Showing results by author "James Parks" in All Categories

Our politics are broken; our world is melting; the next catastrophe looms. Enter James Parker, who for years now has been writing odes of appreciation on subjects from the seemingly minor ("Ode to Naps") to the unexpected ("Ode to Giving People Money") to the seemingly minor, unexpected, and hyperspecific ("Ode to Running in Movies"). Finally collecting Parker's beloved and much-lauded odes in one place, this volume demonstrates the profound power of the form.

In late 1971, the People's Army of Vietnam launched Campaign "Z" into northern Laos, escalating the war in Laos with the aim of defeating the last Royal Lao Army troops. The NVA troops numbered 27,000 and brought with them 130mm field guns and T-34 tanks, while the North Vietnamese air force launched MiG-21s into Lao air space. General Giap's specific orders to this task force were to kill the CIA army under command of the Hmong war lord Vang Pao and occupy its field headquarters in the Long Tieng valley of northeast Laos.

After a mostly-successful stint at Hills Valley Middle School, Rafe is excited to visit the incredible city of London with his class. Sightseeing around a foreign country sounds like a blast, until Rafe finds out his roommate is Miller the Killer, bully extraordinaire! Then he's forced to work on a class project side by side with his crush Jeanne Galletta and her too-perfect boyfriend, which might be even worse than rooming with Miller.

Rafe Khatchadorian has enough problems at home without throwing his first year of middle school into the mix. Luckily, he's got a foolproof plan for the best year ever, if only he can pull it off: With his best friend Leonardo the Silent awarding him points, Rafe will break every rule in his school's oppressive Code of Conduct. Chewing gum in class--5,000 points! Running in the hallway--10,000 points! Pulling the fire alarm--50,000 points! But when Rafe's game starts to catch up with him, he'll have to decide if winning is all that matters.

From wild and wacky to knee-slapping, laugh-out-loud fun, these humorous tales represent some of the best of recent seasons of the hit public radio series Selected Shorts. Comedian Wyatt Cenac gives a killer performance of Simon Rich’s hilarious tale of woe from the point of view of a condom in a young man’s wallet. Alec Baldwin gives a delightful over-the-top performance of James Thurber’s wonderfully silly classic tale of the day everybody in a small Ohio town thought the dam broke.

New York City is not only The New Yorker magazine's place of origin and its sensibility's lifeblood, it is the heart of American literary culture. Wonderful Town, an anthology of superb short fiction by many of the magazine's most accomplished contributors, celebrates the 75-year marriage between a preeminent publication and its preeminent context with this collection of 44 of its best stories from (so to speak) home.

In this follow up to the #1 New York Times bestseller I Funny, middle schooler Jamie Grimm has big dreams of being the best stand-up comic in the world—and he won't let the fact that he's wheelchair-bound stand in his way. After winning the New York state finals in the Planet's Funniest Kid Comic Contest, Jamie's off to Boston to compete in the national semi-finals.

After scoring big on national TV in the semifinals contest, everyone back home is jumping on the Jamie Grimm bandwagon, and all the attention might be going to his head. Not only are his friendships starting to suffer, but the pressure of coming up with his best material ever for the ultimate standup act to snag the final win in Hollywood is pushing Jamie to the brink. Suddenly, life isn't looking very funny anymore. Can Jamie take the grand prize without pushing away his fans, friends, and family?

Coop Cooperson lives in the Land of Eem, a fantastical realm where many different species live together and there is always more magic to be discovered by those up to the task. The Dungeoneer Academy trains future explorers with classes like Dungeons and Mazes, Creatures and Critters, and Swords and Sorcery. Coop believes in the academy’s mission and the Dungeoneer’s Code, but being the only human student can make it difficult to fit in—sometimes he wonders if he really belongs.

James Patterson's hilarious story of perseverance and courage shows everyone's favorite troublemaker, Rafe Khatchadorian, the star of the Middle School series, learning to become a leader at long last. After a rough summer, Rafe is heading back to the dreaded Hills Village Middle School, the site of the very worst years of his life. And as if that's not bad enough, he's learned that he's going to be held back a year unless he can prove himself on an outdoor survival excursion.

On May 19, 1836, Fort Parker in Texas was overwhelmed by a band of Comanche Indians. Some residents were brutally murdered, others taken prisoner. Among those captured was 11-year-old Cynthia Parker, who would remain with the Comanche for 24 years and give birth to famed Chief Quanah.

Coop Cooperson thought he was settling into life as the only human at Dungeoneer Academy, but no one will even remember his Mushroom Maze victory if he keeps failing Riddles and Runes class. Adding insult to injury is the new kid, Kody, who everyone—including Coop’s best friends on the Green Team—thinks is so great…but Coop is convinced there’s more to Kody than meets the eye. But it’s not just the arrival of Kody; other things seem off at the Academy.

Hero dungeoneer Shane Sandar has been missing for weeks, and the professors at Dungeoneer Academy fear the worst: that he’s met a terrible fate at the hands of the villainous exiles. When Coop Cooperson and his best buds on the Green Team discover their professors are taking a dangerous voyage to try and rescue Shane—and closing Dungeoneer Academy in the process—they know they can’t let their professors go alone, so they secretly tag along.

Ascenti: Humans Opening to AI features a diverse group of professionals, known as “creatives,” who specialize in visual art, writing, photography, audiobook performance, music, and computer games. These individuals experimented by inspiring AI apps to generate works based on prompts derived from their original artworks and writings, then interpreted AI’s outcomes. Some of the creatives found that AI provided positive solutions to overcome visual or other challenges they face. Others uncovered methods where AI supplemented or amplified their artistic visions.

Today the news is filled with accounts of the rising tide of Islamic governments across the Middle East based on Sharia law leading into an Islamic caliphate. Iran is now closer than ever to developing a nuclear weapon, and Muslim terrorism against the United States is increasing as the events in Benghazi have shown. Against this backdrop, in the not too distant future, Iran has successfully developed several nuclear bombs and decided to use them against Israel and the West.

These are personal reminiscences of Grant which allow us to peer back in time to see him through the eyes of those who knew him. Some of the anecdotes describe brief encounters with Grant, while others are from historically prominent men who knew Grant well. What they have in common are the intimate details that reveal the personality and character of General Grant.

This book is the first volume of a collection of RoadRUNNER travelogues created by James T. Parks, which focus on locations and routes steeped in American history. Jim’s original articles are scattered piecemeal throughout various RoadRUNNER bimonthly issues, spanning more than a decade of time. With that in mind, we have updated information, where feasible, that appeared in the original articles. Listeners who are interested in how America came to be what it is today will find this integrated collection of historically themed adventures of particular interest.

A Viking boy named Dane must choose a nickname for himself to keep up tradition. Will he become Dane the Dangerous or Dane the Despicable? When an evil warlord named Thidrek kidnaps Dane's sweetheart, he earns his nickname through great feats of derring-do - Dane the Defiant!

The Rapture has occurred, America is devastated, and the Islamic Messiah, the 12th Imam, moves to establish his control over the world. Soon, according to the plans of the Antichrist, all will be in place.

Once you finish this book, you will become an expert reader of behaviors and body language and spot liars the moment they enter the room. There’s great value in having the skill to detect lies - this is going to help you in all spheres of your life, starting from your personal relationships to your professional life. There’s no particular thing that you need to look for in order to detect deception - there are a lot of things that make up the process, and you will learn all of them here.