Modern artificial intelligence (AI) is built upon a relatively small number of foundational research papers, which have been collected and republished in this unique 350-page book. The first chapter provides a summary of the historical roots of AI, and subsequent chapters trace its development, from Rosenblatt's perceptron in 1958 to one of the early GPT models in 2019. Each paper is introduced with a commentary on its historical context and a tutorial-style technical summary. In several chapters, additional context is provided by the paper's original author(s). Written in an informal style, with a comprehensive glossary and tutorial appendices, this book is essential reading for students and researchers who wish to understand the fundamental building blocks of modern AI.

Originally developed by Claude Shannon in the 1940s, information theory laid the foundations for the digital revolution, and is now an essential tool in telecommunications, genetics, linguistics, brain sciences, and deep space communication. In this richly illustrated book, accessible examples are used to introduce information theory in terms of everyday games like '20 questions' before more advanced topics are explored. Online MatLab and Python computer programs provide hands-on experience of information theory in action, and PowerPoint slides give support for teaching. Written in an informal style, with a comprehensive glossary and tutorial appendices, this text is an ideal primer for novices who wish to learn the essential principles and applications of information theory.

When a climber suspiciously falls to his death and a local artist has her dog stolen, both cases fall into the lap of local sleuth, Patricia Fisher ...

... but they should have come with a warning.

No sooner does she start to investigate, than a mysterious underworld figure issues a confusing threat. What has she uncovered?

Local boy, Sam Chalk, wants to help, his antics amusing but seemingly nothing more than a distraction. Does he know something though?

With time running out to save the dog, and the climber's death looking like nothing more than a terrible accident, a chance discovery will rock Patricia's world.

If only she had listened to Sam.

Get ready for a new series of thrills!

Following a trail of clues to a sleepy seaside village in the southwest corner of England, retired police detective, Albert Smith, aims to prove his theory of a master criminal by catching the 'Gastrothief's' agents red-handed.

With trusted former police dog, Rex Harrison at his side, the crime-busting duo know precisely who and what to look for.

However, beneath the narrow streets of the picturesque resort a far more sinister plot is being hatched and if Albert were to look over his shoulder, he might notice a set of eyes lurking in his shadow.

He is being hunted.

To the backdrop of a cider and pasty festival, man and dog must risk it all save that which makes Britain great.

Baking. It can get a guy killed.

Fifty-three-year-old Patricia Fisher is a trouble magnet like no other, a sad fact she has come to accept during her three month around the world cruise. Wherever she goes, bodies just appear, or someone gets kidnapped, or she accidentally uncovers a plot to overthrow a government.

Life certainly isn't dull for Patricia.

However, when she arrives home in England, she plans to start a new chapter of her life. Of course, she has a case waiting for her: the murder of her former BFF, successful business owner Maggie Jeffries.

It's not the straightforward investigation she expected though. Maggie's office manager has vanished, anomalous sums are missing from the business accounts, and there's a mysterious giant following her.

Could her past cases be coming back to get revenge?

With a potential gangland connection to the murder, cops telling her to leave the case alone, and her dog, Anna, about to give birth to royal puppies, Patricia is in for one heck of a homecoming week.

Oh, and she has nowhere to live, her car is on the fritz, her soon-to-be ex-husband is lying to her, and someone definitely wants her dead.

She's going to need a lot of gin and tonic to get through this case alive.

Invited to a big anniversary party in the suite next door, Patricia Fisher is pleased to celebrate the idea that marriage can work. Successful internet billionaire Howard Berkowitz and his wife Shandy seem very happy, even after thirty years together ...

... that is until a shot rings out and Shandy's sister falls to the deck stone dead. But who was the bullet meant for?

The shot winged Shandy, who was standing right next to the victim. Is she still in danger?

Desperate for an answer, Howard begs Patricia to solve the mystery and find the killer. Can she do it before the killer can finish the job? Or was the sister always the target?

