Showing results by narrator "Bruce Mann" in All Categories

In the Second World War, Poznan was a key river crossing and railway junction on the Polish-German border. When the alarm was given indicating the Red Army's approach in January 1945, the city's 80-100,000 German civilians were speedily evacuated, leaving a garrison of some 15,000 men, mostly poorly-armed infantry, to face the rigors of a siege conducted by a massively superior and ruthless enemy anxious to acquire this transport center, which was vital for the advance on Berlin.

Recent political events around the world have raised the specter of an impending collapse of democratic institutions. Contemporary concerns about the decline of liberal democracy are reminiscent to the tumult of the 1930s and 1940s in Europe. Karl Barth and Dietrich Bonhoeffer lived in Germany during the rise of National Socialism, and each reflected on what the rise of totalitarianism meant for the aspirations of modern politics.

In The Passionate Muse, Oatley, who is both a prize-winning novelist and a distinguished research psychologist, offers a hybrid book that alternates sections of an original short story, "One Another", with chapters that illuminate the psychology of emotion and fiction. Oatley not only provides insight into how people engage in stories, he also illuminates the value of emotion and the importance of stories for our psychological well-being. Indeed, he offers evidence that the more fiction we read, the better is our understandings of others.

If there's anything the recession of 2009 taught us, it was the importance of investing in our customers, but when was this any different? So says Joseph Jaffe, best-selling author of Life After the 30-Second Spot and Join the Conversation, and a leading expert and thought leader on new media and social media. In most businesses, it costs roughly five-to-10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to retain an existing one, and yet companies continue to disproportionately spend their budgets into the "wrong" end of the funnel the mass media or awareness side.

In the century since Rome's defeat of the Seleucid Empire in the 180s BC, the East was dominated by the rise of new empires: Parthia, Armenia, and Pontus, each vying to recreate the glories of the Persian Empire. By the 80s BC, the Pontic Empire of Mithridates had grown so bold that it invaded and annexed the whole of Rome's eastern empire and occupied Greece itself. But as Rome emerged from the devastating effects of the First Civil War, a new breed of general emerged with it, eager to re-assert Roman military dominance and carve out a fresh empire in the east.

The legendary seal which was keeping the Horsemen of the Apocalypse under lock and key has been broken. Planet Earth is engulfed in a surge of natural disasters which have already claimed thousands of lives. While Sergei is getting ready to fight back, traveling across worlds to learn archery from the powerful giant Vill, the horsemen's minions also come awake, ready to take on the mythical Guards of the Interworld Network in the name of their dreadful masters.

Galtieri, Lukashenka, and Putin are some of the dictators whose untrammeled personal power has been seen as typical of the dog-eat-dog nature of leadership in authoritarian political systems.

This book is about what Mark Carney has called "the social license for financial markets" and how it can point us toward a more sustainable future. Author David Rouch argues that what it reveals contrasts sharply with the usual portrayals of markets as places of unrestrained financial self-interest. Drawing attention to a more complex reality and the presence of justice-focused aspirations in finance can positively impact individual, institutional, and systemic behavior: change, not imposed by regulators, but emerging from the very substance of market relationships.

Developing and coaching the sales team by sitting in on their sales calls is one of the best ROI opportunities open to any organization, large or small. This book shows managers how to use these "ride-along" sessions - whether in-person or digital - to make the sales team more efficient and productive.

Equilateral is an intellectual comedy set just before the turn of the century in Egypt. A British astronomer, Thayer, high on Darwin and other progressive scientists of the age, has come to believe that beings more highly evolved than us are alive on Mars (he has evidence) and that there will be a perfect moment in which we can signal to them that we are here too. He gets the support and funding for a massive project to build the Equilateral, a triangle with sides hundreds of miles long, in the desert of Egypt in time for that perfect window.

The World's Most Prestigious Prize: The Inside Story of the Nobel Peace Prize is a fascinating, insider account of the Nobel Peace Prize. Drawing on unprecedented access to the Norwegian Nobel Institute's vast archive, it offers a gripping account of the founding of the prize, as well as its highs and lows, triumphs and disasters, over the last 120 years. But more than that, the book also draws on the author's unique insight during his 25 years as director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute and secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

As Andrew Brown shows in Keeper of the Nuclear Conscience, Joseph Rotblat's life--from an impoverished childhood in war-torn Warsaw to an active old age that brought honors and public recognition, including the Nobel Peace Prize--is a compelling human story in itself. What gives it added significance is Rotblat's single-minded dedication to peaceful causes, particularly his pursuit of nuclear disarmament.

Sir Daniel Denton was NOT a nice man, and when his body is found in his study at Bywater Grange, shot through the back with his own pistol, no one sheds many tears. Scotland Yard Inspector Pinkey is sent to the country estate to investigate the crime, and quickly focuses his efforts on three suspects: the dead man's widow, Lady Adelaide Denton; his half-brother, Gerard Denton; and his secretary, Redwin, who'd recently been dismissed for "cooking" the accounts.

Using Jesus's words in John 15, "I am the vine; you are the branches," Andrew Murray explores how the believer abides in Christ. In a message as timely today as when first published in 1895, he urges listeners to yield themselves to Jesus, in order that they may know the "rich and full experience of the blessedness of abiding in Christ."

My name resounds across the Universe, attracting lots of unwelcome attention. I am the Unconquerable. The Demi God. The Death Bringer. And strangely enough, now that I am at my strongest, many Players seek to test my limits.

Sergei's dark avatar has helped him to defeat humanity's enemies. He's now one of the most powerful Seekers around: his victorious reputation precedes him. So several of his Cesspit-based peers force him to set off in search of a powerful artifact whose purpose remains a dark secret.