Showing results by narrator "D. A. Michaels" in All Categories

The story of Captain D. Michael Abrashoff and his command of USS Benfold has become legendary inside and outside the Navy. Now Abrashoff offers this fascinating tale of top-down change for anyone trying to navigate today's uncertain business seas. When Captain Abrashoff took over as commander of the Benfold, a ship armed with every cutting-edge system available, it was like a business that had all the latest technology but only some of the productivity.

Most people think of themselves as “good", but it’s not always easy to determine what’s “good” or “bad” - especially in a world filled with complicated choices and pitfalls and booby traps and bad advice. Fortunately, many smart philosophers have been pondering this conundrum for millennia, and they have guidance for us. With bright wit and deep insight, How to Be Perfect explains concepts like deontology, utilitarianism, existentialism, ubuntu, and more, so we can sound cool at parties and become better people.

As did his father before him, Pierce Butler treats his plantation slaves like family. But massive gambling debts force him to sell 429 “family” members. When the auction begins, torrential rain falls - not stopping until the final slave is sold the next day. The ominous rainfall prompts these words: “This ain’t rain. This is God’s tears.” Based on the largest slave auction in U.S. history, this poignant montage is the fictionalized account of that 1859 Georgia tragedy.

This wasn't what "keep your friends close" was supposed to mean. But now that the line has been crossed, can they ever make their way back to the twenty-year friendship they've been building? Or, better question—Is that what either of them really wants?

In this course, Professor Michael D. C. Drout traces literature back to its ultimate sources in oral tradition. Drout shows us how works as varied as the Odyssey, Beowulf, the Finnish Kalevala, and epic songs from the former Yugoslavia were shaped by their origins as songs sung - and composed - before a live audience. Understanding the oral roots of these great works lets us see them in a whole new light.

Fourteen-year-old Tom Röschenberg has inherited a ghost train and its members of the undead are very lively! And it's a suspenseful time for our young Ghostsitter: Vlarad the vampire has consumed too much hamster blood and has now turned into one, and Wombie the Zombie's hundredth deathday is coming right up. But the ritual for celebrating Wombie's deathday is no easy task: It requires a voodoo dagger, a magic ring, and an enchanted cauldron, and if Tom and his undead friends don't perform the ritual in time, Wombie will turn to dust.

When Tom is invited to the reading of a will of a great-uncle he’s never heard of, there’s no way to know what to expect. But on the long list of possible things to inherit, a travelling carnival ghost train is the very last on the list. To get his full $10 million inheritance, all Tom has to do is run the antique ride until his 18th birthday. Easy. Except for a strange caped-creep he’s never met, who’s trying to con him out of the money...and the actual ghosts and ghouls who call the ride home.

In the fourth installment of Germany’s popular Ghostsitter series, famous best-selling author Tiffany Shuster wants to promote her latest vampire romance novel, so she decides Tom’s Ghost Train is the best place for a photo shoot. But when she and Vlarad the vampire suddenly disappear, Tom and his team of monsters must investigate and rescue them. All leads seem to point toward rival carnival attraction Zoracz's House of Mirrors. Will Tom and his friends find Vlarad and Tiffany before they are accused of kidnapping?

In this course, the roots of fantasy and the works that have defined the genre are examined. Incisive analysis and a deft assessment of what makes these works so very special provides a deeper insight into beloved works and a better understanding of why fantasy is such a pervasive force in modern culture.

Breeze is on the move again, aboard Leap of Faith. There is trouble lurking in every port. He gets mixed up with a cocaine kingpin, talks his way out of a Cuban jail, and takes on a pretty refugee as a passenger. His trusty trawler takes him from the Keys to the Caribbean and even to the Chesapeake Bay, where he contemplates turning himself in to the authorities.

Mehmet Oz and Michael Roizen, two powerhouse doctors in both the medical profession and in the media, have made a virtual cottage industry around the YOU series. They team up once again to bring us this updated edition of You: The Owner's Manual - the audio you should listen to before you listen to any other audio book.

Part rebel, part knight in rusty armor, and every ounce his own man, Meade Breeze is a rugged, reclusive Florida boat bum. He has special talent for attracting sexy women. His skill at handling boats is matched only by his knack for getting into, and out of, one predicament after another. Starring in his third novel, all great entertainment, Breeze is the new anti-hero of nautical fiction.

From Michael LeBoeuf, the best selling author of Working Smart and the audio programs Working Smarter, Imagineering, and The Perfect Business, comes How to Win Customers and Keep Them for Life. With a hardhitting, action-ready rewards-and-incentives ideology, this is the ultimate program to building a successful business through customer satisfaction.

A gay man who created New York's most notorious den of heterosexuality . . . an anxious, anything-but-hardboiled lawyer who became one of the most successful undercover mob informants in history. . . . In this hilarious and fascinating account, Michael Blutrich takes you inside star-studded 1990s New York, mafia sit-downs, and the witness protection program.

Breeze is trying to leave his troubled past behind. His dream of a beautiful woman on a Caribbean island remains elusive. One day he's sitting on his boat, minding his own business. The next day he's on the run from Russian mobsters with two sex slaves aboard. Doing the right thing turns out to be a tricky business.

Tom's life changed quite a bit since he inherited a Ghost Train full of living dead creatures. As the fairground is struck by mysterious earthquakes, even Mimi the ghost-girl seems to pale. Vlarad the Vampire has reason to believe that a restless poltergeist haunts the old town square. So, Tom and his undead friends have to go ghost-hunting - without anyone noticing, of course.

Esteemed professor Michael D. C. Drout brings his expertise in literary studies to the subject of rhetoric. From history-altering political speeches to friendly debates at cocktail parties, rhetoric holds the power to change opinions, spark new thoughts, and ultimately change the world.

Coachability: The Leadership Superpower combines notable research, best-practice strategies, and stories of leaders on all parts of the coachability spectrum. Author Kevin Wilde has been developing leaders for major corporations, executive MBA leadership courses, and coaching hundreds of new and experienced leaders for over 30 years. Kevin shares his insights here with you.

In A Way with Words II: Approaches to Literature, Michael D.C. Drout leads a series of lectures that focus on the big questions of literature. Throughout, he introduces the major schools of literary and critical thought and employs illuminating examples from the world's most important literary works. This course proves a wonderful exploration of one of humankind's most cherished pursuits.

The story of Captain Abrashoff and his command of USS Benfold has become legendary inside and outside the Navy. By governing his ship through his unique management techniques, Abrashoff turned the Benfold into a model of naval efficiency, with amazing cost savings, the highest gunnery score in the Pacific Fleet, and a highly motivated and top performing crew. Here, Abrashoff focuses on leadership, motivational, and management insights.