On October 4, 1957, Sputnik was launched--and stunned the world. Character driven, suspenseful, and dramatic, Red Moon Rising unveils the politics, people, science, and mindset behind this critical and transformative world event. Publishers Weekly, in a starred review, says ?The writing is fast-paced and crisp, the stakes high and the tension palpable from the first pages of this high-flying account of the early days of the space race.?HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents RED MOON RISING, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/redmoonrising.html) by Matthew Brzezinski; read by Charles Stransky.

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The fictional Minnesota town of Lake Wobegon is real to millions of A Prairie Home Companion fans, who tune in each week for the latest news about its strong women and good-looking men. Like Sinclair Lewis?s Gopher Prairie, it is part of literary legend. Four novels have been set among its quiet streets: Lake Wobegon Days, Wobegon Boy, Lake Wobegon Summer 1956, and now PONTOON. Angels and Elvises, lovers and Lutherans come together in this gently humorous and deeply thoughtful story about rising above the expected.HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents PONTOON, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/pontoon.html) by Garrison Keillor; read by the author.

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Unless you're a parent looking for a little relief, you're probably less than happy to see Labor Day and the end of summer bearing down upon you. In a small effort to prolong the season, HighBridge offers this excerpt from Michael Chabon's ode to this time of baseball, magic, and the joys of youth.HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SUMMERLAND, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/summerlandbr.html) by Michael Chabon; read by the author.

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A masterful story requires a masterful narrator, and Barbara Rosenblat deliver on the audio edition of Amy Bloom's Away. Rosenblat skillfully handles a multitude of characters and accents in this transatlantic quest, which begins in Russia, and makes its way across the territory of the United States. This epic, intimate novel follows a young immigrant, Lillian Leyb, who is determined to make her way?and find her daughter?regardless of the cost. Praise for Bloom's writing is pouring in: The New York Times calls it ?alive with incident and unforgettable characters, it sparkles and illuminates as brilliantly as it entertains.? The Los Angeles Times says ?The pleasures of Away are the ordinary pleasures of extraordinary novels: finely wrought prose, vivid characters, delectable details.? The Washington Post finds it ?impassioned, erotic and moving?absolutely hypnotic.?HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents AWAY, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/away.html) by Amy Bloom; read by Barbara Rosenblat.

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As Tolkien?s The Silmarillion is to The Lord of the Rings, Liam Hearn?s Heaven?s Net Is Wide is the backstory fans of the Tales of the Otori series have been yearning for. And for those as of yet unfamiliar with the four-part series, Heaven?s Net is your entry into a fantastic new world of ninjas, samurais, and mysticism. Set before the Tales of the Otori begins, Heaven?s Net recounts the life of Lord Otori Shigeru, the series? spiritual warrior-godfather and adoptive father of the Tales? Takeo. We learn about Shigeru?s training in the ways of the warrior and feudal lord; his relationship with the Tribe of mysteriously powerful assassins; his fateful meeting with Lady Maruyama, who would become his secret lover; the battle of Yaegahara, where his father is killed; and other turning points that shaped the Tales. The first four volumes gave us only glimpses. Now we are treated to rich detail and more of Hearn?s fantastical Japanese world. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents HEAVEN'S NET IS WIDE, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/heavensnetiswide.html) by Lian Hearn; read by J. Paul Boehmer and Julia Fletcher.

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For those who love a novel of manners--particularly when some of those manners are bad--debut novelist and Princeton professor Sophie Gee has a treat in store for you. THE SCANDAL OF THE SEASON is a sexy, sparkling debut about the real-life scandal that inspired the 18th century poem that made Alexander Pope's career: "The Rape of the Lock." The Washington Post calls SCANDAL "charming and witty . . . a thoroughly enjoyable submersion in early 18th-century London, when the wittiest writers feasted on the folly of aristocrats." HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE SCANDAL OF THE SEASON, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/scandalofseason.html) by Sophie Gee; read by Cameron Stewart.

