Book recommendations

Automation has proven one of the biggest news stories of our time. Yet the wide-scale automation of the news itself has largely escaped attention. In this lively expose of that rapidly shifting terrain, Nicholas Diakopoulos focuses on the people who tell the stories -- increasingly with the help of computer algorithms that are fundamentally changing the creation, dissemination, and reception of the news.

There's no doubt that technology has made it easier to communicate. It's also easier to shut someone out when we are confronted with online discourse. In "The Future of Feeling", Kaitlin Ugolik Phillips shares her own personal stories as well as those of doctors, entrepreneurs, teachers, journalists, and scientists about moving innovation and technology forward without succumbing to isolation.

In "The Software Arts", Warren Sack offers an alternative history of computing that places the arts at the very center of software's evolution. Tracing the origins of software to eighteenth-century French enyclopedists' step-by-step descriptions of how things were made in the workshops of artists and artisans, Sack shows that programming languages are the offspring of an effort to describe the mechanical arts in the language of the liberal arts.

"The Bitcoin Standard" analyzes the historical context to the rise of Bitcoin, the economic properties that have allowed it to grow quickly, and its likely economic, political, and social implications.

The world of fiber optic connections reaching neighborhoods, homes, and businesses will represent as great a change from what came before as the advent of electricity. Yet all of these transformations will pale compared with the innovations and new industries we can't even imagine today.

The future is here: Self-driving cars are on the streets, an algorithm gives you movie and TV recommendations, IBM's Watson triumphed on "Jeopardy!" over puny human brains, computer programs can be trained to play Atari games. But how do all these things work? Sean Gerrish offers an engaging and accessible overview of the breakthroughs in artificial intelligence and machine learning that have made today's machines so smart.

"Interactive Stories and Video Game Art" presents the definitive design framework for interactive storytelling using techniques inherited from the rich history of art and craftsmanship that games build upon. Case studies of hit games like "The Last of Us", "Journey", and "Minecraft" illustrate the vital components needed to create emotionally-complex stories that are mindful of gaming's principal relationship between player actions and video game aesthetics.

The Age of Google, built on big data and machine intelligence, has been an awesome era. But it's coming to an end. In "Life after Google", George Gilder explains why Silicon Valley is suffering a nervous breakdown and what to expect as the post-Google age dawns.

Clint Watts electrified the nation when he testified in front of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence regarding Russian interference in the 2016 election. In "Messing with the Enemy", the counterterrorism, cybersecurity, and homeland security expert introduces us to a frightening world in which terrorists and cyber criminals don't hack your computer, they hack your mind. Watts reveals how these malefactors use your social media information and that of your family, friends and colleagues to map your social networks, identify your vulnerabilities, master your fears and harness your preferences.

"Modern Java in Action" connects new features of the Java language with their practical applications. Using crystal-clear examples and careful attention to detail, this book respects your time. It will help you expand your existing knowledge of core Java as you master modern additions like the Streams API and the Java Module System, explore new approaches to concurrency, and learn how functional concepts can help you write codes that's easier to read and maintain.

Twitter is a household name, discussed for its role in national elections, natural disasters, and political movements, as well as for what some malign as narcissistic "chatter." Much has changed since Twitter's infancy, although it is more relevant than ever to our social, political, and economic lives. This timely second edition shows how Twitter has evolved and how it is used today.