Showing results by narrator "Eric Martin" in All Categories

The early 1990s climate of despair was weaponized by con men, conspiracists and racists – notably the former grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan David Duke – both in the wider culture and at the ballot box. In other words, they sought to ‘break the clock’ of progress and ‘repeal the twentieth century’. They gave Americans’ resentment a shape and direction, and forged a new kind of paranoid, conspiratorial politics where harmless roguishness and vicious hate became mixed up, as well as declaring a culture war on liberal elites.

Listeners of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick.

China and Japan have cultural and political connections that stretch back 1,500 years. But today, their relationship is strained. China's military buildup deeply worries Japan, while Japan's brutal occupation of China in World War II remains an open wound. In recent years, less than 10 percent of each population had positive feelings toward the other, and both countries insist that the other side must deal openly with its history before relations can improve. Ezra Vogel's China and Japan examines key turning points in Sino-Japanese history.

Whether you're a new manager or looking to have more influence in your current management role, the challenges you face come in all shapes and sizes: a direct report's anxious questions, your boss's last-minute assignment of an important presentation, or a blank business case staring you in the face. To reach your full potential in these situations, you need to master a new set of business and personal skills.

It was supposed to be another boring day at the insurance office for Rico Kline, but powerful forces had other plans for him. Finding himself repeatedly summoned to other worlds as a disposable minion, Rico must face deadly foes, disarm insidious traps, become a test subject, and run the occasional errand for his various summoners. At least when each summoning is over, he’s rewarded and sent back home. But being back home has its own set of problems, and he'll need to grow stronger to face it all.

Finn was living a good life as a blacksmith's apprentice, training hard to earn the right to become one of the Kingsguard, the elite force of one hundred knights that serve and protect the King. He worked hard, trained hard, and often got into trouble with his best friend, Prince Galen. The two of them had been almost inseparable since they were toddlers. For Finn, life couldn't be better. Until a force of assassins and mercenaries attacked the palace! Prince Galen and the entire royal family were murdered, along with Finn's father.

Containing over 47 stories and two novels, this book is big baby, bigger and more powerful than a freight train - a bullet couldn't pass through it. Here are the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in celebrated Pulps like Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, and more. These are the classic tales that created the genre and gave birth to hard-hitting detectives who smoke criminals like packs of cigarettes.

Back from the Abyssal Lands, life is looking pretty good from where Thorn sits. Firmly established as the Stone King, Thorn has added the throne of Rakkam, the Labyrinth City, to his growing holdings. But not everyone is so satisfied with how the game is turning out. When a cursed staff leads Mina to disclose some of her tumultuous past, the team decides to head north. With a small team of some of the best players in the game, Thorn is off on a fast-paced adventure to solve a murderous mystery left untouched for two decades.

Trapped in the Abyss by the underhanded scheme of a fallen prince, Thorn and his companions are in for a long walk through the Devil-infested wasteland. Hunted by corrupted Devils, Thorn’s only option for making it out alive is taking a chance on the mysterious inheritance of a long-dead Elven High Mage. As he races back to Angoril he will have to figure out how to help a collapsing outpost of escaped slaves or risk being stuck in the Abyss forever.

Married for 26 years, Jose and Kitty Menendez appeared to be a happy couple and proud parents. Twenty-one-year-old Lyle Menendez was enrolled at Princeton, where he was a star on the tennis team. Eighteen-year-old Erik Menendez had just graduated from Beverly Hills High and was about to start college at UCLA. The Menendezes appeared to be living the American dream. But it was all a façade.

Miles “Shrug” Lindstrom has endured the first few days of his new monster-infested world. He has become the Champion of a god, and managed to become one of the most powerful survivors in his area. However, a new quest to kill a giant—a boss monster—will be difficult if not impossible to accomplish by himself. Gathering more power for himself is a safe bet towards all of his goals, and might be easier now that he has a class. But if this new world is anything, it’s uncertain.

No sooner had Thorn stepped into his new role as Titan of Earth than the enemies of the Duchy pounced, their armies flooding into Ironhold. With barely enough time to plan their defense, Thorn and the Wolfkin are forced into battle against forces that outnumber them five to one. To make matters worse, other guilds who have long eyed Nova Luna’s position, are eager to cut Thorn and his friends down to size. Hemmed in by enemies on every side, the only way to overcome this world shaking challenge is to cut straight through it.

Ascending should have been the easy part. But after being thrown into the void, Thorn finds himself stranded in a strange world filled with even stranger creatures. Together with his cute battle pet, the mysterious god beast Hati, and a sentient AI named Eve, Thorn must forge a place for himself in this new world. Unfortunately, the local guilds all have other ideas, and soon the Titan finds himself embroiled in plots that even his famed strength cannot help him with.

Why did humans abandon hunting and gathering for sedentary communities dependent on livestock and cereal grains and governed by precursors of today's states? Most people believe that plant and animal domestication allowed humans, finally, to settle down and form agricultural villages, towns, and states, which made possible civilization, law, public order, and a presumably secure way of living. But archaeological and historical evidence challenges this narrative.

It was supposed to be an easy victory lap in the capital city, but life around Thorn is never that simple. New responsibilities, underhanded nobles, a shadowy cult, and a struggle for the throne of Northern Angoril all promise to make life exciting...if he can survive. Thorn falls deeper into the political struggles of the Empire when the capital is rocked by a terrible murder and is forced to learn that not all problems can be solved with the heavy end of his tetsubo. New allies and new enemies emerge as Thorn races to stop a catastrophe that will shake the entire world of Nova Terra.

In the summer of 1967, Mark Garrison had dropped out of college at Southern Illinois University just before entering his third year. He had run out of money and had to work for a while. These were the days before the lottery and the draft soon came calling. In order to somewhat control his own future, he enlisted in the US Army's helicopter flight school program. Little did he know that this adventure would be the most profound experience of his life.

Catholicism All-in-One for Dummies is your all-inclusive guide to the Catholic Church and its billions of followers. You'll learn how Catholicism came to be, how it's practiced, and where it stands socially and politically as you explore the rich history and diverse culture surrounding this major religion. Clear, friendly writing takes you inside a mass to understand what happens there, and walks you through a tour of the saints, holidays, the Bible, and the Vatican.

Perhaps no company reflects American ingenuity, innovation and industrial fortunes as well as the iconic General Electric Company. Producing storied leaders and almost every product imaginable, GE built a cult of leadership success that hid cracks in its foundation. In this masterful history, William D. Cohan, one of America's most eminent financial journalists, argues that GE's legacy is both a paragon and a cautionary tale through which to understand American business.

Barely surviving his struggle with Arhtu the Cursed, Thorn is determined to turn his successive defeats into overwhelming victory. But first he has to fight through Devilish plots, an Orc siege, and an ancient threat capable of wiping his team out without any effort. The stakes have grown, and if Thorn is going to lead his friends through the danger of the looming Orc threat he will need every advantage he can scrape together. Yet even as he forges a path forward, shadows begin to stir.

The Ship fled a dying Earth to save the human race. Launched as the last gasp of humanity, the Ship set out to preserve the species by seeding the universe with one billion colonists. Generations of crew, trained to be either flight or marines, have spent 5,000 years protecting the Ship and its civilian cargo from the constant threat of alien violence. Fifteen-year-old Zax has always had trouble fitting in with the other cadets, but he's finally on the cusp of attaining his dream and gaining entrance to the Pilot Academy.