up to 1999. There are some notes on the collections, but it concentrates on the photos. It includes "Chiaroscuro" and "Days At Sea" among others - all very cool shots; his use of contrast is amazing! My only disappointment is the format of the book - it is paperback-sized but incredibly thick, I hope the spine will last! I love his work and enjoy browsing through the book (be warned for many nude shots though).

Great book for the price!.......2001-08-10

I can recommend this book-brick sized, jam-packed with some 800 pages of mostly black and white (but some color) photographs on such things as street and travel photography, portraits and a few nudes.

It's interesting to witness the progression of Gibson's style since the 1960s, up to the late 90s. At first, he was more interested in photojournalism and took those kinds of shots-wider, more encompassing. Later, he became more interested in the abstract, usually singling out one subject/idea and getting very close in. I find it particularly interesting that the vast majority of his photos are shot vertically. This is Gibsons signature style and he does it quite well. And for a black and white photographer, his color stuff is sure great! All of this is in this book.

As to as the size of the book, I have no complaints. It's very think and feels sturdy so I feel like I got my money's worth. I have opened it up all the way, spreading the pages out nearly flat so that I can study the photographs better. Doing this creased the spine, but so what? I think the spine is supposed to be like that and the book has held up well, especially for the price paid. ... This book would make a neat gift for someone who is interested in photography and doesn't mind some bit of sexual content (ie. probably not for a child).

Photographer Very Good; Taschen Publishing So-So.......2001-04-29

I've bought other art-photo books by this publisher, Taschen, and this may be my last one. I do not like the way they are all jammed together into a chunk of a mid-size paperback book. For one, you cannot open this book to a page and study it without using your hands to grip the book to keep it open to that page. I bought this book chiefly to study the nudes. They are very good but I can't say this work absolutely knocks me out the way other books I've reviewed here have done. After reading the other reviews of this book here at Amazon, I think one of the problems is that the book is intended more for an audience of art photographers than for artists working in other media. If you are an art photographer, this may be a 5 star book for you, although I think you still may dislike the publishing format of it. This is the first time I've noticed that Amazon has run other pictures, which are inside the book, which you can click to see. This addresses the biggest problem with buying visual books outside of a real world book store. At long last, we do not have to rely solely on the cover image in buying the visual book online. Now we can see inside pages as well.

A great collection by a great artist.......2000-08-25

I found out about this book, and about Gibson, in the June/July issue of Camera Arts Magazine, and I have been profoundly influenced by Gibson's work in my own photography ever since. In the article I learned that Gibson uses his musical knowledge, especially of rhythm, in creating photos that technically could be called 'street photography', but are so carefully composed in the moment that almost all of the randomness that one commonly associates with that genre has been removed. Rather, the pictures transcend the random moment by extracting from that moment a more universal subject, of which the literal photographic subject is merely a temporary vessel or embodiment. Gibson's work is extremely empowering to any 35mm user who has experienced large format snobbery and grain-phobia. Gibson embraces 35mm, with all its "limitations," and the results are striking. The photos are arranged on facing pages in order to suggest associations to the reader (conscious or unconscious) that begin to tell a story. The pictures are also punctuated by glimpses of Gibson's philosophy, in his own words, that leave you full of wonder, and wanting more. His sparseness of words leaves the reader with only one option: go back to the pictures again and again, and try to understand what words can only hint at.

The State of Play: Law, Games, and Virtual Worlds (Ex Machina: Law, Technology, and Society)

Average customer rating:

Bring on the Metaverse

The State of Play: Law, Games, and Virtual Worlds (Ex Machina: Law, Technology, and Society)
Jack Balkin , and Beth Noveck
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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Synthetic Worlds: The Business and Culture of Online Games
Second Life: The Official Guide
Play Money: Or, How I Quit My Day Job and Made Millions Trading Virtual Loot
Play Between Worlds: Exploring Online Game Culture
Designing Virtual Worlds

ASIN: 0814799728
Release Date: 2006-11-01

Book Description

View the Table of Contents. Read the Introduction.

"This is a spectacular collection of essays on the present and future of virtual worlds. It's a perfect introduction for those who have yet to experience them, and more important, a thoughtful companion for those who do."
—Jonathan Zittrain, Oxford University

" The State of Play is an extremely comprehensive look into digital worlds and how those worlds are evolving cultures, changing lives, reshaping the way we think and communicate. If you want to understand where modern culture is headed and learn more about incredibly fascinating experiences taking place in virtual worlds, pick up and read this book now."
—Richard Garriott, a.k.a. Lord British, Creator of Ultima Online and Executive Producer, NCsoft

"These essays, by the best thinkers in their fields, will be read, debated, taught, and cited in court cases as we struggle to figure out how to live in a world which is part digital and part social, part real and part imaginary."
—Henry Jenkins, author of Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide

”With diverse essays from game designers, social scientists and legal scholars, The State of Play is a provocative consideration of virtual jurisprudence.”
—Paste Magazine

”For those who want to skip over the hype and dive into the issue, it is hard to imagine a better resource.”
—Cecily Deane Mak, Senior Counsel, Music at RealNetworks.

