P.J. Ochlan has narrated 105 audiobooks on Listento.it by 136 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.4★ across 1,170 ratings. The most-rated is A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor.
John Brown, Abolitionist
Summary
Few historical figures are as intriguing as John Brown, the controversial Abolitionist who used terrorist tactics against slavery and single-handedly changed the course of American history. This brilliant biography of Brown (1800-1859) by the prize-winning critic and cultural biographer David S. Reynolds brings to life the Puritan warrior who gripped slavery by the throat and triggered the Civil War. When does principled resistance become anarchic brutality? How can a murderer be viewed as a heroic freedom fighter? The case of John Brown opens windows on these timely issues. Was Brown an insane criminal or a Christ-like martyr? A forerunner of Osama bin Laden or of Martin Luther King, Jr.? David Reynolds sorts through the tangled evidence and makes some surprising findings. Reynolds demonstrates that Brown’s most violent acts - his slaughter of unarmed citizens in Kansas, his liberation of slaves in Missouri, and his dramatic raid, in October 1859, on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia - were inspired by the slave revolts, guerilla warfare, and revolutionary Christianity of the day. He shows us how Brown seized the nation’s attention, creating sudden unity in the North, where the Transcendentalists led the way in sanctifying Brown, and infuriating the South, where proslavery fire-eaters exploited the Harpers Ferry raid to whip up a secessionist frenzy. In fascinating detail, Reynolds recounts how Brown permeated politics and popular culture during the Civil War and beyond. He reveals the true depth of Brown’s achievement: not only did Brown spark the war that ended slavery, but he planted the seeds of the civil rights movement by making a pioneering demand for complete social and political equality for America’s ethnic minorities. A deeply researched and vividly written cultural biography - a revelation of John Brown and his meaning for America. “Absorbing.” (Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times Book Review) “Almost every page forces you to think hard, and in new ways, about American violence, American history, and what used to be called the American character.” (Adam Gopnik, The New Yorker)
©2004 David S. Reynolds (P)2019 Random House Audio
The Polar Chase
Summary
When American covert operative Chase Fulton and his team suppress a mass shooting attempt in the tiny coastal town he calls home, the realization of how deadly his life has become sends him on a journey to separate himself from that violence and save his relationship with the woman he loves. The laidback holiday promises to rekindle the relationship and heal old wounds, until a brutal attack leaves a beloved friend fighting for her life. Chase has no choice but to put his experience, training, and lethal skill set back into action to find and eliminate the threat. This time, though, his foe is fiercer, more experienced, and knows every trick in Chase’s book. The only solution is to play by a new set of rules, one with terrifying results orchestrated by an old enemy turned ally. As the depravity and brutality of the attackers is turned back against them in an unexpected late-night assault, the decades-old truth of their intentions is revealed. Former American operatives turned self-serving outlaws, thirty-year-old grudges, greed, and Vietnam-era tactics combine to create a mystery only Chase and his team can solve. From the subtropics of Coastal Florida to the rugged and unforgiving backcountry of the Appalachian Mountains, this action-packed thrill ride promises to deliver historical insight into modern-day evils and leave you gasping for breath.
©2020 Cap Daniels (P)2021 Cap Daniels
Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes
Summary
What does it mean to "read Romans with Eastern eyes"? Combining research from Asian scholars with his many years of experience living and working in East Asia, Jackson directs our attention to Paul's letter to the Romans. He argues that some traditional East Asian cultural values are closer to those of the first-century biblical world than common Western cultural values. In addition, he adds his voice to the scholarship engaging the values of honor and shame in particular and their influence on biblical interpretation. As readers, we bring our own cultural fluencies and values to the text. Our biases and backgrounds influence what we observe - and what we overlook. This book helps us consider ways we sometimes miss valuable insights because of widespread cultural blind spots. In Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes, Jackson demonstrates how paying attention to East Asian culture provides a helpful lens for interpreting Paul's most complex letter. When read this way, we see how honor and shame shape so much of Paul's message and mission.
