Audiobooks narrated by Keith Szarabajka

Young Orson: The Years of Luck and Genius on the Path to Citizen Kane

For the centennial of his birth, the defining wunderkind of modern entertainment gets his due in a groundbreaking new biography of his early years-from his first forays in theater and radio to the inspiration and making of Citizen Kane. No American artist or entertainer has enjoyed a more dramatic rise than Orson Welles. In this magisterial biography, Patrick McGilligan brings young Orson into focus as never before. He chronicles Welles' early life growing up in Wisconsin and Illinois, as the son of an alcoholic industrialist and a radical suffragist and classical musician, and the magical early years of his career, including his marriages and affairs, his influential friendships, and his artistic collaborations. The tales of his youthful achievements were so colorful and improbable that Welles, with his air of mischief, was often thought to have made them up. Now after years of intensive research, McGilligan sorts out fact from fiction and reveals untold, fully documented anecdotes of Welles' first exploits and triumphs, from starring as a teenager on the Gate Theatre stage in Dublin and bullfighting in Seville, to his time in the New York theater and his fraught partnership with John Houseman in the Mercury Theatre, and to his arrival in Hollywood and the making of Citizen Kane. Filled with intriguing new insights and startling revelations-including the surprising true origin and meaning of "Rosebud"-Young Orson is a fascinating look at the creative development and influences that shaped this legendary artistic genius. "The front rank of film biographers."-Washington Post, praise for the author

Patrick McGilligan (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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What You Break

Former Suffolk County cop Gus Murphy returns to prowl the meaner streets of Long Island's darkest precincts with a Russian mercenary at his back in the stunning second installment of Reed Farrel Coleman's critically acclaimed series. Gus Murphy and his girlfriend, Magdalena, are put in harm's way when Gus is caught up in the distant aftershocks of heinous crimes committed decades ago in Vietnam and Russia. Gus's ex-priest pal, Bill Kilkenny, introduces him to a wealthy businessman anxious to have someone look more deeply into the brutal murder of his granddaughter. Though the police already have the girl's murderer in custody, they have been unable to provide a reason for the killing. The businessman, Spears, offers big incentives if Gus can supply him with what the cops cannot-a motive. Later that same day, Gus witnesses the execution of a man who has just met with his friend Slava. As Gus looks into the girl's murder and tries to protect Slava from the executioner's bullet, he must navigate a minefield populated by hostile cops, street gangs, and a Russian mercenary who will stop at nothing to do his master's bidding. But in trying to solve the girl's murder and save his friend, Gus may be opening a door into a past that was best left forgotten. Can he fix the damage done, or is it true that what you break you forever own?

Reed Farrel Coleman (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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Unbeaten: Rocky Marciano's Fight for Perfection in a Crooked World

From the bestselling author of The Prince of Providence comes a revelatory biography of Rocky Marciano, the greatest heavyweight champion of all time.The son of poor Italian immigrants, with short arms and stubby legs, Rocky Marciano accomplished a feat that eluded legendary heavyweight champions like Joe Louis, Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson: he never lost a professional fight. His record was a perfect 49-0.Unbeaten is the story of this remarkable champion who overcame injury, doubt, and the schemes of corrupt promoters to win the title in a bloody and epic battle with Jersey Joe Walcott in 1952. Rocky packed a devastating punch with an innocent nickname, "Suzie Q," against which there was no defense. As the champ, he came to know presidents and movie stars-and the organized crime figures who dominated the sport, much to his growing disgust. He may have "stood out in boxing like a rose in a garbage dump," as one sportswriter said, but he also fought his own private demons.In the hands of prizewinning journalist and biographer Mike Stanton, Unbeaten is more than just a boxing story. It's a classic American tale of immigrant dreams, exceptional talent wedded to exceptional ambitions, compromises in the service of a greater good, astounding success, disillusionment, and a quest to discover what it all meant. Like Suzie Q, it will knock you off your feet. **Contact Customer Service for Additional Material**

Mike Stanton (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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Tibetan Peach Pie: A True Account of an Imaginative Life

