Showing results by narrator "Dennis Holland" in All Categories

A good book may have the power to change the way we see the world, but a great book actually becomes part of our daily consciousness, pervading our thinking to the point that we take it for granted, and we forget how provocative and challenging its ideas once were - and still are. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is that kind of book.

What does it mean to say that we live in a secular age? Almost everyone would agree that we - in the West, at least - largely do. And clearly the place of religion in our societies has changed profoundly in the last few centuries. In what will be a defining book for our time, Charles Taylor takes up the question of what these changes mean - of what, precisely, happens when a society in which it is virtually impossible not to believe in God becomes one in which faith, even for the staunchest believer, is only one human possibility among others.

Jack Noble races from New York to Paris to Washington, DC, on the trail of a rogue agent marked for termination. When friends can no longer be trusted and enemies must be, Jack is forced to make a decision that will compromise his integrity, his conscience, and his life.

For all the thousands of books that have been written about religion, few until this one have attempted to examine it scientifically: to ask why - and how - it has shaped so many lives so strongly. Is religion a product of blind evolutionary instinct or rational choice? Is it truly the best way to live a moral life? Ranging through biology, history, and psychology, Daniel C. Dennett charts religion’s evolution from “wild” folk belief to “domesticated” dogma.

The secret to developing a team of high performers isn't more training but better coaching. When managers effectively coach their people around best practices, core competencies and the inner game of coaching that develops the champion attitude, it makes your training stick. With Keith Rosen's coaching methodology and proven L.E.A.D.S. Coaching Framework used by the world's top organizations, you'll get your sales and management teams to perform better - fast. 

William Gibson's dark visions of computer cowboys, bio-enhanced soldiers of fortune, and hi-tech lowlifes have won unprecedented praise. Included here are some of the most famous short fiction and novellas by the author of Count Zero and Neuromancer.

Washington, DC, midday. A man waits at a bus stop, his intentions unknown. Two government operatives have been stalking him for days, waiting for him to make his move. Unexpectedly the man takes off running and heads for a deserted warehouse. Jack Noble and his partner, Frank Skinner, believe the man to be part of a terrorist organization that is involved in smuggling drugs, guns, and men into the country. But it turns out their plan involves far more export than import and hits a lot closer to home.

Jack Noble faces off with Frank Skinner one final time. Skinner is judge, jury, and executioner, and he's prepared to carry out a death sentence. There's only one way out. Jack has to break all the rules. One final job to complete. One final life to take.

In March of 2002, while the eyes of the world focused on Afghanistan, Jack Noble finds himself on the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq. A Marine in name only, Jack is on loan to the CIA. Normally an integral part of the team, he finds that he is nothing more than a security detail in Iraq.

Jack Noble has crossed the country, never staying too long in one spot. He's not running or hiding. He's buying time. Simply living until the day he can disappear and provide his daughter with a normal life. But when his Jeep dies outside a small Texas town, he finds a reason to stick around for a couple days. An old friend. Someone he thought was gone from his life forever. It quickly becomes evident that there is more going on in the town than Jack realized, and soon he's drawn into a web of secrets and lies that will forever change his life.

In late summer of 1994, Jack Noble, a former All-American quarterback, is in the middle of the toughest event he's ever taken part in: marine corps recruit training. After eight weeks he's managed to make enemies of every drill instructor and every recruit in his platoon. Then on one particularly humid South Carolina day, an odd sequence of events changes everything. Contains an excerpt of Noble Intentions: Episode 1.

Were it not for the calculus, mathematicians would have no way to describe the acceleration of a motorcycle or the effect of gravity on thrown balls and distant planets, or to prove that a man could cross a room and eventually touch the opposite wall. Just how calculus makes these things possible and in doing so finds a correspondence between real numbers and the real world is the subject of this dazzling book by a writer of extraordinary clarity and stylistic brio.

A ghost on the Greek island of Crete. Jack Noble is grounded, recovering from his injuries and a near-death experience. The small town isn't so bad. An old guy named Esau has provided him with a place to stay. The food's good. And Isadora, Esau's niece, is easy on the eyes. But tranquility is interrupted when a group of local criminals threatens Esau and kidnaps his niece. Despite his weakened state, Jack risks it all to save the beautiful woman he hardly knows and settle the debt that Esau signed in blood.

London, England. An attempted assassination goes awry, leaving multiple people wounded or dead. Jack Noble finds himself in the middle. Now the high-profile politician who was targeted wants him even closer.

Militant atheism is on the rise. In recent years, Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have produced a steady stream of best-selling books denigrating religious belief. These authors are merely the leading edge of a larger movement that includes much of the scientific community. In response, mathematician David Berlinski, himself a secular Jew, delivers a biting defense of religious thought.

They didn't mean it. They didn't mean to hit the boy. There was a party, and it was an accident... that wasn't who they were. They were pre-law, a football player, bound for New York. No one could know, so Barry, Julie, Helen, and Ray swore one another to secrecy. But now, a year later, someone knows. Julie receives a haunting, anonymous threat: "I know what you did last summer." The dark lie is unearthed, and before the four friends know it they need to outsmart a killer... or they will be the next to die.

Following the assassination of Frank Skinner in broad daylight, Jack Noble disappeared. But every day that passes the chances of clearing his name diminish. The CIA is in full attack mode. They don't want to bring Jack in. They want him dead. A shadow agency is also after not only Noble, but Bear Logan, too. The reason, unknown. The players, unknown. But they're closing fast, and Jack and Bear might just prefer the CIA find them first. Outmanned and outgunned, Jack Noble faces the toughest challenge of his life. And that's just the way he likes it.

Jack Noble. Assassin for hire. Spy. Thief. He makes no mistakes. Passes no judgement. Feels no remorse. So why does he stop to help a lost child moments before he's supposed to complete a deal with one of the East Coast's top crime bosses? A simple decision that places Jack in unfamiliar territory. He's become the hunted and finds himself in a race against time to save those closest to him.

Season two picks up where season one left off. Jack Noble is dead. That's what the world believes, at least. Truth is he's been lying low on the Greek island of Crete. Six months have passed, and with them so has Jack's edge. But then he gets the call, and it's time to return to action. Jack made a mess, and now is the time to clean it up. One way or another, he's determined to repay his debt. But will it cost him his life?

In The Church Awakening, Dr. Charles Swindoll discusses the challenges, struggles, and priorities of the church in the 21st century. He reveals the problems inherent in the entertainment-based postmodern church and shows how a return to biblical teaching will restore its strength and impact. Swindoll exposes the problems of - and solutions for - the postmodern evangelical church.