Christian Baskous has narrated 42 audiobooks on Listento.it by 19 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 2,000 ratings. The most-rated is American Buffalo.
Pulp
Summary
Opening with the exotic Lady Death entering the gumshoe-writer's seedy office in pursuit of a writer named Celine, this novel demonstrates Bukowski's own brand of humour and realism, opening up a landscape of seamy Los Angeles.
©1994 Charles Bukowski (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
Skeleton Key
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author James Rollins comes a thrilling short story that delves deep beneath the city of Paris to a dark necropolis where the only means of escape is...The Skeleton Key. Seichan is ripped out of the Sigma series for an adventure all her own - but can she survive? The beautiful and elusive assassin wakes in a hotel in Paris with a deadly electronic collar fastened to her throat. Joined by a boy who is similarly threatened, she must rescue the son of a hated enemy, who has fallen under the sway of the nefarious leader of an apocalyptic cult. To survive she must venture into the dark world beneath the City of Lights, into the infamous catacombs of Paris. Caught between two enemies, she must fight for her life...while time ticks down toward a fiery apocalypse. But in the dark, surrounded by the moldering bones of the dead, even success does not equal survival. In the end the only true hope for the world lies in a stunning act of betrayal. Included with this short story is a sneak peek at the first 70 pages of The Devil Colony, where a clue unlocked by The Skeleton Key will play a key role.
©2011 James Czajkowski (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Modern Warriors
Summary
From FOX & Friends Weekend cohost Pete Hegseth comes a collection of inspiring stories from 15 of America’s greatest heroes - highly decorated Navy SEALs, Army Rangers, marines, Purple Heart recipients, combat pilots, a Medal of Honor recipient, and more - based on FOX Nation’s hit show of the same name. After three Army deployments - earning two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge - Pete Hegseth knows what it takes to be a modern warrior. In Modern Warriors, he presents candid, unfiltered conversations with fellow modern warriors and digs for real answers to key questions like: What inspired them to serve? What is their legacy? What does sacrifice really mean to them? How do they handle loss? And what can civilians learn from this latest generation of veterans? From the skies over Afghanistan to the seas of the Mediterranean to the treacherous streets of Iraq, these brave men and women take you inside the firefight, sharing the harrowing realities of war. Hegseth uses their experiences to facilitate conversations about the raw truths of combat, including the difficulties of transitioning back home, while also celebrating these soldiers’ contributions to preserving our nation’s most precious gift - freedom. These stories provide an unvarnished representation of battlefield leadership, military morale, and the strain of war. This book is the perfect for anyone who wants to know what it means, and what it truly takes, to be a patriot. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2020 Pete Hegseth (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Hollywood
Summary
Bukowski's alter ego, Henry Chinaski, returns, revelling in his eternal penchant for booze, women, and horse-racing as he makes the precarious journey from poet to screenwriter. Based on Bukowski's experiences when working on the film Barfly, the absurdity and egotism of the film industry are laid bare in this deadpan, touching, and funny glimpse into the endless negotiations and back-stabbings of la-la land. Hollywood is an irreverent jaunt that serves up the beating heart of Hollywood with razor-sharp humour.
©1989 Charles Bukowski (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
City of Screams
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author James Rollins and award-winning suspense novelist Rebecca Cantrell comes a disturbing story of vengeance, bloodshed, and creatures that prowl the night. In the haunted, war-torn highlands of Afghanistan, amid the ruins of Shahr-e-Gholghol, an archaeology team is massacred in the night. Sergeant Jordan Stone and his crack forensic team are called in to examine the site, to hunt for the perpetrators of this horrific act. But the discovery of a survivor - a child of 10 - will shatter all the team knows about life and death. Among the crumbling bones of dead kings, something hoary and murderous stirs out of the ancient past, lurching forward to claim vengeance on those still living. Included with this thrilling story is a sneak peek at The Blood Gospel, where the further exploits of Sergeant Stone and his team will be revealed.
©2012 James Czajkowski (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Brief Encounters with Che Guevara
Summary
The well-meaning protagonists of Brief Encounters with Che Guevara are caught - to both disastrous and hilarious effect - in the maelstrom of political and social upheaval surrounding them. Ben Fountain's prize-winning debut speaks to the intimate connection between the foreign, the familiar, and the inescapably human.
