Showing results by narrator "R. A. Stephens" in All Categories

This classic tale is the inspiration behind the beloved Christmas film of the same name starring Cary Grant and Loretta Young. Bishop Henry Brougham desperately wants to build a great cathedral for his overcrowded parish. The problem is he doesn't know how he will find a capable archdeacon to help fund the project. But that's not his only problem. Though his beautiful wife Julia fulfills her marital duties, there is no passion between them.

Magic is dying. And without magic, the sleepy town of Ashville is conquered with ease by a tyrannical king whose obsession with finding gold soon becomes a devastating campaign to enslave mankind. There is only one problem with this plan: an orphan boy with no name, a child of the woods who has learned to survive among man-eating plants and giant spiders, but whose greatest obstacle yet remains. The king with everything will be challenged by the boy with nothing - and on the path where courage and selflessness meet, the boy with no name will inspire magic to return once more.

While the hyper-partisanship in Washington that has stunned the world has been building for decades, Ira Shapiro argues that the US Senate has suffered most acutely from the loss of its political center. In Broken, Ira Shapiro, a former senior Senate staffer and author of the critically-acclaimed book The Last Great Senate, offers an expert's account of some of the most prominent battles of the past decade and lays out what must be done to restore the Senate's lost luster.

In today's ultra-polarized and highly partisan political environment, Welfare for the Rich is one of the rare books written to appeal to engaged and open-minded citizens from across the political spectrum. Welfare for the Rich is the first book to describe and analyze the many ways that federal and state governments provide handouts - subsidies, grants, tax credits, loan guarantees, price supports, and many other payouts - to millionaires, billionaires, and the companies they own and run.

You have likely heard stories from friends, family members, and colleagues who quit a job because of a toxic person. You may not have realized that these individuals not only take their tolls on our emotional psyches, but also the financial outcomes of their organizations. Through this book's many case examples, as well as evidence-based practices and templates, each chapter singles out one main issue and how to resolve it with respect and clarity. Dr. Kusy presents concrete practices that will restore civility and respect into your organization.

A vivid and enlightening oral history of homelessness in the Las Vegas storm drains and the hard work of reentering mainstream society. Dark Days, Bright Nights is the follow-up to the best-selling Beneath the Neon and shares the harrowing stories of Sin City's most marginalized people, from bottoming out in homelessness to mending relationships with family and adjusting to jobs, housing, and sobriety.

Paradigms are formed in our minds based on personal experience and perception. Hear in this lecture why paradigms are like maps, and therefore only as useful as they are accurate. Module 11 of 20.

Principles are natural laws, independent of our current belief systems. In this talk, learn the important distinction between living a principle-centered life and a value-centered life. Module 9 of 20.

Tess Janver and Cole Cavanaugh fell deeply in love in college. Then, he disappeared without a word. She feared the worst, or thought she did. After seven years, he returns as a beefed-up version of his former self. That's not the only thing different. As someone working in a preternatural criminal investigation unit and the daughter of a senator determined to rid the world of dangerous shifters, Tess is caught between performing her duty to humans by protecting the only family she has left and risking her heart to a man who, once, destroyed it.

Managing Change in Crisis is designed to strengthen businesses, organizations, and indivduals affected by the September 11 crisis. This address by Dr. Stephen R. Covey offers uplifting and encouraging words to help us all focus on what matters most, regain and rebuild trust with each other in a time of tragedy, how to coach co-workers and loved ones through crisis, and reminds us all of the nobility of the public servant.

Billy Ed and Dory Barnes left the honky-tonk in Tombley's Walk on a warm Texas night. They were looking for a little privacy. They never returned. Billy Ed's body was found soon after, ripped to pieces by a savage, wolf-like creature that walked on two legs. Dory survived the brutal attack. But she has been changed into something horribly, inexplicably... different.

Trapped waist-deep in a flooded tunnel, Casidhe faces a new threat when Cathbad finds her, forcing her to gamble with her unpredictable sword. After Skarde attacked the gryphon village, a furious Daegan is no longer willing to show mercy to ice dragon shifters. Quinn, Reese, and the Beladors go after the demon-maker flooding Atlanta with predators, which backfires when Reese is faced with an unimaginable choice. Adrianna tries to work with Sen to escape their imprisonment, but he snubs her offer a moment before he shouldn’t have.

The United States is becoming a nation of rich and poor, with few families in the middle. In this book, MIT economist Peter Temin offers an illuminating way to look at the vanishing middle class. Temin argues that American history and politics, particularly slavery and its aftermath, play an important part in the widening gap between rich and poor. Temin employs a well-known, simple model of a dual economy to examine the dynamics of the rich/poor divide in America.

Decisions, decisions.... From the moment we wake up to when we turn out the lights, we have to make a number of decisions each day of our lives. But what’s involved with making godly decisions? With Wise Choice, you will discover what decision making is, how theology informs our decision making, a six-step decision making process, and much, much more! We all have choices in life, but with this audiobook, you’ll have the confidence that you’ve made the wise choice!

Staying happily married has become a difficult proposition in recent times. Although the institution is still firmly embedded in our culture, divorce rates have steadily climbed since the 1960s. While some marriages are truly divorce-worthy, many other broken marriages can be saved. Recent emphasis on personal needs and greater social acceptance of divorce and alternative lifestyles may have weakened the resolve of partners to work through their problems.

A positive customer experience is absolutely essential to keeping your business relevant. Today's business owners need to know how to connect and engage with their customers through a variety of different channels, including online reviews and word of mouth. Customer Experience for Dummies helps you listen to your customers and offers friendly, practical, and easy-to-implement solutions for incorporating customer engagement into your business plans and keep the crowds singing your praises.

When rare-manuscript expert Joseph Barkeley is hired to authenticate and purchase the original draft and notes for Bram Stoker’s Dracula, little does he know that the reclusive buyer is a member of the oldest family in Transylvania. After delivering the manuscript to the legendary Bran Castle in Romania, Barkeley - a Romanian orphan himself - realizes to his horror that he’s become a prisoner to the son of Vlad Dracul.

The US has the largest criminal justice system in the world. Because they spend enough time in prison to disrupt their connections to their families and their communities, they are not prepared for the difficult and often life-threatening process of reentry. As a result, the percentage of these people who return to a life of crime and additional prison time escalates each year. Beyond Bars is the most current, practical, and comprehensive guide for ex-convicts and their families about managing a successful reentry into the community.

"There is not a single American awake to the world who is comfortable with the way things are." So begins Lawrence Lessig's sweeping indictment of contemporary American institutions and the corruption that besets them. We can all see it - from the selling of Congress to special interests to the corporate capture of the academy. Something is wrong. It's getting worse.

Daegan and Casidhe are tested at every turn by angry immortals when they appear uninvited in a place with no exits. An expected change of events devastates Daegan’s hope of gaining the second grimoire volume and shatters Casidhe’s trust. Faced with becoming a monster, Adrianna gambles with the ancient Witchlock power capable of cataclysmic results and becomes collateral damage. Possessed by an Imortik, Reese runs to keep Quinn safe and finds a way to save others even though she can’t save herself.