Showing results by narrator "Joel Richard" in All Categories

Failed surgeon David McBride is in exile from the surgical community after making a costly error in judgment. Down but not out, he perseveres and is given a second chance to establish a career in surgery. But, as McBride stands on the threshold of a new life, the malignant underside of his fellow man intervenes. Under the threat of violence, David is forced to perform illegal organ harvests in a makeshift operating room hidden in a dilapidated meatpacking warehouse in lower Manhattan. 

The science is overwhelming; the facts are in. The planet is heating up at an alarming rate and the results are everywhere to be seen. Yet, as time runs out, climate progress is blocked by the men who are profiting from the burning of the planet: energy moguls like the Koch brothers and Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson. Powerful politicians like Senators Mitch McConnell and Jim Inhofe, who receive massive contributions from the oil and coal industries. Most of these men are too intelligent to truly believe that climate change is not a growing crisis.

How does a neural network become a brain? While neurobiologists investigate how nature accomplishes this feat, computer scientists interested in AI strive to achieve this through technology. The Self-Assembling Brain tells the stories of both fields, exploring the historical and modern approaches taken by the scientists pursuing answers to the quandary: What information is necessary to make an intelligent neural network? As Peter Robin Hiesinger argues, "the information problem" underlies both fields. 

"That's not my fingerprint, your honor", said the defendant, after FBI experts reported a "100-percent identification". They were wrong. It is shocking how often they are. Autopsy of a Crime Lab is the first book to catalog the sources of error and the faulty science behind a range of well-known forensic evidence, from fingerprints and firearms to forensic algorithms. In this devastating forensic takedown, noted legal expert Brandon L. Garrett poses the questions that should be asked in courtrooms every day....

This classic work explains the evolution of American political thought from the Declaration of Independence to the ratification of the Constitution. In so doing, it greatly illuminates the origins of the present American political system. 

Discover the science behind the most popular sci-fi franchise of all time. Capturing the imagination and hearts of crowds worldwide, Star Wars is a fantastic feat of science fiction and fantasy. We marvel at the variety of creatures and technology and the mystery behind the force. But how much of the Star Wars world is rooted in reality? Could we see some of the extraordinary inventions materialize in our world?

The Union is gone. Interstellar travel is no longer safe. Enter ex-Union Navy Officer Cliff Rawlins. More than four years after being wrongfully stripped of his rank and decorations in a court-martial stacked against him, ex-Union Navy Officer Cliff Rawlins suddenly finds himself a free man. The galaxy to which he returns, however, is changing. The Union of Free Planets is on the verge of dissolving. Many of the shadowy political players working behind the scenes to end the Union are the same people who sent Cliff away. Yet, in the coming political upheaval, Cliff glimpses an opportunity.

For 130 years historians and military strategists have been obsessed by the battle of Chancellorsville. It began with an audaciously planned stroke by Union general Joe Hooker as he sent his army across the Rappahannock River and around Robert E. Lee's lines. It ended with that same army fleeing back in near total disarray - and Hooker's reputation in ruins. This splendid account of Chancellorsville - the first in more than 35 years - explains Lee's most brilliant victory even as it places the battle within the larger canvas of the Civil War.

Irony and sarcasm are two of the most misused, misapplied, and misunderstood words in our conversational lexicon. In this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, psycholinguist Roger Kreuz offers an enlightening and concise overview of the life and times of these two terms, mapping their evolution from Greek philosophy and Roman rhetoric to modern literary criticism to emojis.

In 1957 the Soviet Union sent Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into space. America took up the challenge to explore the next frontier. A dozen years, and 25 billion dollars later, the mission of Apollo 11 would yield man's finest hour. For that was the first time man's foot left prints on another heavenly body. And that was only the beginning. Apollo 11 is the incredible story of how a nation forged the technology during the turbulent 1960s to slip humanity from the bonds of its native planet. This inside look remembers those who made the great enterprise succeed.

Nate is losing that last finger hold on his sanity: hallucinating and talking to creatures no one else can see. The demon inside of him is fighting for dominance, and only one of them can survive. But when Nate's extorted to rescue a chimera child from the Beast Master’s circus, his only option is to partner with his inner demon, risking his very soul. With allies turned enemies, the fae breathing down his neck, and a dangerous child’s life on the line, Nate must call upon new storybook legends to save his traitorous friends from becoming the Beast Master’s next victims.

In The Customer Service Revolution, DiJulius points out how numerous companies have made customer service their biggest competitive advantage, are dominating their industries, and have made price irrelevant. As a result of this customer service revolution, people are being treated differently, better, and in a way like never before. This is a result of how companies and management are treating their employees and how employees are treating each other and the customer - which ultimately permeates into people’s personal lives at home and in their communities.

It's been several years since John Smith became San Diego's supernatural mediator, and he's as surprised to still be alive as anyone. A lot of the credit goes to Anastasia, the vampire whose relationship status with John can be safely filed under 'It's complicated.' So, when Ana is imprisoned for the murder of Tomasso, King of the Italian Court, John drops everything to go to her defense. If he can find the real killer—and unravel a centuries-old mystery in the process—his trip to Rome might have a storybook ending. If he comes up empty, he'll lose more than just the woman he loves.

The United States of America has been the most powerful country in the world for more than 70 years, but recently the US National Security Strategy declared that the return of great power competition with Russia and China is the greatest threat to US national security. Further, many analysts predict that America's autocratic rivals will have at least some success in disrupting - and, in the longer term, possibly even displacing - US global leadership. Brilliant and engagingly written, The Return of Great Power Rivalry argues that this conventional wisdom is wrong.

It's almost Nate's birthday, so, he can cry if he wants to. That is, if he lives to see it.... Because a lot of people want him dead: his fiancée, his long-lost ancestor, the good wizards, the dark wizards, and.... Look, it's easier to list who doesn't want to kill him. To prevent a shifter-versus-wizard war, Nate steps in to draw a line in the sand, picking a fight with the deadliest magic slingers on the planet... and then he tries to rob them.

Jose had made the unfortunate decision to work with the cartel under the guise of providing a better life for his loving wife, five-year-old son, and newborn daughter. All too late, Jose learns that we are free to make any decision in life that we want, but it’s the consequences we cannot avoid. An eerie howl reminiscent of a haunted train pierces the night, signifying that the hunt has begun.

The White Ladies of San Diego are one of the city's supernatural powers, organized and led by Graciela. But now their leader is missing, and the Ladies have hired John Smith, mediator and sometimes-private-investigator, to find her. Which raises some questions: How do you track down a ghost? What if she doesn't want to be found? And if foul play was involved in her disappearance like the Ladies believe, how exactly? It's not like ghosts can be kidnapped . . . right?

Michael Covel’s Trend Following podcast has delivered millions of listens across 80+ countries for over a decade. On the podcast, Michael invites you to take a seat next to him as he interviews the world’s top traders. Encouraged by Michael’s skilled and knowledgeable questions, legendary guests reveal the best of their wisdom, strategies, guidance, and trading stories.

In Like, bestselling author and renowned strategist Martin Reeves and coauthor Bob Goodson—Silicon Valley veteran and participant in the invention of the like button—take listeners along on a fascinating quest to find out what's behind the world's friendliest icon. It's a story that starts out as simply as a thumbs-up cartoon but ends up presenting surprises and new mysteries at every turn, some of them as deep as anthropological history and others as speculative as the AI-charged future.

Jess was born a prisoner, grew up a prisoner, and at 16 knew he would die a prisoner. When his turn comes to try to break through the traps protecting a spaceship it seems his day to die has come. The ship, and others like it, have already claimed hundreds of prisoners' lives.