©2006 Ben Fountain (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers
Sacred Clowns
Summary
First there was the trouble at Saint Boneventure boarding school. A teacher is dead, a boy is missing, and a councilwoman has put a lot of pressure on Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn and Officer Jim Chee to find her grandson. Sitting on a rooftop watching sacred clowns perform their antics in a Pueblo ceremony, Chee spots the boy. Then, suddenly, the crowd is in commotion. One of the clowns has been savagely murdered. Without a single clue, Chee and Leaphorn must follow a serpentine trail through the Indian clans and nations, seeking the thread that links two brutal murders, a missing teenager, a band of lobbyists trying to put a toxic dump site on Pueblo land, and an invaluable memento given to the tribes by Abraham Lincoln in a fast-paced, flawless mystery that is Hillerman at his lyrical, evocative, spellbinding best.
©1993 Tony Hillerman (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
Chumps to Champs
Summary
The untold story of the time when the New York Yankees were a laughingstock - and how out of that abyss emerged the modern Yankees dynasty, one of the greatest in all of sports The New York Yankees have won 27 world championships and 40 American League pennants, both world records. They have 26 members in the Hall of Fame. Their pinstripe swag is a symbol of "making it" worn across the globe. Yet some 25 years ago, from 1989 to 1992, the Yankees were a pitiful team at the bottom of the standings, sitting on a 14-year World Series drought and a 35 percent drop in attendance. To make the statistics worse, their mercurial, bombastic owner was banned from baseball. But out of these ashes emerged the modern Yankees dynasty, a juggernaut built on the sly, a brilliant mix of personalities, talent, and ambition. In Chumps to Champs, Pennington reveals a grand tale of revival. Listeners encounter larger-than-life characters like George Steinbrenner and unexplored figures like award-winning manager Buck Showalter, Don Mattingly, and the crafty architect of it all - general manager Gene Michael, who assembled the team's future stars - Rivera, Jeter, Williams, O'Neill, and Pettitte. Drawing on unique access, Pennington tells a wild and raucous tale.
©2019 Bill Pennington (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Unrestricted Access
Summary
Experience the exciting breadth of number one New York Times best-selling author James Rollins’s wild imagination and adventurous spirit in this anthology of his short masterworks, including a new full-length novella featuring Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane, as well as 11 previously published short stories, gathered together for the first time. In this breathtaking collection of short fiction, his first ever anthology, James Rollins brings together 12 thrilling stories that dig a little deeper into his creative stomping grounds and open vistas into new landscapes and characters. At the center of Unrestricted Access is the never-before-published novella "Sun Dogs.” While trekking through the Sonora desert, a gunshot thrusts Tucker and Kane into an adventure that challenges their considerable skills. The discovery of secrets known only to the native tribes of Arizona threatens to unleash an ancient force that could irreparably alter the future. It also forces Tucker to make a terrible choice that will shatter his relationship with his soul-bonded companion Kane. As these partners learn, nothing remains buried forever and old debts must be paid, no matter the cost. Other stories - each with an introduction by James Rollins - are just as compelling, offering broader insight into this acclaimed master’s fictional universes, including: “The Pit”: a young dog is kidnapped and brutalized into becoming the bloody champion of a dog-fighting ring. But can this tortured monster find redemption and a path back to the boy who first raised him with love and compassion? “Tagger”: A pair of teenage street artists must protect San Francisco from a demon who has been seeking revenge for centuries. “The Devil’s Bones”: In this jungle adventure - the first joint story from Rollins and Steve Berry - Commander Gray Pierce and Cotton Malone must work together using their unique skills to survive a deadly threat. The stories “The Midnight Watch,” “The Skeleton Key,” “Tracker,” and “Kowalski's in Love” shine light into some of Sigma Force’s secrets. Who were these characters before they were recruited by Sigma? What solo adventures did they experience? How do these short adventures tie into the larger Sigma universe? Rollins offers some clues. And rounding out this collection are a pair of entertaining stories “Blood Brothers” and “City of Screams” that complement The Order of the Sanguines series. Filled with adventure, intrigue, history, and speculative science, Unrestricted Access demonstrates Rollins’s remarkable creative powers and is a must-have collection for his many fans.
©2020 James Rollins (P)2020 HarperCollins Publishers
Uniform Justice
Summary
When Venetian detective Commissario Guido Brunetti is called to investigate a presumed suicide in Venice's elite military academy, his inquiries are immediately met with a wall of silence. The young man is the son of a doctor and former politician, a man of an impeccable integrity all too rare in Italian politics. Dr. Moro seems devastated by his son's death; but while both he and his apparently estranged wife seem convinced that the boy would not have committed suicide, neither appears eager to talk to the police or to involve Brunetti in any kind of investigation into their son's death. Is the silence that confronts Brunetti the natural reluctance of Italians to involve themselves with the authorities, or is he facing a conspiracy far greater than this one death?