©2019 Jackson W. (P)2020 Tantor
The da Vinci Legacy
Summary
Virtually everyone would agree that Leonardo da Vinci was the most important artist of the High Renaissance. It was Leonardo who singlehandedly created the defining features of Western art: a realism based on subtle shading; depth using atmospheric effects; and dramatic contrasts between light and dark. But how did Leonardo, a painter of very few works who died in obscurity in France, become the internationally renowned icon he is today, with the Mona Lisa and the Last Supper the most visited artworks in the world, attracting nearly a billion visitors each year, and Salvator Mundi selling as the most expensive artwork of all time, for nearly half a billion dollars? This extraordinary volume is the first book to unravel these mysteries by diving deep into the art, literature, science, and politics of Europe from the Renaissance through today. It gives illuminating context to both Leonardo and his accomplishments; explores why Leonardo's fame vastly overshadowed that of his contemporaries and disciples; and ultimately reveals why despite finishing very few works, his celebrity has survived, even thrived, through five centuries of history.
©2019 Jean-Pierre Isbouts and Christopher Heath Brown (P)2019 Tantor
Stranglehold
Summary
Descended from a long line of fighters, lovers, and dreamers, the MacCallister clan are legends in their homeland of Scotland. But when Duff MacCallister came to America, it seems he brought the legend - and the war - along with him.... Here in America, life is full of surprises. Duff never expected to hear from his old friend Charles McGregor, his battalion commander from the Black Watch Regiment of Her Majesty's army. Turns out McGregor lives in New Mexico now. And he needs Duff's help. He's started a new life as the mayor of Antelope Wells - a mining town that's being targeted by power - hungry madman Ebenezer Schofield, who wants to declare the whole area an independent principality - and himself as king. He's already squeezing taxes out of the local businesses and citizens. But no one has the guts to stop him. Because Schofield's got his own private army of fifty uniformed men, six Mexican revolution cannons - and a traitor working on his side in the heart of Antelope Wells.... This is more than just a favor for a friend. This is justice. This is payback. This is war. And this is Duff MacCallister.
©2019 J. A. Johnstone (P)2019 Tantor
Lightning Struck
Summary
Jack Knight-Snow has had a bad year for losing things. So far he has lost a ship full of ancient treasure, his family, his friends, his title, his lands and money, his fiancé, the century into which he was born...oh, and his physical body. Worse, feisty Chiara D’Angelo might just finish the job and make him lose his mind. For her part, Chiara simply wants to help Jack get his body back and move on with his life. She doesn’t want to like his snarky humor or his gorgeous eyes or the way he accepts her exactly as she is. She’s a hot mess when it comes to romantic relationships. Case in point...she’s developing feelings for a ghost. But tackling the problem of Jack’s ghostliness is not straightforward. Soon, Jack and Chiara find themselves embroiled in a mystery which creates more questions about the D’Angelo brothers’ gifts of Second Sight. Set against the backdrop of Tuscany, Italy, Jack and Chiara race to uncover answers about the past before becoming history themselves.
©2018 Nichole Van (P)2020 Dreamscape Media, LLC
Dark Night of the Soul
Summary
With His gentle hand He wounded my neck And caused all my senses to be suspended. Part poetic masterpiece, part mystic treatise, The Dark Night of the Soul by 16th century Carmelite monk, St. John of the Cross, addresses the feeling of being forgotten by the Presence of the Almighty that every Christian, desirous of walking more closely with God must pass through in order to learn to walk by faith and not by sight. Spiritual persons suffer great trials...by reason…of the fear which they have of being lost on the road, thinking that all spiritual blessing is over for them and that God has abandoned them since they find no help or pleasure in good things. Then they grow weary, and endeavor to concentrate their faculties with some degree of pleasure upon some object of meditation, thinking that, when they are not doing this and yet are conscious of making an effort, they are doing nothing. Perhaps one of the most widely recognized of the mystical writings, St. John's classic Dark Night of the Soul is not only practical theology but a beautiful balm of healing to anyone whose heart has ever echoed the words of Christ, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?"
