Showing results by narrator "Michael Butler Murray" in All Categories

The first vice president to become president on the death of the incumbent, John Tyler (1790-1862) was derided by critics as "His Accidency." In this biography of the 10th president, Edward P. Crapol challenges depictions of Tyler as a die-hard advocate of states' rights, limited government, and a strict interpretation of the Constitution. Instead, he argues, Tyler manipulated the Constitution to increase the executive power of the presidency. Crapol also highlights Tyler's faith in America's national destiny and his belief in boundless territorial expansion.

The first fifty years of America's most popular spectator sport have been strangely neglected by historians claiming to tell the "complete story" of pro football. Well, here are the early stories that "complete story" has left out. What about the awful secret carried around by Sid Luckman, the Bears' Hall of Fame quarterback whose father was a mobster and a murderer? Or Steve Hamas, who briefly played in the NFL then turned to boxing and beat Max Schmeling, conqueror of Joe Louis?

Arturo "Thunder" Gatti hung up his gloves in 2007, closing the book on a boxing career that bordered on the mythical. At long last, he seemed ready to leave the business of blood behind for a long, happy life outside the ring. His retirement was celebrated—boxing's modern gladiator had earned his freedom. Two years later, he was gone—found dead in a hotel in Brazil under mysterious circumstances. He was only thirty-seven years old. Did he commit suicide? Or was he killed by his new wife?

Oleg Konovalov - an acclaimed global thought leader - draws together in one volume in-depth interviews with 19 extraordinary global visionaries that represent a variety of industries and organizations. These leaders explain why a vision is needed, how to implement it, how to communicate a vision effectively, and how to live by it with integrity.

As the first anthology to assess the nature of fan response and the band's enduring appeal, Fandom and The Beatles: The Act You've Known for All These Years defines and explores the key ways in which this particular pop fusion has inspired such loyalty and multigenerational popularity. 

Neuroscience-powered GenAI enables massive impact on everything from medicine to marketing, entertainment to education, flavors to fragrances, and much more. Simply by blending cutting edge neuroscience with bleeding edge GenAI. Put humanity back at the center of GenAI. NeuroAI is the master guide for everyone seeking to understand this breakthrough technology; what it is, how it works, and most especially how to put it to work for competitive advantage in the marketplace.

This book seeks to provide a guided examination of what unites and divides the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic communities. With over 25 years of experience teaching in the subject area, Dr. Fritz Wenisch begins to unravel this complex and often contentious topic by first discussing the legal injunctions applying to religious studies courses at secular U.S. universities. He investigates the type of monotheism each religion shares before providing an in-depth overview of each religion, one by one.

Through extensive research and interviews with those closest to Iverson, acclaimed Washington Post sportswriter Kent Babb gets behind the familiar, sanitized, and heroic version of the hard-changing, hard-partying athlete who played every game as if it were his last. 

The mystery has fascinated the music industry since 1977—the year when some tapes went missing from the Stone Blossoms' final recording session for one of the most anticipated rock albums of all time. The band's charismatic leader committed suicide on the same day. Retired cop Mike Travis learns about the puzzling history in the worst way possible. After sailing from Catalina to his family's old beach house in Kona, Hawaii, he discovers there's been a bloodbath.

Vietnam veteran Max Donovan is in Bangkok, and very hungover, when his friend “Fat” Freddie Fields is arrested in San Francisco for the murder of an Australian diplomat. He knows his old buddy would never hurt a fly, so he rushes back to the Bay Area to help. There he locks horns with the District Attorney who seems intent on pursuing the case. Suspecting Freddie is being framed, Donovan tries to rustle up some cash to bail him out, but only succeeds in getting into trouble with the local mob. He’ll have to solve the case on his own. 

We are surrounded by emoji. They appear in politics, movies, drug deals, our sex lives, and more. But emoji's impact has never been explored in full. In this rollicking tech and pop culture history, Keith Houston follows emoji from its birth in 1990s Japan, traces its Western explosion in the 2000s, and considers emoji's ever-expanding lexicon. Named for the world's most popular pictogram, Face with Tears of Joy tells the whole story of emoji for the first time.

From award-winning Washington Post columnist Steven Petrow, a guide to finding joy even during life’s most difficult times AN OPEN FIELD PUBLICATION FROM MARIA SHRIVER We all know what it’s like to experience the disappointments and sorrows of life. Unexpected challenges like layoffs...

After twenty years at the LAPD Homicide Bureau, Mike Travis is finally retiring and starting over on Santa Catalina Island. In the small town of Avalon, he lives and works on his yacht, sailing and chartering scuba diving trips. There, among tourists and quirky locals, he tries to banish the residual darkness from his mind. It's not that easy, especially when the one case he never solved comes back to haunt him . . .

Laursen's book relates the event-filled life of a brilliant and complex figure, including his victory over a possibly career-ending disability, his tumultuous second marriage, his struggles with the scientific establishment, and the fascinating story of the making of The Joy of Sex.

Leaders tend to obstinately stick to the leadership style that brought them most success in the past, usually one of two extreme styles: functional leadership that focuses on operational excellence or smart leadership that focuses on growth. When a leader's focus is too functional, the organization becomes introverted and can focus too much on bottom-line profitability while missing out on top-line growth opportunities.

The Allman Brothers Band and Lynyrd Skynyrd helped usher in a new kind of southern music from Jacksonville, Florida. Together, they and fellow bands like Blackfoot, 38 Special, and Molly Hatchet would reset the course of '70s rock. Yet Jacksonville seemed an unlikely hotbed for a new musical movement. Michael FitzGerald blends eyewitness detail with in-depth history to tell the story of how the River City bred this generation of legendary musicians.

Bob Muglia helps us understand how innovation in data and information technology have led us to AI—and how this technology must shape our future. The long-time Microsoft executive, former CEO of Snowflake, and current tech investor maps the evolution of the modern data stack and how it has helped build today's economy and society. And he explains how humanity must create a new social contract for the artificial general intelligence (AGI)—autonomous machines intelligent as people-that he expects to arrive in less than a decade.

The national exposure of the Lee Acker case put the trial skills of Maggie Reynolds on full display. Now she is intent on pursuing more profitable victories in the courtroom. Leaving behind her work as a criminal defense lawyer, Maggie is hot on the tail of her highest-profile job yet. Maggie hopes that a win will give her the recognition that she deserves. But when Blake County native Charlotte Acker is accused of murdering Lucy Kelley Collins, the wife of a Georgia senator, Maggie is pulled back into the world of criminal defense.

How has the United States, with more resources than any nation, developed a healthcare system that delivers much poorer results, at near double the cost of any other developed country - such that legendary seer Warren Buffett calls the Medical Industrial Complex "the tapeworm of American economic competitiveness"?

From retailers to growers, producers, and suppliers, there's a seemingly never-ending list of startup opportunities in this emerging market. In Start Your Own Cannabis Business, cannabis, biotech, and entrepreneurship reporter Javier Hasse introduces forward-thinking entrepreneurs like you to the industry and shares hard-earned tips and success stories from pioneers and visionaries in the marijuana industry.