New Releases by Jack McDevitt

On a routine survey mission studying a neutron star, an Academy starship receives a transmission in an unknown language. Before leaving the area, the starship launches a series of satellites to find the signal—and perhaps discover its origins. Five years later, a satellite finally encounters the signal—which is believed to be of extraterrestrial origin by the Contact Society, a wealthy group of enthusiasts who fund research into the existence of alien life. Providing a starship to the Academy to be piloted by Captain Priscilla “Hutch” Hutchins, the Contact Society embarks on a mission to find the source of the transmission. Across a myriad of stars, from world to world, Hutch and her crew follow the signal, but find only puzzles and lethal surprises. Then, in a planetary system far beyond the bounds of previous exploration, they discover an object. It is immense, ominous, and mysterious. And it may hold the answer not only to the questions of the Contact Society, but to those of every person who has ever looked to the sky and wondered if we were alone...

Today the word ''Victim" is used in many different ways. In this book the authors have attempted to provide information on a wide array of crimes within their individual contexts. By presenting the material, in this manner, the authors hope to demonstrate to the reader the range of victimization experiences that crime victims are forced to deal with. The authors believe that this methodology offers a richer and more realistic approach to understanding the process of victimization and the coping mechanisms that victims employ to deal with their particular experiences. Karmen defined victimology as: "The scientific study of victimization, including the relationships between the victims and the offenders, the interactions between victims and the criminal justice system - that is the police, the courts, and corrections officials - and the connection between victims and other societal groups and institutions, such as the media, business, and social movements." (Karmen, 1990) "The uniqueness of this text is the inclusion of issues of victimization not commonly found in existing texts, but worthy of incorporation." -- Lee Ross, University of Wisconsin-Parkside

Hate Crimes - violence aimed at individuals because they are members of a particular group - were once considered the rare illegal actions of a small but vocal assortment of extremists who thrived on hating minorities. No more. Hate crimes have been sweeping the nation-- and the world, occurring in even the most unlikely of places. Whereas college campuses at one time epitomized the lofty principles of tolerance, diversity, and idealism, they have now become the repositories of hatred and division. Hate is hip on campus, as evidenced not only by the popularity of racist and misogynistic music, but by the recent rash of attacks against blacks, women, Asians, Latinos, Jews, and gays. Levin and McDevitt, both leading experts on hate crimes, show how the campus of hate has become a microcosm for the world at large and document its trail of prejudice and bigotry in our society and throughout the world.

Classic sense-of-wonder sf from the author of THE ENGINES OF GOD. We are alone in the universe. We have faster-than-light travel. We''ve been looking for over 1,000 years, and there is simply nothing out there. The universe is a magnificent, but sterile, wilderness -- and it all belongs to us. Maybe we''re lucky. That''s the received wisdom, anyway. A new expedition, investigating a mysteriously aborted mission 27 years earlier, is about to turn that wisdom on its head.

The Hercules text: Scientists monitoring an x-ray pulsar in the constellation Hercules discover that messages are being sent from an unknown extraterrestrial.

Tom Lasker, fermier du Dakota, découvre en creusant dans son champ un bateau flambant neuf. La chose est déjà surprenante à des milliers de kilomètres de l''océan ; mais en plus, quand il s''avère que ce bateau est fait d''un matériau inconnu, inusable, et qu''il est probablement enfoui là depuis plusieurs milliers d''années - depuis l''époque où s''étendait dans la région une mer intérieure -, cela devient tout bonnement incroyable. En suivant l''ancien rivage de cette mer, une équipe de chercheurs met au jour - en plein territoire indien - un curieux artefact, manifestement d''origine extraterrestre, et qui semble servir de plate-forme de départ pour d''autres planètes. Alors il suffit que les Indiens émettent le souhait de l''utiliser pour retrouver leur ancien mode de vie sur un autre monde, et que la panique gagne les milieux industriels et financiers - inquiets des bouleversements socio-économiques que ne manque pas d''apporter la découverte de nouvelles technologies et matériaux inusables -, pour que le gouvernement se demande s''il ne vaudrait pas mieux le détruire... Mais c''est compter sans les scientifiques qui, avec l''aide des Indiens, commencent à organiser la résistance !