Showing results by narrator "Eric Martin" in All Categories

L. Sandy Maisel and Jennifer A. Yoder lay out the variety of electoral systems in the broadest terms-single-member district plurality systems; proportional systems; and mixed systems. They discuss voting and the various electoral institutions used to implement the ways in which voting occurs and how votes are tabulated across electoral systems.

The Galactic Legacy Federation thought the Cataclysm was over. The Starless Horrors, which decimated most sentient life, vanished over a century ago. Only, the retreat was a lie, and in a small system deep in the Dead Zone, the war against the eldritch threat has raged on, led by a group of sentient AI.

After a failed planetary rebellion, the rebel leader and his men are all given life sentences on Halberd, the RIM Confederacy prison planet and sent to the maximum island penitentiary - a prison that has never had a successful escape. And under his admiral's orders, Captain Tanner Scott has also been sent to do RIM Navy duty on the planet with the mission to give up his alcohol dependency. While he knows that this is what is expected of him by the admiral, he finds it more difficult to do that he'd ever imagined.

In the first months of 1936, Adolf Hitler risked everything by ordering his untrained military to reoccupy the Rhineland. It was a bluff. The Germans would have been forced to retreat if the French or British had offered the slightest opposition. But the bluff succeeded. History changed decisively. Hitler quieted the opposition at home, and marched the world relentlessly on, to the edge of destruction and beyond.

What is birkie fever? Cross-country skiers are hearty folk. The compulsion to race marathon-length distances in subfreezing conditions requires an eternally optimistic and fiercely independent spirit. The fear of blinding snow or paralyzing cold does not deter them, and it has been said that skiers do not merely laugh at adversity; they are completely oblivious to its existence. America's greatest cross-country ski race is the American Birkebeiner or "Birkie" for short.

Almost everyone can admit that at one time or the other, they have been tricked or pushed into something because of naivety or the power of influence. For whichever motive, we have been easy targets for the pitches of fundraisers, peddlers and operators of one type or the other. While some of these people have good motives, a few of them may have dishonorable intensions. This opens up the debate on the issue of compliance and the factors that can cause you to say yes to another person because of the techniques and language that they use to convince you.

Having returned from their time with the Army, Daniel and Asin must now complete the dungeon in Karlak. To do so though, they will need to get better gear, more skills, and higher levels. Taking a quest, the pair must leave Karlak to travel across the Kingdom of Brad and learn a few life lessons along the way.

From the cup of coffee that jump-starts the day to dangerously addictive drugs, the recreational use of plants with psychoactive properties has a long history among humans. But, as with many things, it turns out that other animals got there first. From parrots to primates, consuming medicinal chemicals is an instinctive behavior that helps countless organisms fight infection and treat disease. But the similarities don't end there: Like us, many creatures also consume substances that have no apparent benefit...except for inducing intoxication.

This book can put you on the fast track to a fitter and healthier YOU! You see, maintaining your physical and mental well-being as you age doesn’t have to be backbreaking. It's simpler than you think... "The Illustrated Guide To Strength Training for Seniors" equips you with safe, effective, and easy-to-follow exercises designed to keep your mind and body sharp as you age.

The tale of St. Josaphat, a prince who gave up his wealth and kingdom to follow Jesus, was widely told and read in the Middle Ages, translated into a dozen languages, and even cited by Shakespeare in The Merchant of Venice. Only in the 19th century did scholars note the parallels between the lives of Buddha and Josaphat. In Search of the Christian Buddha traces the Buddha’s story from India to Persia to Jerusalem and then throughout Europe, as it was rewritten by Muslim, Jewish, and Christian authors, illustrating its unsuspected integration into European culture.

When Theo Potiris performed his stand-up comedy act on Conan at 25, he thought he'd hit it big. But 10 years later, he's still spending his days working at his parents' grocery store, bicycling to the local open mic, and writing letters to a girlfriend who lives halfway around the world. Theo's desperate for a break. But when he brings his 13-year-old niece to the horse track to place a birthday bet - a Potiris family tradition - the goddess of good luck strikes her instead, in the form of a small fortune.

A Companion to Steven Spielberg provides an authoritative collection of essays exploring the achievements and legacy of one of the most influential film directors of the modern era.

Daniel Chai's tight-knit adventuring party has now grown with the addition of two new members. The silent Ranger and the maverick Enchanter make for new, interesting dynamics - at a time when the team must face their greatest challenge yet. As one of two teams to enter the newly re-opened Dungeon, the pressure to perform and clear the Dungeon floors have increased.

Get ready for a turbo-charged short listen from two of the world’s biggest thriller writers. Jack Reacher and Will Trent. Twice the action. Twice the drama. Double the trouble. Will Trent is undercover at Fort Knox. His assignment: to investigate a 22-year-old murder. His suspect's name: Jack Reacher. Jack Reacher is in Fort Knox on his own mission: to bring down a dangerous criminal ring operating at the heart of America’s military. Except now Will Trent is on the scene.

Based on extensive research and interviews with some of the participants, Browne - a contributing editor at Rolling Stone and author of Fire and Rain and Dream Brother - vividly chronicles the year America went rock & roll in everything from politics to technology. The Spirit of '76 will make you think anew about an under-appreciated moment in the country - and will make you wonder if its optimistic, can-do spirit of reinvention and renewal will ever come again.

Sweat Equity goes inside the multi-billion-dollar trend toward endurance sports and fitness to discover who's driving it, who's paying for it, and who's profiting. Bloomberg's Jason Kelly profiles the participants, entrepreneurs, and investors at the center of this movement, exploring this phenomenon in which a surge of people—led by the most affluent—are becoming increasingly obsessed with looking and feeling better.

Hiroshima was one of the great tragedies of WWII. But out of the devastation of the first atomic bomb, some survivors emerged, 25 courageous Japanese women who became part of a remarkable humanitarian epic. Victims of the atomic blast that ushered in the Nuclear Age, these women were brought to the United States in 1955, where they underwent reconstructive surgery to repair the ravages of the bomb. Schoolgirls when the bomb destroyed their futures, they began to remake their lives and re-create themselves. This is the compassionate, often bittersweet chronicle of the Hiroshima Maidens.

Utina, Florida, is a small, down-at-heels southern town. Once enlivened by the trade in Palm Sunday palms and moonshine, Utina hasn’t seen economic growth in decades, and no family is more emblematic of the local reality than the Bravos. Deserted by the patriarch years ago, the Bravos are held together in equal measure by love, unspoken blame, and tenuously brokered truces.

Tanner Scott, a RIM confederacy naval officer, has fought many battles against both humans and aliens. Years ago he proved victorious against a band of aliens. His ongoing fight with his own alcoholism, however, remains a stalemate.

The Chinese government has more control over more wealth than any other government in world history. With the Communist Party controlling the "commanding heights" of the world's second-largest economy, China appears ideally structured to pursue economic statecraft, using economic resources to advance its foreign policy goals. Yet as this book shows, domestic complications frequently constrain Chinese leaders. They have responded with a distinctive approach to economic statecraft: orchestration.