Showing results by narrator "Gary Tiedemann" in All Categories

In a world with an endless hunger for innovation, why is it so hard to create audacious change? According to thought leader Seth Goldenberg, the answer to this question stems from how we, as a society, view questions themselves. In Radical Curiosity, Goldenberg argues that because we value knowing above learning and prioritize doing over thinking, curiosity has become an endangered species.

In a top-secret complex surrounded by miles of Texas scrubland, the United States military is working on a new form of germ warfare. Taken from homeless shelters and prisons, the subjects, discarded men and women of America, serve their country as unwilling lab rats. Ramon Willis didn’t commit the murder that put him on death row. But he’s guilty of something worse - surviving the virus and escaping his captors. Knowing he can’t take on the corrupt system alone, there’s only one person he can turn to - Lena Dryer, the reporter who covered his case and watched him die.

The town of Haywood, New Jersey, has a secret. A wish monster. Violet Park discovered its cave by accident, and the wish monster granted her deepest desire by bringing her dog Midnight back to life. It even erased everyone’s memory of his death. Life was perfect. But then an unremarkable boy named Hudson Causeway somehow remembered Midnight had died. That scared Violet. What if he ruined everything? Even worse, what if the wish monster wasn’t as innocent as it seemed?

For more than 10,000 years, humans have been fascinated by a seemingly innocuous plant with bright-colored fruits that bite back when bitten. Ancient New World cultures from Mexico to South America combined these pungent pods with every conceivable meat and vegetable. In Chile Peppers: A Global History, Dave DeWitt, a world expert on chiles, travels from New Mexico across the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia chronicling the history, mystery, and mythology of chiles around the world and their abundant uses in 70 mouth-tingling recipes.

Lucas Ramsay thought he was ready. He thought his plan was foolproof. But he was wrong. When the Baaku come for him on a remote Earth outpost, they challenge everything he knows to be true. Soon, he’s on the run as a renegade, someone who’s willing to cross the line and do whatever it takes, all in a quest to find those he lost and set things right. He vows to never stop searching.

When the perpetrators finally reveal themselves, Jack Bunker finds himself the target of a deadly manhunt. They need him eliminated at all costs and are willing to unleash hell across the countryside to achieve their sinister plan. But the trouble doesn't end there. News of a lethal, airborne threat spreads panic across the town of Clearwater, leaving everyone to fend for themselves when Bunker goes missing.

In these hilarious and thought-provoking stories from today’s top middle grade authors, fourteen young people are each coping with a recently discovered minor superpower. One can shape-shift—but only part of her body, and only on Mondays. Another can always tell when an avocado is perfectly ripe. One can even hear the thoughts of animals in the pet store—which can be about as heart-tugging as you might imagine.

Four teenage boys are high school seniors at two very different schools within the city of Los Angeles, the second largest school district in the nation with nearly 700,000 students. In this “exceptional work of investigative journalism…laced with compassion, insight, and humor” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) Jeff Hobbs stunningly captures the challenges and triumphs of being a young person confronting the future — both their own and the cultures in which they live — in contemporary America.

Eleven-year-old Matteo has never felt like one of the other boys. He’s sure that will change when he joins the Blue Whales, the baseball team his dad once played for. This is his chance to grow into a son his father can be proud of. And grow Matteo does, but not the way he expected. Instead, he starts sprouting leaves and finding bark all over his skin. Alarmed, Matteo starts digging for the truth about what’s happening to him—and finds that all clues lead back to the oak tree at the center of town, which Creeksiders have always believed is a little bit magic.

Little Lobo is celebrating two big holidays this fall! On Halloween, Little Lobo and his friends dress up in costumes, trick-or-treat for candy, and share spooky stories. Then, everyone in the town prepares food, drinks, and other gifts and decorates the cemetery with ofrendas so they can enjoy Día de los Muertos with the spirits of the people they love. Join Little Lobo and his friends as they celebrate!