Internationally bestselling novelist and American icon Tom Robbins's long-awaited tale of his wild life and times, both at home and around the globe Tom Robbins's warm, wise, and wonderfully weird novels- including Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, Another Roadside Attraction, and Jitterbug Perfume- provide an entryway into the frontier of his singular imagination. Madcap but sincere, pulsating with strong social and philosophical undercurrents, his irreverent classics have introduced countless readers to hitchhiking cowgirls, born-again monkeys, a philosophizing can of beans, exiled royalty, and problematic redheads. In Tibetan Peach Pie, Robbins turns that unparalleled literary sensibility inward, weaving together stories of his unconventional life- from his Appalachian childhood to his globe-trotting adventures- told in his unique voice, which combines the sweet and sly, the spiritual and earthy. The grandchild of Baptist preachers, Robbins would become, over the course of half a century, a poet interruptus, a soldier, a meteorologist, a radio DJ, an art-critic-turned-psychedelic-journeyman, a world-famous novelist, and a counterculture hero, leading a life as unlikely, magical, and bizarre as those of his quixotic characters. Robbins offers intimate snapshots of Appalachia during the Great Depression, the West Coast during the sixties' psychedelic revolution, international roving before Homeland Security monitored our travels, and New York publishing when it still relied on trees. Written with the big-hearted comedy and mesmerizing linguistic invention for which Robbins is known, Tibetan Peach Pie is an invitation into the private world of a literary legend.

Tom Robbins (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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This is Your Brain on Sports: The Science of Underdogs, the Value of Rivalry, and What We Can Learn

This is Your Brain on Sports is the audiobook for sports fans searching for a deeper understanding of the games they watch and the people who play them. Sports Illustrated executive editor and bestselling author L. Jon Wertheim teams up with Tufts psychologist Sam Sommers to take readers on a wild ride into the inner world of sports. Through the prism of behavioral economics, neuroscience, and psychology, they reveal the hidden influences and surprising cues that inspire and derail us - on the field and in the stands - and by extension, in corporate board rooms, office settings, and our daily lives. In this irresistible narrative romp, Wertheim and Sommers usher us from professional football to the NBA to Grand Slam tennis, from the psychology of athletes self-handicapping their performance in the boxing ring or the World Series, to an explanation of why even the glimpse of a finish line can lift us beyond ordinary physical limits. They explore why Tom Brady and other starting NFL quarterbacks all seem to look like fashion models; why fans of teams like the Cubs, Mets, and any franchise from Cleveland love rooting for a loser; why the best players make the worst coaches; why hockey goons (and fans) would rather fight at home than on the road; and why the arena t-shirt cannon has something to teach us about human nature. This is Your Brain on Sports is an entertaining and thought-provoking journey into how psychology and behavioral science collide with the universe of wins-and-losses, coaching changes, underdogs, and rivalry games.

