Showing results by narrator "James Cronin" in All Categories

Crayons have feelings, too, in this funny back-to-school story -- now a #1 New York Times bestseller! Poor Duncan just wants to color. But when he opens his box of crayons, he finds only letters, all saying the same thing: His crayons have had enough! They quit! Beige Crayon is tired of playing...

David Young, Deacon Price, and Beth Harris live with a dark secret. As children, they survived a religious group's horrific last days at the isolated mountain Red Peak. Years later, the trauma of what they experienced never feels far behind. When a fellow survivor commits suicide, they finally reunite and share their stories. Long-repressed memories surface, defying understanding and belief. Why did their families go down such a dark road? What really happened on that final night? The answers lie buried at Red Peak.

Arguably the greatest extreme skier to ever live, Doug Coombs pioneered hundreds of first descents down the biggest, steepest, most dangerous mountains in the world - from the Grand Teton "Otter Body" in Jackson Hole; to Mount Vinson, the highest point in Antarctica; to far-flung drops such as Wyatt Peak in Kyrgyzstan. He graced magazine covers, wowed moviegoers, became the face of top ski companies, and ascended as the king of big-mountain extreme skiing.

The war with the Tahni has dragged on for over two years, taking its toll on the lives of all involved. On the Aphrodite colony, Marine turned cybernetic commando Ryan Hendrix is readying his civilian militia to make one final strike against the enemy, in what they know could be a suicide mission. Back in Commonwealth space, Travis Miller and his task force have finally been given clearance to take back the occupied colony system, but the Tahni have had a year to prepare their defenses and the price in blood will be dear.

Over its long history, Florida has been many things: a native realm protected by geography; a wilderness that ruined Spanish conquistadors; a place to start over; "god's waiting room". With a native population as high as 900,000 (who all died), it became a pestilential backwater with a few thousand inhabitants, but today is our fourth most populous state, with 19 million. The site of vicious racial violence, including massacres, slavery, and the roll-back of Reconstruction, Florida is now one of our most diverse states, a dynamic multicultural place with an essential role in 21st century America.

When Dan McCarthy stumbles upon a folder containing evidence of the conspiracy to end all conspiracies - a top-level alien cover-up - he leaks the files without a second thought. The incredible truth revealed by Dan's leak immediately captures the public's imagination, but Dan's relentless commitment to exposing the cover-up and forcing disclosure quickly earns him some enemies in high places.

The good guys won the battle, but the war goes on. Wash Williams has been recruited to help Brian Reeves and the Delta Force team close gates to the worlds controlled by the Hive-Mind, while back on Thacia, Valon does the same thing from the other side. But new gates continue to open, and unless someone can figure out how to stop the effect, it will keep spreading and the war will never end.

Adventurer on the Run! Once Shandril was a humble kitchen maid. Now she's one of the most powerful magic-users in the land. And a lot of people want her dead. The evil Zhentarim, the powerful Cult of the Dragon—all of them want her spellfire, and they'll kill whoever they must to get it. There's only one thing for Shandril to do: run. With the aid of Elminster of Shadowdale, the Knights of Myth Drannor, her lover, and a determined dwarf, she'll wield her magic for the cause of good. But if her magic becomes too powerful, her friends won’t have a choice.

Although the king's illegitimate son had promised he would never seek the throne, he breaks his oath and gets himself into so much trouble that his only hope lies in rescue by the greatest Paladin...who won't be born for another 500 years.

This first full-scale history of the development of the American suburb examines how "the good life" in America came to be equated with the a home of one's own surrounded by a grassy yard and located far from the urban workplace. Integrating social history with economic and architectural analysis, and taking into account such factors as the availability of cheap land, inexpensive building methods, and rapid transportation, Kenneth Jackson chronicles the phenomenal growth of the American suburb from the middle of the 19th century to the present day.

Terribly wounded during the battle for Hermes, Ryan Hendrix was repaired with cybernetics, transformed into a weapon by Fleet Intelligence...and covertly dropped onto the enemy-occupied colony at Aphrodite to sabotage the enemy and build up a civilian resistance. While Ryan fights the real battle behind enemy lines, Travis Miller and Jessica Leer struggle with politics...and their new commands.

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.

Cursed by a blind witch in a remote corner of Waristan, Special Ops Captain Jason Wolfe finds himself transforming into a creature of local legend, a lupine referred to in fearful whispers as Blue Wolf. Faster, stronger, and more lethal, he’s the perfect soldier - but not for the US military. To break the curse, Jason must join a war between ancient tribal foes: blue werewolves and the formidable White Dragon. In a battle spanning from the peaks of Central Asia to the valleys of Manhattan, Jason will push himself to the breaking point.

Something was coming. Arlo felt certain about that. For Arlo Finch and the Rangers of Pine Mountain Company, summer camp is more than canoeing and hiking. It's also a chance to search for ancient forest spirits and discover mysterious messages encoded in tree bark. But when Arlo and his best friends Indra and Wu stumble upon clues about the long-lost Yellow Patrol, Arlo uncovers a stunning history that leads right back to his very own family.

The situation is dire. The Alliance is crumbling. Thine, Pleidian, and Human civilizations are each at a crossroads for their very survival. Captain Galvin Quintos has a plan to defeat the Grish and the far more dangerous Varapin. But to pull this off, he’ll have to go it alone, cut ties with the US Space-Navy, and become a true outlaw - a full-fledged pirate. That and say goodbye to his loyal friend Derrota, Admiral Block, and Captain Gail Pristy. Feeling he may have just jumped from the frying pan into the fire, Quintos is forced to build new strategic alliances with the Pylors.

They came in peace. But that was last time.... As the world gears up for the first anniversary of Contact Day, Dan McCarthy’s year-long effort to stay out of the limelight collapses in an instant. A direct call from the Messengers throws Dan into urgent action, but the fallout plants a troubling seed of doubt: This time, maybe they didn’t come here to help....

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.

On the early morning of March 16, 1968, American soldiers from three platoons of Charlie Company entered a group of hamlets located in the Son Tinh district of South Vietnam, located near the Demilitarized Zone and known as "Pinkville" because of the high level of Vietcong infiltration. The soldiers, many still teenagers who had been in the country for three months, were on a "search and destroy" mission. Three hours after the GIs entered the hamlets, more than 500 unarmed villagers lay dead, killed in cold blood.

As the relentless approach of a truly gargantuan mothership sparks chaos on Earth, many believe the end times are here. The unknown beings are more technologically advanced than humanity can even comprehend, let alone match. For the first time since Dan McCarthy's initial contact with aliens a full 16 years earlier, the whole world is united against an existential threat. But while billions understandably cower in fear, a few stand defiant. A showdown is coming. And be it on Earth or in space, the McCarthys will be there.

After a harrowing summer camp, Arlo Finch is back in Pine Mountain, Colorado, preparing to face a new school, new threats, and two new Rangers in Blue Patrol. Arlo is about to undertake his most dangerous journey yet: all the way to China to try to bring his father home. But when the mysterious Eldritch reveal their true agenda, Arlo must make an impossible choice: save his friends and family, or save the Long Woods. Both worlds will never be the same.