Eine gespenstische Gesellschaft "grauer Herren" ist am Werk und veranlasst immer mehr Menschen, Zeit zu sparen. Aber in Wirklichkeit betrügen sie die Menschen um diese ersparte Zeit. Als die Not am größten ist und die Welt ihnen schon endgültig zu gehören scheint, entschließt sich Meister Hora, der geheimnisvolle "Verwalter der Zeit", zum Eingreifen. Doch dazu braucht er die Hilfe eines Menschenkindes. Die Welt steht still und Momo, die struppige kleine Heldin der Geschichte, kämpft ganz allein, mit nichts als einer Blume in der Hand und einer Schildkröte unter dem Arm, gegen das riesige Heer der "grauen Herren".

An energetic work of popular science about various scientists who have had to fight for their revolutionary ideas to be accepted—from Darwin to Pasteur to modern day Nobel Prize winners. The Contrarians is a critical history of the scientific community, past and present, as Matt Kaplan shows how scientific breakthroughs often occur in spite of, rather than because of, the scientific community. Alternating between the past and the present, the book is anchored by the story of Hungarian physician Ignaz Semmelweis, who helped discover germ theory by realizing Puerperal fever—a devastating infection that most often strikes women who have recently given birth—was spread by doctors not washing their hands. Semmelweis was met with overwhelming hostility by those offended at the notion that doctors were at fault. Semmelweis as a prime example of the inefficiency of scientific progress—how hard the scientific community fights new ideas and new research, even when the facts are staring them in the face. In snappy, accessible prose, Kaplan presents the cases of Galileo being threatened with torture, Charles Darwin facing social ostracism, and more recently, Katalin Karikó losing her job and her funding on the brink of discovering uses of mRNA – a discovery that would directly lead to the fast creation of a vaccine for Covid-19, and to a Nobel Prize for Karikó. With decades of first-hand reporting under his belt as the lead science reporter for the Economist, Kaplan makes the argument that science is hampered by the community’s resistance to younger scientists and new ideas—making it exceptionally difficult or outright impossible for critically important findings to gain recognition. Employing persuasive examples spanning history, The Contrarians makes a compelling argument that the scientific community can work faster and better, if only it is open to change.

Deep in the heart of the planet Irpa stands the Salty Pig’s House of Tonics & Tinctures, home of the wise Pig Wizard and his adopted granddaughter, Bea. As keepers of the Endless Flame, they live a quiet and peaceful life, crafting medicines and potions for the people of their once-prosperous world. All that changes one day when, while walking through the woods, Bea meets Cad, a member of the Galdurians, an ancient race thought to be long-extinct. Cad believes that if anyone can help him find his missing people, it’s the Pig Wizard. But when the two arrive home, the Pig Wizard is nowhere to be found—all that’s left is the Jar of Endless Flame and a mysterious note. Fearing for the Pig Wizard’s safety, Bea and Cad set out across Irpa to find him, while danger fights its way out of the shadows and into the light. Will these two unexpected friends find the beloved Pig Wizard and prevent eternal darkness from blanketing their world? Or has Irpa truly seen its last sunrise?

Alternate cover edition of ISBN 0553213695 / 9780553213690 "As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes." With it's startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing—though absurdly comic—meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction. As W.H. Auden wrote, "Kafka is important to us because his predicament is the predicament of modern man."

When Jinwoo sets about mentoring one of Jinho’s recruits—who also happens to be his sister’s good friend—a White Tiger Guild training operation seems like the perfect opportunity to show her what being a hunter really entails. But the moment he and Songyi enter the gate, Jinwoo realizes something is wrong. With a flash of red, the exit vanishes, stranding them and the White Tiger trainees in a frozen forest for what could be weeks—or until someone can defeat the dungeon’s formidable boss…

In this deeply researched and fast-moving narrative, Kendi chronicles the entire story of anti-Black racist ideas and their staggering power over the course of American history. Stamped from the Beginning uses the lives of five major American intellectuals to offer a window into the contentious debates between assimilationists and segregationists and between racists and anti-racists. From Puritan minister Cotton Mather to Thomas Jefferson, from fiery abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison to brilliant scholar W. E. B. Du Bois to legendary anti-prison activist Angela Davis, Kendi shows how and why some of our leading pro-slavery and pro–civil rights thinkers have challenged or helped cement racist ideas in America. As Kendi illustrates, racist thinking did not arise from ignorance or hatred. Racist ideas were created and popularized in an effort to defend deeply entrenched discriminatory policies and to rationalize the nation’s racial inequities in everything from wealth to health. While racist ideas are easily produced and easily consumed, they can also be discredited. In shedding much-needed light on the murky history of racist ideas, Stamped from the Beginning offers tools to expose them—and in the process, reason to hope.

Once upon a time, Andrew had cut out his heart and given it to this boy, and he was very sure Thomas had no idea that Andrew would do anything for him. Protect him. Lie for him. Kill for him. High school senior Andrew Perrault finds refuge in the twisted fairytales that he writes for the only person who can ground him to reality—Thomas Rye, the boy with perpetually ink-stained hands and hair like autumn leaves. And with his twin sister, Dove, inexplicably keeping him at a cold distance upon their return to Wickwood Academy, Andrew finds himself leaning on his friend even more. But something strange is going on with Thomas. His abusive parents have mysteriously vanished, and he arrives at school with blood on his sleeve. Thomas won’t say a word about it, and shuts down whenever Andrew tries to ask him questions. Stranger still, Thomas is haunted by something, and he seems to have lost interest in his artwork—whimsically macabre sketches of the monsters from Andrew’s wicked stories. Desperate to figure out what’s wrong with his friend, Andrew follows Thomas into the off-limits forest one night and catches him fighting a nightmarish monster—Thomas’s drawings have come to life and are killing anyone close to him. To make sure no one else dies, the boys battle the monsters every night. But as their obsession with each other grows stronger, so do the monsters, and Andrew begins to fear that the only way to stop the creatures might be to destroy their creator…

Seitdem Portale die reale Welt mit Dungeons voller Monster verbinden, sind Menschen mit speziellen Fähigkeiten erwacht. Sie sorgen für die öffentliche Sicherheit, indem sie die Dungeons bewältigen. Jin-Woo ist einer von ihnen und besitzt die Fähigkeit zu leveln. Nachdem er aber von Menschen verraten wurde, erkennt er, dass Monster nicht sein einziges Problem sind.

A spiritual companion to Strange Pictures and a bestselling horror phenomenon in Japan —mysterious spaces, trap doors, windowless children's rooms . . . something is wrong with this house. Can you solve the "mystery" of its floor plan? A writer fascinated by the macabre is approached by an acquaintance who is considering purchasing a second-hand house in Tokyo. With its bright and spacious interior, the home seems perfect. But looking closer, the building’s floor plan reveals a mysterious "dead space” hidden between the walls. Seeking a second opinion, the writer shares the floor plan with an architect friend only to discover more “strange spaces” dotted across the house. What are these mysterious “strange spaces” and why do they exist—are they really there, or is there something off with the floor plan? Who is the home’s former resident who suddenly disappeared? The freelance writer and his architect friend can’t resist the challenge of solving the riddle of these puzzling floor plans . . . and the terrifying plot behind it all.