Stuck in Iceland while the Aurelia's dented hull is repaired, Patricia and her friends must dig deep into the Berkowitz family history. However, the moment she believes she is onto something, a second murder muddies the water and this time the victim is a member of Patricia's immediate circle.

The killer is still at large, but is their grisly task complete? Or are there more victims to come?

Though they grieve losing one of their own, Patricia and friends double down to unravel the clues as a deadly game begins to unfold ...

When the moon is high, can you be sure a shadow is just a shadow?

When an old school friend begs for her help, Patricia takes on a case more suited to her friend Tempest Michaels ...

... a criminal dubbed 'the banshee' is attacking people in their homes and paralyzing them with its scream. The police believe it is a burglar with a unique twist, but Tempest seems to know differently.

The two teams join forces again, but this case will test them to their limits - how do you tackle a criminal who can paralyze you before you get to them? The answer is surprising, even to Patricia.

Climb on board for another hair-raising adventure as Patricia and a full cast of friends go all in to prove there's no such thing as the paranormal ...

... let's just hope they're right.

Author cozy guarantee: This series contains no bad language or graphic descriptions of violence or bedroom activities.

Alexander Pope was born on May 21st, 1688 in London into a Catholic family. His education was affected by the recent Test Acts, upholding the status of the Church of England and banning Catholics from teaching. In effect this meant his formal education was over by the age of 12 and Pope was to now immerse himself in classical literature and languages and to, in effect, educate himself. From this age too he also suffered from numerous health problems including a type of tuberculosis (Pott's disease) which resulted in a stunted, deformed body. Only to grow to a height of 4' 6, with a severe hunchback and complicated further by respiratory difficulties, high fevers, inflamed eyes and abdominal pain all of which served to further isolate him, initially, from society. However his talent was evident to all. Best known for his satirical verse, his translations of Homer and the use of the heroic couplet, he is the second-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare. With the publication of Pastorals in 1709 followed by An Essay on Criticism (1711) and his most famous work The Rape of the Lock (1712; revised and enlarged in 1714) Pope became not only famous but wealthy. His translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey further enhanced both reputation and purse. His engagement to produce an opulent new edition of Shakespeare met with a mixed reception. Pope attempted to regularise Shakespeare's metre and rewrote some of his verse and cut 1500 lines, that Pope considered to be beneath the Bard's standard, to mere footnotes. Alexander Pope died on May 30th, 1744 at his villa at Twickenham (where he created his famous grotto and gardens) and was buried in the nave of the nearby Church of England Church of St Mary the Virgin. Over the years and centuries since his death Pope's work has been in and out of favour but with this distance he is now truly recognised as one of England's greatest poets.

Patricia Fisher is trying to settle into village life, but the dead won't let her be. She's a P.I. and used to investigating murder, but her latest case is just ... well, it's spooky.

What started as a missing person case goes south fast when a body marked with pagan symbols is found in the woods. It's her client's son-in-law, but the daughter is still out there and a chance encounter with another investigator, none other than famed paranormal investigator Tempest Michaels, sets Patricia on a path of paranormal discovery and starts a race against time to save the missing woman.

The pagan symbols point to a hidden cult and the dread suspicion that they plan to sacrifice her client's daughter at midnight on Orion's solstice. And that's tomorrow night!

While the police chase false clues, Patricia's super-team follow the breadcrumbs, but they soon discover this case is far bigger than they thought.

As they glimpse the truth, and her friends start to go missing, Patricia realises she has come too far to stop now ...

On the southeast coast of England, three wines growers have just gone missing and a fourth was found dead at the scene. Could this be the work of the master criminal Albert Smith has been chasing all over the country?

You'd better believe it. Rushing back to his home county, Albert hopes to pick up the trail once more. With trusted former police dog, Rex Harrison, at his side, the duo begins to snoop ...

... but they have no idea the perpetrators are still there. Worse yet, the criminals know who Albert is and they're not about to let him spoil their plans again.

