Showing results by narrator "Eric Jason" in All Categories

J.R.R. Tolkien's novels of Middle-earth—The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and The Silmarillian—have become some of the most famous, and most beloved, literary works of the twentieth century. Even if you've never read the novels and have only seen the films, you know that the world of Middle-earth is a complicated one. What you'll find in The Oigins of Tolkien's Middle-earth For Dummies is a basic guide to some of the possible linguistic and mythological origins of Middle-earth, plus a rudimentary analysis of its many themes and lessons for our world.

Throughout history there has always been a need, in military forces, for special units. In the past, these units have usually been ad hoc formations that were disbanded after their mission was complete. It has only been since the early 1950s that such units have remained active, but even in recent times special purpose, special mission units have been organized and used for a period of time or for a specific mission and then either deactivated or replaced by other units.

In many US cities, gun violence is the most urgent crime problem. High rates of deadly violence make a city less livable, dragging down quality of life, economic development, and property values. How can police departments find the right balance between over- and under-policing of high-violence areas? What are the best practices for police to preempt and deter gun violence, while engendering support and cooperation from the public?

In a ruined future split between those who have and those who do not, America has contracted like a singularity into a single city. There, citizens live under a divided society, split by five walls. At the center, their depraved leader, Gideon, rules with the iron fisted reach of propaganda and an oppressive governmental agency.

Elected officials answer to public employees. Basic tools of good government have been eliminated. There's no accountability, detailed union entitlements make government largely unmanageable and unaffordable, and public policies are driven by what is good for public employees, not what is good for the public. Public unions keep it that way by brute political force—harnessing the huge cohort of public employees into a political force dedicated to preventing the reform of government. The solution, Howard argues, is not political but constitutional.

The world we live in today, where everything is tracked by corporations and governments, originates with one manic, elusive, utterly unique man—as prone to bullying as he was to fits of surpassing generosity and surprising genius. His name was Hank Asher, and his life was a strange and spectacular show that changed the course of the future. In The Hank Show, critically acclaimed author and journalist McKenzie Funk relates Asher's stranger-than-fiction story.

Cultivate: The Six Non-Negotiable Traits of a Winning Team is a robust and empowering narrative about three corporate team leaders discovering how to build a high-performing team. Over the course of the story, you'll follow these frustrated leaders as they take an introspective look into their own flaws, strengths, fears, habits, and shortcomings and learn firsthand how they impact their teams' cultures.

Leadership expert, activist, and executive coach Reiner Lomb knows that to address the many issues of our time, we need to come together and collaborate. Yet we are divided—not by a wall made of bricks, but one made of emotions, and this prevents us from working together. In his timely book Aspire, he weaves leadership lessons learned from living through the reunification of East and West Germany, as well as building multiple businesses, to demystify the process for creating a vision of an aspirational new future.

Again and again, American taxpayers are asked to open their wallets and pay for a national security machine that costs $1.25 trillion operate. How is it possible that the United States Government gets it so wrong on so many critical issues, and so often? And if our expensive national security machine is not working, what can be done?

For John Tyler, the clock is ticking. While waiting for his new car repair shop to open, Tyler takes a job at an old friend’s urging. He’ll be on the protection detail for pop singer Alex Anne. It’s a simple job...until it all goes sideways. When Alex Anne disappears, Tyler ignores the official investigation and launches his own. He discovers a notorious group of traffickers targeted the singer to sell her to the highest bidder. With time running short, Tyler strikes at the heart of the group’s operation before they can disappear with a plane full of missing girls.

See You At San Diego is the comprehensive chronicle of Comic-Con International and modern geekdom itself as told through countless stories by nearly fifty of the most integral members of the Comic-Con and fandom scene. This full-fledged oral history—bursting with intimate reflections, hilarious observations, and at times, heartbreaking stories—is about how the geek at last inherited the earth and the story of the transformation of mainstream American pop culture into comic book culture over the past century.

Scripted tales of the past, written by James Urbaniak and Brie Williams. An audio road movie about the personal and political crossroads that is Bicentennial America. A cast of dozens featuring Angela Trimbur, James Urbaniak, Rhea Seehorn, Nate Corddry, Johnny Pemberton, Samm Levine, John Ross Bowie and Andy Daly as Jimmy Carter. Music by Jonathan Dinerstein.

At age eleven, Helen disappeared in the wilderness of Mount Rainier National Park while camping with her father, Benjamin. She was gone for almost a week before being discovered and returned to her family. It is now twenty-five years later, and after more than two decades of estrangement, Helen and Benjamin reconnect at his home in Portland, Oregon, to try to understand what happened during the days she was gone. Meanwhile, Benjamin meets an odd pair, a woman and boy who seem driven to help him learn more about Helen's disappearance.

Daniel has drawn the attention of the one group he desperately wanted to avoid. The Royal Family has summoned him to Warmount, the capital of Brad. There, he'll have to try to avoid noble politics and royal entanglements, and keep up with his Adventuring. Of course, that'd be simpler if the Labyrinth was easier to delve through or if Warmount wasn't a Master Class dungeon. A Capital's Perils is book eight of the Adventures on Brad, a LitRPG young adult fantasy series.

Can an Adventurer and a Prince Be Friends? And can a Prince be an Adventurer? Those questions consume Daniel and his team as their newest member tries to fit in. It's not an easy job - not among a bunch of experienced Adventurers, and not when the Prince is impetuous and impatient to prove himself. More than that, as they train, political forces long held in abeyance move in the shadows, and Daniel and his team will be caught up in the play. In the end, Daniel will have to ask himself: How much will he sacrifice for a friend and fellow Adventurer?

It is the early 1990s in Seattle, and the MTV video for Nirvana’s "Smells Like Teen Spirit" has just premiered the previous week. Lethargy is in the air. Grunge fashion is all the logy rage. Something is brewing beneath these moist, overcast Seattle skies. Twenty-two-year-old Willow Montgomery has freshly arrived in town, having just graduated from an elite liberal arts college back east.

This book traces the samurai throughout history, exploring their roles in watershed events such as Japan's invasions of Korea at the close of the 16th century and the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877. Coming alive in these accounts are the samurai, both famed and ordinary, who shaped Japanese history.

In the first months of 1936, Adolf Hitler risked everything by ordering his untrained military to reoccupy the Rhineland. It was a bluff. The Germans would have been forced to retreat if the French or British had offered the slightest opposition. But the bluff succeeded. History changed decisively. Hitler quieted the opposition at home, and marched the world relentlessly on, to the edge of destruction and beyond.

In Longshot, investigative journalist David Heath takes listeners inside the small group of scientists whose groundbreaking work was once largely dismissed but whose feat will now eclipse the importance of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine in medical history. With never-before-reported details, Heath reveals how these scientists overcame countless obstacles to give the world an unprecedented head start when we needed a COVID-19 vaccine.

An empowering, forward-thinking solution for creating intentional and healthy social media habits from an expert on media, technology, and health.