Showing results by narrator "Will Damron" in All Categories

Did the ancient Greeks and Romans have conspiracy theories? Did they come close to an industrial revolution? Did they drink beer? In a series of fast-paced essays, Insane Emperors, Sunken Cities, and Earthquake Machines answers 40 questions that ancient historian Garrett Ryan has been asked in the classroom and through his popular YouTube channel ToldinStone. As in Dr. Ryan's previous book—Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants—the emphasis is on the fascinating details of daily life in the classical world.

After the sudden death of her husband, Hope finds herself reeling from the loss in more ways than one. First a young wife and now a grieving widow, she feels like fodder for never-ending town gossip. But when Hope meets Will, a screenwriter back in town to run his family’s inn, she sees in him another resident oddball. And like her, Will has been navigating a loss of his own.

The new novel from prizewinning author Paolo Cognetti is a love story set in a tiny village high in the Italian Alps. Its protagonists, Fausto and Silvia, meet in winter, their relationship becoming a refuge in all senses, and the seasons, as well as the mountains, an integral part of their story together. It has a classic, enduring appeal, a cinematic feel, a captivating backdrop and a romantic sensibility underpinned by a spare, powerful prose style.

Following his best-selling The Detective in the Dooryard, Tim Cotton brings a fresh set of keen observations to his new collection. Drawing upon more than thirty years as Maine police office—and even longer as a born-and-bred Mainer—Cotton shares stories about life—in Maine and elsewhere—about his experiences, and about the people he's met along the way. With generous portions of wry Yankee wit and sage wisdom, this new collection will leave you laughing, crying, or maybe both at once.

I'm madly in love with my best friend. That right there—that's my secret. Trevor and I grew up next door to one another. Yes. He's the boy next door. Even now, we rent opposite sides of a duplex, and we work across the aisle from one another at The Corn Corners Tribune. Basically, there isn't a part of my life Trevor hasn't touched. I take that back. He hasn't touched me. He's made it clear we're in the friend zone, and whatever feelings he had for me were a passing thing for him, whereas mine keep growing like a Chia pet on a humid summer day in the Midwest.

In popular memory, Franklin Delano Roosevelt was the quintessential political “natural.” Born in 1882 to a wealthy, influential family and blessed with an abundance of charm and charisma, he seemed destined for high office. Yet for all his gifts, the young Roosevelt nonetheless lacked depth, empathy, and an ability to think strategically. Those qualities, so essential to his success as president, were skills he acquired during his seven-year journey through illness and recovery. 

A signal is detected at the outer edge of the solar system. Computational biologist Dr. Theo Cray and magician-turned-FBI-agent Jessica Blackwood are looking—and listening—a little closer. The man at the center of this cosmic mystery is billionaire Thomas T. Theismann. He’s spent a lifetime—and a fortune—trying to find out if we’re alone in the universe. Highly skeptical, Theo joins the effort to find the source of the signal, and he quickly enlists Jessica to look into the suspicious death of another academic at the lab.

On September 5th, 1934, a young beachcomber made a gruesome discovery on the shores of Cleveland’s Lake Erie: the lower half of a female torso, neatly severed at the waist. The victim, dubbed “The Lady of the Lake,” was only the first of a butcher’s dozen. Over the next four years, twelve more bodies would be scattered across the city. The bodies were dismembered with surgical precision and drained of blood. Some were beheaded while still alive.

Italy, 1943. The seeds of terror planted by Hitler have brought Allied forces to Italian soil. Young lovers separated by war—one near a Tuscan hill town, the other a soldier on the Sicilian front—will meet any challenge to reunite. 

In a small seaside city on the Jersey Shore, three half-siblings confront the death of a distant and bullying patriarch. They now have the chance to imagine new relationships and new futures, ones that would have been near-unthinkable while their father was alive. Caught in their crossfire are the conservative religious communities that border Asbury Park, the longtime locals who have been pushed to the fringe by the shore’s revitalization, and the legendary town upon which the whole world seems to converge.

