Showing results by narrator "Tom Perkins" in All Categories

An all-star team of 18 conservative writers offers a hilarious, insightful, sanctimony-free remix of William Bennett's The Book of Virtues - without parental controls. The Seven Deadly Virtues sits down next to listeners at the bar, buys them a drink, and, an hour or three later, ushers them into the revival tent without them even realizing it.

In May 2018, NASA called a press conference to announce the successful test-run of their tiny nuclear reactor KRUSTY (Kilopower Reactor Using Stirling Technology). This revolutionary technology, which runs on heat alone, may have profound consequences for the future of mankind, enabling us to maintain permanent bases on the Moon, on Mars, and other planets, and eventually power a starship. On earth too it could have enormous benefits as a new way to generate power at a time when climate change is threatening our very existence.

From the beginning, American cinema has been both a powerful mythmaker and a social critic. D.W. Griffith's Birth of a Nation, arguably the first feature film, shows us just how early in its history cinema had established its influence. Birth of a Nation famously portrayed the Ku Klux Klan in a favorable light, a portrayal that contributed to the modern resurgence of the group and brought racist depictions of African Americans imported from the minstrel show to the silver screen. In response, filmmakers of color have created nuanced and indelible portraits of race.

Whether you farm or garden, live in the country or long to move there, or simply enjoy an occasional rural retreat, you will be delighted by this cornucopia of writings about living and working on the land, harvested from the fertile fields of ancient Greek and Roman literature. An inspiring antidote to the digital age, How to Be a Farmer evokes the beauty and bounty of nature with a rich mixture of philosophy, practical advice, history, and humor.

The Education of John Adams is the first biography of John Adams by a biographer with legal training. It examines his origins in colonial Massachusetts, his education, and his struggle to choose a career and define a place for himself in colonial society.

Many know from experience that the medical system can be difficult to navigate. Take it from Randy Pherson, who struggled with a medical condition for five years before getting a proper diagnosis - and once he did, had to undergo a major surgery to save his life. Because of his experience, Pherson decided to help others facing similar situations. Using his background of analytics from the CIA, Pherson offers his readers precise, analytical techniques for using the system to their advantage.

James "Head" Guiliani, a confidante of the Gotti regime, was arrested and jailed on a weapons charge. After his release, he fell back into alcohol and drug addiction - until, one day, he came across an abandoned, abused shih tzu in the street. He rescued the dog, whom he lovingly named Bruno and, in the process, turned his own life around.

Prudence Burns is an overly idealistic Brooklyn girl who has inherited a derelict plot of land named Woefield Farm. Her motley crew of farm hands consists of Earl, an elderly, reclusive bluegrass legend; Seth, an agoraphobic heavy-metal blogger in early recovery from alcoholism; and Sara, an 11-year-old girl with a flock of elite show poultry. When Prudence is felled by a thyroid condition, things on the farm begin to fall apart.

Toastmasters, a name synonymous with public speaking, is dedicated to developing its members' communication and leadership skills. Now Distinguished Toastmaster Jeremey Donovan and Public Speaking World Champion Ryan Avery break down the winning speeches from Toastmasters' prestigious annual competition—providing you with tips and techniques guaranteed to improve your speaking, presentation, and communication skills. They also include a special section of insights and advice for listeners who aspire to become serious public speaking competitors.

Wide-ranging yet intimate, The Lives of Isaac Stern is a portrait of an artist and statesman who began as an American dreamer and left a lasting inheritance to his art, profession, and the world.

All his life, journalist Walter Shapiro assumed that the outlandish stories about his great-uncle Freeman were exaggerated family lore; some cockamamie Jewish revenge fantasies dreamt up to entertain the kids and venerate their larger-than-life relative. Only when he started researching Freeman Bernstein's life did he realize that his family was actually holding back.

Going beyond the well-known history, this book offers World War II buffs and history fans something altogether different. Just beneath the surface of the traditional perspectives and legendary events lurks a vast and shadowy world of virtually untraceable maneuvers, deceptive appearances, and confidences betrayed.

Bibliophobia is a book about material books, how they are cared for, and how they are damaged, throughout the 5,000-year history of writing from Sumeria to the smartphone. A global history, covering six continents and seven religions, it discusses topics such as the origins of human script; the development of textual media such as scrolls, codices, printed books, and AI; the collection and destruction of libraries; the use of books as holy relics, talismans, or shrines; and the place of literacy in the history of slavery, heresy, blasphemy, censorship, and persecution.

Levels of violent crime have been in a steady decline for centuries-for millennia, even. Over the past 500 years, homicide rates have decreased a hundred-fold. We live in a time that is more orderly and peaceful than ever before in human history. Why, then, does fear of crime dominate modern politics? In Command and Persuade, Peter Baldwin examines the evolution of the state's role in crime and punishment over 3,000 years.

People don't always communicate well. It's a fact of life. But you don't have to be a helpless witness or participant in a conversation that steadily unravels into misunderstandings, confusion, and even hostility. You can take charge - and you can make a difference! Breakthrough Communication provides easy-to-implement strategies for virtually any business situation, whether it's one-on-one or within a group.

In Lincoln and California Brian McGinty explains the relationship between Abraham Lincoln and the Golden State, describing important events that took place in California and elsewhere during Lincoln's lifetime. He includes the histories of Lincoln's close friends and personal acquaintances who made history as they went to California, lived there, and helped to keep it part of the imperiled Union.

Thomas Jefferson praised Tom Paine as the greatest political writer of the age. The author of Common Sense and Rights of Man, Paine helped make revolutions in America and France. But beyond his inspiring calls to action, Paine harbored a deeper political vision for his adopted country. It was embodied in an architectural project that he spent decades planning: an iron bridge to span the Schuylkill River at Philadelphia.

Mars, a mysterious dust-ridden place, is most like Earth in its climate and seasons. Of all the possible destinations in space to travel, Mars is the most likely for humans to reach. According to esteemed scientist Louis Friedman, it may be the only destination outside the moon to ever see human footprints. Far from diminishing our future in space, Human Spaceflight lays out a provocative future for human space travel. The noted aerospace engineer and scientist says that human space exploration will continue well into the future, but space travel by humans will stop at Mars.

This book traces the lives of the Macaw and her enigmatic captain, from birth on San Francisco Bay to death at Midway. Ultimately, for Paul Burton and the Macaw the real enemy was the sea, and in a deadly denouement told here in riveting detail, the sea won. Highlighting the underreported role auxiliary vessels played in the war, A Strange Whim of the Sea should engage the military historian and layperson alike with the previously untold story it tells of struggle, sacrifice, death, and survival in the Pacific in World War II.

The carbon dioxide that industrial civilization spews into the atmosphere has dramatic consequences for life on Earth that extend beyond climate change. CO2 levels directly affect plant growth, in turn affecting any kind of life that depends on plants—in other words, everything.