Audiobooks narrated by Derek Shoales

Hands-On Large Language Models: Language Understanding and Generation

AI has acquired startling new language capabilities in just the past few years. Driven by rapid advances in deep learning, language AI systems are able to write and understand text better than ever before. This trend is enabling new features, products, and entire industries. With this book, listeners will learn practical tools and concepts they need to use these capabilities today. You'll understand how to use pretrained large language models for use cases like copywriting and summarization; create semantic search systems that go beyond keyword matching; and use existing libraries and pretrained models for text classification, search, and clusterings. This book also helps you understand the architecture of Transformer language models that excel at text generation and representation; build advanced LLM pipelines to cluster text documents and explore the topics they cover; build semantic search engines that go beyond keyword search, using methods like dense retrieval and rerankers; explore how generative models can be used, from prompt engineering all the way to retrieval-augmented generation; and gain a deeper understanding of how to train LLMs and optimize them for specific applications using generative model fine-tuning, contrastive fine-tuning, and in-context learning.

Jay Alammar, Maarten Grootendorst (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Outbreak Behind Bars: Spider Bites, Human Rights, and the Unseen Danger to Public Health

In late 2019, Dennis Oya's persistent cough was just the beginning of a harrowing tale of neglect and systemic failure in a Washington prison. Diagnosed eighteen months later with tuberculosis (TB), Oya's case sparked one of the largest prison TB outbreaks in decades, affecting over 3,000 contacts. This outbreak, and others like it, exposes the glaring weaknesses in prison healthcare systems. In Outbreak Behind Bars, Homer Venters reveals the grim realities of how communicable diseases thrive in the overcrowded, unsanitary conditions of correctional facilities. From TB to Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), these infections spread rapidly due to systemic neglect and inadequate medical responses. The book highlights the stories of those who suffered, the failures in health care provision, and offers specific guidance for public health professionals in conducting investigations and facility inspections during outbreaks behind bars. With firsthand accounts and expert analysis, this book illustrates the urgent need for reform in prison health care to protect incarcerated people and the wider community. Outbreak Behind Bars is a crucial listen for anyone concerned about justice, public health, and the overlooked plight of incarcerated people, especially students, faculty, and professionals in the field of public health.

Homer Venters (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Space Piracy: Preparing for a Criminal Crisis in Orbit

Space Piracy is a forward-thinking resource that considers, analyzes, and provides solutions to the influence of the ignoble side of humanity in the realm of outer space, where potential for crime, corruption, piracy, and war increases as the exploitation of space as a commercial resource continues to develop. This book blends the authors' knowledge with that of subject matter experts to deliver a holistic understanding of criminality in space and help listeners broaden their horizons beyond their own area of specialization. Some of the topics explored in this insightful book include space hacking, from software, data, network, and hardware risks to existing cybersecurity standards and practices in space; criminal organizations that might pursue criminal activities in space, including cartels, kidnappers and devicenappers, and governments; and laws and treaties relevant to space crime, such as the Communications Satellite Act and the Outer Space Treaty of 1967. Filled with practical, thought-provoking knowledge and guidance, Space Piracy earns a well-deserved spot on the bookshelves of professionals working in the best of humanity's institutions, including law and intelligence services, finance, insurance and risk management, corporations, and the sciences, who seek to combat what the worst of us may be dreaming up.

Hugh Taylor, Marc Feldman (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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SQL Essentials For Dummies

A right-to-the-point guide on all the key topics of SQL programming SQL Essentials For Dummies is your quick reference to all the core concepts of SQL—a valuable common standard language used in relational databases. This useful guide is straightforward—with no excess review, wordy explanations, or fluff—so you get what you need, fast. Great for a brush-up on the basics or as an everyday desk reference, this book is one you can rely on. ● Strengthen your understanding of the basics of SQL ● Review what you've already learned or pick up key skills ● Use SQL to create, manipulate, and control relational databases ● Jog your memory on the essentials as you work and get clear answers to your questions Perfect for supplementing classroom learning, reviewing for a certification, and staying knowledgeable on the job, SQL Essentials For Dummies is the convenient, direct, and digestible reference you've been looking for.

Allen G. Taylor, Richard Blum (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Nothin' Comes Easy: The Life of Rodney Dangerfield

Rodney Dangerfield's fidgety delivery, self-deprecating humor, and catchphrase, 'I don't get no respect,' made him a comedy icon in nightclubs, on television, and in movies. But Rodney's long road to stardom was as rocky as his real life. That's when he decided to give comedy one last shot . . . Back in the clubs and thanks to a fortuitous prime-time set on The Ed Sullivan Show, at the age of forty-five, the newly christened Rodney Dangerfield was an 'overnight' success. It was the greatest second act in the history of show business. Rodney mined his insecurities, personal and professional setbacks, and dismal childhood into comedy gold on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Dean Martin Show, The Joey Bishop Show, Merv Griffin, and Mike Douglas. And behind that iconic comedy persona was a dedicated father who almost single-handedly raised two children; and a selfless and supportive mentor to such up-and-comers as Jerry Seinfeld, Jim Carrey, and George Carlin. An honest, moving, and funny portrait of the real Rodney Dangerfield, Nothin' Comes Easy gives the legend, the man, the father, and friend all the respect he deserves.