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Psychic Sylvia Browne believes all children are gifted; these gifts have merely been either stifled or exploited by society over the centuries. The gifts usually appear at very tender ages; they are, in Browne's view, special blessings from God. In PSYCHIC CHILDREN Browne illuminates this phenomenon and issues a call to society for more understanding and acceptance of these remarkable children. She talks about her own experiences as a child and shares stories of how children can be channels to the Other Side. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents PSYCHIC CHILDREN, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/psychicchildren.html) by Sylvia Browne, with Lindsay Harrison; read by Jeanie Hackett.

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Lucy Morrigan finds herself in a situation all too familiar to many women: her professional career seems stalled and so even is her family life, as she tries unsuccessfully to conceive. But Lucy has one thing going for her: her field is genetic research--and she has an idea how she might be able to solve both her problems with the use of some of her grandmother's DNA. Thus begins this imaginative debut novel, whose parallels to Mary Shelley's classic are as intriguing as are its divergences. It's a highly satisfying and unique blend of science fiction and love story not heard since the release of The Time Traveler's Wife. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents MARY MODERN, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/marymodern.html) by Camille deAngelis, read by Jenna Lamia.

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Your business has followed all the best advice and developed a great strategic vision. Yet, when it comes to execution, something always falls short. But what? Gregg Crawford knows. He'll help you close the gap between strategy and execution that is sabotaging your business. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE LAST LINK, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/lastlink.html) by Gregg Crawford, read by Adam Grupper.

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HighBridge Company was honored to re-release this collection of Kurt Vonnegut short stories entitled BAGOMBO SNUFFBOX this June, and only saddened that the occasion was the death of the author. There isn't a critic, a student, or an aspiring writer who hasn't praised or cursed--or alternately praised and cursed--Vonnegut for his contribution to American writing. He forced us to think right when we thought we were just being entertained--and that made the review, or the book report, or our own work of fiction just that much harder to write. He raised the bar. And now he is gone.This short excerpt from the introduction is read by Vonnegut himself. Once you hear it, you'll know why we say "And you are, too. God bless you, Mr. Vonnegut." HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents BAGOMBO SNUFFBOX, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/bagsnufbox.html) by Kurt Vonnegut, with introduction read by the author.

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For those of you celebrating, we hope you had a pleasant Independence Day. We doubt, though, that it was as exciting as one that occurred in Lake Wobegon last year, as related by Garrison Keillor on his latest collection of Lake Wobegon monologues. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents FLYING ELVISES ON THE 4TH OF JULY from NEVER BETTER, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/neverbetter.html) by Garrison Keillor.

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When professional storyteller Joel ben Izzy discovered after waking up from thyroid cancer surgery that he had lost his voice, he felt himself falling head long into a story as odd as any he had ever told. His life, his livelihood, his personal identity all seemed open to interpretation and threatened by a meaningless, incomprehensible twist of fate. Weaving together stories and fables with the events of his own life, ben Izzy takes listeners on a surprisingly humorous and deeply moving journey into the heart of what it means to live and to be happy. Since he narrates his story, you know he ultimately does regain his voice; but it is what else he loses and what else is gained along the way that ultimately makes his story so satisfying and insightful. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE BEGGAR KING AND THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/beggarking.html) written and read by award-winning storyteller and author Joel ben Izzy.

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If you're going into withdrawal now that Heroes is in reruns, we've got a witty remedy that will tide you over at least a couple days. Doctor Impossible?evil genius, mad scientist, and wannabe world dominator?is tired of ALMOST taking over the world. This time he means business. Enter the beautiful Fatale, a gleaming technological marvel designed by the NSA. She's just received her dream mission: to join up with a group of formerly famous but still fabulous young heroes?Damsel, Blackwolf, Feral, and CoreFire?to frustrate Dr. Impossible's ambitions yet again. Witty and intelligent, SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE takes the fantastic genre of comic book adventure on an amazing literary ride as it explores power, celebrity, glory, responsibility, and?of course?good and evil. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/sooniwillbeinvincible.html).

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It's the man of the hour: dear old dad. And to honor (or embarrass or harrass--you know, like usual) Dad this Father's Day weekend, we offer up this podcast. Actually, it's a touching story of a Vietnam airman and his family exchanging audio letters. It just might even make Dad cry. . . not that he'd admit it. . . . HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents NPR DRIVEWAY MOMENTS FOR DADS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/drivewaymomentsfordads.html).

