Showing results by narrator "Joel Richards" in All Categories

Curiosity stirs the soul of every human. Who has not wondered about how the human body works? Can we drown from drinking too much water? What is a black hole? Can black holes allow us to time travel? Is spontaneous human combustion possible? Do identical twins have the same fingerprints? How do scientists age dinosaur bones? How does gravity make things fall? Why do sunflowers always face the sun? What about a man flying with wings? How big would those wings have to be? How tall can a human grow? Why are tennis balls fuzzy? What happens to the white when snow melts?

Janelle Ortega and Chuck Bender are drawn deep into a threatening web of hostility and deceit in Saguaro National Park in this must-listen mystery.

The Uses of Delusion is about aspects of human nature that are not altogether rational but, nonetheless, help us achieve our social and personal goals. Psychologist Stuart Vyse presents a lively, accessible exploration of the psychological concepts behind "useful delusions," fleshing out how delusional thinking may play a role in love and relationships, illness and loss, and personality and behavior. Along the way Vyse draws on the work of William James, Daniel Kahneman, and Joan Didion—who wrote about her compelling belief that her deceased husband would soon return to her.

Two weeks ago, Lukas Webb was an Army sniper on the front lines in Afghanistan. Upon finding out his father has just days to live, he is granted a compassionate discharge and returns home to Hamilton, Montana to say goodbye and take over the family business. Just days into his tenure at the helm of the WB Ranch, he appears at the front door of an Agriculture Commission meeting carrying a rifle and fires two perfect shots before being taking three rounds himself. While Lukas sits in Hamilton Memorial Hospital in a medical-induced coma, a frenzy wages on outside.  

Bargain Mart, long a fixture in the Missoula economic structure has fallen on hard times. Things are dire, and if a financial windfall doesn't arrive soon, their doors will close. Across town, a woman grieves her recently deceased husband. Sitting alone at her kitchen table trying to put her life back in order, a call arrives asking where his quarter million dollar life insurance policy should be sent. A quarter million dollar life insurance policy she never knew existed. Joined by his partner Ava, and his loyal friends the Zoo Crew, Drake must attempt to make sense of Alice's case.

Do you feel anxious, frazzled, or fatigued? Are you struggling with addiction, attention deficits, depression, or compulsive behaviors? Could your mind or memory be sharper? If so, these are tell-tale signs that your brain could use a tune-up. Fortunately, as author Ralph Carson explains, the brain is a very forgiving organ, and in this compelling guide, he reveals the many ways we can heal our brains from the assaults of everyday life and avoid specific situations that injure brain health.

When suspicious deaths befall a whitewater rafting expedition through Cataract Canyon in Canyonlands National Park, archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family recognize evil intent lies behind the tragedies.

Hounded by false accusations of murder, archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family risk their lives to track down an unknown killer on the loose in a rugged canyon on the remote western edge of Mesa Verde National Park, where ancient stone villages and secret burial sites, abandoned centuries ago by the Ancestral Puebloan people, harbor artifacts so rare and precious they're worth killing over.

The White Ladies of San Diego are one of the city's supernatural powers, organized and led by Graciela. But now their leader is missing, and the Ladies have hired John Smith, mediator and sometimes-private-investigator, to find her. Which raises some questions: How do you track down a ghost? What if she doesn't want to be found? And if foul play was involved in her disappearance like the Ladies believe, how exactly? It's not like ghosts can be kidnapped . . . right?

In addition to being San Diego's supernatural mediator, John Smith is the city's least successful private investigator. Those two careers collide when what was supposed to be a simple infidelity case draws the attention of the local werewolf pack. John soon finds himself pressed into service mediating a separation between the pack's married leaders. Even under normal circumstances, divorce is hell. But when werewolves are involved? It's murder.

It's been several years since John Smith became San Diego's supernatural mediator, and he's as surprised to still be alive as anyone. A lot of the credit goes to Anastasia, the vampire whose relationship status with John can be safely filed under 'It's complicated.' So, when Ana is imprisoned for the murder of Tomasso, King of the Italian Court, John drops everything to go to her defense. If he can find the real killer—and unravel a centuries-old mystery in the process—his trip to Rome might have a storybook ending. If he comes up empty, he'll lose more than just the woman he loves.

The Nords have weathered the storm and survived, but Eric knows everything they've faced so far is only the tip of the spear. This time, the threat is coming from outside the world Eric has grown to love as his own. Playing defense will only get you so far, and Eric's about done with taking hits.

Editors H. Kent Baker, Greg Filbeck, Halil Kiymaz, and their coauthors examine PE and provide important insights about topics such as major types of PE (venture capital, leveraged buyouts, mezzanine capital, and distressed debt investments), how PE works, performance and measurement, uses and structure, and trends in the market. Listeners can gain an in-depth understanding about PE from academics and practitioners from around the world.

A famed sandstone arch in Utah's Arches National Park collapses and takes a woman atop it to her death, ensnaring archaeologist Chuck Bender and his family in lethal questions of environmental monkey wrenching and political intrigue. As more deaths follow, Chuck and his wife Janelle race to uncover the killer even as they become murder targets themselves.

Ten years after the end of the American involvement in the Vietnam War, a career Foreign Service officer, Thomas J. Corcoran, set down in writing his thoughts on the history of US State Department policy during America's involvement with South Vietnam. Like many Americans of his generation, he was perplexed by the failure of America to achieve its goals in South Vietnam. As an ambassador and with over thirty years of diplomatic experience he brought to his analysis a long and rich personal experience with events in Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam.

Franklin is a wanted man living under an alias, and, more curiously, he has three wives. No More Strangers and Foreigners is a true story of polygamy lived in the open - not the sordid brand of the 21st-century polygamy with its child brides and forced marriages, but the saga of ordinary love and extraordinary lives. In a chain of polygamist colonies south of the Texas border, founded by fellow Mormons (members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), the Spencers immerse themselves in the culture of their adopted land.

The thought of missing Christmas has little Calvin quaking in his roots. The smallest tree on his famous farm, his branches get all ruffled when a grumpy old coot says he isn't strong enough for ornaments. But he's thrilled when he's finally pulled from the ground and put on sale just in time for Christmas Eve!

There are two ways to be a hero. One is more violent than the other. And the universe needs a hero, because a mysterious entity known as the Fathom is terrorizing the known universe and seizing control. But they’ve made one mistake: They woke Rico, the universe's greatest killer, from a coma. And he’s decided he might be the good guy this time. But being a hero isn’t easy. Rico has to work with others (not his favorite), and the impossible odds means it’s going to take an insane scheme or two (more to his liking).

The ancient pact between mankind, heaven, and hell has been broken, and Nate Temple’s quest for vengeance may have just kicked off Armageddon. So, time to grab a stiff drink…or maybe four. Already plagued with night terrors that could qualify him as a card-carrying insomniac, Nate can barely even manage to put on his pants in the morning, let alone pick teams for the Apocalypse. But when he’s framed as a demon sympathizer, condemned by the Armies of Heaven, and hunted down by both his allies and the Four Horsemen, this wizard doesn’t think it can get any worse.

More people than ever are getting arrested - usually for petty offenses against laws that rarely used to be enforced. This eye-opening book tells you everything you need to know about how cops operate, the little things that can get you in trouble, and how to stay free from the hungry jaws of the criminal justice system. It is now updated with new and important information on the right of the police to search your car; on guns, knives, and self-defense; and on changes in surveillance methods.