Showing results by publisher "Recorded Books" in Words, Language & Grammar

A baby is found by wood nymphs in the forest of Burzee. They raise him as their own and give him the name Neclaus. When he grows up, Neclaus has to leave the forest so he makes a home for himself in the laughing valley of Hohaha, where he lives amongst humans for the first time. He discovers there that many children are very poor and neglected so, to cheer them up, he whittles wooden toys as gifts. Eventually he makes presents for all the children and so the story of Santa Claus is born.

In The Dictionary Wars, Peter Martin recounts the patriotic fervor in the early American republic to produce a definitive national dictionary that would rival Samuel Johnson's 1755 Dictionary of the English Language. But what began as a cultural war of independence from Britain devolved into a battle among lexicographers, authors, scholars, and publishers, all vying for dictionary supremacy and shattering forever the dream of a unified American language.

Ever wonder what makes us buy from a certain salesperson or prefer one TV news announcer over another? In each case, a human voice is subtly captivating our ear and commanding our attention. Now celebrity voice coach Renee Grant-Williams reveals the trade secrets behind those persuasive voices and shows listeners how to apply positive vocal techniques to business and personal situations. Much more than a guide to proper breathing or voice projection, this is a life-altering "owner's manual" to unleashing and directing the powers of communication within one's speaking voice.

In Stories Are What Save Us, Chrisinger shows - through writing exercises, memoir excerpts, and lessons he's learned from his students - the most efficient ways to uncover and effectively communicate what you've learned while fighting your life's battles, whatever they may be. 

This highly respected veteran newsman shares the stories he's long kept under wraps. Schieffer goes beyond the news everyone is familiar with to share the compelling anecdotes only his colleagues were previously privy to. Says the author, "I want to tell you about the parts that didn't get on television or in the paper." The result is an eye-opening glimpse behind the scenes of the news business.

Legendary writer Zane Grey earned legions of devoted fans with his gritty westerns. In To the Last Man, he dramatizes the events of the Pleasant Valley War of Arizona, a bloody feud that nearly wiped two families off the face of the Earth. Jean Isbel has settled in Oregon and is growing comfortable with his new home when an urgent letter arrives from his father. Trouble is brewing in Arizona between the Isbel cattlemen and the Jorth clan of sheepmen. Rushing to his father’s side, Jean arrives just before the first bullets start flying. But matters are complicated when Jean and Ellen Jorth, daughter of the sheepmen’s leader, fall in love.

On any given day, at any given hour, across the various platforms constituting what we call social media, someone is angry. Facebook. Instagram. Twitter. Reddit. 4Chan. In The Rhetoric of Outrage: Why Social Media Is Making Us Angry, Jeff Rice addresses the critical question of why anger has become the dominant digital response on social media. He examines the theoretical and rhetorical explanations for the intense rage that prevails across platforms and sheds new light on how our anger is not merely a reaction against singular events but generated out of aggregated beliefs and ideas.