“Reading The State of Play is an adventure. It is the first real step of a journey into the outer limits of the physical world and the inner realms of the virtual within the boundaries of society's comfort zone. It is an exploratory glimpse into how digital worlds may change the future, reshape our own reflection, and challenge real-world laws.”
—New York Law Journal

The State of Play presents an essential first step in understanding how new digital worlds will change the future of our universe. Millions of people around the world inhabit virtual words: multiplayer online games where characters live, love, buy, trade, cheat, steal, and have every possible kind of adventure. Far more complicated and sophisticated than early video games, people now spend countless hours in virtual universes like Second Life and Star Wars Galaxies not to shoot space invaders but to create new identities, fall in love, build cities, make rules, and break them.

As digital worlds become increasingly powerful and lifelike, people will employ them for countless real-world purposes, including commerce, education, medicine, law enforcement, and military training. Inevitably, real-world law will regulate them. But should virtual worlds be fully integrated into our real-world legal system or should they be treated as separate jurisdictions with their own forms of dispute resolution? What rules should govern virtual communities? Should the law step in to protect property rights when virtual items are destroyed or stolen?

These questions, and many more, are considered in The State of Play, where legal experts, game designers, and policymakers explore the boundaries of free speech, intellectual property, and creativity in virtual worlds. The essays explore both the emergence of law in multiplayer online games and how we can use virtual worlds to study real-world social interactions and test real-world laws.

Contributors include: Jack M. Balkin, Richard A. Bartle, Yochai Benkler, Caroline Bradley, Edward Castronova, Susan P. Crawford, Julian Dibbell, A. Michael Froomkin, James Grimmelmann, David R. Johnson, Dan Hunter, Raph Koster, F. Gregory Lastowka, Beth Simone Noveck, Cory Ondrejka, Tracy Spaight, and Tal Zarsky.

Customer Reviews:

Bring on the Metaverse.......2007-01-12

Great book, interesting essays about where our digital lives are going.

Cybercrime: Digital Cops in a Networked Environment (Ex Machina: Law, Technology, and Society)

Average customer rating:

Informative!

Cybercrime: Digital Cops in a Networked Environment (Ex Machina: Law, Technology, and Society)
J. M. Balkin
Manufacturer: NYU Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Digital Law | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Culture | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Privacy | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Hacking | Business & Culture | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

Network Security | Networking | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

General | Certification Central | Computers & Internet | Subjects | Books

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General | Criminal Law | Law | Subjects | Books

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True Crime | True Accounts | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Mapp V. Ohio: Guarding Against Unreasonable Searches And Seizures (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
The Yoder Case: Religious Freedom, Education, and Parental Rights (Landmark Law Cases and American Society)
The Lanahan Readings in Civil Rights and Civil Liberties
Griswold V. Connecticut: Birth Control And The Constitutional Right Of Privacy (Landmark Law Cases & American Society)
Defending Pornography: Free Speech, Sex, and the Fight for Women's Rights

ASIN: 0814799833
Release Date: 2007-03-01

Book Description

"National security increasingly depends on computer security. Cybercrime is written by the leading academic experts and government officials who team together to present a state-of-the-art vision for how to detect and prevent digital crime, creating the blueprint for how to police the dangerous back alleys of the global Internet."—Peter P. Swire, C. William O'Neill Professor of Law, the Ohio State University, and former Chief Counselor for Privacy, U.S. Office of Management & Budget.

The Internet has dramatically altered the landscape of crime and national security, creating new threats, such as identity theft, computer viruses, and cyberattacks. Moreover, because cybercrimes are not often limited to a single site or national border, crime scenes themselves have changed. Consequently, law enforcement itself must confront these new dangers and embrace novel methods of prevention, as well as produce new tools for digital surveillance - which can jeopardize privacy and civil liberties.

Cybercrime brings together leading experts in law, criminal justice, and security studies to describe crime prevention and security protection in the electronic age. Ranging from new government requirements that facilitate spying to new methods of digital proof, the book is essential to understand how criminal law-and even crime itself-have been transformed in our networked world.

Customer Reviews:

Informative!.......2007-06-22

This book is a must read for all cyber investigators, all computer forensics, all computer users, all IT personnel, and of course, for all WRITERS like me! Cold Eyes

A Deus Ex Machina Revisited: Atlantic Colonial Trade and European Economic Development (The Atlantic World) (The Atlantic World)

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A Deus Ex Machina Revisited: Atlantic Colonial Trade and European Economic Development (The Atlantic World) (The Atlantic World)

Manufacturer: Brill Academic Publishers
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Policy & Current Events | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

General | Popular Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

Development & Growth | Economics | Business & Investing | Subjects | Books

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General | Europe | History | Subjects | Books

General | World | History | Subjects | Books

All Titles | Qualifying Textbooks - Fall 2007 | Stores | Books
ASIN: 9004151028

Book Description

The effects of the expansion of Europe have fascinated historians and economists, as well as the public at large, for centuries. One of the most intriguing and controversial effects of Europe's expansion has been the trade that resulted from this movement out of Europe and into other regions of the world. The role of foreign trade in Europe's economic growth—and especially in its industrialization—has long been hotly contested. This volume has as its point of departure the idea that the link between colonial trade and the development of Europe was much more complex than hitherto believed. Because this link is so complex, this volume contains essays by various specialists to assess the new directions in the historiography. Moreover, this volume examines the debate on the impact of colonial trade on countries such as Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden, which are usually ignored in favor of discussion about Britain.

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