Showing results by narrator "Robertson Dean" in All Categories

Stavros Stavros Mavrakis, Greek immigrant and proud owner of the Gala Diner in New Jersey, believes he has just 10 days left to live. He sends a scathing email to his estranged ex-wife and three grown daughters, outlining his wishes for how they each might better their lives. He then prepares for his final hours and wonders why he is alone.

They’re young, brilliant, beautiful...and naïve enough to believe they can make a difference. For three graduate students, the exclusive innocence seminar at the nation’s most esteemed journalism school is supposed to teach them how to free the falsely accused from prison. Little do they know the most important lesson they’ll learn is how to stay alive. The first day of class for Ian Joyce and Sarah Gold starts like any other, until a fellow student, Jake Havens, pulls a wrinkled envelope from his backpack. Inside is a bloodstained scrap of shirt from a boy murdered 14 years ago and an anonymous note taking credit for the killing.

Eric Bentley has chosen highlights from the 30-year record of the House Un-American Activities Committee to demonstrate HUAC's focus on artists, intellectuals, and performers. Volume 2: 1951-1952 includes the testimonies of Clifford Odets, Edward G. Robinson, Elia Kazan, Jose Ferrer, Bud Schulberg, Sterling Hayden, Abe Burroughs, Lillian Hellman, and many others. Thirty Years of Treason serves as a warning for the future and creates living history from the documentary record.

Children’s author and lifelong baseball fan Dan Gutman recounts how he himself was actually the hero in the New York Mets’ miraculous defeat of the Boston Red Sox in Game Six of the 1986 World Series - the infamous Bill Buckner game.

While the conflict over slavery was a factor in the Civil War, the abolition of slavery did not become a stated objective until President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, which went into effect on January 1, 1863. Freeing the slaves held in the still Confederate controlled states, it is heralded as one of America's most significant documents.

Jackson doesn't admit he's from Detroit, much less that he used to run a bookie operation there. His bail-bond business in St. Paul is much safer, and if Charlie Victor wasn't his best client, he was at least a steady one, paying his bonding fee out of a secret stash he called his frag box. Then Charlie is beaten to death on a public street in broad daylight. His murder is bizarre and unexpected but no more so than the fact that he left a will naming Jackson as his sole heir.

Jimmy Roy Guy, a gun dealer with an imagination that borders on mystic vision, delights in telling elaborate stories about the histories of the weapons he sells. When Jimmy makes an agreement with the widow of white supremacist martyr Bob Champion to broker her husband's infamous Colt .45, the widow stipulates that he keep it out of the hands of Champion's disciple, who considers it a powerful talisman for his racist agenda.

Over the past several years, Jonathan Kozol has visited nearly 60 public schools. Virtually everywhere, he finds that conditions have grown worse for inner-city children in the 15 years since federal courts began dismantling the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education. First, a state of nearly absolute apartheid now prevails in thousands of our schools. The segregation of Black children has reverted to a level that the nation has not seen since 1968.

The son of a Protestant missionary and small-town pastor with secrets of his own to keep, Ferdinand Ward came to New York at 21 and in less than a decade made himself the business partner of a former president of the United States and was widely hailed as the "Young Napoleon of Finance". In truth, he turned out to be a complete fraud, his entire life marked by dishonesty, cowardice, and contempt for anything but his own interests. This is a great story about a classic American con artist, told with boundless charm and dry wit by one of our finest historians.

At the novel's center: Lucy Kincheloe, an astronaut married to an astronaut, the loving mother of two young children, with a fierce ambition to excel in the space program. Her husband, Brian, a rigorous man whose dreams of glory have been blighted by two star-crossed missions. And Walt Womack, the steady, unflappable leader of the training team that prepares Lucy for her first shuttle flight.

Mikhail was fired for blowing a deal with the Italians and throwing an unauthorized office party that got him arrested, so he can’t believe his luck when his former boss offers him easy money and the Land Rover of his dreams for the simple job of teaching the boss’s son, teenager Sergei, how to "be a man". Of course, Sergei’s not the Internet-obsessed recluse his father believes, and Mikhail can’t help but fall for Sergei’s beautiful secret girlfriend, Marina, himself. Mikhail finds himself lying to his boss about Sergei’s activities, lying to Marina about Sergei’s identity, and lying to Sergei about his love for Marina.

It is time for bed, and Mr. Panda reminds his friends Hippopotamus, Skunk, Sheep, and Sloth that they each have forgotten to do something. Skunk has forgotten to take a bath; Hippopotamus needs to brush his teeth; Sloth is too tired to move; and much more. Mr. Panda is there to remind them of the steps they've missed. As Lemur eventually finds out, however, even Mr. Panda can make a bedtime mistake!

The Connoisseur trails the evolution of Muhlbach, an insurance executive on a business trip in Taos, New Mexico, who develops an obsession with pre-Columbian figurines after meandering through a curio shop. Entranced yet bewildered by his sudden affinity for a little figurine, Muhlbach succumbs to his intrigue and, 30 dollars later, begins his journey as a connoisseur. With superb delivery and subtle clarity, Connell allows us to see and feel Muhlbach’s emerging mania, with its impending tension and sudden exhilaration.

This is not just another book about Pearl Harbor. It is the story of Joseph Grew, America’s ambassador to Japan, and his frantic effort in the months before the Pearl Harbor attack to orchestrate an agreement between Japan and the United States to avoid the war he saw coming. It is a story filled with hope and heartache, with complex and fascinating characters, and with a drama befitting the momentous decisions at stake.

How does witnessing a crime change a person? This powerful collection of stories by a star-studded roster of contributors examines this very question.

In "Regarding Substance Abuse and Addiction (RSAA)," Craig A Williamson offers a powerful, real-world guide through the challenging journey of addiction. Drawing from personal experience, this book provides practical insights and understanding for individuals and their loved ones navigating the complexities of substance use disorders. Craig's brilliant, straightforward writing sheds light on what we all need to know.

We know what people who believe in God believe; but do we know what the atheists believe in God's stead? This book looks at the latest atheistic science (hint: there is none) as well as the politics of the Militant Atheist movement that has turned non-belief into a political crusade. Written by Evan Sayet, longtime television writer ("Politically Incorrect w/Bill Maher) and political commentator who has advised presidential campaigns, written speeches for presidential candidates (and a president) and who has appeared on every television news network from MSNBC to Fox.

"Beyond the Rivers of Babylon" follows Joe's remarkable journey, from his colorful childhood in the Old Jewish Quarter of Bagdad, to his life-altering service in the Israeli Navy, to starting a family and building a real estate empyrean Montreal and Los Angeles.

This is an art adventure story and a memoir all in one, written by a leading expert on the Renaissance whose metier is a high-stakes detective game involving massive amounts of money and frenetic activity in the service of the art market and scholarship alike. It's also an eloquent argument for the enduring value of visual creativity, told with passion, brilliance, and surprising candor.

The Military Effect shares authentic stories of fifty amazing veterans, each providing unique insight into the challenges of transition and business success after service to our country.