Showing results by narrator "Chris Andrew Ciulla" in All Categories

Decades of groundwork. Countless civilians abducted, experimented on, and killed. The perfect plan has taken shape, and soon, the entire sector will be under the control of the shadowy Committee. That was the plan anyway. But some human has decided to blow the whole thing up. What do you do when one of those pathetic little newcomers tries to ruin your plans? Make him pay. On the other hand, maybe you should have found out more about this “Barnabas” guy before trying that. But it can’t possibly go too far wrong, can it? Soon you’ll have an entire fleet under your control.

From his working class roots in New Jersey to the “tune in, turn on, drop out” cliffs of Big Sur and the pinnacles of the human potential movement; from launching his company Age Wave and coming to terms with his own aging process, Ken Dychtwald’s Radical Curiosity makes sense of his first 70 years of life, offering invaluable life lessons through the lens of a man constantly seeking truth and self-discovery - giving listeners a glimpse into a visionary's extraordinary world, and a guide for claiming a powerful vision of one’s own.

Moving to a new city was supposed to be a fresh start for her family. Now it’s a nightmare. Her little girl was supposed to be at day care when Kelsey arrived to pick her up. But they have no record of her daughter ever being there. And to make matters worse, her husband is missing too - he won’t pick up his phone, and the school he supposedly works at says he never accepted their job offer.

In these seven stories of People from Bloomington, our peculiar narrators find themselves in the most peculiar of circumstances and encounter the most peculiar of people. Set in Bloomington, Indiana, where the author lived as a graduate student in the 1970s, this is far from the idyllic portrait of small-town America.

The price of his son's life...is just a few enhanced memories. Eddie Dowler's 12-year-old son is dying. There are treatments available, but none he can afford. His son is going to die simply because he isn't rich. And then his doctor offers a ray of hope. There's a way to pay for his son's procedure. An unorthodox way. And so Eddie calls Nostalgia Inc, an advertising agency unlike any he's ever known. He soon learns that the price of his son's impossibly expensive operation...is merely a handful of tweaked memories.

Dock Boss: Eddie McGrath and the West Side Waterfront is the fascinating account of one gangster's ascension from altar boy to the leader of New York City's violent Irish Mob. Eddie McGrath's life and crimes are traced through the tail-end of Prohibition, the gang warfare of the 1930s that propelled him into the position of an organized crime boss, the sordid years of underworld control over the bustling waterfront, McGrath's involvement in dozens of gangland murders, and finally the decline of the dock mobsters following a period of longshoremen rebellion in the 1950s.

Ania Throne is devoted to her jewelry company. The daughter of one of the world’s most famous jewelers, she arrives in Cannes with a stunning new collection. But a shocking theft by the notorious thief known as the Leopard throws her into upheaval - and plunges her on an unexpected hunt that challenges everything she believes.

If someone accused your best friend of a terrible crime, when would you stop defending him? Seven years after Joe Tyler's daughter Elizabeth was abducted, he hasn't stopped looking for answers, and he hasn't forgotten the friend who stood by him as he lost his wife, his home, and his career in his search. Now he's been brought back to San Diego by the news that this friend has been arrested for beating up a teenage girl - a girl not much older than Elizabeth would be now.

Two young children have been violently abducted in broad daylight, with nothing connecting them but their disappearance. Detective Nik Pohl knows there must be a missing link, but every time he gets close to the answer people show up hurt, or worse.... The kidnappings must be connected. Could it be the recent property scandal that one young girl’s father is embroiled in, or something even bigger?

Under Cancún’s hard blue sky, a beach boy provides a canvas for tourists’ desires, seeing deep into the world’s underbelly. An enigmatic encounter in Copenhagen takes an IT consultant down a rabbit hole of speculation that proves more seductive than sex. The collapse of a love triangle in London leads to a dangerous, hypnotic addiction. In the Nevada desert, a grieving man tries to merge with an unearthly machine.

