Showing results by narrator "Eric Michael Summerer" in All Categories

David Giffels grew up fascinated by his father's dusty, tool-strewn workshop and the countless creations - both practical and fantastical - it inspired. So when he enlisted his 81-year-old dad for the unusual project of building a casket, he thought of it mostly as a way to learn and to spend time together. Life had other plans. The unexpected death of his mother and, a year later, of his best friend, coupled with turning 50 and the growing realization that his father won't always be around for such offbeat adventures, leads to a harsh confrontation with mortality and loss.

Peter Willcox has been a captain for Greenpeace for over 30 years. He would never call himself a hero, but he is recognized on every ocean and continent for devoting his entire life to saving the planet. He has led the most compelling and dangerous Greenpeace actions to bring international attention to the destruction of our environment.

1988 doesn’t end well for Jessica Abraham. In just one week, she turns 30, loses her day job, and loses the role of Ophelia to a younger actress. Rallying, she goes after a part at a theater outside of the city, but the director’s plan to hide her beauty behind hair, makeup, and wardrobe from Cosmo’s “Don't'' column shakes her confidence to the core. For the first time in her acting career, she won’t be able to rely on her carefully managed physical charms. Only her craft will count.

Pioneering oceanographer Curtis Ebbesmeyer unravels the mystery of marine currents, uncovers the astonishing story of flotsam, and changes the world's view of trash, the ocean, and our global environment. Curtis Ebbesmeyer is no ordinary scientist. He's been a consulting oceanographer for multinational firms and a lead scientist on international research expeditions, but he's never held a conventional academic appointment.

Americans of all political stripes are heading into the 2008 election with the sense that something has gone terribly wrong with American politics. But what exactly? The only thing everyone seems to agree on, in fact, is that the American people are entirely blameless. InJust How Stupid Are We?, best-selling historian and renowned myth-buster Rick Shenkman takes aim at our great national piety: the wisdom of the American people.

When Eric catches sight of Creek Bend, Wisconsin's most famous missing person, his mundane morning of running errands rapidly erupts into a chaotic search for mysterious, hidden places scattered throughout his own hometown. Along the way, he'll have to deal with strange monsters, a murderous cowboy, and a curiously intimidating man in a pink shirt

Seamus Hinkle has encountered a good deal of mystery and a lot of secrets since he first started at Kilter Academy. The longer he’s there, the more unanswered questions he seems to have. At last it seems like he just might get some answers as he and his troublemaker friends prepare for a huge event: a Kilter Academy retreat in the Adirondack Mountains with all the students… and their parents. Will Seamus finally learn how his own mother is connected to Annika, the mercurial headmistress of Kilter?

Family visits? Check. The dreaded finale on the horizon? Double-check. And to top it off, with Dawn missing, my mind's a mess. I can't shake her from my thoughts, and I've got looming eliminations breathing down my neck. Now I'm stuck at a crossroads – do I cling to the ghost of what we had, or do I dive into something new in the final weeks? Just when I think things can't get crazier, I tumble into the arms of an old love, throwing my heart into a wild tailspin.

Known as the age of democracy, the 19th century witnessed the extension of the franchise and the rise of party politics. As Daniel Carpenter shows, however, democracy in America emerged not merely through elections and parties, but through the transformation of an ancient political tool: the petition. A statement of grievance accompanied by a list of signatures, the petition afforded women and men excluded from formal politics the chance to make their voices heard and to reshape the landscape of political possibility.

Stop juggling; start managing everything you need to do at home and at work. It used to be simple: Stay late, turn in flawless work, catch up on sleep later. You needed that mindset to get where you are, but that's not going to cut it anymore. You need to make different choices to succeed at work, as a parent, and as a family member. Getting It All Done can't teach you how to be in two places at once, but it provides you with expert advice as you manage the challenge of succeeding at work while making sure your family is housed, fed, healthy, safe, and educated.

Humanity, previously dependent on the K'Tai for its Redlazore, discovers vast resources of the most valuable mineral in the galaxy on Agate and is now free to expand across the stars: Redlazore is also the key component to faster-than-light travel. The planet Agate is, however, the human colony-world which lies perilously close to the K'Tai Imperium, and the K'Tai resolve to put the upstart humans back in their place. The K'Tai Imperium invades Agate. On the ground, in the midst of the whirlwind conflict is the Carter family.

In J. Robert Lennon's America, a portal to another universe can be discovered with surprising nonchalance in a suburban backyard, adoption almost reaches the level of blood sport, and old pals return from the dead to steal your girlfriend. Sexual dysfunction, suicide, tragic accidents, and career stagnation all create surprising opportunities for unexpected grace in this full-hearted and mischievous depiction of those days (weeks, months, years) we all have when things just don't go quite right.

Saved by an immortal after an attack by a Beast, Chris Avern is doomed to carry that beast within himself. It taints his soul with a darkness that can only be purged by finding his chosen mate. Now, as a Knight of White, a demon fighter caught up in an ancient war between good and evil, Chris must battle the soulless Darkland Beasts intent on wreaking destruction upon humanity. Sent to save the hometown he left 25 years ago from an onslaught of Beasts, Chris comes to the rescue of ranch owner Alexis Wright. He is drawn to Alexis with a demanding passion that nearly overwhelms him.

Despite being captured by Hades and tortured to do his bidding, I refuse to succumb. My mate will come for me—of that I’m certain. I’ve spent multiple lifetimes hiding from Death, but the goddess was right. In the end, he will always find me.

Breaking Barriers shows how to redesign high schools so that all students can move on to college and successful careers. In a negation of the American dream, a child's zip code is currently a far better predictor of success than hard work, intelligence, or resilience. This book tells the story of a school model that focuses on equity and works to prove that all young people can achieve academic excellence given the right support. P-TECH combines public high schools and community colleges in partnership with employers, providing both opportunity and support for all students.

Sal and his friend Shilly have been joined by a third refugee, Skendar, by the time they make their way to the remote island that is the home of the famous, feared Haunted City, home of the Sky Wardens. Sal's great aunt, the Syndic, is also there and she is determined to keep Sal under control, even if she has to imprison him to do it. But there are greater threats even than that. The ghosts that live behind the ancient glass of the City are restless.

On the Trail of Bigfoot is a firsthand account from paranormal researcher and skilled outdoorsman Mike Dupler on his many years of investigations into the Bigfoot phenomena.

Maeve Sexton is off-limits. But her last name is the least of my problems. Not only is she my best friend's little sister, but her brother is also my teammate and roommate. She's the trifecta of off-limits. Technically.

Meet Phil Snyder: new father, nursing assistant at a cutting-edge biotech facility on Staten Island, and all-around decent guy. Trouble is, his life is falling apart. His wife has betrayed him, his job involves experimental surgeries with strange side effects, and his father is hiding early onset dementia. Phil also has a special talent he doesn't want to publicize - he's a mind reader and moonlights as Brainstorm, a costumed superhero.

From the author of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying comes...A confidential manual prepared as part of a survival kit for Americans living in Britain, showing how to get rich in England, how to rise quickly and easily to the top of British society, examining the blessings, foibles, and weaknesses of British life, and providing the reader with his just share of wealth, warmth, wisdom, and happiness.