©2003 Donna Leon and Diogenes Verlag AG Zurich (P)2004 BBC Audiobooks America
Talking God
Summary
Reunited by a grave robber and a corpse, Navajo Tribal Police Lieutenant Joe Leaphorn is trying to determine the identity of a murder victim, while Officer Jim Chee is arresting Smithsonian conservator Henry Highhawk for ransacking the sacred bones of his ancestors. But with each peeled-back layer, it becomes shockingly clear that these two cases are mysteriously connected - and that others are pusuing Highhawk, with lethal intentions. And the search for answers to a deadly puzzle is pulling Leaphorn and Chee into the perilous arena of superstition, ancient ceremony, and living gods.
©1989 Tony Hillerman (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
Blood Brothers
Summary
From New York Times best-selling authors James Rollins and Rebecca Cantrell comes a dark story of murder, mystery, and a brotherhood steeped in a bloody past. As a young reporter, Arthur Crane exposed the secrets behind the Orchid Killer, a cult murderer from the late '60s whose crimes blackened the end of the Summer of Love. Half a century later, Arthur wakes to find an orchid resting on his pillow, a symbol of death from a killer connected to his estranged younger brother, Christian. To discover the horrifying truth, Arthur will risk all - even his very soul - for Christian may not be the brother that Arthur remembers.... Included with this chilling story is a sneak peek at Innocent Blood, the second book in the Order of the Sanguines series.
©2013 James Czajkowski and Rebecca Cantrell (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Farmer
Summary
In Farmer, Jim Harrison tells the story of Joseph, a 43-year-old farmer and school teacher who suddenly finds himself at a crossroads. Forced to choose between two lovers - one a younger woman, the other his beautiful childhood friend - he must also decide whether or not to stay on the farm or finally seek the wider, more broader horizons he has avoided all his life. Returning Harrison fans will be ecstatic to find this early Harrison work available in audio, and for new listeners, this work serves as the perfect introduction to Harrison's remarkable insight, storytelling, and evocation of the natural world.
©2016 Jim Harrison (P)2019 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
The Shining Sea
Summary
A few months after the outbreak of the War of 1812, Captain David Porter set out in the USS Essex on an epic, 17-month cruise to the South Seas. Porter was pursuing fame and riches, and by most accounts his odyssey was a stunning success: it brought glory to the fledgling American navy, cemented Porter's reputation as a daring and talented commander, and has long been celebrated as one of the greatest maritime adventures in U.S. history. Less well known, however, is the terrible price that the crew of the Essex paid for their captain's outsized ambitions. In The Shining Sea, award-winning historian George C. Daughan tells the full story of Porter's thrilling, action-packed voyage, revealing the heights of Porter's hubris and the true depths of his failure on this fateful cruise. Intent on achieving personal glory, Porter made the treacherous journey around Cape Horn and into the Pacific Ocean, where he planned to capture a British man-of-war. From Valparaiso to the Galapagos to the Marquesas, the Essex roamed the South Seas, seizing British whaling and merchant ships, wreaking havoc on British commerce, and earning Porter and his men wealth and acclaim. Flush with his victories, Porter welcomed the news that a British frigate the HMS Phoebe was on his tail, and he resolved to capture her. But Porter could not overcome the Phoebe's superior firepower. Over the course of a desperate, bloody battle, he lost the Essex and over two-thirds of her crew a shocking end to a daring journey. A swashbuckling tale of risk and ruin on the high seas, The Shining Sea brings to life the monomaniacal quest of one of the most misunderstood commanders of the War of 1812. Porter's singular voyage, Daughan shows, stands as a cautionary tale for any leader who would put personal glory and ambition ahead of cause and countrymen.
©2013 George C. Daughan (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
Hot Water Music
Summary
Hot Water Music is a collection of short stories by Charles Bukowski, published in 1983. The collection deals largely with: drinking, women, gambling, and writing. It is an important collection that establishes Bukowski's minimalist style and his thematic oeuvre.
