science fiction novel by carl sagan Audiobooks

“Papa explains the war like this: ‘When the elephants dance, the chickens must be careful.’ The great beasts, as they circle one another, shaking the trees and trumpeting loudly, are the Amerikanos and the Japanese as they fight. And our Philippine Islands? We are the small chickens.” Once in a great while comes a storyteller who can illuminate worlds large and small, magical and true to life. When the Elephants Dance introduces us to the incandescent voice of Tess Uriza Holthe, who sets her remarkable first novel in the waning days of World War II, as the Japanese and the Americans engage in a fierce battle for possession of the Philippine Islands. The Karangalan family and their neighbors huddle for survival in the cellar of a house a few miles from Manila. Outside the safety of their little refuge the war rages on—fiery bombs torch the beautiful Filipino countryside, Japanese soldiers round up and interrogate innocent people, and from the hills guerillas wage a desperate campaign against the enemy. Inside the cellar, these men, women, and children put their hopes and dreams on hold as they wait out the war, only emerging to look for food, water, and medicine. Through the eyes of three narrators, thirteen-year-old Alejandro Karangalan, his spirited older sister Isabelle, and Domingo, a passionate guerilla commander, we see how ordinary people must learn to live in the midst of extraordinary uncertainty, how they must find hope for survival where none seems to exist. They find this hope in the dramatic history of the Philippine Islands and the passion and bravery of its people. Crowded together in the cellar, the Karangalans and their friends and neighbors tell magical stories to one another based on Filipino myth and legend to fuel their courage, pass the time, and teach important lessons.

In a fusion of fact and fiction, nineteenth-century women institutionalized as hysterics reveal what history ignored “ City of Incurable Women is a brilliant exploration of the type of female bodily and psychic pain once commonly diagnosed as hysteria—and the curiously hysterical response to it commonly exhibited by medical men. It is a novel of powerful originality, riveting historical interest, and haunting lyrical beauty.” — Sigrid Nunez , author of The Friend and What Are You Going Through “Where are the hysterics, those magnificent women of former times?” wrote Jacques Lacan. Long history’s ghosts, marginalized and dispossessed due to their gender and class, they are reimagined by Maud Casey as complex, flesh-and-blood people with stories to tell. These linked, evocative prose portraits, accompanied by period photographs and medical documents both authentic and invented, poignantly restore the humanity to the nineteenth-century female psychiatric patients confined in Paris’s Salpêtrière hospital and reduced to specimens for study by the celebrated neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot and his male colleagues. Maud Casey is the author of five books of fiction, including The Man Who Walked Away , and a work of nonfiction, The Art of Mystery: The Search for Questions . A Guggenheim Fellow and recipient of the St. Francis College Literary Prize, she teaches at the University of Maryland.

The shamed Betas daughter left as an orphan in a pack that didn't want her. Forced to live as a servant ranked the lowest of Omegas is mated to the Alpha Heir but doesn't know until she comes of age.Alpha Axel realizes she is his mate, wants her, loves her, but is forced to reject her by his Father. His regret for hurting her, for her running away, forces him to abandon his pack to find her once again when his father tries to make him take a Luna. To Axel, there is no Luna without her. Will he find her?Will she forgive him?Can her first mate be her second chance?

Many young people today are seeking something more—purpose, meaning, a cause. Compassionate Careers is filled with examples of people who have meaningful jobs in cause-focused organizations. These stories capture their spirit, intelligence, imagination, and heart. The book is an inspirational guide to finding purpose-driven work and offers advice to anyone who feels that sitting on the sidelines is just not enough. It includes stories from people of all walks of life who have jobs that make a difference, including Bill Clinton, Jane Goodall, and Dave Matthews; information on how to get started in a cause-focused career; an online assessment that identifies the type of organizational culture for which you are best suited; and exercises and resources for hands-on exploration of compassionate career opportunities. An old Yaqui Indian proverb reads, "If you have a choice of paths to take in life, take the path with a heart." Compassionate Careers will show you how.

Adriana, the alpha’s illegitimate daughter was hated and bullied by everyone for her birth and not having a wolf. On the night of her eighteenth birthday, she overheard her father talking to her brothers about giving her up to the Lycan king, in order to form a peace treaty.Xander is nothing like she expected, but one thing is certain, everything thing she has heard about him being ruthless is true. When the secret her father has vowed to take to his grave is now out in the open, Adriana realizes not having a wolf is the least of her problems. Will Xander stand for all his mate is made of when he finds out the truth about her, or will he discard her and treat her like every other woman he has been with?NOTE: This book is a Duet and the part two will be released in September. It is highly recommended that you read this first.

