Showing results by narrator "Patrick Cronin" in All Categories

The philosopher Jacques Barzun thought that "whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball". And whoever wants to know baseball had better learn about umpires. As Larry Gerlach points out in The Men in Blue, these arbiters transform competitive chaos into organized sport. They make it possible to "play ball", but nobody loves them.Considering the abuse meted out by fans and players, why would any sane person want to be an umpire? Many reasons emerge in conversations with a dozen former major-league arbiters.

A scientist, activist, and inveterate adventurer, Eriksen and his co-navigator, Joel Paschal, construct a “junk raft” made of plastic trash and set themselves adrift from Los Angeles to Hawaii, with no motor or support vessel, confronting perilous cyclones, food shortages, and a fast decaying raft. As Eriksen recounts his struggles to keep afloat, he immerses listeners in the deep history of the plastic pollution crisis and the movement that has arisen to combat it.

In his memoir Son of Bum, decorated NFL coach Wade Phillips shows that the roots of his knowledge come from his father, Bum Phillips. A beloved character in NFL history, Bum taught Wade from the beginning that "coaching isn't bitching", as well as how to have perspective on the game during tough times. These are lessons that apply both on the field and off, and Wade has passed this wisdom down to his son, Wes Phillips, an NFL coach himself.

When a camp counselor goes missing under shadowy circumstances, the Blue Wolf and his team race to an idyllic summer camp to recover her. But the mystery of the counselor only darkens. Prior to disappearing, she shook her cabin with supernatural tales of the deadly and deranged… and now they’re coming to life. Towering over them all is Tommy Wortmann, a demonic brute intent on turning the camp into his grisly killing grounds.

It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain, and there’s only one way for humanity to move up - by becoming mercenaries. In every mercenary’s life, though, there comes a time when things go wrong and even the best laid plans go awry.

Rade and his team have been sent deep behind enemy lines. Their mission: capture a high-ranking Sino Korean official and escape to the extract zone before all hell breaks loose. They almost make it. But then aliens decide to show up. Now Rade and his team are fighting not just for their lives, but for the lives of every man, woman, and child on Earth. Not that Rade minds: He lives for this.

Chas. Johnson & Sons has been a family operation for three generations - grandfather, father, and son. But when it comes time for Gabe Johnson to take the reins of the business, the world of books has changed, and the combination of the internet and inner city rents forces the store to close. But instead of folding his hand, Gabe decides to risk everything he has and reopen the shop - and, in a sense restart his life - in a small town on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Peter Robinson pens thrilling tales rich with keen observations, pitch perfect dialogue, and shocking plot twists that have fascinated listeners all over the world and made him one of the greatest suspense novelists alive. His acclaimed novels featuring Detective Inspector Alan Banks rank among the most celebrated police procedural series in modern fiction. In Not Safe After Dark and Other Stories, Robinson showcases once again his extraordinary talents with a collection of 20 stories, including three featuring Inspector Banks.

Steven Drokharis finally has his own Primacy, and he will stop at nothing to defend it. Luckily, Steven has a new Magician in his Escort, and she’s as beautiful as she is powerful. And yet, they are still on a journey of vengeance: his now dead enemy, Rhaegen Mulk, wasn’t working alone. At the same time, Mouse wants her own form of vengeance against the Prime who now rules the Rocky Mountains.

With the flawless sky above and the boardwalk below, Robert Worth has set up shop on Venice Beach with an eye on Delfina Famosa, his unexpected first client. A whip-smart homeless kid, Delfina reaches out to Robert to keep her father, Teo, out of trouble. The pair claim to be beneficiaries of the seven-figure Famosa trust, and Delfina wants him to have their backs in court. But in a city of illusions, nothing is what it first appears to be.

Soul Machine takes us back to the origins of modernity, a time when a crisis in religious authority and the scientific revolution led to searching questions about the nature of human inner life. This is the story of how a new concept - the mind - emerged as a potential solution, one that was part soul and part machine but fully neither.

Waiter to the Rich and Shameless is not just a peek into the secretive inner workings of a legendary five-star restaurant; it is not just a celebrity tell-all or a scathing corporate analysis. It is a top-tier waiter's personal coming-of-age story, an intimate look into the complicated challenges of serving in the country's most elite, Hollywood-centric dining room while fighting to maintain a sense of self and purpose.

It’s the 22nd century. The galaxy has opened up to humanity as a hyperactive beehive of stargates and new technologies, and we suddenly find ourselves in a vast playground of different races, environments, and cultures. There’s just one catch: We are pretty much at the bottom of the food chain.

Thomas Baldwin transfers to Ridele, the capital of Nolix, and the center of the Concord political arena. He must navigate the new role, while his former crew sets off on an important mission without him. Captain Treena Starling deals with her new reality, while finding herself on a journey to the fabled planet Earth. Are humans really descendants from the mysterious world?

On Day Zero, the collapse of civilization was as instantaneous as it was inevitable. A mysterious and oppressive movement rose to power in the aftermath, forcing people into isolated communes run like regimes. Kayle Jenner finds himself trapped on a remote beach, and all that remains of his life before is the vague and haunting vision of his son. In his relentless search for his son, Kayle will discover more than just his lost past. He will discover the truth behind Day Zero - a truth that makes both fools and gods of men.

Captain Thomas Baldwin has made a name for himself in a short period of time. The Statu have finally been defeated, and the Concord has Tom and his crew to thank for the victory. With the construction of more sophisticated cruise ships, offers are being extended to capable leaders. Commander Treena Starling must decide if she is happy staying on Constantine or if she'll captain her own. Ven Ittix is humbled to escort his people to their new home, the Ugna now full-fledged Concord partners, but a revelation is waiting for them when they arrive.

On a world scoured by demons, even dragons are prey. Gaia Alpha is safe under Steven’s rule. He’s secured his borders, made allies of the remaining Dragonsoul Primes, and retrieved Icharaam’s Gift, the fabled Holy Grail. But Steven’s war is bigger than one world. On Gaia Beta, the Battle World, Spider Finger, and the Zothoric are gathering, and if they find a path to Steven’s home, everything he’s fought to save will be swallowed in the Great Devouring. It’s time to take the fight to the shadows on a road trip between universes.

A simple distress beacon.... A mining colony in the outer reaches.... Supposedly another routine deployment for Mike Barton of the Combined States Marine Corps, but what they find on the surface is unlike anything anyone had ever encountered. Horribly wounded in a battle with an unknown quantity, Barton only survives through a chance encounter with two special operators. As if the skirmish wasn’t enough, what comes next will be beyond his imagination.

They reach the shore, barks and joyful laughter swallowed by the crashing waves. Suddenly, an odd-looking object in the sky draws closer. As dark clouds loom, a flicker of unease crosses Scotty’s face. Before he can react, an eerie glow surrounds both boy and dog. In an instant, they vanish without a trace. Now aboard an alien ship, Scotty faces a reality far from home. The walls breathe, the corridors pulse and his fear deepens.

They have absolute power; after all, they are the ones with the weapons. The only other armed agency, the Peacemaker Guild, is far smaller and unable to bend them to their will. But absolute power has the tendency to corrupt absolutely, and this is becoming increasingly apparent as the guild’s members pursue their hidden agendas.