From the acclaimed author of Ninety-Two in the Shade and Cloudbursts—the stories of Gallatin Canyon are rich in the wit, compassion, and matchless language for which Thomas McGuane is celebrated. Set mostly in famed Big Sky Country, McGuane brings us an "astonishing" (The New York Times Book Review) collection in which place exerts the power of destiny.

A collection of 13 stories of great range, verve, and humor from the highly acclaimed author of Cloudbursts and Ninety-two in the Shade.

You know those stories where high-school sweethearts reunite to find their happily-ever-after bliss together? Well, that won't be me. Sure, my ex-boyfriend, Rob, has the smolder down to a science—which makes sense, because to him, everything is science. He's a famous YouTuber, making a living using that beautiful brain of his. He's destined for greatness...which means he'll leave...again. And this time, I won't be falling for him. The battle is on. Rob thinks he'll win me back, but I'm fighting him with all I've got.

If you had asked me if I'd ever be dating Chris St. James, well, let's just say it's more likely Jimmy Choo would name a shoe after me, which, Jimmy, if you're out there, the Ella Mae would definitely be a big seller. Call me, Mkay? But, back to Chris. Sure, he's handsome. I mean, his arms are as big as my legs! He's got those lips that would make Michelangelo pause and grab a rock to start sculpting. And when you top his looks off with the whole hero-vibe he has going for him, yes, he's a fine specimen of manhood.

Husbands Thomas and Matt are enjoying a second-chance marriage after coming out, leaving their wives, and finding happiness in a summer cottage on the southern coast of Maine. They’ve kept a tenuous peace with their exes. Thomas toils in the garden. There is an ease to their love. This is the way life should be. But it’s not long before their three children—each nearing adulthood and fleeing personal crises of their own—descend on their fathers’ bliss. The two-bedroom getaway has just enough space for Thomas and Matt’s future. Now they must make room for the past, and all its drama.

Brooks and I met three years ago when my best friend's boyfriend held a party to propose to her in front of all their friends—in the middle of his goat farm. Yes. You heard me. His goat farm. When my eyes traveled across the driveway that night and landed on Brooks, I didn't count to ten. I didn't consult the saints. I took off at a casual pace, walking straight toward him, my hips swaying and my head held high. How could I not? Here in the middle of podunk Ohio stood the most captivating man I'd ever laid eyes on.

My man-free life is going along fine until the day I walk into my new job as a part-time tutor to the daughter of the new doctor in town. The sight of this man is making my skin tingle and my breath hitch, and something very much like butterflies are erupting in my stomach. Butterflies! I don’t do butterflies over a man. My reaction doesn’t mean I need to change my stance on men. After all, Grant’s a broody, stern, cantankerous man. If I were going to start dating, it certainly wouldn’t be someone who obviously hasn’t smiled since he was forced to for school pictures.

Noted nature writer Ted Williams invites listeners along on a year-long immersion in the wild and fleeting moments of the natural world, from winter candy and spring quackers to summer’s scarlet farewell and autumn reveilles. This beautifully crafted collection of short, seasonal essays combines in-depth information with evocative descriptions of nature’s marvels and mysteries.

In "Strange Highways," a floundering alcoholic gets a mysterious second chance to relive the night his life began its downward spiral 20 years ago. But on this dark journey, he’ll be supremely tested by conflict with his successful, charismatic older brother, his loss of faith, and the clash between good and the ultimate evil. Sink into this binge-worthy collection of beloved Koontz short stories, featuring denizens of hell, vengeful children, and eerily human-like robots that will send shivers down your spine.

In this riveting work of narrative nonfiction, Jonathan Darman tells the story of two giants of American politics, Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan, and shows how, from 1963 to 1966, these two men—the same age, and driven by the same heroic ambitions—changed American politics forever.