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

For years, I was close enough to fame to touch it. Taste it. Drink it. Until one more drink became my answer to everything. Until one night I made a mistake which couldn't be undone. So, I cut all ties to my former life and the addiction that destroyed it. And I left in search of redemption on the other side of the country. After months building a new future, I thought my past had stayed put. Until I opened my front door to find she'd followed me.

In 1963, the world followed the first American Mount Everest Expedition, and watched as "Big Jim" Whittaker became the first American to stand on top of the world. He returned home a hero. My Old Man and the Mountain is Leif Whittaker's engaging and humorous story of what it was like to "grow up Whittaker" - the youngest son of Jim Whittaker and Dianne Roberts, in an extended family of accomplished climbers. He shares glimpses of his upbringing and how the pressure to climb started early on.

The Caelans: they look and act like us, but they are not from this planet. They’ve lived here for years, blending in by using a mental ability called psy. And now some among their normally-peaceful ranks have become infected with anger. Felon Chase Madison’s ADHD makes him immune to the Caelans’ power, putting him in a unique position to help. But when Avery - an uninfected Caelan - befriends him, he begins to fall in love with her. But then he uncovers the shocking identity of the man who shot Avery.

They've lived among us for decades without incident. Until now. After Chase Madison is arrested for selling his ADHD meds, he stumbles onto a shocking conspiracy within the criminal justice system. A group of people living among us--seemingly not from our planet--use a mental power called psy to subtly influence others, controlling events and governing outcomes. When Chase discovers that this unusual group has begun to closely monitor him, he calls upon the skills of his criminal past to peel back the layers within their organization.

Tom Whills is a first-generation Star Wars fan and proud of it. So when he and his best friend, Danny, build a time machine, Tom's one wish is for a glimpse of the original production. But in 1975, Tom's infiltration of an early ILM production meeting sets the entire history of Star Wars on a disastrous course. In five episodes, the Journal of Tom Whills tells the story of a Star Wars production gone off the rails as time-traveling fans try desperately to get their beloved film back on track.

In the era of mass incarceration, over 600,000 people are released from federal or state prison each year, with many returning to chaotic living environments. In these circumstances, how do former prisoners navigate reentering society? In Homeward, sociologist Bruce Western examines the tumultuous first year after release from prison. Drawing from in-depth interviews with over 100 individuals, he describes the lives of the formerly incarcerated and demonstrates how poverty, racial inequality, and failures of social support trap many in a cycle of vulnerability.

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.

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.

Chloe Morel, junior reporter by day, has a secret by night: she's the most discerning—and notorious—food critic in New Orleans. Now one of the biggest food magazines in the business wants her, and she's on the verge of making her food writing dreams come true. Everything would be perfect—if only her least favorite chef and seven-year nemesis wasn't moving into the apartment across the hall.

Stephen McAllister was a grunt, a dog handler in Vietnam, tasked not only with fighting what was by then an unwinnable war but with rehabilitating a scout dog named Big Mike whose trauma ran even deeper than his own. McAllister's voice has an abundance of heart and humor, but the laughter has a catch in its throat. For all the ingenuity and camaraderie, a dark and suspenseful melody plays behind the adventures of McAllister and his unforgettable constellation of young characters, American and Vietnamese.

On the coast of the Strand, Sal and his father arrive in the small, apparently normal town of Fundelry, where the locals are suspicious of newcomers and of anyone who stands out or appears different. Sal and his father are on the run from an unnamed someone...or something. When a local bully attacks Sal, he is rescued by Shilly and her teacher, Lodo. Lodo is marked with mysterious tattoos and seems to know a lot more about Sal than Sal knows about himself.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution is driving change at an unprecedented pace, level, and intensity that is impacting businesses across industries, not to mention our everyday lives. We are rapidly blurring the physical and the digital, transforming the way we live and, in some sense, what it even means to be human. Whether we run a startup or multinational, a nonprofit or academic institution, a city or a whole country, we need to embrace this change to not just survive but thrive under these new realities.

The sound of the gavel crashing down has my life flashing before my eyes. Learning to play ball. Falling in love, marrying an incredible woman, and starting a family. Becoming a starting pitcher for the Indianapolis Lightning. Everything I ever wanted . . . Until I struck out. The same success that gave me the life I dreamed of, took it all away. I'd do anything for a second chance, even throw the perfect pitch.

Organized crime magnate Angelo Di Negri is a man out of time and place. He'd been gunned down more than a century ago. But through the wonders of cryogenic storage his body had been preserved until such a time as his "family" had need of him and he could be safely revived. That time had arrived. But Angela discovered that not everything was as it seemed and that the fate of mankind would be determined by his success or by his failure.

One snowy night in 1998, Brooke Mulcahy's car slides off the road in rural Vermont. Her car is discovered. She is not. Twenty-one years later, Robert Kirby, Brooke's stepbrother, is paid a visit from a young woman (Lily), claiming to be Brooke's daughter. Since a tumultuous upbringing, Robert, formerly known as "Bobby," has enjoyed considerable success. Now an esteemed professor at a private Upstate New York university, Robert has just received a significant NEH grant. After Lily's visit, Robert's life is upended.

Lash by bloody lash, the she-devil from Dallas would get her revenge.

Haunted by memories of a high school shooting, not even the bottle can wash away the gnawing guilt and creeping feelings of inadequacy that batter Rick's conscience daily. His life has been a mess of broken marriages, writer's block, terrible choices, and the morbid pity of others. When he meets Harriet at a writer's conference, the record doesn't scratch as he falls back. Only, this time, he may not get up.

Road trips with kids aren't easy, but new parents of twins Stephanie and Jeremy Puglisi became experts at creating lasting family memories without breaking the bank. From hiking with infants to navigating RV camping in state parks and camping in national parks - these outdoor lovers have tried it all, and See You at the Campground is packed with personal anecdotes, packing lists, site recommendations, and recipes that will help you create a one-of-a-kind vacation on a family-friendly budget.

The United Earth Fleet has established its home base on the terraformed island of Kauai, where humankind is starting over. But when an act of sabotage threatens their existence, Captain Bartholomew Quasar and his intrepid crew must return to space to hunt down the saboteur. Unbeknownst to them, rifts have opened between parallel worlds, and our heroes are flung into a dangerous reality where they encounter alternate versions of themselves as well as new friends and foes along the way.

Centuries have passed since evil Emperor Zhan attacked Earth and sent humankind packing in a mass exodus. Now the human race is scattered throughout the galaxy, and United World Space Command is no more. Captain Bartholomew Quasar and the crew of the Effervescent Magnitude have one purpose: to reunite the descendants of Earth's diaspora and save their planet from the monstrous machines Zhan left behind to ensure Earth's ultimate demise.