Michael Seth Starr (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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HBR's 10 Must Reads 2025: The Definitive Management Ideas of the Year from Harvard Business Review (

Harvard Business Review (Author), Derek Shoales, Stacy Gonzalez (Narrator)

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The Next Supercontinent: Solving the Puzzle of a Future Pangea

You've heard of Pangea, the single landmass that broke apart some 175 million years ago to give us our current continents, but what about its predecessors, Rodinia or Columbia? These 'supercontinents' from Earth's past provide evidence that land repeatedly joins and separates. While scientists debate what that next supercontinent will look like-and what to name it-they all agree: one is coming. In this engaging work, geophysicist Ross Mitchell invites listeners to remote (and sometimes treacherous) lands for evidence of past supercontinents, delves into the phenomena that will birth the next, and presents the case for the future supercontinent of Amasia, defined by the merging of North America and Asia. Introducing listeners to plate tectonic theory through fieldwork adventures and accessible scientific descriptions, Mitchell considers flows deep in the Earth's mantle to explain Amasia's future formation and shows how this developing theory can illuminate other planetary mysteries. He then poses the inevitable question: how can humanity survive the intervening 200 million years necessary to see Amasia? An expert on the supercontinent cycle, Mitchell offers listeners a front-row seat to a slow-motion mystery and an ongoing scientific debate.

Ross Mitchell (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Psi Wars 3: Imperium

They thought the war was over . . . the enemy had other ideas. Two years after the end of the Psi War, Caleb Mitchell is Emperor in all but name, leading his armies on a crusade to cleanse the colony worlds and Earth itself of the last of the psionic madmen known as the Changed. But the citizens of the Commonwealth weren't the only ones devastated by the war; the criminal cartels in the Pirate Worlds are in chaos, their trade cut off, their resources running out. A young warlord named Amos Dobrev rises up to unite the cartels into a union they call the Syndicate. He builds an army of psionic supermen and tries to carve out his own kingdom among the former Commonwealth colonies. Dobrev says they are only doing what they have to do to survive. Mitchell considers Dobrev a threat who needs to be put down before he destroys everything that's left. And caught in the middle is Randall Munroe, Mitchell's right-hand man, trying to decide whether the bigger threat is an outlaw Syndicate . . . or the power of Cal Mitchell's Imperium.

Rick Partlow (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Psi Wars 2: Conflagration

It's the end of everything . . . The greatest heroes of the Commonwealth are gathered in the breach for one last fight. The Transformation Virus rages through human space like a wildfire, changing ordinary men and women into psionic demi-gods, bent on destruction and conquest. The government has fallen, the military is helpless and the fate of humanity rests in the hands of a collection of unlikely saviors. Sandi Hollande, disgraced war hero. Kara McIntire, cold and calculating master spy. Randall Munroe, corporate mercenary. And Caleb Mitchell, the deadliest man alive. Together, they make a stand against the darkness, but will their only hope for victory be in risking the destruction of all they hold dear?

Rick Partlow (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Among the Gray Lords

HIGH STAKES ADVENTURE AS TWO FRIENDS FIGHT THEIR WAY ACROSS A STRANGE WORLD IN A FAR-FLUNG FUTURE Sometimes, the real enemies are the friends we make along the way. An encounter with an old friend becomes tragically fatal, and Indrajit and Fix set out on a high-stakes, high-adrenaline quest across the ancient city of Kish to bring their friend back to life. At each step, the complications and the enemies alike pile up. The mysterious necromancers, the Vin Dalu priests, bind the heroes on an errand that sends them shuttling from one thieves' guild to the next, pitting Indrajit and Fix against the deadly House of Knives and embroiling them in a plot by the giant, wasplike Kattak to take dire revenge on Kish and all its great houses. Can the heroes save their friend? Can Indrajit and Fix survive? Will Kish itself fall?

D.J. Butler (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Cryptid Assassin Boxed Set: Books 4-6

His name is Taylor McFadden, survivor of eighty-three trips into the ZOO. Now, he's retired, and yet his country needs his skills to save people in the country he calls home. Can he build a company, put down roots, and still bring the pain when the FBI calls? When they tag him as The Cryptid Assassin, they weren't wrong. For monsters that go bump in the night, he is death incarnate.

Michael Anderle (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Psi Wars: Homecoming

You can't outrun your past . . . Korri Fontenot left family behind on Earth a century ago to fight in a war that broke her body and her mind. Now, her great-granddaughter, Jackie, has followed in her footsteps. First as a Marine and then as a mercenary outlaw, Jackie has made the mistake of breaking into a secret corporate lab and stealing an ancient alien artifact. Dark forces want the artifact back. Only Korri can save her from the assassins on her trail. What starts out as a fight against ruthless mercenaries leads them far outside human space, and into the remnants of a fallen empire. For the artifact that Jackie stole isn't just alien treasure, it's a weapon with the power to restart an ancient war-a war that could bring down all of human civilization. For fans of galaxy-spanning military space operas like James S. A. Corey's The Expanse and Richard Fox's Ember War series.

Rick Partlow (Author), Derek Shoales (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Derek Shoales