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Knit one and listen too, as Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, aka the Yarn Harlot, shares her humorous insights into the so-called relaxing hobby of knitting. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents AT KNIT'S END: Meditiations for Women Who Knit Too Much (www.highbridgeaudio.com/atknitsend.html) and STEPHANIE PEARL-MCPHEE CASTS OFF: The Yarn Harlot's Guide to the Land of Knitting (www.highbridgeaudio.com/spmcastsoff.html), both read by the author Stephanie Pearl-McPhee

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In memory of those who have served, excerpts of two recent releases from HighBridge: HALSEY'S TYPHOON: A Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, an Untold Rescue, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/halseystyphoon.html), by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. Read by Eric Conger and SCORPION DOWN, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/scorpiondown1.html) by Ed Offley. Read by Richard Ferrone.

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The first collection from beloved humorist Roy Blount JR in more than a decade focuses on a perennially popular topic: the South vs. the North. Roy's sly, dry, hilarious essays prove the truth of his own observation "The South has more of a way with words." Roy will be at the Book Expo America conference in New York June 1-3, appearing with the band The Rock Bottom Remainders on Friday and speaking at the Audio Publisher Association's Tea on Saturday. If you'll be there, you won't want to miss either event. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents LONG TIME LEAVING: DISPATCHES FROM UP SOUTH (www.highbridgeaudio.com/longtimeleaving.html)read by the author Roy Blount JR.

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In honor of Stud Terkel's 95th birthday yesterday, HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents VOICES OF OUR TIME: FIVE DECADES OF STUDS TERKEL INTERVIEWS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/voicofourtim.html), featuring folk legend Pete Seeger.

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Now you can waste not one, not two, but four perfectly good hours listening to these classic, complete Car Talk episodes. Every call, every joke, every "don't drive like my brother" admonition, the puzzler, even those bogus closing credits--it's all there. Waste a few perfectly good moments--I believe the number is two--right now as HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents CAR TALK CLASSICS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/cartalkclassics1.html), with Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

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New York is going to the dogs in this light-hearted romance by Cathleen Schine, author of the The Love Letter. And it's a good thing, too, as animals are what bring together and keep together the motley collection of humans that share this story. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE NEW YORKERS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/newyorkers.html) by Cathleen Schine; read by Nicole Roberts.

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We continue our two-part podcast of Robert Greene titles with an excerpt from Greene's The 33 Strategies of War, plus a special "guest appearance" by the godfather of political manuevering, Machiavelli. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE 33 STRATEGIES OF WAR, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/33strategiesofwar.html) by Robert Greene; read by Don Leslie. And also an excerpt from THE PRINCE, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/prince.html)

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His books are controversial and so are some of his fans in the hip hop community. So how did Robert Greene, author of The 33 Strategies of War, The 48 Laws of Power, and The Art of Seduction and self-proclaimed "geeky white guy" get to be such a source for the knowledge to master one's universe (whether one's universe likes it or not)? From his résumé, one would have to say: By reading the classics and working in Hollywood. Greene has a degree in classical studies. He has worked in New York as an editor and writer at several magazines including ?Esquire? and in Hollywood as a story developer and writer. His inspiration for his insights come from figures as diverse as Casanova, Chairman Mao, Margaret Thatcher, and, of course, Machiavelli. And in that last inspiration comes the catch for those troubled by the ethics (or apparent lack thereof) in these works. Kirkus Reviews may have found Greene's work "distasteful," but so have some who have read The Prince, a staple of many a classroom full of impressionable youth. As New York magazine put it, "Machiavelli has a new rival."HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents, in a special two-part presentation, the work of Robert Greene, beginning with THE 48 LAWS OF POWER, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/48lawsofpower.html). Read by Don Leslie.

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Most of the profound questions we will explore in our lives--evolution, global warming, stem cells--have to do with science. So do a lot of everyday things, like our ice cream melting and our coffee getting cold and our vacuum cleaner running (or not). What does our liver do when we eat a caramel? How does the horse demonstrate evolution at work? Are we really made of stardust? (Yes, we are.) Natalie Angiers (bestselling author of Woman: An Intimate Geography) sets out to remind us why science so fascinated us as children--and why it never should have ceased to do so. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE CANON: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/canon.html) by Natalie Angiers. Read by Nike Doukas.