L. Jon Wertheim (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka, Sam Sommers (Narrator)

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The Wolf

In this thrilling novel by Lorenzo Carcaterra the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Sleepers, Gangster, and Midnight Angels organized crime goes to war with international terrorism in the name of one man 's quest for revenge. My name is Vincent Marelli, though most people call me The Wolf. You 've never met me, and if you 're lucky you never will. But in more ways than you could think of, I own you. I run the biggest criminal operation in the world. We 're invisible but we 're everywhere. Wherever you go, whatever you do, however it is you spend your money, a piece of it lands in our pockets. You would think that with that kind of power I would be invincible. You would be wrong. I made a mistake, one that a guy like me can never afford to make. I let my guard down. And because I did, my wife and daughters are gone. Murdered by terrorists with a lethal ax to grind. That was my mistake. But it was also theirs. I wasn 't looking for a war with them. No one in my group was. But they 've left me with nothing but a desire for revenge so a war is what they 'll get. The full strength of international organized crime against every known terrorist group working today. Crime versus chaos. We will protect our interests, and I will protect my son. We won 't get them all, but I will get my revenge, or I will die trying. They will know my name. They will feel my wrath. They will fear The Wolf. Praise for The Wolf 'Lorenzo Carcaterra is one of my favorite writers in the world, and The Wolf is his best book yet. In it you 'll meet the superbly crafted crime boss Vincent Marelli and then you 'll spend this riveting read trying to decide whether Marelli, like Michael Corleone, is a hero or a villain. Pick up a copy of The Wolf and you won 't put it down until the surprise ending!' Lisa Scottoline, New York Times bestselling author of Accused 'The Wolf crackles with the geopolitical high stakes of Homeland, the intrigue and lore of The Godfather, and the clock-ticking final showdown of 24. No one combines such themes as Renaissance art, global terror, and all things Italian like Lorenzo Carcaterra.' Andrew Gross, New York Times bestselling author of Everything to Lose 'Binds a strong confessional voice with a taut revenge plot.' New York '[A] high-octane thriller.' Publishers Weekly (starred review) 'Action fans will love it.' Booklist Praise for Lorenzo Carcaterra 'Crackles with action . . . a riveting and ingenious read that will keep you turning the pages.' Douglas Preston, on Midnight Angels 'A powerful read . . . with plenty of action and dialogue as authentic as the streets of New York.' St. Petersburg Times, on Paradise City 'Terrifying and heartbreaking . . . a brilliant, troubling, important book.' Jonathan Kellerman, on Sleepers 'A brilliant, multilayered novel that breathes and bleeds on every page. This book transcends the genre of crime fiction. It is a full-blooded novel and an epic read.' Robert Crais, on Gangster From the Hardcover edition.

Lorenzo Carcaterra (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Shell Game

The events of September 11, 2001, the invasion of Iraq, radical Islamists, an impending showdown with Iran-what do these have in common? Oil. And the world is running out. The Shell Game is far more than a thriller; it is a cautionary tale that exposes the next 9/11 event, a deception that will lead to a retaliatory chemical weapons strike on Iran and the terrorist elements that the regime supports. Though written as fiction, this novel is filled with all-too-real details provided by insiders in the oil industry, military, and Middle Eastern affairs and extrapolates from real events of the past and present a future that will lead us down a path of self-destruction, unless we stop the insanity now. In 2007 two CIA spooks meet with an American colonel in military intelligence. The war is going badly, and President Bush, who steadfastly refuses to back down, remains unchallenged at home as Democrats and Republicans focus on the 2008 elections. Meanwhile, Iran's pursuit of nuclear energy will yield enriched uranium by 2012-uranium that could be used to manufacture suitcase nukes. The US military is too drained to invade Iran, and a preemptive strike is out of the question; unless, that is, a nuclear detonation were to occur in an American city-one in which the uranium can be traced to Iran. A US reprisal would strike a death blow to radical Islam, quell the insurgent violence in Iraq, and yield more oil. Yes, the cost is unthinkable, but doing nothing could result in a dozen suitcase bombs going off in a dozen American cities, bringing anarchy and the collapse of Western civilization. December 2011. Ashley "Ace" Futrell is an oil-industry expert married to Kelli Doyle, a former national security advisor and one of the CIA spooks in the 2007 meeting. When Kelli threatens to expose the plot, Ace finds his existence hurtling down a rabbit hole of deceit in which the lies of the powerful few could lead to the darkest days of human existence and the death knell for billions. "A nerve-wracking thriller about America's addiction to Middle Eastern sweet crude."-Kirkus Reviews

Steve Alten (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Nazi Hunter: A Novel

Brimming with surprising characters, chilling political revelations, and a heart-pounding climax, The Nazi Hunter is a thrilling debut and "an action-packed story" (Jewish Book World). A gripping thriller, The Nazi Hunter mixes fierce partisan Washington politics, the search for ex-Nazi criminals, and a crazed, right-wing militia intent on bringing down the government. Nicknamed "the Nazi Hunter," Marek Cain, deputy director of the Office of Special Investigations at the Justice Department, has for ten years been the point man for tracking down ex-Nazis who have fraudulently entered the United States since World War II and bringing them to justice. Late one afternoon, a distraught German woman eludes security and slips into Cain's office. "I have documents," she says, "important documents only for the Nazi Hunter." She promises to bring them the next day. When she doesn't show, he dismisses her as just another crackpot. But when he reads in the Washington Post the next morning that the woman has been brutally murdered, he senses he's on to something big. He must find those documents. The trail leads from Washington to Florida, to Boston, to Germany and Ukraine, and eventually to the Belzec extermination camp in Poland, where half a million Jews were murdered in the winter of 1942. The Nazi Hunter is a thriller that combines romance, political intrigue, music, religion, and culture. Meticulously researched, it takes the reader on an intellectual journey into the seamy side of Washington, the heart of darkness in Europe and the lair of America's fascist militias. Nobody who reads it will fail to be entertained, amused, and profoundly moved. "[A] gripping debut thriller…[A] compelling tale."—Publishers Weekly

