Audiobooks narrated by James Babson

Democracies in America: Keywords for the 19th Century and Today

Ask someone their thoughts about 'democracy' and you'll get many different responses. Some may presume it a thing once established yet now under threat. Others may believe that democracy has always been compromised by the empowered few. In the contemporary United States, marked by constituencies across the political spectrum believing that their voices have gone unheard, 'democracy' gets wielded in so many divergent directions as to be rendered nearly incoherent. Democracies in America reminds us that this reality is nothing new. Focusing on the various meanings of 'democracy' that circulated in the nineteenth century, the book collects twenty-five essays, each taking up a keyword in the language we use to talk about democracy. The essays consider the relationship between 'America' and 'democracy' from multiple disciplinary angles and from different moments in a major historical period-amidst the vitality of the revolutionary epoch, in the contentious lead-up to the Civil War, and through the triumphs and failures of Reconstruction and the early reforms of the Progressive Era-while making both forward and backward glances in time. This volume cultivates, for students and teachers in classrooms, as well as citizens in libraries and cafes, a language to deliberate about the possibilities and problems of democracy in America.

D. Berton Emerson, Gregory Laski (Author), Amir Abdullah, James Babson, Kyla García, Lisa Larsen, Mia Ellis, Vyvy Nguyen (Narrator)

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All That It Takes

When the ever-cautious Val Locklier moves cross-country with her son for a secure job, everything she'd planned unravels within the first week. After Val reluctantly agrees to rent an apartment from her best friend's brother, an unexpected chance at an elite filmmakers' mentorship ignites fresh hope for a dream career. But as Val's community begins to expand, so do her insecurities, especially those heightened by her growing attraction to a certain friendly landlord. Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from a short-term mission trip to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he's also been reassigned to a local ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he distracts himself by throwing his energy into a host of new projects-not the least of which is pursuing Val-without stopping to consider the future. As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they'll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.

Nicole Deese (Author), James Babson, Libby Mcknight (Narrator)

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The Butler

Everything happens for a reason . . . Joachim von Hartmann is born into a wealthy Argentine banking family and spends his early years in Buenos Aires. Blonde-haired and blue-eyed, he has inherited the looks of his German ancestors, while his twin brother Javier could not be more different. Following the death of their father, and when details emerge about Joachim's maternal grandfather's wartime activity, both boys and their mother, Liese, are cast out from the family. After the years of glamour and luxury, she must raise them alone with no financial support. Eventually Liese meets and falls in love with a French art expert, and she and Joachim move to Paris without Javier, who refuses to leave his beloved Argentina. Rumours soon start to circulate that he's involved in the drugs trade. Following a whim, Joachim moves to England to train as a butler and discovers that he loves his role working for the aristocracy on their fine estates. On the death of his last employer, Joachim decides to move back to France to spend some time with his mother. He finds that there's no call for butlers in Paris, but he does find a job putting his skills to good use acting as assistant and confidant to Olivia, an American who needed to escape her life in New York. Both Joachim and Olivia hold secrets about their past, and as reports come through that Javier's life in the Columbian underworld is spiralling out of control, they must, as brave and honourable people, make some difficult decisions. What they come to understand is that destiny has a hand in their future and everything that came before had a reason. She had come to Paris to find him. The future would unfold as it was meant to and they would face it together.

Danielle Steel (Author), James Babson (Narrator)

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The Butler

Two different worlds and two very different lives collide in Paris, in this captivating novel by Danielle Steel. Joachim von Hartmann was born and raised in Buenos Aires by his loving German mother, inseparable from his identical twin, Javier. When Joachim moves to Paris with his mother in his late teens, his twin stays behind and enters a dark world. Meanwhile, Joachim begins training to be a butler, fascinated by the precision and intense demands, and goes on to work in some of the grandest homes in England. His brother never reappears. Olivia White has given ten years of her life to her magazine, which failed, taking all her dreams with it. A bequest from her mother allows her a year in Paris to reinvent herself. She needs help setting up a home in a charming Parisian apartment. It is then that her path and Joachim's cross. Joachim takes a job working for Olivia as a lark and enjoys the whimsy of a different life for a few weeks, which turn to months as the unlikely employer and employee learn that they enjoy working side by side. At the same time, Joachim discovers the family history he never knew: a criminal grandfather who died in prison, the wealthy father who abandoned him, and the dangerous criminal his twin has become. While Olivia struggles to put her life back together, Joachim's comes apart. Stripped of their old roles, they strive to discover the truth about each other and themselves, first as employer and employee, then as friends. Their paths no longer sure, they are a man and woman who reach a place where the past doesn't matter and only what they are living now is true.

Danielle Steel (Author), James Babson (Narrator)

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The Paris Betrayal

After a rough mission in Rome involving the discovery of a devastating bioweapon, Company spy Ben Calix returns to Paris to find his perfectly ordered world has collapsed. A sniper attack. An ambush. A call for help that brings French SWAT forces down on his head. Ben is out. This is a severance-reserved for incompetents and traitors. Searching for answers and anticipating a coming attack, Ben and a woman swept up in his misfortunes must find the sniper who tried to kill him, the medic who saved his life, the schoolmaster who trained him, and an upstart hacker from his former team. More than that, Ben must come to grips with his own insignificance as the Company's plan to stop Leviathan from unleashing the bioweapon at any cost moves forward without him-and he struggles against the infection that is swiftly claiming territory within his own body.