Will Albert and Rex catch them red-handed? Maybe. Will they finally find the thread they need to unravel the Gastrothief's deadly empire? That could happen. Will Rex make friends with the crabs at the coast? No, probably not.

Get ready for culinary adventure because it's getting deadly again!

You might think murder would be rare in a quiet English village ...

When the local goddess of cake is found impaled with her own palette knife, the victim's husband is found holding the murder weapon. It's an open and shut case ...

... until he calls Patricia Fisher that is.

With a surprising new assistant in tow, your favourite middle-aged sleuth has all the help she will need, but this case is a tough one, for everyone she suspects instantly becomes the next victim.

With the village fete a week away, cooks are revving up to win the coveted best cake prize, especially now that the favourite is in the morgue. Can the killer really be one of the lovely old ladies?

With president of the church council, old rival Angelica Howard-Box, stirring up trouble, Patricia has more than enough on her plate, and she'll have to solve this fast because her own cook, Mrs Pam Ellis might be next!

A small town enemies to lovers romance about a single dad cowboy and the feisty teacher who drives him wild.

Sam Rider is mouthy, bossy, uppity as shit, and I have no choice but to deal with her smart-mouth since she's my daughter's teacher.

Sam waltzes into our small town on a temporary contract equipped with brochures and more change than a single dad can handle.

I never trusted anybody to tell me what to do and I sure as hell won't start with Sam, ten years younger, a city girl and only in Starlight Canyon for the short haul.

I have to watch those sinful pink lips tell me what's right for three solid months and she won't stop until I change my mind.

Thing is, the more we get to know each other, the more I want to change her mind, too.

About leaving.

Baking. It can get a guy killed.

When the chef tipped to win this year's annual Eton Mess competition falls to his death in mysterious circumstances, Albert races to investigate - surely this is the work of the Gastrothief again.

However, Albert barely makes it out of the train station before his detective's brain sees something most other people would never spot - a crime is about to take place and there's no way he can ignore it.

Instantly shackled with a new problem, Albert attempts to solve both cases simultaneously, but is he up to the task?

It's a good thing he has trusted partner Rex Harrison, the oversized former police dog, ready to lend a paw because this time he's going to need all the help he can get.

New sidekicks to meet, new dishes to taste, and yet another deadly adventure awaits as Albert and Rex try to give the bad guys their just desserts!

On board the world's finest luxury cruise ship, the days are filled with sunshine, cocktails, and incredible new places to explore.

Unless you are employed as the ship's detective, that is.

That job falls to a lady called Patricia Fisher, a whip-smart sleuth whose special skills include attracting trouble, getting shot at, and running away screaming.

So, when a mysterious stowaway is found murdered in the bowels of the ship, it falls firmly into her lap to work out not only who he is, but who killed him.

To a backdrop of petty thefts, con artists targeting the rich and famous on board, and her own romance with the captain, the dead body leads to a surprising discovery and a word one should utter with care ...

Treasure.

Thrown into a swirling maelstrom of deadly adventure, fifty-something Patricia is going to have her sleuthing skills tested to the maximum.

Get ready for murder and mayhem on the high seas.

Reaching the British Unions Isles, the passengers and crew arrive in time for the annual pirate festival. It's party time! But when Patricia and friends leave the ship, they find an eccentric millionaire waiting to hire them ...

... and his fireside spooky ghost story is too good not to investigate.

Patricia expects to figure this one out before happy hour arrives, but when the sun goes down and her client goes missing, the game gets downright scary.

Are there ghosts on this island? Has the client been snatched by vengeful spirits?

The locals certainly thinks so and they seem to know why.

Facing an unknown adversary, and the very real possibility that they trying to catch perpetrators who died hundreds of years ago, Patricia and her team need help. This kind of mystery calls for a specialist, so it's a good thing Patricia knows one.

I wonder who that could be?

Falling for my grumpy boss and roommate was never in the plan.

