Bøger af Alex Markman

The second half of the twentieth century brought about three earth-shattering events that no one had predicted. The Iranian Revolution launched a massive assault of radical Islam on Western civilization; reforms in China elevated this country to being the second strongest international power after the United States; and the collapse of Soviet Union radically changed international politics. No country had the intelligence to predict, prepare for, or prevent these events. These were the result of the uncompromising force of social dynamics, which make the history. The twenty-first century has much more up its sleeve, but some of the trends shaping the future are already detectable. Analyzing them offers us an opportunity to make predictions with some degree of accuracy. The primary contemporary forces of social dynamics are the exponential growth of energy consumption, technological progress in energy generation, progress in robotics and automation, the environmental consequences of human activity, and unprecedented change in demographic trends. Each of them pulls humanity in its own direction. Thus, the exponential growth of the population is accompanied by reduced fertility rates and longer life expectancy. This, at a certain point, will inevitably result in a drastic reduction of the population with some predictable, and many unpredictable, outcomes. Increased energy consumption will bring environmental disaster and could exhaust the planet's oil reserves, but technological progress in energy generation, particularly in renewable energy, could save life as we know it. However, even renewables such as wind and solar cannot be used indefinitely; there is a saturation point on the planet Earth even for them. The growth of oil consumption is exponential, but so is the growth of renewable sources of energy-which one is faster? Shale oil production pulled the oil price down below forty dollars per barrel. How long will such low price last, and what should we expect after the shale boom is over? Will the shale boom ever be over? What will happen to suburban life, travel, and leisure if and when the price per barrel is six hundred dollars? It seems that in twenty years robotics will catch up to its expected efficiency. Will it wipe out all cheap labor? If so, what would be the impact on the life of society? These and other social issues associated with technological and demographic dynamics are discussed at length in this thoughtful monograph.

The book contains three stories about life in the former USSR. They could well be united under the general name "The Lower Depths" that reminds of a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902. The only difference is that Maxim Gorky depicted the social bottom of Russia at the turn of the 20th century, while in this book Vladimir Markman will introduce you to the real bottom of the Soviet Gulag during the period of the "developed socialism" (1970s).The story "On the edge of geography"was written, based on the author's own impressions and observations of the fractures in the fate of the "villains" and "angels" who lived on both sides of the barbed wire of Soviet penitentiary camp. Nobility and betrayal, brutal murders and mercy, love and hatred... The poles change unpredictably in the life of a person who is "led along a dashing road" - as the poet Vladimir Vysotsky put it.The other two stories are also closely related by a common theme and have something in common with the first work, although they are less autobiographical. In them, the author narrates without comments and pre-formulated conclusions. The reader is to draw his/her own conclusions.Vladimir Markman is a tireless traveler and adventurer. The mystical Ural Mountains, the taiga wilds of Siberia, the deserts of Nevada and Arizona, the respectable salons of New York and San Francisco... Acquaintance with people of different cultures and social circles invariably provides the author with rich material for his novels and short stories - always and everywhere.

Messenger of Death, a novel by Alex Markman, takes the reader into the frightening and fascinating world of bikers turf wars and encounters with the law. Inspired by gang wars in Quebec, Canada, in the late 1990s, Messenger of Death follows the lifestyle of the fictitious gangsters of two biker gangs, the Devils Knights and the Iron Ghosts. The Knights and the Ghosts illegal drug trade in a Canadian province expands to the point where they cant co-exist. In the terrifying drama of violence that follows, police and the criminal courts are helpless to stop the war. Although penetration of the gang by an informant is impossible, when the police corner Knights hit man, Claude, he agrees to become a police informant. Spearheaded by a woman whose nephew was a victim of the bikers, the government adopts new laws, but victory over the gangs is short lived.