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It wasn't just the Bay of Pigs that could have turned the Cold War into a very hot war indeed. We're only just learning now the details surrounding the sinking of the USS Scorpion by the Soviets. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SCORPION DOWN, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/scorpiondown1.html) by Ed Offley. Read by Richard Ferrone.

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Garrison Keillor has never been better, as attested to by his latest collection of Lake Wobegon monologues--the first such collection in over four years.HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents NEVER BETTER, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/neverbetter.html) by Garrison Keillor.

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As the NCAA counts down to the final four, listen to a coaching legend of the professional league, Phil Jackson, along with colleague and co-author Charley Rosen. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents MORE THAN A GAME, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/morethangame.html) by Phil Jackson and Charley Rosen. Read by the authors.

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With World Earth Day approaching and former Vice President (and Oscar winner) Al Gore set to tell Congress a few "inconvenient truths," hear from one of Gore's inspirations: a work referenced in his film. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents A SAND COUNTY ALMANAC, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/sancounbral.html) by Aldo Leopold. Read by Stewart L. Udall.

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It's America's game, baseball, and Lawrence S. Ritter has helped keep alive its history through these audio interviews with legends of its past. On this excerpt, introduced by Ritter, hear Fred Snodgrass as he starts to relate the story of Charles Victory Faust. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE GLORY OF THEIR TIMES., (www.highbridgeaudio.com/gloroftheirt.html) by Lawrence S. Ritter, with original audio interviews with old-time players.

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Racial cleansing here in the US? That's the painful history ? with present day ramifications ? that a Pulitzer-prize winning journalist reveals in his new work. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents BURIED IN THE BITTER WATERS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/buriedinbitterwaters.html) by Elliot Jaspin. Read by Don Leslie.

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Life, according to authors Harry and Christine Beckwith, is one big sales call, with you being not just the seller but what is being sold. So it's imperative you don't sell yourself short. The Beckwiths have the advice you need, whether you're starting out in life or re-assessing your direction. And it's not just about securing yourself a better job or a bigger raise, it's about building a better life. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents YOU, INC., (www.highbridgeaudio.com/youinc.html) by Harry Beckwith and Christine Clifford Beckwith. Read by Martin Ruben and Lisa DeSimone.

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Wish you could see spring? You can at least hear it on this original audio anthology. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE WRITER IN THE GARDEN, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/writeringarden.html) edited by Jane Garmey. Read by an ensemble cast.

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Heat up your Valentine's Day with advice from sex expert Lou Paget. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents HOW TO BE A GREAT LOVER, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/howtobegreatlover.html) and HOW TO GIVE HER ABSOLUTE PLEASURE, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/howtogiveherabsolutepleasure.html) by Lou Paget. Read by the author. (Excerpt includes some explicit content.)

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Terry Gross is arguably the best interview in any media today. This new collection features more of her amazing interviews with stars of stage and screen. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents FRESH AIR: STARS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/freshairstars.html), with Terry Gross.

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Count Leo Tolstoy's epic story of passion, infidelity, vengeance, and retribution has held readers spellbound since it was first published in the late 1800s. You'll love this edition, read by two-time Tony nominee Alfred Molina. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents ANNA KARENINA, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/annakarenina.html), by Leo Tolstoy.

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Eleven-year-old Philip Noble has a big problem. His dad has appeared to him as a member of the Dead Fathers Club, a club for ?ghost dads? whose murders are unavenged. His father?s road accident, it turns out, was no accident at all. Uncle Alan is responsible for his dad?s death, and if Philip doesn't succeed in killing his uncle before his dad's birthday, just ten weeks away, his dad's spirit will never rest. The Dead Fathers Club gives more than a nod towards Hamlet. Hilarious and unpredictable, The Dead Father?s Club is full of poignant insights into the strange workings of the world as seen through the eyes of a child. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE DEAD FATHERS CLUB, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/deadfathersclub.html), by Matt Haig. Read by Andrew Dennis.

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In the tradition of The Perfect Storm and Flags of Our Fathers: a gripping true account of courage and survival at sea against impossible odds?and one of the finest untold World War II sagas of our time. Special extended excerpt! HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents HALSEY'S TYPHOON: A Fighting Admiral, an Epic Storm, an Untold Rescue, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/halseystyphoon.html), by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. Read by Eric Conger.

