Showing results by narrator "Adam Barr" in All Categories

Decades ago, six children from across the United States disappeared on the same afternoon. Now the only one who can stop it from happening again is the boy who managed to escape. Eric Partin doesn’t understand what happened 30 years ago. All he knows is that he was taken by strangers and locked in a small room for weeks before he escaped his captors.

In 1913, a Russian ballet incited a riot in Paris at the new Théâtre de Champs-Elysées. A century later, thousands of Ukrainian citizens gathered at Independence Square (Euromaidan) in Kyiv to protest then-President Yanukovych's failure to sign a referendum with the European Union, opting instead to forge a closer alliance with Russia. The peaceful protests turned violent when military police shot into the crowd, killing over a hundred civilians. This novel follows four individuals over the course of a the Ukrainian winter, as their lives are changed forever by the protests.

Accessible to students, tourists, and general listeners alike, this book provides a broad overview of Russian history since the ninth century. Paul Bushkovitch emphasizes the enormous changes in the understanding of Russian history resulting from the end of the Soviet Union in 1991. Since then, new material has come to light on the history of the Soviet era, providing new conceptions of Russia's pre-revolutionary past.

The United States spends enormous sums on helping people—$3.8 trillion on healthcare, $182 billion on prisons, and $604 billion on higher education—and yet these systems routinely fail us. When we seek to improve how they function, our efforts focus on policy debates, technical solutions, funding, and data. But if these systems are to truly improve, we have to start with the human values behind them. Broken explores the deeply human dimensions we must consider if we want to rebuild the policies, technologies, processes, and most importantly, the heart we use to serve people.

Isolationism became one of the most influential political trends in American history. From the founding era until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States shunned strategic commitments abroad, making only brief detours during the Spanish-American War and World War I. Amid World War II and the Cold War, Americans abandoned isolationism; they tried to run the world rather than run away from it. But isolationism is making a comeback. Author Charles Kupchan explores the enduring connection between the isolationist impulse and the American experience.

Vince Carver left the CIA with a dead friend and a close call. So much for so-called intelligence work. No longer knowing what he was fighting for, Carver switched to the private sector and swore he'd never go back. Armed with the elite skills of a special operator, he now leads a team of security specialists far from the battlefield. But everything changes when his convoy is ambushed on American soil. The three-letter agencies all want a piece of him, and the CIA is front and center.

Drawing on archeological and ethno-historical evidence, Irving Rouse sketches a picture of the Tainos-the first people Columbus encountered when he arrived in the Americas-as they existed during the time of Columbus, contrasting their customs with those of their neighbors. He then moves backward in time to the ancestors of the Tainos-two successive groups who settled the West Indies and who are known to archeologists as the Saladoid peoples and the Ostionoid peoples.

Set primarily amid the racial turmoil following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968 The Last Ride traces the circumstances leading up to the killing of Haynie Gourley—the popular, self-made millionaire Chevrolet dealer—the extensive manhunt and police investigation, and the improbable grand jury indictment of a popular former college football star.

Oaks sustain a complex and fascinating web of wildlife. The Nature of Oaks reveals what is going on in oak trees month by month, highlighting the seasonal cycles of life, death, and renewal. From woodpeckers who collect and store hundreds of acorns for sustenance to the beauty of jewel caterpillars, Tallamy illuminates and celebrates the wonders that occur right in our own backyards. The Nature of Oaks will inspire you to treasure these trees and to act to nurture and protect them.

On the evening of June 27, 1918, the Llandovery Castle—an unarmed, clearly marked hospital ship used by the Canadian military—was torpedoed off the Irish Coast by U-Boat 86, a German submarine. Sinking hospital ships violated international law. To conceal his actions, the U-86 commander had the submarine deck guns fire on survivors. One lifeboat escaped with witnesses to the atrocity. Global outrage over the attack ensued.

They Called Us River Rats: The Last Batture Settlement of New Orleans is the previously untold story of perhaps the oldest outsider settlement in America, an invisible community on the annually flooded shores of the Mississippi River. This community exists in the place between the normal high and low water line of the Mississippi River, a zone known in Louisiana as the batture. Until now, the stories of this way of life have existed only in the memories of those who have lived here.

Lieutenant Devlin Collins, an Irish American flier in the Royal Flying Corps, expecting to fly on the Western Front, instead finds himself flying antiquated two-seater bomber and photo reconnaissance missions over the Egyptian desert against the forces of the Central Powers that are trying to capture the Suez Canal.

Set against a backdrop of World War II, the Grace family and friends live in and operate out of Gracestone, a Miami Beach luxury estate. Most of them are "Graced", meaning they have special powers: Navigators can get anywhere without a map and are never lost; Incapacitators are never bested in a fight and can turn any item into a weapon; and Knowers can learn all there is to know about any topic just by concentrating on it for a few moments. In Gracestone 1943, the first book in The Grace Family Chronicles, the characters are focused on protecting the children of Gracestone.

Corporal William Buck is on leave in Memphis, visiting his mother, when Martin Luther King, Jr., is shot dead, and the city erupts in a race riot. Rather than leave his mother in the urban war zone, Corporal Buck chooses to become AWOL. When he eventually returns, he is willing to face discipline but refuses to tolerate the hateful taunts of a racist sergeant.

The Grace family is back, facing some of their biggest challenges yet as World War II peaks, then reaches its cataclysmic finale. Old situations are put to rest while new ones spring up to set the stage for the follow-up series.

What started as an internal whisper, has become a steady rumble. It’s getting louder, feeling heavier the more you try to ignore it. If you’re a white man in America, you have a decision to make: become an agent of change, or a victim of progress. White men have found themselves entrenched in a privileged status quo for centuries. Old patterns and learned behaviors have contributed to their success, but things are changing; our world is evolving. We’re tackling racism and sexism head-on. White masculinity, as we know it, is in the midst of a revolution.

Step back in time a bit. The year is 1973, and by all appearances, Monty Atkins has a wonderful life. Along with his wife Rose, the girl of his dreams he met in college, they are raising two boys, Eli and Walker. Humble but competitive, Monty is slowly but steadily building a profitable and well-respected law practice in beautiful Charleston, SC.

When a long-lost love comes knocking, a loyally wedded rancher is tempted by old passions. A bartender wrestling with sobriety is pushed to the edge by a familiar barfly. After her husband's death, a famous composer struggles to write a single note. From international flights to hidden grottoes and a nude beach, 12 wayward souls seek to satisfy their deepest hungers and escape their fears. Body Language explores our often-misguided quest for happiness and connection.

In his debut book, Martin Summer aims to help listeners find nature in an urban world. He discusses how our modern lives differ from the lifestyles of our ancestors. He then proceeds to cover six big problems of urbanization and their destructive impact on our lives. Practical solutions follow each discussed danger. In the next part of the book, the author reveals what connecting with nature means in today's world and why it's possible to do so even in a big city. He discusses the tricky subject of finding a compromise between technology and nature.

Twelve stories of wayward travelers. Twelve stamps on the passport of the soul. Bonds of Love & Blood is a poignant collection of prize-winning stories featuring life’s unexpected arrivals and departures. If you like intimate accounts of lives at the crossroads, vibrant portrayals of global locales, and elegantly-crafted prose, then you’ll love Marylee MacDonald’s compelling tales of travel.