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Photos from April's
Gearheads Book Party and Robot Extravaganza!
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In the early-nineties, a visionary special-effects guru named Marc Thorpe
conjured a field of dreams different from any the world had seen before: it
would be framed by unbreakable plastic instead of cornstalks; populated not
by ghostly ballplayers but by remote-controlled robots, armed to the steely
teeth, fighting in a booby-trapped ring. If you built it, they'd come all
right.
In Gearheads, Newsweek technology correspondent Brad Stone examines the history of robotic sports, from their cultish early years at universities and sci-fi conventions Varier Stokke
to today's televised extravaganzas - and the turmoil
that threatened the whole enterprise almost from the rveys robotic combat's evolution, profiling the obsessive, brilliant
builders; their ingenious, fearsome, often witty creations; and recounts the
bitter power struggle between Thorpe and the record executive whose company mirrored sliding wardrobe doors
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[Read an Excerpt]
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financed the sport - a battle that pitted true belief in one corner and
profitability in the and destroyed much more than just robots. buy phentermine online
Of Gearheads, Kirkus Reviews says the events described in the book "may be emblematic of our civilization." Publisher's Weekly says that "all the elements of a taut thriller are here." Wired magazine says, "the book moves fast and offers high-rpm clashes. A lawsuit-slinging exec reduces Robot Wars founder Marc Thorpe to financial ruin, and supergeek Dean Kamen weighs in with dismay as cash and TV deals go to Segway's crude cousins. Still, the robots multiply, undeterred by human frailty. "
By turns a lively historical narrative, a legal thriller, and exploration
of a cultural and technological phenomenon, Gearheads is a funny and
fascinating look at the sport of the future today. Where to find private investment: on our website.
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