©1983 Charles Bukowski (P)2013 HarperCollinsPublishers
Goddess of Vengeance
Summary
Jackie Collins’ fierce and wildly beautiful heroine Lucky Santangelo is back with a vengeance—in a novel full of power, passion, revenge, and the raging family dynamics of the Santangelo clan. And as always, Lucky comes out on top. Lucky runs a high-profile casino and hotel complex, The Keys, in Vegas. Lennie, her movie-star husband, is still writing and directing successful independent films, while Max, her stubborn and gorgeous teenage daughter is about to celebrate her 18th birthday, and her son, Bobby, owns a string of hot clubs. Lucky has everything. Family. Love. Life. And everything is exactly what billionaire businessman Armand Jordan is determined to take from her, one way or another. Born a Prince in the small but affluent Middle Eastern country of Akramshar, Armand comes to America with his American mother at an early age and rises to become a real-estate business titan. Armand regards women as nothing more than breeding mares or sexual playthings, so when his people inform him that the one property he covets more than anything, The Keys, is not for sale, he is shocked. That a mere woman would dare to turn down his offer to buy The Keys is unthinkable, and Armand vows to force Lucky’s hand, whatever it takes. And so the battle for power begins. Meanwhile Bobby is dealing with shady Russian investors, while his girlfriend—smart and independent Denver Jones—is becoming a Deputy D.A. in the L.A. drug unit. And Max is busy embarking on a forbidden affair with a sexy young movie star—an affair they have to keep on the down-low lest Lucky finds out. The word is that “what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas”, and what happens in Goddess of Vengeance will blow your mind!
©2011 Chances, Inc. (P)2011 Macmillan Audio
Something Rich and Strange
Summary
From the acclaimed, New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Serena and The Cove, 30 of his finest short stories, collected in one volume. No one captures the complexities of Appalachia - a rugged, brutal landscape of exquisite beauty - as evocatively and indelibly as author and poet Ron Rash. Winner of the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, two O Henry prizes, and a finalist for the PEN/Faulkner Award, Rash brilliantly illuminates the tensions between the traditional and the modern, the old and new south, tenderness and violence, man and nature. Though the focus is regional, the themes of Rash’s work are universal, striking an emotional chord that resonates deep within each of our lives. Something Rich and Strange showcases this revered master's artistry and craftsmanship in 30 stories culled from his previously published collections Nothing Gold Can Stay, Burning Bright, Chemistry, and The Night New Jesus Fell to Earth. Each work of short fiction demonstrates Rash's dazzling ability to evoke the heart and soul of this land and its people - men and women inexorably tethered to the geography that defines and shapes them. Filled with suspense and myth, hope and heartbreak, told in language that flows like "shimmering, liquid poetry" (Atlanta Journal Constitution), Something Rich and Strange is an iconic work from an American literary virtuoso.
©2014 Ron Rash (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers
Tracker
Summary
From New York Times best-selling author James Rollins comes a stirring story of a soldier and his military war dog who are drawn into a dark mystery tracing back to World War II and a lost treasure tied to the bones of the dead. Off the blustery streets in the medieval heart of Budapest, Captain Tucker Wayne and his war dog, Kane, rescue a mysterious woman fleeing three armed men. The secret she holds will unlock a terrible treasure, one steeped in blood and treachery, tied to a crime going back to the fall of Nazi Germany and a heritage of suffering and pain that reaches out from the past to wreak havoc today. In a final showdown in the depths of a lost cemetery, truths will be unearthed, treasures will be exposed, and the fate of all will rest upon the shoulders of one man and a dog whose courage is beyond measure. Included within this thrilling story is a sneak peek at the opening chapters of Bloodline, in which the further exploits of Tucker and Kane will be revealed.
©2012 James Czajkowski (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers
Crash and Burn
Summary
From number one New York Times best-selling author James Rollins comes a shocking short story. A chance mishap leads to the discovery of a weapon like no other in Crash and Burn. On a transatlantic flight, the two black sheep of Sigma Force - Seichan and Kowalski - must set aside their mutual dislike as a mysterious fiery force knocks their aircraft out of the sky. This unlikely duo must use every skill, weapon, and bit of ingenuity to survive a night on a remote volcanic island, where their only refuge is the haunted, bat-plagued grounds of a seemingly deserted resort. But something horrific awaits the two, something born of the latest science but rooted in our basest human instincts. To survive they will need to learn to work together - but even then, it may be too late.
©2016 James Czajkowski (P)2016 HarperCollins Publishers
The Road Home
Summary
The Road Home lies in the shadows of Manifest Destiny and Wounded Knee; it is etched into the landscape of an old man’s memory and into the stubborn dreams of a young man’s heart. In one of Jim Harrison’s greatest works, five members of the Northridge family narrate the tangled epic of their history on the expanses of the Nebraska plains. They strive to understand their fates, to reconcile with demons of the past, to live in accordance with the land, and to die with grace. As the family grapples with the mysterious forces that both pull them apart and draw them inextricably back together, they must come to term with life’s greatest and hardest lessons: the deception of passion, the pain of love, the vitality of art, and the supplication to nature’s generosity and fury.
©1998 Jim Harrison (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing