Showing results by narrator "Johnny Heller" in All Categories

We like to think of ourselves, our friends, and our families as decent people. We may not be saints, but we are still honest, relatively kind, and mostly trustworthy. Christian Miller argues here that we are badly mistaken in thinking this. Hundreds of recent studies in psychology tell a different story: that we all have serious character flaws that prevent us from being as good as we think we are - and that we do not even recognize that these flaws exist. 

Award-winning toy maker Tim Kehoe - creator of the world’s first colored bubbles - pens a funfilled tale about a brilliant young inventor. When Vincent Shadow moves from New York to Minnesota, he is forced to leave behind most of the toys he created in his lab. Worse yet, he no longer experiences the visions that have always given him ideas. Down in the dumps, Vincent catches a break when he meets toy creator Howard G. Whiz, who is sponsoring an invention contest.

In this new biography of General Donn Starry, armor officer Mike Guardia examines the life and work of this pioneering, crusading officer using extracts from interviews with veterans and family and from Starry's personal papers.

Amos Barshad has long been fascinated by the powerful. But not by elected officials or natural leaders - he's interested in their scheming advisors, the dark figures who wield power in the shadows. And, as Barshad shows in No One Man Should Have All That Power, the natural habitat of these manipulators is not only political backrooms. It's anywhere power dynamics exist - from Hollywood to drug cartels, from recording studios to the NFL.

A teacher at a New England prep school ignites a gender war—with deadly consequences—in this dark and provocative novel by the bestselling author of The Passenger “Suspenseful and utterly riveting!”—Tess Gerritsen When Alexandra Witt joins the faculty at Stonebridge Academy, she’s...

In late 1960s Oakland, young T-Bird Murphy's life is more miserable and frightening than most kids can imagine. His mother spends her time with the local Hell's Angels, drenched in alcohol and drugs. His father is a volatile ex-con. Struggling in a community plagued by gang violence and racial feuding, T-Bird picks up a trumpet and finds solace in the soulful wailing of jazz music.

Poetry doesn’t matter to most people, observes Jay Parini at the opening of this book. But, undeterred, he commences a deeply felt meditation on poetry, its language and meaning, and its power to open minds and transform lives. By the end of the book, Parini has recovered a truth often obscured by our clamorous culture: without poetry, we live only partially, not fully conscious of the possibilities that life affords.

Incredible stories about animals and the people who love them In Best Friends Forever!, you’ll meet four unlikely pairs that prove love knows no bounds. There’s Suryia and Roscoe, the orangutan and dog swim buddies; Owen the baby hippo and his hero, the tortoise Mzee; Koko, the gorilla that...

Second in a series of novels based on the original comic strip sequences. Thrill to: a spaceship captured in a magnetic field and pulled beneath the earth into an underground city. Flash Gordon jumps to safety, only to be caught in the web of a giant man-eating spider, then saved by a titian-haired beauty.

In 1978, Kim "Howard" Johnson ran away to join the circus - Monty Python's Flying Circus, that is. The Pythons converged on Tunisia to film their timeless classic Life of Brian, and Howard found himself in the thick of it, doubling for nearly all the Pythons, playing more roles in the film than John Cleese, and managing to ruin only one shot. He became the unit journalist, substitute still photographer, Roman soldier, peasant, near-stalker, and, ultimately, friend and confidant of the comedy legends.

Here's an etiquette book that teens will want to read - because it keeps them laughing, doesn't preach, and deals with issues that matter to them, as teens themselves reported in a nationwide survey. In How Rude!, author Alex J. Packer blends outrageous humor with sound advice as he guides readers through the mysterious world of manners from A ("Applause") to Z ("Zits").

"Everything about me is in my films," Steven Spielberg has said. Taking this as a key to understanding the hugely successful moviemaker, Molly Haskell explores the full range of Spielberg's works for the light they shine upon the man himself. Through such powerhouse hits as E.T., Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones, to less-appreciated movies like the haunting Schindler's List, Haskell shows how Spielberg's uniquely evocative filmmaking and story-telling reveal the many ways in which his life, work, and times are entwined.

From hippo attacks on the Okavango River to Chitina headwaters in Alaska, this chapter book is full of raging rivers and thrilling adventures. With gripping - and TRUE - stories of incredible adventures, extreme excursions, and ultimate survival, White Water! will have you on the edge of your...

Liar [ˈlī(-ə)r] (n): 1. A person who tells lies. 2. A writer. In this gripping new audio collection you’ll find 15 tales of deceit and deception, perjury and prevarication, falsehoods and fibs, spun by some of the finest liars in the business.

Set in the lawless Wild West, the hidden world of Victorian London, and the present-day hell of Hollywood, Cry of Thunder: Sherlock Holmes & Kolchak the Night Stalker follows Holmes' trail of a man who was wrongfully - and willingly - imprisoned; a shocking New World Order anarchy; a beautiful woman who needs Kolchak to delve into the surreal past; and the shunned man who holds the key.

Anna Marie St. Clair was a normal Wisconsin-farm-girl-turned-mistress when she was framed for the murder of her racketeer boyfriend, one of Chicago’s sleaziest politicians. Sentenced to death, and only hours from getting fried, a lucky hitch sets Anna Marie free, but she blackmails the corrupt warden into informing the tabloids that she took her volts like a real trouper. What better payback than to haunt the lives of those who tried to steal hers? As the shapeliest ghost in the Windy City, she’s going to prove that dying well is the best revenge.

Returning home to earth after discovering an alien race of warriors who are bent on taking over the world, Flash Gordon and his companions, Dale Arden and Dr. Hans Zarkov find themselves caught in a web of intrigue. Declared outlaws by the very people they had come to warn, they must find a way to protect the earth from its destroyers and to survive.

Sitting around poppin' pork cracklins and watching the tube, Grampa and Wiley witness to the awesomest TV commercial they've ever seen: Colonel Dracula's Monster Truck Spectacular is in town! Then the local weatherman breaks in with a dire warning: an F5 tornado could blow through at any minute! So what does a responsible guardian like Grampa do? When Gramma isn't looking, he and Wiley sneak out of the house bound for the monster-truck extravaganza, of course!

Jerry Morgan, a man with no future on Earth, is offered a new life on Mars. He starts out on the wrong foot, meeting a princess and killing the fearsome-looking Martian beast he takes to be menacing her, which actually turns out to be her pet. From there Morgan becomes entangled in the politics of the Byzantine Martian royal court, spurns the advances of a would-be lover, escapes his hosts and role as an expendable political pawn. Various adventures follow, with dazzling swordplay and feats of strength.

What defines Boston? Its history? Its landmarks? Its sports teams and shrines? Perhaps the question should be, who defines Boston? From Henry David Thoreau to Dennis Lehane, Boston has been beloved by many of America's greatest writers, and there is no better group of men and women to capture the heart and soul of the Hub. In Our Boston, editor Andrew Blauner has collected both original and reprinted essays from Boston-area writers past and present, all celebrating the city they love.