Showing results by narrator "James A. Gillies" in All Categories

Epicurus of Samos (341-270 BCE) was the founder of the philosophical system to which he gave his name: Epicureanism. It is a label that is often misused and misunderstood today, with ‘a life of pleasure’ as the key aim misinterpreted as a life of indulgence. In fact, the philosophy of Epicurus demonstrated also by his life, was anything but! He established a school in Athens called The Garden, underpinned by his system of ethics.

When James Denis is arrested for murder and lands himself in Newgate, it falls to me to prove his innocence. I have nowhere to start but in a dark street in Seven Dials and the name of the unknown man Denis is supposed to have killed. I soon find myself beleaguered by enemies from Denis’s past, secret societies, and a host of people who want Denis to hang. In addition I receive word from a mysterious young woman I haven't heard from in years who now seeks my help.

Though uncompromising, polemical and argumentative, Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) made a lasting impact on 19th-century culture as a multi-talented man of letters. And though his lengthy history of the French Revolution proved his major scholarly legacy, On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History remains perhaps his most popular and accessible work. It presented his deep-seated belief that ‘Universal History, the history of what man has accomplished in this world, is at bottom the History of the Great Men who have worked here’.

Raised in a lush suburb of 1920s Paris, Noor Inayat Khan was an introspective musician and writer, dedicated to her family and to her father’s spiritual values of harmony, beauty, and tolerance. She did not seem destined for wartime heroism. Yet, faced with the evils of Nazi violence and the German occupation of France, Noor joined the British Special Operations Executive and trained in espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance. For crucial months of the war, Noor was the only wireless operator in France sending critical information to London.

Herbert George Wells was one of the most prolific and visionary British writers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. H. G. Wells is now best remembered for his science fiction novels, although he wrote across many genres, including nonfiction. His fiction embraces history, science fiction, horror, satire, fantasy, and social commentary. Wells was also a futurist, foreseeing air travel, tanks (as in “The Land Ironclads” - part of this anthology) space travel, nuclear weapons, and even satellite television.

Installing agile tools and practices won’t be enough to respond to rapid market change unless you lay the groundwork with six key enabling factors, identified by the United Kingdom’s leading agile consulting firm, Agile Centre. From years of experience certifying people in agile leadership, product ownership, and scrum mastery, Karim Harbott has created a model that will help your organization achieve all six factors required for success. This audiobook will help leaders get realistic about the scope of the changes needed in their organization and show them how to get started.

A businessman disappears, last seen by old friends. DI Munro must cut through a densely woven web of deceit to find out who killed him and why. Two families have been friends for years, but resentment simmers under the surface. Despite those who are protecting their own interests, the culprit is found - leading to a wider investigation that takes them to Oslo, deep into the past of a troubled Polish man....

On September 14, 2015, after 50 years of searching, gravitational waves were detected for the first time, and astronomy changed forever. Up until then, investigation of the universe had depended on electromagnetic radiation: visible light, radio, X-rays, and the rest. But gravitational waves - ripples in the fabric of space and time - are unrelenting, passing through barriers that stop light dead.

How does a one-hit-point goblin become the Dark Lord? By accident. Bert is a tiny goblin with big dreams. He follows adventurers, and loots the copper they leave behind when they take the real loot. One day, Bert hopes, he'll have enough copper to buy a warg, and finally promote from a one-HP critter to a Warg Rider. Kit is a typical gamer hoping to enjoy a good story, but her friends are more interested in rules, loot and experience.

This book is aimed at newcomers to the field of logical reasoning, particularly those who, to borrow a phrase from Pascal, are so made that they understand best through visuals. I have selected a small set of common errors in reasoning and visualized them using memorable illustrations that are supplemented with lots of examples. The hope is that the reader will learn from these pages some of the most common pitfalls in arguments and be able to identify and avoid them in practice. For the audiobook version, the illustrations have been replaced with short sketches, voiced in a variety of accents.

