Comedies of Nihilism

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Publisher : Springer
ISBN 13 : 3319598945
Total Pages : 183 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (195 download)

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Book Synopsis Comedies of Nihilism by : Amir Khan

Download or read book Comedies of Nihilism written by Amir Khan and published by Springer. This book was released on 2017-11-16 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents close-readings of seven post-millennial comedic films: Up in the Air, Tropic Thunder, JCVD, Winnebago Man, The Trotsky, Be Kind Rewind, and Hamlet 2. It is a sequel to Stanley Cavell’s 1981 landmark study of the comedic genre, Pursuits of Happiness, where he examines seven comedies of Hollywood’s “Golden Age.” Khan puts forward the idea that comedies, once centred on the conventional “happy ending,” are no longer interested in detailing the steps to any ending we might call happy. Instead, the agenda of most culturally serious comedies today is to “spoof,” to make all that is fair foul. The seven films presented here risk a type of cultural nihilism—spoofing for the sake of spoofing and nothing else, indicative not of film’s promise but its failure. By equating the failure of film with the failed national politics of Canada (or the failed politics of nationalism and community more generally), this study shows that comedy has less to do with happiness and more to do with the grotesque. The films analysed represent hyper-realized forms of comic irony and move towards what theatre knows as tragedy, or a tragic vision.

Groucho Marx

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Publisher : Yale University Press
ISBN 13 : 0300216637
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (2 download)

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Book Synopsis Groucho Marx by : Lee Siegel

Download or read book Groucho Marx written by Lee Siegel and published by Yale University Press. This book was released on 2016-01-28 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Born Julius Marx in 1890, the brilliant comic actor who would later be known as Groucho was the most verbal of the famed comedy team, the Marx Brothers, his broad slapstick portrayals elevated by ingenious wordplay and double entendre. In his spirited biography of this beloved American iconoclast, Lee Siegel views the life of Groucho through the lens of his work on stage, screen, and television. The author uncovers the roots of the performer’s outrageous intellectual acuity and hilarious insolence toward convention and authority in Groucho’s early upbringing and Marx family dynamics. The first critical biography of Groucho Marx to approach his work analytically, this fascinating study draws unique connections between Groucho’s comedy and his life, concentrating primarily on the brothers’ classic films as a means of understanding and appreciating Julius the man. Unlike previous uncritical and mostly reverential biographies, Siegel’s “bio-commentary” makes a distinctive contribution to the field of Groucho studies by attempting to tell the story of his life in terms of his work, and vice versa.

Laughing at Nothing

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 0791486281
Total Pages : 218 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (914 download)

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Book Synopsis Laughing at Nothing by : John Marmysz

Download or read book Laughing at Nothing written by John Marmysz and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the concept of nihilism and argues that it need not imply despair, but can be responded to positively.

Shows about Nothing

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9781481314954
Total Pages : 267 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (149 download)

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Book Synopsis Shows about Nothing by : Dean of the Honors College and Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture Thomas S Hibbs

Download or read book Shows about Nothing written by Dean of the Honors College and Distinguished Professor of Ethics and Culture Thomas S Hibbs and published by . This book was released on 2020-11-15 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: American media is the subject of constant critique. The seeming exaltation of violence, sex, and illicit themes creates virulent opponents of the media and its content. But could it be that the American experiment--even the quest to fulfill the American Dream--actually encourages media to act in a way that deserves these critiques? Probing deep into the canon of all things screen, Thomas Hibbs uncovers the disturbing truths about the contemporary media landscape. Beneath the shallow facade of evil lies the Nietzschean framework of nihilism--a nothingness that undermines notions of right and wrong while destroying any sense of meaning or purpose. Yet what makes this nihilism even more profound is Nietzsche's warning that liberal democracies are especially susceptible to such nothingness. In his examples, Hibbs shows how the popular story lines and characters of our time often rule out any possibility of making a right decision. Ultimately, Shows about Nothing toes the line between something and nothing to suggest how popular culture can move beyond nihilism.

