Showing results by narrator "Ron Butler" in All Categories

Brothers from different mothers, bromancing history to save us from Trump. These are the continuing adventures of Barack Obama and Joe Biden, time traveling superheroes in search of a brighter future for America. Moments after the inauguration of our 45th President, best friends Barack Obama and...

Ndiya Grayson returns to her childhood home of Chicago as a young professional, but even her high-end job in a law office can't protect her from half-repressed memories of childhood trauma. One evening, vulnerable and emotionally disarrayed, she goes out and meets her equal and opposite: Shame Luther, a no-nonsense construction worker by day and a self-taught piano player by night. The love story that ensues propels them on an unforgettable journey from Chicago's South Side to the coast of Kenya as they navigate the turbulence of long-buried pasts and an uncertain future.

In Part I, this book develops the Cognitive Amplifier Loop, which allows humans to use AI to build on their cognitive and emotional strengths and manage their limitations. Kosslyn discusses ways to employ this loop to offload tasks to AI and to utilize it to train us effectively and efficiently, as well as how to use it to both learn and engage in critical thinking and creative problem-solving—and manage cognitive and emotional constraints. Part II establishes how to draw on the Cognitive Amplifier Loop to help us improve our human relationships.

From the acclaimed author of the Harlem Detectives series, a powerful autobiographical novel about a black family tortured by colorism as it strives to live up to the myth of the Black middle class in white, post-war America Lillian Taylor has three sons, a comfortable house, and a well-liked...

How community-centered, peer-to-peer, youth knowledge exchanges are evolving into a strong economic and political foundation on which to build radical public education. Following in the rich traditions in African American cooperative economic and educational thought, teacher-organizer Jay Gillen...

An encompassing, visionary, many-threaded work, Now It’s Time to Say Goodbye is an American novel of great scope and nearly mythological intensity. This is the third volume of Gospel Harmonies, a series of seven stand-alone books that follow the character of John in various guises as he attempts to navigate the uneasy relationship between the self and the postmodern world.

During the scorching hot summer of 1988, Michael Dukakis leads George Bush senior in the polls. And while political conventions and campaigns continue to be in session, Hawk and the rest of the "button gang" sell their buttons first to Democrats in Atlanta, then Republicans in New Orleans. As always, the gang sells to either side of any persuasion, offering a unique underview of the American political process, amoral hucksterism, and a corrupted form of capitalism.

Hugo award-winning and New York Times bestselling author N. K. Jemisin sharply examines modern society in her first short story collection. 'The most celebrated science fiction and fantasy writer of her generation... Jemisin seems able to do just about everything' NEW YORK TIMES 'Smart, sharp...

With Cameron fighting for his life, Skye is forced to step up to the plate. She is on a vicious quest to get answers, as well as revenge, while still preparing for motherhood. Throughout her journey, Skye battles with the struggle of trying to remain true to her morals or succumbing to the dangerous lifestyle that she has been sucked into. Secrets are revealed, lies are exposed, and friendships are tested as the dramatic Power Trip continues.

In contrast to the ways in which young people have been portrayed by researchers, policymakers, law enforcement, and the media, Paula C. Austin draws on previously unstudied archival material to present black poor and working-class young people as thinkers, theorists, critics, and commentators as they reckon with the boundaries imposed on them in a Jim Crow city that was also the American emblem of equality.

Trainee doctor Hugh Densmore is on his way to a wedding in Phoenix. Just two days later, he is a suspect in a murder investigation. Set under a sweltering Arizona sun, The Expendable Man shows up the racial, social and moral tensions rife in 1960s America. Hugh Densmore picks up a young...

Sam Windsor’s parents and younger siblings, Grayson and Addie, are his whole world, so when his parents announce they’re separating, Sam is devastated. He’d do anything to make his parents change their minds and keep the family together. When a stranger offers a flute made of bone that supposedly grants the player’s wish, Sam doesn’t really believe it will work but figures he has nothing to lose. Surprisingly, the wish on the skeleton flute comes true. The next day, his parents are happily in love, with no plans for his dad to leave. 

Operation Treadstone made Jason Bourne, but he's not the only agent they trained. After the revival of Operation Treadstone, former operative Adam Hayes has retreated to Africa, determined to escape the black-ops CIA program for good. Hayes knows just how destructive the program can be, as it turns government agents into nearly superhuman assassins. But his quiet life in Africa changes irrevocably when Hayes is attacked by extremists while flying a charitable mission in Burkina Faso.

The emerging societies of the Caribbean in the 17th century were a riotous assembly of pirates, aristocrats, revolutionaries, and rogues - outcasts and fortune seekers all. In They're Cows, We're Pigs, acclaimed Mexican novelist Carmen Boullosa animates this world of bloody chaos and uncertain possibility through the eyes of the young Jean Smeeks, kidnapped in Flanders at age 13 and sold into indentured servitude on Tortuga, the mythical Treasure Island.

Adam Hayes has stepped away from the field for the very last time. He's promised his wife that he won't put his life on the line any more, and nothing will make him break that promise. Well... almost nothing. With America withdrawing from Afghanistan and the Taliban closing in, Abdul Nassir reaches out to his old partner, Hayes. Ten years ago, Nassir saved the American's life, and the time has come for repayment. Nassir is desperate to get his family out of the country. He is scared of the Taliban... but he can't trust the Americans either.

For Chicago's Oak Park and River Forest High School's Spoken Word Club, there is one phrase that reigns supreme: Respect the Mic. It's been the club's call to arms since its inception in 1999. As its founder Peter Kahn says, "It's a call of pride and history and tradition and hope." This vivid new collection of poetry and prose - curated by award-winning and bestselling poets Hanif Abdurraqib, Franny Choi, Peter Kahn, and Dan "Sully" Sullivan - illuminates just that, uplifting the incredible legacy this community has cultivated.

Blondy Baruti's boyhood in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was shaped by a desperate ordeal to survive. After marauding soldiers invaded his village, he, his mom, and his sister fled to the jungle to escape the atrocities and violence. Their odyssey ended some 16 months later when they finally reached safety - but Blondy's journey had only just begun. In an amazing true story that seems more like fiction, we see Blondy overcome incredible odds in pursuit of daring dreams that take him from his fight for survival in the Congolese jungle to a dazzling turn on an A-list red carpet.

An original and haunting voice unspools a dark magic novel that features an otherworldly circus, the Boy who becomes a Magician, and the villainous Mother whose sadism might end it all—perfect for fans of Our Share of Night and The Changeling Before the Magician, the novel’s unnamed central...

National Book Award winner and MacArthur Genius Fellow Charles Johnson reflects on the joys of being a grandparent in this warm, inspiring collection of wisdom and life lessons—the ideal gift for any new parent or grandparent An award-winning novelist, philosopher, essayist, screenwriter...

Washington would rather be playing basketball in the tournament instead of traveling to East Texas for a family reunion. He hates to read, but takes off on his own with a book to satisfy his parents. Washington travels back to the past where he encounters his ancestor Square and witnesses the brutal punishment of a slave when he is caught reading.