Alan Elsner (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Man with No Time

Edgar and Macavity Award–nominated author Timothy Hallinan throws his erudite Los Angeles private eye into the middle of a global human-trafficking operation in this fifth book in the series. Simeon Grist does a favor for the family of his sometimes-girlfriend, Eleanor Chan, and goes looking for two children who vanished in Chinatown. He quickly learns that he’s gone straight through the looking glass and into a world where grieving parents are afraid to contact the police, where fear is the teacher and power is the law, and where helpless people are shipped from China to America and forced into lives of toil and submission. “Spenser’s met his match…Some of the best mystery reading of the year. Hallinan’s story is sheer genius, with a highly original plot, snappy dialogue, mind-boggling menace, memorable characters, plenty of nightmare-producing violence, and enough thrills and chills to catch the attention of the most jaded reader…This book should move him into the upper echelon of hard-boiled detective fiction writers.”—Booklist (starred review)

Timothy Hallinan (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Line of Departure: A Postapocalyptic Novel

A gripping new novel from one of the best-known names in survivalist fiction. Former Marine-turned-author, G. Michael Hopf grabs readers from page one with his breathtaking blend of action, adventure, and political intrigue. The End—the first book in Hopf ’s New World series—has sold more than 50,000 copies, and word of mouth is quickly building on the series as a whole. In the fourth book, The Line of Departure, the United States is on the brink of total anarchy in the wake of a super-EMP attack. Gordon Van Zandt and his family have managed to beat the odds so far, but can they survive once war erupts? From the Trade Paperback edition.

G. Michael Hopf (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Four Last Things

Edgar Award finalist Timothy Hallinan continues his six-book Simeon Grist series with this white-knuckle mystery—a must-listen for fans of Robert B. Parker’s Spenser novels. Simeon Grist knows LA inside and out—the sex for sale, the chic seductions, every rip-off from City Hall to Venice. So when he’s hired by a Hollywood recording company to shadow one Sally Oldfield, suspected of embezzlement, Grist discovers she’s entangled in the Church of the Eternal Moment—a million-dollar religious scam built around a twelve-year-old channeler and the voice of a man who has been dead for a millennium. When Sally turns up dead, Simeon knows he’s become the next target of a very flesh-and-blood entity waiting in the back alleys of sin and salvation to give him a brutal look at the four last things: death, judgment, heaven, and hell—revelations he could definitely live without. “Hallinan has a genuine ability to write effective prose, engaging repartee, [and] sharp and witty characterizations.”—Washington Post Book World

Timothy Hallinan (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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The Flicker Men: A Novel

A quantum physicist shocks the world with a startling experiment, igniting a struggle between science and theology, free will and fate, and antagonizing forces not known to exist. Eric Argus is a washout. His prodigious early work clouded his reputation and strained his sanity. But an old friend gives him another chance, an opportunity to step back into the light. With three months to produce new research, Eric replicates the paradoxical double-slit experiment to see for himself the mysterious dual nature of light and matter. A simple but unprecedented inference blooms into a staggering discovery about human consciousness and the structure of the universe. His findings are celebrated and condemned in equal measure, but no one can predict where the truth will lead. And as Eric seeks to understand the unfolding revelations, he must evade shadowy pursuers who believe he knows entirely too much already. “Kosmatka effectively harnesses his impressive imagination in the service of a mind-blowing plot in this outstanding SF thriller…Ingenious plot twists, well-realized characters, and superior prose elevate this above similar books.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Ted Kosmatka (Author), Keith Szarabajka, Keith Szarabajka (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Keith Szarabajka