I'm two months away from making my goals a reality and I won't let Dash Hunter stand in my way. Even if he is my boss, my now housemate and the very person I need to help me.

He might be grumpy, but it should be easy to share this home. The elusive cowboy is up all night and sleeps most days. But the longer I live with him, I discover this lone wolf lives in the darkness for a reason. He holds a painful grudge in his heart he doesn't want exposed by the daylight.

Dash has just two rules for living together.

Don't go in his room.

Don't ask questions.

But his tortured green eyes and the surprisingly tender soul behind them have me wanting to break both.

The paranormal? It's all nonsense but proving it might just get them all killed.

When a master vampire starts killing people in his hometown, paranormal investigator, Tempest Michaels, takes it personally ...

... and soon a race against time turns into a battle for his life. He doesn't believe in the paranormal but has a steady stream of clients with cases too weird for the police to bother with.

Mostly it's all nonsense, but when a third victim turns up with bite marks in her lifeless throat, can he really dismiss the possibility that this time the monster is real?

Joined by an ex-army buddy, a disillusioned cop, his friends from the pub, his dogs, and his mother (why are there no grandchildren, Tempest), our paranormal investigator is going to stop the murders if it kills him ...

... but when his probing draws the creature's attention, his family and friends become the hunted.

'Steve Higgs can be counted on to keep you amused, with vivid imagination, characters you can sink your teeth into, plenty of action, and delicious snark.'

If you are a fan of fast-paced paranormal thrillers, then this urban fantasy series is sure to please.

My best friend's sister is off-limits for more reasons than one.

Chasing NHL hockey stardom, I left a lot of good things behind in my small town. Jolie Hunter was one of them.

As my best friend's younger sister, she's always been off-limits for me. I made her a promise on prom night to be her friend, to protect her. I meant every word I said.

It was an easy promise to make then, but now, thirteen years later, it's a hell of a lot harder.

Stuck together at my parents' ranch for two weeks, Jolie is everywhere and she isn't the girl I remember. She's all woman, with mischievous eyes and a dirty laugh... No matter how hard I try, being friends isn't how I feel.

Two weeks to keep my hands off the hottest, most forbidden woman in Starlight Canyon?

It feels impossible. But we can never cross the line.

Because what Jolie doesn't know is, I didn't just make a promise to her all those years ago. I made another that same day.

And it's one that could break us both.

She spent a fortune on the dress. It would have been cheaper to buy unicorn horn, but before she can even put it on, a scream splits the air ...

... and the first body is found.

Patricia and her friends are the special guests of the world's third richest man, her benefactor, the Maharaja of Zangrabar. At a banquet thrown to celebrate a new peace treaty between his country, and long-time hostile neighbour, Itarnia, the murder of Itarnia's ambassador does not bode well.

To prevent a return to war, Patricia and her team must unravel the clues to find the killer, but there's more going on than a simple assassination, and it might be that even the Maharaja is lying to her.

With the clock ticking down, another body appears, but just when she needs to create a distraction, so too do some old friends.

Murder, mystery, and mayhem abound as her expensive dress sits unworn in its wrapper. Will she get to put it on? Will she be able to follow the breadcrumbs to the end of this mystery?

Under pressure like never before, Patricia and her friends must keep two warring nations apart long enough to find the truth, but the truth in politics is an elusive beast, and there's no telling what the killer's motivation might be.

Chloe the Cheetah is the fastest animal in the Zoophoria Zoo, but every time she could build up a little speed she'd always trip over and land flat on her face. Have you ever heard of the expression of having 2 left feet? Well, Chloe the Clumsy Cheetah has 4 left feet!

To Chloe, being the fastest in the zoo has always been the most important thing in her life, but how could she impress her friends with how quick she was if she kept falling over? In this story, we follow Chloe as she discovers that being the fastest isn't as important as she'd thought, and that she can make her friends happy, and impress them at the same time, with her kindness much more than her speed.