©2016 eChristian (P)2016 eChristian
The Impeachment Report
Summary
The official report from the House Intelligence Committee on Donald Trump’s secret pressure campaign against Ukraine, featuring an exclusive introduction by Pulitzer Prize-winning author and biographer Jon Meacham For only the fourth time in American history, the House of Representatives has conducted an impeachment inquiry into a sitting United States president. This landmark document details the findings of the House Intelligence Committee’s historic investigation of whether President Donald J. Trump committed impeachable offenses when he sought to have Ukraine announce investigations of former vice president Joe Biden and his son Hunter. Penetrating a dense web of connected activity by the president, his ambassador Gordon Sondland, his personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani, and many others, this program offers a damning, blow-by-blow account of the president’s attempts to “use the powers of his office to solicit foreign interference on his behalf in the 2020 election” and his subsequent attempts to obstruct the House investigation into his actions. Published here with an introduction offering critical context from best-selling presidential historian Jon Meacham, The Impeachment Report is necessary listening for every American concerned about the fate of our democracy.
©2019 The House Intelligence Committee and Jon Meacham (P)2019 Random House Audio
A MacCallister Christmas
Summary
From best-selling authors William W. and J. A. Johnstone comes a special action-packed holiday Western tale of peace on earth and bad will toward men.... Ever since he left Scotland to start a new life in America, Duff MacCallister has stayed true to the values and traditions of his clan in the Highlands. But as Christmas approaches, he yearns to reconnect with his family - even the ones he hasn't met yet. This year, two of his American cousins - twins Andrew and Rosanna - will be joining Duff for the holidays at the Sky Meadow Ranch. That is, if they manage to get there alive.... The twins' train is held up by not one, but two vicious outlaw gangs. The Jessup gang has been using the Spalding gang's hideout to plan the robbery. The Jessups just lost two of their brothers in a bank job gone wrong - courtesy of Duff MacCallister - and they're gunning for revenge. Together, these two bloodthirsty bands of killers and thieves are teaming up to make this one Christmas the MacCallisters will never forget. But Duff's ready to deliver his own brand of gun-blazing justice, holidays be damned....
©2020 J. A. Johnstone (P)2020 Tantor
I Am Slappy's Evil Twin
Summary
A brand-new Goosebumps arc narrated by the most iconic and evil character of the series, Slappy! It can't be true! An identical twin dummy as evil as Slappy? Gavin thinks he has the original dummy. But he doesn't have Slappy - he has Snappy. And once Snappy comes to life, he will do anything to destroy his twin brother.
©2017 Scholastic, Inc. (P)2017 Scholastic, Inc.
Kill Crazy
Summary
Born to a family of hard-fighting Scotsmen. Sworn to a legacy of blood and honor. Duff MaCallister brings his own brand of justice to the new American frontier in this explosive western saga from best-selling authors William W. Johnstone and J. A. Johnstone. In a town like Chugwater, Wyoming, you know who your friends are, who your enemies are, and who your kill-crazy maniacs are. For Duff MacCallister, the last category belongs to Johnny Taylor and his gang. Duff has wrestled with this polecat before, and knows that his bite is worse than his smell. But when Taylor's gang tries to rob a bank - and Duff manages to shoot one and arrest Taylor's brother - the outraged outlaw raises a stink straight out of hell. First, he begins to randomly slaughter innocent townsfolk one by one. Then, he leaves a note on the bodies warning: "We will kill more of your citizens if you do not let my brother go." Now, he's kidnapped a woman as bait - lighting a fuse under Duff MacCallister that's bound to ignite the biggest, bloodiest showdown in Chugwater history....
