From one of the world’s top experts on the economics of skyscrapers—a fascinating account of the ever-growing quest for super tall buildings across the globe. The world’s skyscrapers have brought us awe and wonder, and yet they remain controversial—for their high costs, shadows, and overt grandiosity. But, decade by decade, they keep getting higher and higher. What is driving this global building spree of epic proportions? In Cities in the Sky, author Jason Barr explains all: why they appeal to cities and nations, how they get financed, why they succeed economically, and how they change a city’s skyline and enable the world’s greatest metropolises to thrive in the 21st century. From the Empire State Building (1,250 feet) to the Shanghai Tower (2,073 feet) and everywhere in between, Barr explains the unique architectural and engineering efforts that led to the creation of each. Along the way, Barr visits and unpacks some surprising myths about the earliest skyscrapers and the growth of American skylines after World War II, which incorporated a new suite of technologies that spread to the rest of the world in the 1990s. Barr also explores why London banned skyscrapers at the end of the 19th century but then embraced them in the 21st and explains how Hong Kong created the densest cluster of skyscrapers on the planet. Also covered is the dramatic result of China’s “skyscraper fever” and then on to the Arabian Peninsula to see what drove Dubai to build the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which at 2,717 feet, is higher than the new One World Trade Center in New York by three football fields. Filled with fascinating details for urbanists, architecture buffs, and urban design enthusiasts alike, Cities in the Sky addresses the good, bad, and ugly for cities that have embraced vertical skylines and offers us a glimpse to the future to see whether cities around the world will continue their journey ever upwards.

The definitive biography of the iconic skyscrapers and the ambitions that shaped them--from their dizzying rise to their unforgettable fall More than a year after the nation began mourning the lives lost in the attacks on the World Trade Center, it became clear that something else was being mourned: the towers themselves. They were the biggest and brashest icons that New York, and possibly America, has ever produced--magnificent giants that became intimately familiar around the globe. Their builders were possessed of a singular determination to create wonders of capitalism as well as engineering, refusing to admit defeat before natural forces, economics, or politics. No one knows the history of the towers better than New York Times reporters James Glanz and Eric Lipton. In a vivid, brilliantly researched narrative, the authors re-create David Rockefeller's ambition to rebuild lower Manhattan, the spirited opposition of local storeowners and powerful politicians, the bold structural innovations that later determined who lived and died, master builder Guy Tozzoli's last desperate view of the towers on September 11, and the charged and chaotic recovery that could have unraveled the secrets of the buildings' collapse but instead has left some enduring mysteries. City in the Sky is a riveting story of New York City itself, of architectural daring, human frailty, and a lost American icon.

In the mid-twenty-seventh century, humanity exists as two distinct civilizations separated by the vacuum of space. Content in their isolation, the Ozzaens, inheritors of the grand orbital city of Ansenar, virtually ignore their distant cousins on Earth. But things are about to change ... The mysterious Circularium Council has carefully manipulated events, bringing the long-estranged cultures into contact again. Their motives are unclear and there are those who fear the change and seek to undermine it for their own ends. Thrust into this volatile situation is young Sean Kenzie, the first Ozzaen ambassador, who discovers that he holds the key to a power much greater than he ever imagined. Sean quickly learns that political intrigue and diplomacy are dangerous and deadly games. Now, Sean must uncover the secret to his destiny, knowing that the fate of both civilizations rests in his hands. A skillful blend of rich detail and human emotion, The City of the Sky deftly portrays one man's ultimate battle between good and evil in an ever-changing world.

Secrets of the Ancients Once an alchemical researcher with the dark scholars of the Technic League, Alaeron fled their arcane order when his conscience got the better of him, taking with him a few strange devices of unknown function. Now in hiding in a distant city, he's happy to use his skills creating minor potions and wonders—at least until the back-alley rescue of an adventurer named Jaya lands him in trouble with a powerful crime lord. In order to keep their heads, Alaeron and Jaya must travel across wide seas and steaming jungles in search of a wrecked flying city and the magical artifacts that can buy their freedom. Yet the Technic League hasn't forgotten Alaeron's betrayal, and an assassin armed with alien weaponry is hot on their trail... From Hugo Award-winner Tim Pratt comes a new fantastical adventure set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.

Once a student of alchemy with the dark scholars of the Technic League, Alaeron fled their arcane order when his conscience got the better of him, taking with him a few strange devices of unknown function. Now in hiding in a distant city, he's happy to use his skills creating minor potions and wonders - at least until the back-alley rescue of an adventurer named Jaya lands him in trouble with a powerful crime lord. In order to keep their heads, Alaeron and Jaya must travel across wide seas and steaming jungles in search of a wrecked flying city and the magical artifacts that can buy their freedom. Yet the Technic League hasn't forgotten Alaeron's betrayal, and an assassin armed with alien weaponry is hot on their trail... - From Hugo Award-winner Tim Pratt comes a new fantastical adventure set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Role playing Game. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

In Denmark, the science fiction short story is a thriving genre, though mostly as a subculture. Since 2007, The Danish science fiction association, Science Fiction Cirklen, has published an annual anthology of original science fiction short stories written by Danish authors. The present volume contains a selection from the first two of these annual anthologies. Many Danish authors place their stories in a local setting, and all of them have something to say in addition to "just" being entertaining. You will find philosophical parables, time travels, space yarns, alternate history and much more, as well as stories which in different ways come close to the literary mainstream. The huge Anglo-American influence on Danish culture since the Second World War is noticeable in the way the authors use the tropes and language of the genre in its modern, international vein. In making these stories available in English, our aim - besides entertaining the readers - is to demonstrate that science fiction truly is an international genre and that it is being written, even in small European countries like Denmark. With these words we hope you will enjoy this collection of the "best of the best". Contents for Sky City New Science Fiction Stories by Danish Author Preface Manfred Christiansen: Sky City Niels Gjerløff: Departure Richard Ipsen: The White Bear Glen Stihmøe: Helium Loves Company Flemming R. P. Rasch: The Last Astronaut Morten Brunbjerg: The Organism on Maneo Patrick Leis: The Tourist Dan Mygind: Know Your Target Audience Camilla Wandahl: The Red Parakeets Kenneth Krabat: The Short Arm of History Søren Elmerdahl Hemmingsen: A Contribution to the History of Denmak A. Silvestri: When the Music's Over Nikolaj Højberg: The E-Puzzle Ellen Miriam Pedersen: Leading, Feeding Camilla Fønss Bach Friis: You are my Best Friend Brian P. Ørnbøl: Dreams of Stone Gudrun Østergaard: The Green Jacket Sara Tanderup: In the Surface Lars Ahn Pedersen: Interrogation of Victim n

SHE KILLED MY FATHER. I’M BRINGING THE WAR TO HER. ​ My name is Synn El’Asim and I live on an airship. Our way of life is dictated by seasons—predominately the four-year-long winter that completely freezes the oceans. We are nomads by necessity. Some of us live in the skies, like me. Some on land. Few on the seas. Others reside in the tentacles of large jellyfish we call lethara. ​ The Hands of Tarot threaten our ways of life. They’re ruled by a queen, Nix, who is trying to destroy the larger tribes. I thought my family and I were safe. We have the largest fleet. We’re fast and we’re strong. ​ I was wrong. She catches up to us with her metal flying machines and horrifically kills my father. The time for running is over. I’m taking the fight to her and her gear-filled city in the clouds.