Imagined by one of the world's leading experts on Buddhism, this fictionalised conversation presents the essential biography of its famously wise founder. A relaxed chat with the Buddha tells us what he thought about impermanence, karma, mindfulness, compassion, love, and everything else that leads us toward a true understanding of ourselves and the cosmos. We know him as the Buddha, the "Awakened One". Born Siddhartha Gautama 2,500 years ago in northern India, he became one of the world's greatest spiritual leaders. He suffered as we do, then by his own efforts found the key to liberation from the bonds of desire, hatred and ignorance. As Westerners living in relative prosperity, we can identify with this man who had it all - love, success, money, talent, privilege - but set these things aside to search for something deeper and more enduring. This book presents an account of the Buddha's life followed by a series of plausible and illuminating but imagined conversations, which probe all aspects of his philosophy for living. The insights he conveys here offer us practical wisdom for a better life.

Timely, compelling, and certain to be controversial—a deeply researched study that reveals how companies and policy makers are hindering innovation-led growth Conventional wisdom holds that Western economies are on the threshold of fast-and-furious technological development. Fredrik Erixon and Bjorn Weigel refute this idea, bringing together a vast array of data and case studies to tell a very different story. With expertise spanning academia and the business world, Erixon and Weigel illustrate how innovation is being hampered by existing government regulations and corporate practices. Capitalism, they argue, has lost its mojo. Assessing the experiences of global companies, including Nokia, Uber, IBM, and Apple, the authors explore three key themes: declining economic dynamism in Western economies; growing corporate reluctance to contest markets and innovate; and excessive regulation limiting the diffusion of innovation. At a time of low growth, high unemployment, and increasing income inequality, innovation-led growth is more necessary than ever. This book unequivocally details the obstacles hindering our future prosperity.

FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS, A HEARTSTOPPING MYSTERY FROM YOUR NEW CRIME FICTION OBSESSION: BIBA PEARCE. A serial killer who dumps the victims’ bodies in Soho Square. A sleepless detective thwarted by his box-ticking boss. Detective Rob Miller thinks he’s seen it all, but this murder scene takes his breath away. The victim is bound and gagged, with whip marks on his back. The location is one of the busiest squares in London. The cause of death appears to be strangulation. Murder or a game gone wrong? The prime suspect is the victim’s partner. Under pressure from his superiors, Rob makes an arrest despite his doubts. But another body is found: bound, gagged and dumped in the middle of central London. Again, there are no witnesses. Now Rob’s on the hunt for a serial killer with a fetish — and a talent for staying invisible. Then the killer makes it personal . . . AN UNSTOPPABLE CRIME MYSTERY THAT YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO PUT DOWN. This gripping page-turner is perfect for fans of Helen H. Durrant, Mick Herron, Joy Ellis, Angela Marsons, Rachel McLean, Alex Smith and J.M. Dalgliesh. MEET THE DETECTIVE DI ROB MILLER An ambitious young detective gunning for promotion. He will do anything for his job, but can he also keep his personal life under control? His ten-month-old son has yet to learn how to sleep through the night, but at least he has his dog. THE SETTING The Murder Investigation Team is based out of leafy Putney, with its overgrown often-flooded riverbanks. One way the river leads into central London, the other out into the countryside. It’s an idyllic setting that masks a criminal underworld.

“You have to reject her.” Amelia heard her twin say to her boyfriend. As the ignored daughter of the Alpha, Amelia has been bullied by her twin since little. She knew it was all because she wasn’t as talented and didn’t shift like her twin did. Still, getting rejected by the only love of her life was too much to bear. Amelia accepted her father’s order and set out for college in a neighbouring pack, not knowing a group of wolves were sent to get rid of her for good. At the critical moment, her only way out was get into the pack of the most feared Alpha, the King that ruled the darkness, the one who had killed his own father to take the throne. *** This novel is created by didi.adeyemi from an editor's outline. The novel is copyright Ideaink Six Cats.

Stephanie Drew's life is a mess. I. Her stepmother and stepsister have been trying to sabotage her life for years. II. Navigating her university life, she also has to sell adult products to support herself financially. III. Out of nowhere, she finds out she has a fiancé, the icy-cold Daniel. IV. Oh wait, there’s more - Daniel has an uncle, Denver - the polar opposite of his nephew, an even bigger pain in the ass. "What's wrong with you, Denver, she's my fiancée." "Oh dear nephew, remember, things that I marked are off-limits to others!" "'Remember' my ass!" Stephanie sneers at the two of them. "I’m a person, not an object."