James R. Hannibal (Author), James Babson (Narrator)

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All That Really Matters

Molly McKenzie's bright personality and on-trend fashion and beauty advice have made her a major social media influencer. When her manager-turnedboyfriend tells her of an upcoming audition to host a makeover show for America's underprivileged youth, all her dreams finally seem to be coming true. There's just one catch: she has little experience interacting with people in need. To gain an edge on her competitors, she plans to volunteer for the summer at a transitional program for aged-out foster kids, but the program's director, Silas Whittaker, doesn't find her as charming as her followers do. Despite his ridiculous rules and terms, Molly dives into mentoring, surprising herself with the genuine connections and concern she quickly develops for the girls-and Silas. But just as everything seems perfectly aligned for her professional future, it starts to crumble under the pressure. And as her once-narrow focus opens to the deep needs of those she's come to know, she must face the ones she's neglected inside herself for so long.

Nicole Deese (Author), James Babson, Justis Bolding, Michael Braun (Narrator)

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Neighbors

In Danielle Steel's gripping new novel, a reclusive woman opens up her home to her neighbors in the wake of a devastating earthquake, setting off events that reveal secrets, break relationships apart, and bring strangers together to forge powerful new bonds. Meredith White was one of Hollywood's most recognizable faces. But a personal tragedy cut her acting career short and alienated her from her family. For the last fifteen years, Meredith has been living alone in San Francisco with two trusted caretakers. Then, on a muggy late summer day, a massive earthquake strikes Northern California, plunging the Bay Area into chaos. Without a moment's hesitation, Meredith invites her stunned and shaken neighbors into her mostly undamaged home as the recovery begins. These people did not even realize that movie star Meredith White was living on their street. Now, they are sharing her mansion, as well as their most closely kept secrets. Without the walls and privacy of their own homes, one by one, new relationships are forged. For every neighbor, there is a story, from the doctor whose wife and children fear him, to the beautiful young woman dating a dishonorable man, to the aspiring writer caring for a famous blind musician. In the heart of the crisis, Meredith finds herself venturing back into the world. And thanks to the suspicions and dogged detective work of a disaster relief volunteer, a former military officer named Charles, a shocking truth about her own world is exposed. Suddenly Meredith sees her isolation, her estranged family, and even her acting career in a whole new light. Filled with powerful human dramas, Neighbors is a penetrating look at how our world can be upended in a moment. In a novel of unforgettable characters and stunning twists, acts of love and courage become the most powerful forces of all.

Danielle Steel (Author), James Babson (Narrator)

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Parting Shot

From New York Times and #1 international bestselling author Linwood Barclay comes a new, standalone blockbuster thriller that spins off from the events of the explosive Promise Falls trilogy. If you made a mistake that took someone's life, you'd remember it . . . wouldn't you? After a tragedy rocks the community of Promise Falls, Cal Weaver is asked to investigate the threats being made to the accused's family. He's heard all about it on the news: the young man who drank too much, stole a Porsche and killed a girl, and who claimed afterwards not to remember a single thing. The whole town is outraged that he got off lightly, but for reasons Cal can't explain, he accepts the job. Then Cal finds himself caught up in a vicious revenge plot, chasing someone set on delivering retribution. In Cal's experience, it's only ever a matter of time before threats turn into action. . . . A gripping thriller packed with scandal, from the master of the twist you never saw coming.

Linwood Barclay (Author), James Babson, Jim Meskimen (Narrator)

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Ember

The next installment in the Eagle Elite romance series from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyken. He is a killer, a rapist, a monster and knows only pain and survival. That is until the capo's sister walked into his life and changed everything. She's a light who makes his darkness darker, her smile makes his heart turn to ice, and he can't escape the fear her seductive looks instill-knowing it's only a matter of time before he fails again, and takes her for himself. This is the story of his redemption. But it's not pretty because he died, and came to life again-breathing but not surviving. He is Phoenix De Lange, son to a murdered mob boss, estranged brother, horrible friend, monster in the making, newest leader to one of the most powerful families in the Cosa Nostra. And he will have his vengeance-or die trying. Death is all he knows, until she offers him a piece of life Phoenix can't resist taking.

Rachel Van Dyken (Author), Emily Sutton-Smith, James Babson, Tom Taylorson (Narrator)

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Enforce

The newest installment in the Mafia-themed contemporary romance series the Eagle Elite by New York Times bestselling author Rachel Van Dyke. There are two sides to every story, and theirs isn't pretty, but then again, what's pretty about the Mafia? Trace Rooks, that's what. But she only wants one of them, and he'll kill the other before he lets him have her. The only problem is that they're cousins-and she may just be their long-lost enemy. Whoever said college was hard clearly didn't attend Eagle Elite University. Welcome to hell, also known as the Mafia, where blood is thicker than life, and to keep yours, you must keep your friends close-and your enemies even closer.

Rachel Van Dyken (Author), Andrew Eiden, Andrew Eiden, Jack Dupont, James Babson, Jeremy York, Kaleo Griffith (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by James Babson