WARNING: Highly prone to spontaneous fits of delirium, irrational logic, and violent, unpredictable mood swings. This individual has been sober, swollen, and hungry for the past nine months, so proceed with caution and handle with care. Anything said during the course of labor and delivery should not be taken seriously. Side effects may last up to 18 years. Please consult your physician should castration occur. And never forget, this is all your fault.

Anthony “Tony” Costa grew up admiring his Uncle Dom - a made member of the New England mafia - so when Dom asks him to collect gambling debts from around the neighborhood, Tony is happy to help. Even after his uncle gets thrown in jail, he does his nephew a good turn from behind bars, getting him a job as a longshoreman on the Boston waterfront. The year is 1958, and Tony is only 18. His new job quickly teaches him what it will take to survive on the docks.

Detective Chris Bailey thought he’d heard it all. But he’s never had a call like this. Bailey is called to Ivy Manor, out in the sticks. An eerie old pile like this—ringed by dark woods and deep lakes on all sides—is sure to conjure rumors. And now the new owner’s found a bloody handprint, smeared across the front porch. Then a body finally surfaces—but Bailey can’t make it match his crime scene. This man’s been dead way too long to have left the fresh red print. So where’s the second victim? The search is on. And the clock is ticking.

Drawing upon his experiences as a diplomat, including his observations of Cesare Borgia, Niccolò Machiavelli crafted The Prince to explore the nature of power. Through an unflinching portrayal of brutality, Machiavelli reflects on what it takes to be a successful ruler.

Edwin Valero's life was like a rocket shot into a wall. With a perfect knockout record in twenty-seven fights, the demonic Venezuelan boxer, known as "El Inca" and "El Dinamita," seemed destined for a clash with all-time great Manny Pacquiao. But the Fates had other ideas. Fueled by cocaine and booze and paranoia, Valero blazed into a mania that derailed his career in the ring and resulted in the brutal death of his young wife Jennifer—and soon afterward, his own.

Saul doesn’t get why he’s misunderstood. At his high-tech day job, he hides in the bathroom writing a novel about his dead grandfather and wonders why his boss wants to fire him. He tells his almost ex-wife about a blind date and wonders why she slams the door in his face. He aches with worry for his seven-year-old son, who seems happier living with his mom and her new man. When the blind date becomes a complicated relationship, and Saul’s blunders at work threaten the survival of the company, Saul has to wake up and confront his fears.

The novel begins when the man who assaulted Andrew Harrison’s sister is released from prison. Benjamin Williams was barely more than a kid when he was sentenced to 11 years, but it is impossible to know what he has become since. Andrew, nicknamed H, is compelled to learn for himself when his uncle Billy hands him a gun and says to go find the man. As H’s interest in Williams grows, he struggles to keep his world in balance.

Ernest Hemingway’s In Our Time provides listeners a semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story following lead character Nick Adams through a series of short stories around the time of World War I. It was praised by fellow authors John Dos Passos and F. Scott Fitzgerald for its precision and simplicity in its messaging. With gruff prose and blunt dialogue that would become standards of his career, it established Hemingway as one of the most promising young American writers of his era.

In the world of business, who you know is usually more important than what you know. While most research highlights the personal characteristics and expertise important to business success, this book demonstrates that networking is the core of entrepreneurship. Both counterintuitive and powerful, this perspective reframes entrepreneurial action by placing networking at the center of the process.

As Norway’s newly appointed minister of justice, child-rights advocate Clara Lofthus has a chance to accomplish something meaningful on behalf of the most vulnerable members of society. It couldn’t be more personal. After her husband’s death, she is the sole caretaker of her twin sons, Andreas and Nikolai. She’s also still haunted by her own traumatic childhood—and the lengths to which she was willing to go to pursue her own brand of vigilante justice. How far? No one ever needs to know. And this is just one of Clara’s secrets.