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Barack Obama demonstrates that politicians can be funny--and win quiz shows, as demonstrated by his appearance on NPR and Chicago Public Radio's Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me'. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents WAIT WAIT ... DON'T TELL ME: THE BEST OF 'NOT MY JOB', (www.highbridgeaudio.com/notmyjob.html).

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Finally succeed in your New Year's resolution to lose weight or quit smoking: HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents CURE YOUR CRAVINGS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/cureyourcravings.html), by Yefim Shubentsov and Barbara Gordon. Read by Bill Morelock.

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Now available on CD: Keillor's follow up to Lake Wobegon Days has his protagonist, John Tollefson, returning years later to Minnesota for a life-changing visit. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents WOBEGON BOY, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/wobegonboy.html), by Garrison Keillor. Read by the author.

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The fates of two women?one Japanese, one American?become entwined in this sweeping novel of 19th century Japan on the cusp of radical change and westernization. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE TEAHOUSE FIRE, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/teahousefire.html), by Ellis Avery. Read by Barbara Caruso (hear an interview with Barbara on the HighBridge website).

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America?s leading psychic explores the details of Christ?s inspiring life from her unique perspective?as someone familiar with this world and the next. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE MYSTICAL LIFE OF JESUS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/mysticallifeofjesus.html), by Sylvia Browne. Read by Jeanie Hackett.

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For World AIDS Day: A reminder of the youngest victims and a message as well of hope: HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THERE IS NO ME WITHOUT YOU, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/thereisnomewithoutyou.html), by Melissa Fay Greene Ron Powers. Read by Julie Fain Lawrence.

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William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) was one of the greatest poets of the 20th century. Born in Dublin, a leader of the Irish Renaissance, he dreamed of creating a new cultural identity for his country. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1923. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents WB YEATS: POEMS, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/wbyeatspoems.html). Read by T. P. McKenna.

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A business book disguised as a novel, a love story about the manufacturing process, and an exhilarating adventure in human potential, The Goal is changing how America does business. First published in 1984, it became an underground bestseller; today it's used by thousands of companies and taught in hundreds of business schools. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE GOAL, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/goalrevised.html), by Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Read by an ensemble cast.

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In honor of all veterans, we offer a clip this week from the true story of a WWII pilot and his twenty-five daring daylight missions over the flak- and enemy-fighter-filled skies of Occupied France and Nazi Germany. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE MAN WHO FLEW THE MEMPHIS BELLE: Memoir of a WWII Bomber Pilot, (www.highbridgeaudio.com/manwhoflewth.html), by Col. Robert Morgan, USAFR, Ret., with Ron Powers. Read by Ron McLarty.

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What do the lives of Lincoln, Helen Keller, Joan of Arc, and other historical figures have in common with Paula Poundstone? In the hands of this wryly observant and self-deprecating comedian, the answer is outrageously funny and unexpectedly touching. Poundstone compares her crazy life to theirs, as she holds forth on her children, her career, and the time in her life when it appeared she would lose both. Poundstone treats that stressful experience and the rest of her life - successes and failures - with remarkable wit and insight. Her audiobook THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS BOOK THAT I MEANT TO SAY is self-awareness and honesty at its most hilarious. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THERE'S NOTHING IN THIS BOOK THAT I MEANT TO SAY (www.highbridgeaudio.com/theresnothinginthisbook.html), written and read by comedian Paula Poundstone.

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Get in the Halloween spirit. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents a classic dramatization of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's THE HOUND OF THE BASKERVILLES from the collection CLASSIC TALES OF HORROR AND SUSPENSE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/clastalofsus.html). It's a real treat.

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There are still a few days left in October to participate in "Adopt a Shelter Dog Month." HighBridge is doing its part with this excerpt from THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY. The Monks of New Skete have been breeding, raising, and training German Sheperds for more than 25 years. Their extraordinary grasp of eery facet of puppy behavior has gained them worldwide attention, and their training materials is among the most trusted. All the fundamentals are covered, using methods that build bonds of trust, love, and respect. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE ART OF RAISING A PUPPY (www.highbridgeaudio.com/artofraisingpuppy.html), read by Michael Wager.

