Showing results by narrator "George Newbern" in All Categories

David Hajdu begins Love for Sale, his personal history of recorded pop music, in an unexpected place - not with nostalgic reminiscences of the 45s of his youth but with the sheet music era at the end of the 19th century. It was not so much the beginning of popular music - many songs were already popular - as it was the beginning of the popular music industry. And if he's going to understand what his 45s meant to him, this is the place to start.

In today's world, many are suffering from information overload and are re-thinking the consequences of "over-sharing". The Secret Life is a helpful guide to leading a quietly powerful life - one that can lead to greater personal effectiveness, satisfaction, and success. The concepts that originated with Maimonides - one of history's greatest philosophers - demonstrate the benefits of living a more private life. The result is an antidote to the depression, finger-pointing, divisiveness, unhappiness, and inefficiency that many of us would like to change in ourselves and in the world.

Following a desperate night-long battle, a group of beleaguered soldiers in an isolated base in Kandahar are faced with a lone woman demanding the return of her brother’s body. Is she a spy, a black widow, a lunatic? Or is she what she claims to be: a grieving sister intent on burying her brother according to local rites? She refuses to move from her spot on the field in full view of every soldier in the stark outpost. Her presence quickly proves dangerous as the camp’s tense, claustrophobic atmosphere comes to a boil when the men begin arguing about what to do next.

Grimm's Fairy Tales was first published in 1812 by the Grimm brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm. Though earlier editions included material deemed unpalatable to modern audiences, subsequent editions softened some of the violence and raciness of the original. Containing 62 stories, including "Briar Rose" ("Sleeping Beauty"), "Hansel and Grete", "Snow White", and "Rose Red", and "Ashputtel" ("Cinderella"), this collection was praised by W.H. Auden as among the founding works of Western culture.

Ever since the cops revoked his private investigator's license, Charlie Bradshaw has been adjusting to life as a regular senior citizen. But reading, sitting around the house, and making amateur home repairs is a far cry from his past life as Saratoga Springs' most successful everyman detective. So when Charlie discovers the sprawled corpse of Saratoga Springs' biggest nuisance on his sidewalk, the ex-P.I. is torn.

The Camera Lies unpacks Hitchcock's legacy both as a director who continuously taught audiences to distrust appearance and as a man with an uncanny insight into the human capacity for deceit and misinterpretation.

Anyone who has lived near New Haven, Connecticut, in the past forty-plus years has surely heard of Toad's Place. With a capacity of 750, Toad's has served as the perfect spot for musicians who prefer smaller venues.

Over dinner in a Brooklyn restaurant, Marshall learns that his former NYPD colleague owes money - a lot of money - to the wrong people. But the conversation is cut short by gunfire, and, suddenly, Ray is lying dead on the restaurant floor. As Marshall investigates the murder, tracking down the drug dealers, bag men, bent cops and mob players within Ray’s orbit, it becomes clear there’s far more to the killing than just a debt. But who is responsible for Vialoux’s death…and why?

Fred is the sole offspring of Lenny Snyder, the famous (or notorious) pied piper of the counterculture, and in middle age he hates being reminded of it. But neither can he ignore any longer his psychedelically bizarre childhood. From infancy, for instance, he was called Freedom (in fact his given name) not only by those who should have known him but also by members of the burgeoning movement led by his father, who happily exploited having his wife and his toddling, then walking and talking, and finally observant son in tow.

After Catherine Wells’ ship experiences a deadly incident in deep space and loses contact with NASA, the entire world believes her dead. Miraculously - and mysteriously - she survived, but with little memory of what happened. Her reentry after a decade away is turbulent: Her husband's moved on with another woman, and the young daughter she left behind has grown into a teenager she barely recognizes. Catherine, too, is different. There are periods of time she can’t account for, and she begins waking up in increasingly strange and worrisome locations, like restricted areas of NASA.

