New Releases by Jack McDevitt

The Roadmakers left only ruins behind -- but what magnificent ruins! Their concrete highways still cross the continent. Their cups, combs and jewelry are found in every Illyrian home. They left behind a legend,too -- a hidden sanctuary called Haven, where even now the secrets of their civilization might still be found. Chaka''s brother was one of those who sought to find Haven and never returned. But now Chaka has inherited a rare Roadmaker artifact -- a book called A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur''s Court -- which has inspired her to follow in his footsteps. Gathering an unlikely band of companions around her, Chaka embarks upon a journey where she will encounter bloodthirsty rirver pirates, electronic ghosts who mourn their lost civilization and machines that skim over the ground and air. Ultimately, the group will learn the truth about their own mysterious past.

It turned up in a North Dakota wheat field: a triangle, like a shark''s fin, sticking up from the black loam. Tom Lasker did what any farmer would have done. He dug it up. And discovered a boat, made of a fiberglass-like material with an utterly impossible atomic number. What it was doing buried under a dozen feet of prairie soil two thousand miles from any ocean, no one knew. True, Tom Lasker''s wheat field had once been on the shoreline of a great inland sea, but that was a long time ago -- ten thousand years ago. A return to science fiction on a grand scale, reminiscent of the best of Heinlein, Simak, and Clarke, Ancient Shores is the most ambitious and exciting SF triumph of the decade, a bold speculative adventure that does not shrink from the big questions -- and the big answers.

Classic sense-of-wonder sf from the author of THE ENGINES OF GOD.

It''s the 21st century, and all is right with the world. Or so it seems. Vice President Charlie Haskell, who will travel anywhere for a photo op, is about to cut the ribbon for the just-completed American Moonbase. The first Mars voyage is about to leave high orbit, with a woman at the helm. Below, the world is marveling at a rare solar eclipse. But all that is right is about to go disastrously wrong when an amateur astronomer discovers a new comet. Named for its discover, Tomikois a "sun-grazer,"an interstellar wanderer with a hundred times the mass and ten times the speed of other comets. And it is headed straight for our moon. In less than five days, if scientists'' predictions are right, Tomiko will crash into the moon, shattering it into a cloud of superheated gas, dust, and huge chunks of rock that will rain down on the earth, causing chaos and killer storms, possibly tidal waves inundating entire cities...or worse: a single apocalyptic worldwide "extinction event." In the meantime, the population of Moonbase must be evacuated by a hastily assembled fleet of shuttle rockets. There isn''t room, or time enough, for everyone. And the vice president, who rashly promised to be last off ("I will lock the door and turn off the lights"), is trying to figure out how to get away without eating his words. In Moonfall,McDevitt has created a disaster thriller of truly epic proportions, featuring a cast of unforgettable characters: the reluctant Russian rocket jockey entrusted with the lives of squabbling refugees; the woman chosen to be first on the moon; the scientist who must deflect the "possum" (POSSible IMpactors) knocked from orbit or witness the end science itself. And at the center of it all is Charlie Haskell, the career politician who discovers his own unexpected reserves of only himself and his country, but for all humankind. Moonfall,is a spellbinding tale of heroism and hope, cowardice and passion played against the awesome spectacle of human history''s darkest night.

Contains sixteen science fiction/war short stories by such authors as Patrick Thomas, C.J. Henderson, and James Chambers.

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. In this new book by two of the country''s leading experts on hate crimes, published ten years after their classic book of the same name, these most-recognized authorities and media commentators reinterpret this scourge of our generation-hatred based on race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, and even citizenship. In the aftermath of the worst act of terrorism in this country''s history-the bombing of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001-the authors probe the causes and characteristics of such acts of hatred and, most vitally, their consequences for all of us.

A 200,000 word gathering of the best short fiction by Jack McDevitt.

Chosen as One of the Five Best SF Novels of the Year by Library Journal. When a young physicist unveils an efficient star drive capable of reaching the core of the galaxy, veteran star pilot Priscilla ?Hutch? Hutchins finds herself back in the deepest reaches of space, and on the verge of discovering the origins of the deadly omega clouds that continue to haunt her.

To overcome humankind''s waning interest in interstellar travel, a special deep space mission is sent to uncover the truth about "moonriders," strange lights witnessed in nearby systems, but the team soon discovers that their mission has become far more dangerous when they stumble upon the perilous truth about the moonriders. Reprint.

With Polaris, multiple Nebula Award-nominee Jack McDevitt reacquainted readers with Alex Benedict, his hero from A Talent for War. Alex and his assistant, Chase Kolpath, return to investigate the provenance of the cup. Alex and Chase follow a deadly trail to the Seeker - strangely adrift in a system barren of habitable worlds. But their discovery raises more questions than it answers, drawing Alex and Chase into the very heart of danger.

In this report, School Resource Officer (SRO) programs in four school districts are examined. The study was primarily concerned with what variables affect students'' comfort level in reporting crimes to the SRO, and their perceptions of safety. The analysis was driven by data obtained through surveys of 907 students. Using these data, seven research questions were addressed: (1) Does frequency of interactions between students and SROs affect students'' perception of safety? (2) Do positive opinions of the SRO affect students'' perception of safety? (3) Is there a relationship between environmental factors such as neighborhood crime or past victimization and students'' perception of safety? (4) Does frequency of interactions between students and SRO increase their comfort to report crimes to the SRO? (5) Does having a positive opinion of the SRO increase students'' comfort level reporting crimes? (6) Do environmental factors or other variables negate the effects of interactions, positive opinions, or comfort reporting? and (7) Does being comfortable reporting crimes to the SRO affect students'' perception of safety? Through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate analysis the authors were able to conclude that several factors are associated with students'' comfort reporting crimes to SROs and their perceptions of safety in schools. Student Survey Questionnaire is appended.

There has been growing interest in placing sworn law enforcement officers in schools as School Resource Officers (SROs) to improve school safety and improve relations between police officers and youth. The purpose of this National Assessment was to identify what program "models" have been implemented, how programs have been implemented, and what lessons selected programs may have for other programs. To obtain this information, Abt Associates and its subcontractors collected implementation data from 19 School Resource Officer programs. This cross-site report discusses commonalities and differences among the 19 sites with a particular focus on lessons learned--information based on the experience of the sites that can benefit other jurisdictions in setting up or improving an SRO program. The report focuses on seven issues: (1) Choosing a Program Model; (2) Defining Specific SRO Roles and Responsibilities; (3) Recruiting SROs; (4) Training and Supervising SROs; (5) Collaborating with School Administrators and Teachers; (6) Working with Students and Parents; and (7) Evaluating SRO Programs.

Jack McDevitt brings back the daring Alex Benedict from A Talent for War, thrusting him into a far-future tale of mystery and suspense that will lead the prominent antiquities dealer to the truth about an abandoned space yacht called the Polaris.

The acclaimed classic novel and fan favorite—the far-future story of one man''s quest to discover the truth behind a galactic war hero.

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...

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.

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 !

The first Priscilla Hutchins novel from Jack McDevitt, hailed by Stephen King as “the logical heir to Isaac Asimov and Arthur C. Clarke.” Humans call them the Monument-Makers. An unknown race, they left stunning alien statues on distant planets in the galaxy. Each relic is different. Each inscription defies translation. Yet all are heartbreakingly beautiful. And for planet Earth, on the brink of disaster, they may hold the only key to survival for the entire human race.