Will he sacrifice everything to avenge a wrongful death...even the love of a lifetime? England, 1192. Geoffrey de Lanceau burns for revenge, no matter how dishonorable. Refusing to believe his slain father was a traitor, the bitter lord vows to see justice at any cost. So when he rescues a beautiful damsel and discovers she's the daughter of his sworn enemy, he trades his urge to kiss her senseless for a cunning plan of retribution.

Breakthroughs such as personalized genomics, drones, self-driving vehicles, and artificial intelligence could make our lives healthier, safer, and easier. On the other hand, the same technologies raise the specter of a frightening future - eugenics, a jobless economy, a complete loss of privacy, and ever-worsening economic inequality. Wadhwa says that we need to ask three questions about every emerging technology: Does it have the potential to benefit everyone equally? What are the risks and the rewards? And does it promote autonomy or dependence?

The City of London, 1678. New Year’s Day. Twelve years have passed since the Great Fire ripped through the City. Eighteen since the fall of Oliver Cromwell and the restoration of a King. London is gripped by hysteria, and rumors of Catholic plots and sinister foreign assassins abound. When the body of a young boy drained of his blood is discovered on the snowy bank of the Fleet River, Robert Hooke, the Curator of Experiments at the just-formed Royal Society for Improving Natural Knowledge, and his assistant Harry Hunt, are called in to explain such a ghastly finding.

Competence is the most highly valued professional trait. But it’s not enough to be competent, you have to convey your competence. World-renowned negotiation and deception detection expert, business professor, and mentalist Jack Nasher offers effective, proven techniques to convince others that we are talented, trustworthy, and yes, even brilliant. With Nasher’s help you can showcase your expertise, receive the recognition you deserve, and achieve lasting success.

From birth, Catriona Campbell and Alasdair Og MacDonald are enemies - for he is the second son of her clan's most powerful foe. Yet from the moment they meet, they know they will lie in each other's arms someday. But their love, for centuries forbidden, comes at the most dangerous of times, as they become pawns of war... and of history.

Over and over, we see big legacy businesses getting beaten to the punch by energetic little start-ups. It seems like innovation can come from only the bottom up or from the outside in. But tech experts Vivek Wadwha and Ismail Amla are here to tell you that “big equals slow and stodgy” is a myth. Based on decades of experience working with both the world’s leading brands and disruptive start-ups, this audiobook explores the opportunity legacy companies have to create new markets, supercharge growth, and remake their businesses.

Sorcha dún Scoti has known her whole life she is different. Now, the future of her clan is in doubt, and Una, their beloved seer, is gone. The youngest dún Scoti inherits Una's keek stane - and with it, the gift of sight. Here, the truth of her birth is revealed. Betrayed by her kinsmen and seeking answers, Sorcha must journey to a remote Island in the Outer Hebrides, where she hopes to reunite with Una. But despite her gift of sight, the truth holds perils Sorcha cannot foresee....

For Graham it was a blessed sleep in a stranger's armchair after countless nights of excruciating insomnia. For Isbister it was a duty owed to a broken man encountered accidentally on a cliff path. For Ostrog it was the fulfilment of his life’s ambition. For humanity it was a stark choice. Slavery or freedom? After two centuries the Sleeper awakes. But does he bring with him the seeds of redemption or destruction?

When Gisela Anne Balewyne comes face-to-face with handsome knight Dominic de Terre, she fears her dangerous secrets have caught up with her. The small town of Clovebury seemed the perfect place to hide from her abusive husband, raise her young son, and earn a living as a tailor while she saved to move north and start a new life. Seeing Dominic—the lord she loved and then lost when he went on crusade—renews her desire for him, but she can never be with him again, and not just because she's a commoner and he's a nobleman. Loving him would mean risking too much, including his life.

It is 1244 and the Castle of Montsegur is under siege. Trapped in the small fortress perched high in the Pyrenees, Cathars and their supporters fight to avoid death on the pyre at the hands of the Catholic Church. Amidst the carnage and mayhem of war, a woman mysteriously appears to Cathar Perfect, Bertrand Marty; a woman with a tale to tell. Two worlds collide, Judea and France, as she unfolds a story of shattering proportions, revealing secrets, both dangerous and devastating, which have been hidden for centuries in the annals of a Fifth gospel.