A Cheerful Nihilism

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Author :
Publisher : Bloomington : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 294 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis A Cheerful Nihilism by : Richard Boyd Hauck

Download or read book A Cheerful Nihilism written by Richard Boyd Hauck and published by Bloomington : Indiana University Press. This book was released on 1971 with total page 294 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The awareness that the absurd view is both progressive an destructive, serious and hilarious,yet the only possible view, permeated American humor," writes Richard Hauck in the opening chapter of this engrossing study of American humorous fiction. The American absurdist, he finds, takes the exploration of meaninglessness as "a grim and hilarious game"; philosophically a nihilist, he is nonetheless "cheerful" in his persistence in creating comedy in the face of an unresponsive universe. Mr. Hauck begins his survey with Benjamin Franklin, whose writings he regards as "the first well-known" and fully expressed American humor of the absurd," and proceeds to a telling examinationof the grim "tall tales" of the western frontier. Against this background he explores in detail the work of Melville and Twain, Faulkner and John Barth.

Almost an Evening

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Publisher : Crown
ISBN 13 : 0307460428
Total Pages : 82 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (74 download)

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Book Synopsis Almost an Evening by : Ethan Coen

Download or read book Almost an Evening written by Ethan Coen and published by Crown. This book was released on 2009-04-07 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Three satiric plays by Oscar-winning screenwriter Ethan Coen Raising Arizona, Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Burn After Reading–the Coen brothers’ films are some of the most critically acclaimed and iconic of our time. Now, one half of the duo, Ethan Coen, adds playwriting to his eclectic bio. In these three short plays that ran to sold-out audiences Off-Broadway in 2008, the theme is hell–both on earth and in the hereafter. In “Waiting,” a man faces an uncertain future in an uncertain location that seems to be some kind of waiting room. The anxiety and despair hark back to dramas of the fifties–Sartre, Beckett, Pinter. “Four Benches” depicts an unlikely meeting in a steam room between a straight-talking Texan and an uptight Brit. Both men learn from the encounter, though only one survives it. In “Debate,” the cantankerous god of the Old Testament roundly abuses the mealymouthed god of the New. His profanity and ill humor receive a startling comeuppance, and further reversals and changes of point of view lead to a denouement that is no more preposterous than anything else in the play. Clever, provocative, and as engaging as the best fiction, these plays showcase yet another talent of one of our most celebrated contemporary writers.

Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World

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Publisher : Oxford University Press
ISBN 13 : 0190657685
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (96 download)

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Book Synopsis Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World by : Iddo Landau

Download or read book Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World written by Iddo Landau and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2017-07-01 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does life have meaning? Is it possible for life to be meaningful when the world is filled with suffering and when so much depends merely upon chance? Even if there is meaning, is there enough to justify living? These questions are difficult to resolve. There are times in which we face the mundane, the illogically cruel, and the tragic, which leave us to question the value of our lives. However, Iddo Landau argues, our lives often are, or could be made, meaningfulwe've just been setting the bar too high for evaluating what meaning there is. When it comes to meaning in life, Landau explains, we have let perfect become the enemy of the good. We have failed to find life perfectly meaningful, and therefore have failed to see any meaning in our lives. We must attune ourselves to enhancing and appreciating the meaning in our lives, and Landau shows us how to do that. In this warmly written book, rich with examples from the author's life, film, literature, and history, Landau offers new theories and practical advice that awaken us to the meaning already present in our lives and demonstrates how we can enhance it. He confronts prevailing nihilist ideas that undermine our existence, and the questions that dog us no matter what we believe. While exposing the weaknesses of ideas that lead many to despair, he builds a strong case for maintaining more hope. Along the way, he faces provocative questions: Would we choose to live forever if we could? Does death render life meaningless? If we examine it in the context of the immensity of the whole universe, can we consider life meaningful? If we feel empty once we achieve our goals, and the pursuit of these goals is what gives us a sense of meaning, then what can we do? Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World is likely to alter the way you understand your life.