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New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik and his family return to New York after a stay in Paris (chronicled in PARIS TO THE MOON) in 2000. It was an almost idyllic New York, unexpectedly child-friendly. Gopnik's reflections, which take their name from the entrance in Central Park that leads to the children's playground, describe not just a city but an extended urban family, and a home charmed by the civilization of childhood. It's a charm that is simultaneously protect from, challenged by, and even shaped around the event that is soon to follow in September 2001. By turns elegant and exultant, jubilant and poignant, THROUGH THE CHILDREN'S GATE is a loving portrait of a family and their city. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THROUGH THE CHILDREN'S GATE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/throughchildrensgate.html), by Adam Gopnik; read by the author. Look for an interview with Adam Gopnik in an upcoming issue of Audiofile magazine.

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Gather 'round, kiddies. Tom and Ray, the Car Talk guys, have got some tales to tell you: You'll hear about amazing, flying plywood, how Dougie got the nickname "the subway fugitive," and the definitive answer to the question "How many engineers does it take to screw in a light bulb?" HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents CAR TALK: GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD (ONCE UPON A CAR FIRE) (www.highbridgeaudio.com/cartalkgreateststoriesevertold.html), with Tom and Ray Magliozzi.

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New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik and his family return to New York after a stay in Paris (chronicled in PARIS TO THE MOON) in 2000. It was an almost idyllic New York, unexpectedly child-friendly. Gopnik's reflections, which take their name from the entrance in Central Park that leads to the children's playground, describe not just a city but an extended urban family, and a home charmed by the civilization of childhood. It's a charm that is simultaneously protect from, challenged by, and even shaped around the event that is soon to follow in September 2001. By turns elegant and exultant, jubilant and poignant, THROUGH THE CHILDREN'S GATE is a loving portrait of a family and their city. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THROUGH THE CHILDREN'S GATE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/throughchildrensgate.html), by Adam Gopnik; read by the author. Look for an interview with Adam Gopnik in an upcoming issue of Audiofile magazine.

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A National Geographic special introduced tens of millions of viewers to one of the most important biblical discoveries of modern times: the Gospel of Judas, a text lost for nearly 1,700 years, newly restored and authenticated. Now a leading historian of the early church (and a featured commentator in the special) Bart D. Ehrman offers the first comprehensive account of this Gospel that claims Judas did not betray Jesus but rather acted at Jesus? request.The Gospel of Judas is a controversial document that raises many questions. Ehrman provides illuminating and authoritative answers.HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE LOST GOSPEL OF JUDAS ISCARIOT (www.highbridgeaudio.com/lostgospeljudasiscariot.html), by Bart D. Ehrman; read by Dennis Boutsikaris and Lew Grenville.

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Critics have described Lian Hearn's epic tales of a mythical, mystical Japan as "Part Shogan, part Lord of the Rings, and entirely enchanting." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Its world of honor and code, customs, war, and love has captured the imaginations of a growing number of people around the world. The stories are now available in 32 countries and several languages. When Hearn first envisioned the Tales, it was as a three-part saga that she wrote in close succession. But, much to the luck and delight of its many fans, its characters would not rest. The result is THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON, which takes up the story of the heroes of the first books, Takeo and Kaede, sixteen years later. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE HARSH CRY OF THE HERON (www.highbridgeaudio.com/harshcryofheron.html), by Lian Hearn; read by Julia Fletcher and Henri Lubatti.

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In honor of the late Ken Kesey's birthday on September 17, HighBridge offers this edition of ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST, read by the author. It releases this month for the first time on CD and includes a Fresh Air with Terry Gross interview with Kesey. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (www.highbridgeaudio.com/oneflewovercuckoosnest.html), read by the author Ken Kesey.

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Cats have always intrigued writers. In CATS, CATS, AND MORE CATS, an original audio anthology, fictional and nonfictional cats, their graceful, impenetrable charms are elegantly described by some of the world's greatest writers. Today's excerpt is from The Story of Webster by the beloved author P.G. Wodehouse. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents CATS, CATS, AND MORE CATS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/catscatsandmorecats.html), selection read by Michael Wager.

