Showing results by narrator "Patrick Hopkins" in All Categories

The original Dungeons & Dragons released by TSR (Tactical Studies Rules) in 1974 created a radical new medium: the role-playing game. For the next two decades, TSR rocketed to success. But by 1997, a series of ruinous choices and failed projects brought TSR to the edge of doom—only to be saved by their fiercest competitor, Wizards of the Coast. Unearthed from Ben Riggs’s own adventurous campaign of in-depth research, interviews with major players, and acquisitions of secret documents, Slaying the Dragon reveals the true story of the rise and fall of TSR.

When a sheriff’s son is found dead in a neighboring county to the south, clues show foul play. Led by the same sheriff now doubling as a father hell-bent on vengeance, the investigation turns violent, pushing the local district attorney north to Rocky Points for help. They need somebody with an outside perspective to lead the investigation, and Chief Detective David Wolf is just their man.

Everyone agrees that education is the key to creating a more just and equal world, and that our schools are broken and failing. Proposed reforms variously target incompetent teachers, corrupt union practices, or outdated curricula, but no one acknowledges a scientifically-proven fact that we all understand intuitively: academic potential varies between individuals, and cannot be dramatically improved.

One dead. One missing. Loyalty pulls Wolf into the case. Getting back out alive will be another matter. The latest brand new thrill-ride mystery in the number one Amazon bestselling David Wolf series. One man is dead and another is missing down south near Ridgway, Colorado. When the local law enforcement reaches out to Chief Detective David Wolf's department, his task is to check on former-sheriff Harold "Hal" Burton. Because a person of interest in the case has also gone missing - Burton's estranged nephew, Jesse.

When a dead body is discovered stuffed inside a car trunk in the forest outside Rocky Points, Colorado, Chief Detective David Wolf finds himself involved in a case that will rock the local community. But as details emerge, the tension rises higher when it's clear the driver's last client was Tom Rachette, Wolf's loyal detective. Worse yet, Detective Rachette is no longer answering his phone. At the same time, Wolf gets a cryptic email that jars loose war memories he'd rather forget. And it soon becomes clear he must face his past head-on if he wants to save his friend.

A woman crashes her car near the scenic Colorado ski resort town of Rocky Points and slips into a coma after suffering head trauma. The Sluice-Byron County first responders discover she's stolen her vehicle from central Washington, and doctors find her body is riddled with wounds that have nothing to do with the collision. Chief Detective David Wolf of Rocky Points is two days from getting married when he learns the crash victim's identity is Special Agent Kristen Luke of the FBI - Wolf's colleague and former lover.

As a White House speechwriter, Terry Szuplat helped craft hundreds of speeches for President Obama. But when it came to public speaking himself, Szuplat—like many people—was gripped by anxiety and preferred to stay in the shadows. When he was invited to give the first major speech of his life, he faced a choice: keep hiding from what scared him, or finally face his fears.

Getting into a top-ranked college has never seemed more impossible, with acceptance rates at some elite universities dipping into the single digits. In Who Gets in and Why, journalist and higher education expert Jeffrey Selingo dispels entrenched notions of how to compete and win at the admissions game and reveals that teenagers and parents have much to gain by broadening their notion of what qualifies as a "good college". Hint: It's not all about the sticker on the car window.

A week ago, Ruby Grace was an ordinary girl. Now she’s a wolf shifter, rejected by her fated mate and sent to live with an ancient coven of powerful witches. That’s not even the craziest part. Because Ruby’s been star touched—blessed by the gods with the rare ability to weave illusions with her mind.

University of Cambridge profressor of psychiatry Edward Bullmore reveals the breakthrough new science on the link between depression and inflammation of the body and brain. He explains how and why we now know that mental disorders can have their root cause in the immune system, and outlines a future revolution in which treatments could be specifically targeted to break the vicious cycles of stress, inflammation, and depression. The Inflamed Mind goes far beyond the clinic and the lab, representing a whole new way of looking at how mind, brain, and body all work together.

A big Irish knight, much beloved by his English men, faces his biggest challenge when an injury nearly claims his life...and his confidence as a warrior.

The shapeshifting alien race known as the Skrulls have infiltrated every branch of the Marvel Universe, from S.H.I.E.L.D. to the Avengers, and even the interplanetary defense force S.W.O.R.D. As the New Avengers watch the leader of the Hand, Elektra, transform into a Skrull after her death, they come to realize that an attack is coming, one that has been planned for years. From heroes to villains, anyone could be a Skrull in disguise. Uncertain of who to trust, the team tries desperately to unite against an unseen foe. But it is too late.

We live in a distracted, secular age. These two trends define life in Western society today. We are increasingly addicted to habits - and devices - that distract and "buffer" us from substantive reflection and deep engagement with the world. And we live in what Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor calls "a secular age" - an age in which all beliefs are equally viable and real transcendence is less and less plausible. Drawing on Taylor's work, Alan Noble describes how these realities shape our thinking and affect our daily lives.

Marlo and Phil are a beloved couple who have been married for 40 years, yet have rarely spoken publicly about their relationship, and have never written a book together. Now, for the first time, they also include the secrets to what has kept their own marriage alive and loving. Inspiring and insightful, What Makes a Marriage Last offers practical and hard-won wisdom for couples of all ages. Learn about soul-deep passion from Sting and Trudy Styler and how Billy and Janice Crystal keep the love and laughter alive.

In R. J. Palacio's best-selling collection of stories, Auggie & Me, which expands on characters in Wonder, audiences were introduced to Julian's grandmother, Grandmère. Here, Palacio presents Grandmère's heartrending story: how she, a young Jewish girl, was hidden by a family in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II; how the boy she and her classmates once shunned became her savior and best friend.

Throughout history, two perspectives on the world have dueled in our minds: the extrinsic—that of mechanism and physics—and the intrinsic—that of feelings, thoughts, and ideas. The intrinsic perspective allows us to tell stories about our lives, to chart our anger and our lust, to understand our psychologies. The extrinsic allows us to chart the physical world, to build upon it, and to travel across it. These perspectives have never been reconciled; they almost seem to exist on different planes of thought.

After serving in the Rifles regiment of the British Army, I focused my civilian career on becoming a bodyguard to the rich and famous. I never imagined a twist of fate landing me a position in the United States Secret Service and protecting the President's son. But then, my boss made an unexpected request: leave my current placement to move in with his only daughter. I'd never lived with a woman who was off-limits to me. The longer we're in such close quarters together, the greater the temptation grows, but I know I'll lose everything if I pursue her.

The bicycle is a vestige of the Victorian era, seemingly at odds with our age of smartphones and ride-sharing apps and driverless cars. Yet we live on a bicycle planet. Across the world, more people travel by bicycle than any other form of transportation. Almost anyone can learn to ride a bike—and nearly everyone does.

In The Big Fix, energy policy advisor Hal Harvey and longtime New York Times reporter Justin Gillis offer a new, hopeful way to engage with one of the greatest problems of our age. Writing in a lively, accessible style, the pair illuminate how the really big decisions that affect our climate get made—whether by the most obscure public utilities commissions or in the lofty halls of state capitols—and reveal how each of us can influence these decisions to deliver change.

A “problem of twelve” arises when a small number of institutions acquire the means to exert outsized influence over the politics and economy of a nation. The Big Three index funds of Vanguard, State Street, and BlackRock control more than twenty percent of the votes of S&P 500 companies—a concentration of power that’s unprecedented in America.