©2014 J. A. Johnstone (P)2019 Tantor
Milosz
Summary
Things aren't going Milo's way. His acting career is floundering, he got dumped, his miserable father vanished, and people keep moving into his house. He finally decides to take action - to help the only person he really likes, the autistic boy next door who's being bullied. But, well, that doesn't really go his way either.
©2012 Cordelia Strube (P)2013 Audible, Inc.
MacCallister: The Eagles Legacy
Summary
From best-selling authors William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone comes a blazing new saga of the MacAllisters. One family, forging a destiny. One legacy, sworn to justice. One name, branded in the heart of America.... The Scottish Highlands, 1885. Two men, brandishing knives, attack a young woman outside a pub. Duff MacAllister steps in and saves her - killing one of the assailants. Big mistake. The attacker was the sheriff's son, and now MacAllister is marked for death. His only hope: America. Here, in the sprawling land of dreams, Duff hopes to start a new life with his American cousins. Unfortunately, the sheriff's deputies are tracking him down - with nine of the deadliest cutthroats money can buy. Blazing a trail of blood and bullets all the way to the Rockies, Duff has to kill his enemies one by one - or die trying. But this time, Duff is not alone. He has a new ally by his side. A living legend of frontier justice. The gunslinger known as Falcon MacAllister....
©2011 William W. Johnstone (P)2018 Tantor
Cherry Blossom Girls International
Summary
The superharem phenomenon is back for a brand new adventure! What if I told you that heroes lived among us, that a US government agency had grown these super powered children in labs, raising them to be super soldiers? What if the technology got out? What if the tech made it all the way to Asia? You probably wouldn't believe me. You would probably would tell me that I was crazy, or that I was some type of conspiracy theorist, that there was no way that a person could turn themselves invisible, or teleport, or morph into a terrible monster. But you would be dead wrong. What started on a dark and stormy night when a beautiful psychic shifter showed up on my doorstep has bloomed into an unbelievable adventure that spans the globe. So strap in - it only gets crazier from here. Contains mature themes.
©2019 Harmon Cooper and Boycott Books, LLC (P)2019 Tantor
From Holocaust to Harvard
Summary
A true and touching human tale of survival and achievement. When John Stoessinger was ten years old, Adolf Hitler annexed his homeland of Austria, ripping the boy from his home and his friends in Vienna. His grandparents encouraged his mother and stepfather to take young John somewhere safe. "You must have a future," his grandfather told him before he and his parents boarded the train and waved goodbye. As they trekked across the country, from Vienna to Prague and then finally settling in Shanghai, there was never a single moment Stoessinger was not afraid - he lived in constant fear that he and his family would be found and killed. However, even in Hitler-ruled Nazi Germany, there were plenty of people who refused to cower to absolute evil and who did everything they could to usher families like Stoessinger's to freedom. In From Holocaust to Harvard, Stoessinger recalls heartbreaking moments from his childhood and of living a life of secrets in Shanghai. He then presents the second part of his story - his previous life and devastating memories and is able to relocate to America, earn a graduate-level degree from a prestigious university, and later become a member of the Council on Foreign Relations despite making a decision that nearly lands him in prison and threatens his hard-earned freedom. Throughout his story, Stoessinger expresses his gratitude to those who helped him through the toughest parts of this life and put him on a path that led him to a Harvard education, a successful career, and inner peace.
©2014 John G. Stoessinger (P)2014 Audible Inc.
The Adolescent
Summary
The narrator and protagonist of Dostoevsky's novel The Adolescent (first published in English as A Raw Youth) is Arkady Dolgoruky, a naive 19-year-old boy bursting with ambition and opinions. The illegitimate son of a dissipated landowner, he is torn between his desire to expose his father's wrongdoing and the desire to win his love. He travels to St. Petersburg to confront the father he barely knows, inspired by an inchoate dream of communion and armed with a mysterious document that he believes gives him power over others. This new English version by the most acclaimed of Dostoevsky's translators is a masterpiece of pathos and high comedy.