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When Haregewoin Teferra's husband and daughter died within a few years of each other, her middle-class life in Ethiopia was shattered, and she became a recluse. Her self-imposed exile was interrupted when a priest delivered first one, then another orphaned child into her care. To everyone's surprise, the children thrived--and so did Haregewoin.Suddenly, Haregewoin's home became the trusted place where AIDS-stricken parents could leave their children. Soon Haregewoin and everyone her efforts touched--including people from around the world--learned that families are made wherever love is found. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents a true story of the AIDS epidemic in Africa and one women's efforts to save its youngest victims: THERE IS NO ME WITHOUT YOU (www.highbridgeaudio.com/thereisnomewithoutyou.html), by Melissa Fay Greene, read by Julie Fain Lawrence

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Jonathan Franzen reportedly prefers not to do interviews; he'd rather let his works do the talking for him. But in the case of the audio edition of THE DISCOMFORT ZONE, his memoir about growing up "middle American," he does do the talking--or, rather, narrating. Those seeking to know more about the National Book Award-winning author of The Corrections, will find it here, and perhaps a little bit of their own history as well, if they grew up in the Midwest of the 60's and 70's. Franzen manages to captures all the humor that a journey back to the passions and pathos of adolescence and young adulthood can elicit, while providing that insight into the ordinary that only an accomplished storyteller can provide. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE DISCOMFORT ZONE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/discomfortzone.html), by Jonathan Franzen, read by the author.

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Ready or not, here comes school again. And if you do find that you or your teen- or college-aged kids are more in the "not" than the "ready" column when it comes to their study techniques, HighBridge has the audio for you. It will help you improve your memory, take notes, manage your time, and improve your reading. The author, Ron Fry, is a seminar leader and has over 30 titles to his credit as either editor or author. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents HOW TO STUDY (www.highbridgeaudio.com/howtostudyprogram.html), by Ron Fry. Read by Berverly Butler and David Cooper.

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The man who knows a Purple Cow when he sees one and who can tell that All Marketers Are Liars is back to advise you that SMALL IS THE NEW BIG. Seth Godin, the avant-garde marketer and international bestselling author, explores how small companies with targeted ideas and savvy marketing are turning out to be the next "big" thing. Big business used to be a good thing. Big meant economies of scale, lots of resources, and more power. Big meant better. Then small happened. Seth explains what it means and how anyone can "think small." HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SMALL IS THE NEW BIG AND OTHER RIFFS, RANTS, AND REMARKABLE BUSINESS IDEAS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/smallisthenewbig1.html), by Seth Godin. Read by the author. An AudioFile Earphones award winner.

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Desperate Housewives meets Sex and the City in this wickedly hilarious true story of modern motherhood, its conflicting demands, and nostalgia for one's carefree past. Brett Paesel (Curb Your Enthusiasm, Six Feet Under) and her group of friends find themselves not quite ready for a G-rated world. But while they might be "formerly fabulous," they're also just ordinary moms who love their kids. Witty, poignant, and laugh-out-loud funny, these are the voices of real moms today. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents MOMMIES WHO DRINK: SEX DRUGS, AND OTHER DISTANT MEMORIES OF AN ORDINARY MOM (www.highbridgeaudio.com/mommieswhodrink.html), by Brett Paesel. Read by the author.

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"Compelling enough as a fable. . . The fact that it's true makes the story wonderous, and unforgettable." That's how author Carl Hiaasen describes GRAYSON, swimming legend Lynne Cox's story of her encounter with a lost baby gray whale and her attempt to reunite it with its mother - somewhere out in the vastness of the Pacific. Kirkus Reviews calls GRAYSON "an inspirational, almost spiritual" tale. It's an experience you don't want to miss, and one that you'll want to share with family and friends. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents GRAYSON (www.highbridgeaudio.com/grayson.html), by Lynne Cox. Read by the author.

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Sylvia Browne is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and a frequent quest of Montel Williams. INSIGHT is her most personal book to date: a sharing of intimate stores about her more than 50-year career giving psychic readings. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents INSIGHT: CASE FILES FROM THE PSYCHIC WORLD (www.highbridgeaudio.com/insight.html), by Sylvia Browne, with Lindsay Harrison. Read by Jeannie Hackett.