When was the last time you cried? Was it because you were sad? Or happy? Overwhelmed, or frustrated? Maybe from relief or from pride? Was it in public or in private? Did you feel better afterwards, or worse? The reasons that we cry—and the circumstances in which we shed a tear—are often surprising and beautiful. Sad Happens is a collective, multi-faceted archive of tears that captures the complexity and variety of these circumstances.

Louie Hake is 43 and teaches architectural history at a third-rate college in Michigan. His second marriage is collapsing, and he's facing a potentially disastrous medical diagnosis. In an attempt to fend off what has become a soul-crushing existential crisis, he decides to treat himself to a tour of the world's most breathtaking architectural sites. Perhaps not surprisingly, Louie gets waylaid on his very first stop in Rome - ludicrously, spectacularly so - and fails to reach most of his other destinations.

In This Earthly Frame, David Sehat describes the making of American secularism through its most prominent proponents and most significant detractors. He shows how its foundations were laid in the US Constitution and how it fully emerged only in the 20th century.

The world of work is changing at an unprecedented rate. At a time when constant innovation, agility and speed often mean the difference between success and failure, we can no longer afford to waste time navigating the complex bureaucracy present in most companies.... Number one New York Times best-selling author Keith Ferrazzi argues that in times like these the ability to lead without authority is the essential workplace competency.

On his first day of college, farm boy Asa Hearthrug enthusiastically jumps out of bed - and discovers that his pajama pants are caught in the bedsprings. He learns that his dog has died, and his father, in an effort to soften the blow, tells an absurd story about a female bullfighter. Next, the freshman pays a visit to his high school sweetheart to say a heartfelt good-bye, but Lodestone La Toole is more interested in hamburgers than vows of devotion.

A childless couple awaits the arrival of their firstborn. One day, the husband is caught stealing the salad greens, called Rapunzel, that his wife craves from the garden of the evil witch next door. The witch strikes a deal with the man, obtaining their firstborn child in return for all the Rapunzel the wife can eat. The child, growing up in captivity with the witch turns into a beautiful maiden with a voice of gold and extraordinarily long hair. When a handsome prince passes through, the witch's cunningly-won custody arrangement starts to fall apart.

The last thing Rudy expected was to wake up one Saturday morning, a widower at 54 years old. Now, 10 months after the untimely death of his beloved wife, he’s still not sure how to move on from the tragedy - but his new job is helping. After being downsized, Rudy turned to his first love: the piano. Some people might be embarrassed to work as the piano player at Nordstrom, but for Rudy, there’s joy in it. And it doesn’t hurt that Sasha, the Hungarian watch clerk who is finally divorcing her no-good husband, finds time to join him at the bench every now and then.

Sara Lennox moved to an apartment complex on the outskirts of Outer Banks to escape a complicated past - and even her name - and rebuild a new life for herself under the radar. But Sara cannot help but notice the family next door, especially 12-year-old Cassie and five-year-old Boon. She hears rumors and whispers of a recent tragedy slowly tearing them apart. When a raging storm threatens then slams the coastal community, Sara makes a quick, bold decision: Rescue Cassie and Boon from the storm and their broken home - without telling a soul.

In this tale, twelve princesses, each of astounding beauty, are locked in their shared bedroom by their father each night. Vexed to discover that their dancing shoes show signs of wear every morning, the king demands an explanation, which they refuse to give. The king offers his kingdom and marriage to any of his daughters as a reward to the man who solves the mystery. However, if the mystery remains unsolved after three nights, the erstwhile suitor will be put to death. After many entrants fail, a wise old soldier finally cracks the case.

She’s being attacked, losing her footing as she falls to the dusty ground littered with pine needles. Scurrying like a crab, she attempts to stand and then nothing. A cold sweat trickles down Slater Montgomery’s spine. It’s been years since he’s felt them - years since he’s seen them. The visions which nearly destroyed his childhood. Back then, ignorance and getting high were his allies, providing a false sense of security. Now? He can’t get her out of his head. The girl of his dreams. Except, Slater knows this is no dream.