Shelfology Book Pairing

A History, A Theory, A Flood

by James Gleick

From the bestselling author of the acclaimed Chaos and Genius comes a thoughtful and provocative exploration of the big ideas of the modern era: Information, communication, and information theory. Acclaimed science writer James Gleick presents an eye-opening vision of how our relationship to information has transformed the very nature of human consciousness. A fascinating intellectual journey through the history of communication and information, from the language of Africa’s talking drums to the invention of written alphabets; from the electronic transmission of code to the origins of information theory, into the new information age and the current deluge of news, tweets, images, and blogs. Along the way, Gleick profiles key innovators, including Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Samuel Morse, and Claude Shannon, and reveals how our understanding of information is transforming not only how we look at the world, but how we live. A New York Times Notable Book A Los Angeles Times and Cleveland Plain Dealer Best Book of the Year Winner of the PEN/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award

by Alan Moore

One bad day. Freed once again from the confines of Arkham Asylum, The Joker is out to prove a deranged point. And he's going to use Gotham City's top cop, commissioner Jim Gordon, and his brilliant daughter Barbara (a.k.a. Batgirl) to do it. Now Batman must race to stop his archnemesis before his reign of terror claims two of the Dark Knight's closest friends. Critically acclaimed author Alan Moore redefined graphic novel story-telling with Watchmen and V for Vendetta. In Batman: The Killing Joke, he takes on the origin of comics' greatest super-villain, The Joker, and changes Batman's world forever. Absolute Batman: The Killing Joke (30th Anniversary Edition) includes both the recolored art by artist Brian Bolland and the original colors by John Higgins, along with the never-before-published scripts, and numerous Batman and Joker sketches and stories by Bolland. Collects Batman: Black and White #4; Batman: The Killing Joke; Countdown #31; Cover Story: The DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland; Joker: Last Laugh #1, #6; Joker's Greatest Stories Ever Told; Who's Who in the DC Universe #13 and Wonder Woman #96.