After years of silence, the game is back on.... Widower Allan Brown is hosting a support group in his home for the bereaved. One of the guests in attendance will be Amy Lambert, this week marking the five-year anniversary of her family's horrifying ordeal at Crescent Lake. Of course it's hardly a cause for celebration. Still, some unwanted guests plan on attending the support group to help Amy celebrate all the same.

Aliens, ghosts, and monsters haunt this eerie trip around the scary states of America. With Jason Specter - the nation's unofficial collector of all things paranormal as your guide - meet the girl in Illinois who can start fires with her mind, the Skunk Ape of Florida that knocks victims flat with its stench, the mischievous Shadow People of Arkansas, the Jersey Devil, the extraterrestrials who take human organs as a souvenir of their trip to Washington, and the wailing ghost of a teenage girl trapped forever in an Oregon lighthouse.

Oswaldo Payá was seven years old when Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba, promising to create a “free, democratic, and just Cuba.” But Castro instead created an authoritarian regime with little tolerance of free speech or thought. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter David E. Hoffman returns with an epic portrait of a lone individual who had the courage, faith, and persistence to struggle for democracy against an unforgiving dictator. At its heart, Give Me Liberty is a sweeping account of one country’s tragic and continuing struggle for its freedom.

When Jenna Dallas and Adam Cole find Colleen O’Dell’s body floating off the shore of their coastal town, the community of Gardiners Bay is shaken. But even more shocking is the fact that her drowning was no accident. Once Jenna’s best friend becomes a key suspect, Jenna starts to look for answers on her own. As she uncovers scandals inside Preston Prep School leading back to Rookwood reform school, she knows she needs Adam on her side. As lies unravel, the truth starts to blur. Only one thing is certain: somebody must take the fall.

Fact: There's a real-life parasite that rewires mammal brains for extreme aggressive behavior. Over half of all the world's mammals are already infected, but aren't symptomatic because the parasite remains dormant in most hosts. Like a ticking bomb, this puppet master is patiently waiting for the right time to set off its hosts against the world. That time is now! There will be no peace or tranquility on Ted and TJ's transatlantic cruise as something is very wrong: animals have started to attack for no apparent reason.

For the six lucky scientists selected by the Destination Mars! corporation, a one-way ticket to Mars - in exchange for a lifetime of research - was an absolute no-brainer. The incredible opportunity was clearly worth even the most absurdly tedious screening process. Perhaps worth following the strange protocols in a nonsensical handbook written by an eccentric billionaire. Possibly even worth their constant surveillance, the video of which is carefully edited into a ratings-bonanza back on Earth. But it turns out that after a while, even scientists can get bored of science.

The late Mario Benedetti’s work was often ranked with “such esteemed Latin American writers as Gabriel García Márquez, Carlos Fuentes and Julio Cortázar” (The Washington Post) and his novel The Truce has sold millions of copies around the world. His extraordinary novel Springtime in a Broken Mirror revolves around Santiago, a political prisoner in Uruguay, who was jailed after a brutal military coup that saw many of his comrades flee elsewhere. Santiago, feeling trapped, can do nothing but write letters to his family and try to stay sane.

One battle. One man. One mission. The insurgents are dug in and ready for war. To them, it's about guns, guts, and glory. For Jack Bunker, freedom and the flag are paramount. He's prepared to fight, despite their overwhelming firepower. As the final confrontation nears, Bunker knows death comes with it.

Benny Ramírez can see dead people.... Well, one dead person, anyway. A hilarious and heartwarming story about a boy who can suddenly see the ghost of his famous musician grandfather!

How did the Cuban sandwich become a symbol for a displaced people, win the hearts and bellies of America, and claim a spot on menus around the world? The odyssey of the Cubano begins with its hazy origins in the midnight cafes of Havana, from where it evolved into a dainty high-class hors d'oeuvre and eventually became a hearty street snack devoured by cigar factory workers.