©2013 Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky (P)2019 Tantor
We Came, We Saw, We Left
Summary
Charlie Wheelan and his family do what others dream of: They take a year off to travel the world. This is their story. What would happen if you quit your life for a year? In a pre-COVID-19 world, the Wheelan family decided to find out; leaving behind work, school, and even the family dogs to travel the world on a modest budget. Equal parts "how-to" and "how-not-to" - and with an eye toward a world emerging from a pandemic - We Came, We Saw, We Left is the insightful and often hilarious account of one family's gap-year experiment. Wheelan paints a picture of adventure and connectivity, juggling themes of local politics, global economics, and family dynamics while exploring answers to questions like: How do you sneak out of a Peruvian town that has been barricaded by the local army? And where can you get treatment for a flesh-eating bacteria your daughter picked up two continents ago? From Colombia to Cambodia, We Came, We Saw, We Left chronicles nine months across six continents with three teenagers. What could go wrong?
©2021 Charles Wheelan (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books
Limelight & Larceny
Summary
These actors are going to steal more than the show. This full-cast audiobook, featuring 11 different voice actors, and narrated by Hillary Huber, take on the roles of the Tandem Players, a group of community theater actors that love their community theater almost as much as they love the sweet old landlady who gave them a home to perform their plays in over the years. But when she passes away, and the will that was to leave the Broadtown Theater to the acting troupe disappears, they don’t even have time to mourn their loss. Her son comes in like a wrecking ball, brandishing a 20-year-old will and an ultimatum: leave, or be buried under the rubble when he has the place demolished. The ragtag group of actors - a street magician, a former stuntwoman, an IT student, an FX specialist, a leading man, and their stage manager - will have to pool their talents and steal the will back. And they’ll have to act fast, because the next wrecking ball that swings in is going to be a real one.
©2021 Jordan Riley Swan (P)2021 Jordan Riley Swan
Guys Read: True Stories
Summary
Visiting the dentist - in ancient Egypt Spending a night in the jungle - with giant tarantulas Wrestling with a grizzly bear - and living to tell the tale The fifth installment in the Guys Read Library of Great Reading features 10 stories that are 100% amazing, 100% adventurous, 100% unbelievable - and 100% true. A star-studded group of award-winning nonfiction authors and journalists provides something for every listener, all aligned with the Common Core State Standards. Compiled and edited by real-life literature legend Jon Scieszka, Guys Read: True Stories is a mind-blowing collection of essays, biographies, travelogues, and more, all proving that the truth is most definitely out there. The full list of narrators includes: Bruce Thomas, Hillary Huber, Robin Weigert, Thaao Penghilis, Greg Itzin, Freda Foh Shen, George Newbern, MacLeod Andrews, Jim Beaver, Jack Garrett, Ethan Sawyer, and Adam Conner.
©2014 John Scieszka (P)2014 HarperCollinsPublishers
Kill Switch
Summary
An insider's account of how politicians representing a radical minority of Americans are using "the greatest deliberative body in the world" to hijack our democracy. Every major decision governing our diverse, majority-female, and increasingly liberal country bears the stamp of the US Senate, yet the Senate allows an almost exclusively White, predominantly male, and radically conservative minority of the American electorate to impose its will on the rest of us. How did we get to this point? In Kill Switch, Adam Jentleson argues that shifting demographics alone cannot explain how Mitch McConnell harnessed the Senate and turned it into a powerful weapon of minority rule. As Jentleson shows, since the 1950s, a free-flowing body of relative equals has devolved into a rigidly hierarchical, polarized institution, with both Democrats and Republicans to blame. The current GOP has merely used the methods pioneered by its predecessors though to newly extreme ends. In a work for fans of How Democracies Die and even Master of the Senate, Jentleson makes clear that, without a reevaluation of Senate practices - starting with ending the filibuster - we face the prospect of permanent minority rule in America.
©2021 Adam Jentleson (P)2021 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books