Return to Good and Evil

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Publisher : Lexington Books
ISBN 13 : 9780739111055
Total Pages : 228 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (11 download)

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Book Synopsis Return to Good and Evil by : Henry T. Edmondson

Download or read book Return to Good and Evil written by Henry T. Edmondson and published by Lexington Books. This book was released on 2005-03-28 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: While Flannery O'Connor is hailed as one of the most important writers of the twentieth-century American south, few appreciate O'Connor as a philosopher as well. In Return to Good and Evil, Henry T. Edmondson introduces us to a remarkable thinker who uses fiction to confront and provoke us with the most troubling moral questions of modern existence. 'Right now the whole world seems to be going through a dark night of the soul, ' O'Connor once said, in response to the nihilistic tendencies she saw in the world around her. Nihilism--Nietzche's idea that 'God is dead'--preoccupied O'Connor, and she used her fiction to draw a tableau of human civilization on the brink of a catastrophic moral, philosophical, and religious crisis. Again and again, O'Connor suggests that the only way back from this precipice is to recognize the human need for grace, redemption, and God. She argues brilliantly and persuasively through her novels and short stories that the Nietzschean challenge to the notions of good and evil is an ill-conceived effort that will result only in disaster. With rare access to O'Connor's correspondence, prose drafts, and other personal writings, Edmondson investigates O'Connor's deepest motivations through more than just her fiction and illuminates the philosophical and theological influences on her life and work. Edmondson argues that O'Connor's artistic brilliance and philosophical genius reveal the only possible response to the nihilistic despair of the modern world: a return to good and evil through humility and grace.

The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism

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Author :
Publisher : SUNY Press
ISBN 13 : 9780791404386
Total Pages : 284 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (43 download)

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Book Synopsis The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism by : Keiji Nishitani

Download or read book The Self-Overcoming of Nihilism written by Keiji Nishitani and published by SUNY Press. This book was released on 1990-10-02 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first English translation (by Graham Parker, with Setsuko Aihara) of a forty-year-old Japanese classic--Nishitani's treatment of the problem of nihilism, with particular reference to Nietzsche's philosophical ideas, and from a perspective influenced by Buddhist thought. Paper edition (unseen), $14.95. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century

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Author :
Publisher : Cambridge University Press
ISBN 13 : 1009266748
Total Pages : 335 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (92 download)

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Book Synopsis A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century by : Jon Stewart

Download or read book A History of Nihilism in the Nineteenth Century written by Jon Stewart and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2023-03-31 with total page 335 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nihilism – the belief that life is meaningless – is frequently associated with twentieth-century movements such as existentialism, postmodernism and Dadaism, and thought to result from the shocking experiences of the two World Wars and the Holocaust. In his rich and expansive new book, Jon Stewart shows that nihilism's beginnings in fact go back much further to the first half of the nineteenth century. He argues that the true origin of modern nihilism was the rapid development of Enlightenment science, which established a secular worldview. This radically diminished the importance of human beings so that, in the vastness of space and time, individuals now seemed completely insignificant within the universe. The author's panoramic exploration of how nihilism developed – not only in philosophy, but also in religion, poetry and literature – shows what an urgent topic it was for thinkers of all kinds, and how it has continued powerfully to shape intellectual debates ever since.

Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition

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Publisher : Springer Nature
ISBN 13 : 3030326713
Total Pages : 314 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (33 download)

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Book Synopsis Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition by : Lydia Amir

Download or read book Philosophy, Humor, and the Human Condition written by Lydia Amir and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2019-12-19 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book presents an original worldview, Homo risibilis, wherein self-referential humor is proposed as the path leading from a tragic view of life to a liberating embrace of human ridicule. Humor is presented as a conceptual tool for holding together contradictions and managing the unresolvable conflict of the human condition till Homo risibilis resolves the inherent tension without epistemological cost. This original approach to the human condition allows us to effectively address life’s ambiguities without losing sight of its tragic overtones and brings along far-ranging personal and social benefits. By defining the problem that other philosophies and many religions attempt to solve in terms we can all relate to, Homo risibilis enables an understanding of the Other that surpasses mere tolerance. Its egalitarian vision roots an ethic of compassion without requiring metaphysical or religious assumptions and liberates the individual for action on others’ behalf. It offers a new model of rationality which effectively handles and eventually resolves the tension between oneself, others, and the world at large. Amir’s view of the human condition transcends the field of philosophy of humor. An original worldview that fits the requirements of traditional philosophy, Homo risibilis is especially apt to answer contemporary concerns. It embodies the minimal consensus we need in order to live together and the active role philosophy should responsibly play in a global world. Here developed for the first time in a complete way, the Homo risibilis worldview is not only liberating in nature, but also illuminates the shortcomings of other philosophies in their attempts to secure harmony in a disharmonious world for a disharmonious human being.

The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers

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Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 081312526X
Total Pages : 306 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

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Book Synopsis The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers by : Mark T. Conard

Download or read book The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers written by Mark T. Conard and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 306 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many critics agree that Joel and Ethan Coen are one of the most visionary and idiosyncratic filmmaking teams of the last three decades. Combining thoughtful eccentricity, wry humor, irony, and often brutal violence, the Coen brothers have crafted a style of filmmaking that pays tribute to classic American movie genres yet maintains a distinctly postmodern feel. Since arriving on the film scene, the Coens have amassed an impressive body of work that has garnered them critical acclaim and a devoted cult following. From Raising Arizona and Fargo to O Brother, Where Art Thou? and No Country for Old Men, the Coens have left an unmistakable imprint on Hollywood. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers investigates philosophical themes in the works of these master filmmakers and also uses their movies as vehicles to explore fundamental concepts of philosophy. The contributing authors discuss concepts such as justice, the problem of interpretation, existential role-playing, the philosophy of comedy, the uncertainty principle, and the coldness of modernity. The Philosophy of the Coen Brothers is not just for die-hard Lebowski Fest attendees, but for anyone who enjoys big ideas on the big screen.

Hegel on Tragedy and Comedy

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Publisher : State University of New York Press
ISBN 13 : 1438483384
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (384 download)

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Book Synopsis Hegel on Tragedy and Comedy by : Mark Alznauer

Download or read book Hegel on Tragedy and Comedy written by Mark Alznauer and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2021-05-01 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: No philosopher has treated the subject of tragedy and comedy in as original and searching a manner as G. W. F. Hegel. His concern with these genres runs throughout both his early and late works and extends from aesthetic issues to questions in the history of society and religion. Hegel on Tragedy and Comedy is the first book to explore the full extent of Hegel's interest in tragedy and comedy. The contributors analyze his treatment of both ancient and modern drama, including major essays on Sophocles, Aristophanes, Shakespeare, Goethe, and the German comedic tradition, and examine the relation of these genres to political, religious, and philosophical issues. In addition, the volume includes several essays on the role tragedy and comedy play in Hegel's philosophy of history. This book will not only be valuable to those who wish for a general overview of Hegel's treatment of tragedy and comedy but also to those who want to understand how his treatment of these genres is connected to the rest of his thought.

Friedrich Nietzsche and European Nihilism

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Publisher : Cambridge Scholars Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1527521591
Total Pages : 208 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (275 download)

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Book Synopsis Friedrich Nietzsche and European Nihilism by : Paul van Tongeren

Download or read book Friedrich Nietzsche and European Nihilism written by Paul van Tongeren and published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing. This book was released on 2018-11-14 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a thorough study of Nietzsche’s thoughts on nihilism, the history of the concept, the different ways in which he tries to explain his ideas on nihilism, the way these ideas were received in the 20th century, and, ultimately, what these ideas should mean to us. It begins with an exploration of how we can understand the strange situation that Nietzsche, about 130 years ago, predicted that nihilism would break through one or two centuries from then, and why, despite the philosopher describing it as the greatest catastrophe that could befall humankind, we hardly seem to be aware of it, let alone be frightened by it. The book shows that most of us are still living within the old frameworks of faith, and, therefore, can hardly imagine what it would mean if the idea of God (as the summit and summary of all our epistemic, moral, and esthetic beliefs) would become unbelievable. The comfortable situation in which we live allows us to conceive of such a possibility in a rather harmless way: while distancing ourselves from explicit religiosity, we still maintain the old framework in our scientific and humanistic ideals. This book highlights that contemporary science and humanism are not alternatives to, but rather variations of the old metaphysical and Christian faith. The inconceivability of real nihilism is elaborated by showing that people either do not take it seriously enough to feel its threat, or – when it is considered properly – suffer from the threat, and by this very suffering prove to be attached to the old nihilistic structures. Because of this paradoxical situation, this text suggests that the literary imagination might bring us closer to the experience of nihilism than philosophy ever could. This is further elaborated with the help of a novel by Juli Zeh and a play by Samuel Beckett. In the final chapter of the book, Nietzsche’s life and philosophy are themselves interpreted as a kind of literary metaphorical presentation of the answer to the question of how to live in an age of nihilism.

Metaethics

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317448693
Total Pages : 324 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (174 download)

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Book Synopsis Metaethics by : Mark van Roojen

Download or read book Metaethics written by Mark van Roojen and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-06-12 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Metaethics: A Contemporary Introduction provides a solid foundation in metaethics for advanced undergraduates by introducing a series of puzzles that most metaethical theories address. These puzzles involve moral disagreement, reference, moral epistemology, metaphysics, and moral psychology. From there, author Mark van Roojen discusses the many positions in metaethics that people will take in reaction to these puzzles. Van Roojen asks several essential questions of his readers, namely: What is metaethics? Why study it? How does one discuss metaethics, given its inherently controversial nature? Each chapter closes with questions, both for reading comprehension and further discussion, and annotated suggestions for further reading.

Violence and Nihilism

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Author :
Publisher : Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG
ISBN 13 : 3110699362
Total Pages : 280 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (16 download)

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Book Synopsis Violence and Nihilism by : Luís Aguiar de Sousa

Download or read book Violence and Nihilism written by Luís Aguiar de Sousa and published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG. This book was released on 2022-07-05 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Nihilism seems to be per definition linked to violence. Indeed, if the nihilist is a person who acknowledges no moral or religious authority, then what does stop him from committing any kind of crime? Dostoevsky precisely called attention to this danger: if there is no God and no immortality of the soul, then everything is permitted, even anthropophagy. Nietzsche, too, emphasised, although in different terms, the consequences deriving from the death of God and the collapse of Judeo-Christian morality. This context shaped the way in which philosophers, writers and artists thought about violence, in its different manifestations, during the 20th century. The goal of this interdisciplinary volume is to explore the various modern and contemporary configurations of the link between violence and nihilism as understood by philosophers and artists (in both literature and film).

The People of Sand and Slag

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Author :
Publisher : Windup Stories, Inc
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 46 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

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Book Synopsis The People of Sand and Slag by : Paolo Bacigalupi

Download or read book The People of Sand and Slag written by Paolo Bacigalupi and published by Windup Stories, Inc. This book was released on 2015-07-10 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In “The People of Sand and Slag,” a Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated short story, Paolo Bacigalupi weaves a tale about the lives of three technologically modified guards, their barren, heavily mined landscape, and a chance encounter with a creature rare for their time period – a dog. What starts off as a hunt for an enemy ends up as a story of empathy, and what it means to be human. “The People of Sand and Slag” was nominated for the 2005 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, and the 2006 Nebula Award for Best Novelette. It was featured in Gardner Dozois’s “Year’s Best SF” Twenty-Second Edition, Jonathan Strahan’s “Best SF of the Year” 2004 Edition, and in John Joseph Adams’ “Wastelands” Anthology in 2008. Reviews: “A difficult and touching story, which steps pretty far outside the box to examine our relationship to pets, and to nature. At every stage, Bacigalupi gets it right.” --- Internet Review of Science Fiction “Bacigalupi posits a future where humanity has adapted itself to living in a hostile environment. ... There is plenty of techie stuff entwined with the premise itself to satisfy the hardest of hard sf readers, but the main attraction of this story is the faint hope that those parts of us that can accept the "other" might still exist in a world where self-preservation and survival come first.” --- Tangent Online