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The kids have been home from school for over a month now. Undoubtedly, there's many a parent who is secretly - and with no little sense of guilt - already looking forward to the start of school. Parenting is a tough job ? rewarding, but tough. Parenting expert Nancy Samalin can help you get more joy out of parenting. Her straightforward approach to raising children is practical and positive. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents LOVING YOUR CHILD IS NOT ENOUGH: POSITIVE DISCIPLINE THAT WORKS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/lovingyourchild.html), by Nancy Samalin. Read by the author.

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Deadlines can be murder for Scottish mystery writer Denise Mina?s protagonist, the young Paddy Meehan. In THE DEAD HOUR, she?s a reporter ? or trying to be ? for the Scottish Daily News. But it?s the 1980s, and between the office sexism, her repressive Catholic family, and her constant battle with her weight, it?s hard to catch a break. Luckily for Paddy, what she can seem to catch is criminals. And that?s good copy. Mina paints her characters and 1980s Scotland in vivid detail. From her young protagonist Paddy, to Paddy's more experienced colleagues, her family, and the troubling and dangerous characters Paddy encounters, Mina's stark realism draws you in to their lives and stories. Publishers Weekly calls Mina ?A writer of stunning talent.? AudioFile gave an Earphones award to Mina?s first Meehan story Field of Blood, calling the audio edition ?hypnotizing.? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE DEAD HOUR (www.highbridgeaudio.com/deadhour.html), by Denise Mina, followed by an excerpt from the prequel FIELD OF BLOOD (www.highbridgeaudio.com/fieldofblood.html). Both are read by Heather O?Neill. Contains strong language.

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?I write as a jilted lover. The evangelical faith that nurtured me as a child and sustains me as an adult has been hijacked by right-wing zealots.? These are not the words of a radical anti-Christian, but of Randall Balmer, Columbia University religion professor and author of Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: A Journey into the Evangelical Subculture of America.In his latest book, THY KINGDOM COME: An Evangelical?s Lament: How the Religious Right Distorts the Faith and Threatens America, Randall Balmer examines the rise of the American religious right and the means by which it is reshaping the country?s political and cultural landscape.Balmer argues that the religious right has betrayed the very gospel that it espouses, has betrayed the heritage of 19th-century evangelical activism, and, in seeking to eviscerate the First Amendment separation of church and state, is working against the interests of the faith itself. He notes that religion has flourished in America as nowhere else precisely because the government has stayed out of the religion business. And he reminds his fellow evangelicals and others of the real teachings of Jesus and what it means to be Christian. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THY KINGDOM COME (www.highbridgeaudio.com/thykingdomcome.html), read by Jeff Woodman.

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Murder mystery lovers who like their suspects and victims to be three dimensional and who enjoy unraveling those characters as much as they do unraveling the mystery itself will appreciate Elisabeth Hyde's THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER. Two weeks before Christmas, Dr. Diana Duprey is found floating face-up in a small lap pool in her back yard. A medical doctor with an abortion practice, and a national figure who inspired passion and ignited tempers, she had been the target of violent threats by right-to-life activists.The investigation of the case unleashes a flood of secrets within Duprey?s own family and among the residents of her small Colorado town, all of whom must face haunting questions?and the accusations of their own conscience. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE ABORTIONIST'S DAUGHTER (www.highbridgeaudio.com/abortionistsdaughter.html), read by Beth McDonald.

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In A RIVER RUNS THOUGH IT, Norman Maclean claims that ?in my family, there was no clear line between religion and fly-fishing.? Nor is there a clear line between family and fly-fishing. It is the one activity where brother can connect with brother and father with son, bridging troubled relationships at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana. It is therefore a fitting selection for this father?s day weekend, when we celebrate those men ? literal fathers and father figures ? who have guided us along the river of life. Maclean?s masterpiece is read by Montana native and fellow author Ivan Doig (This House of Sky ) in what The Philadelphia Inquirer proclaims one ?of the few near-perfect matches of reader and author.? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents A RIVER RUN THROUGH IT (www.highbridgeaudio.com/rivrunthroug.html), a 4-disc Special Edition including ON THE BIG BLACKFOOT, read by Maclean and his son, plus other bonus material.

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Take a crotchety old man, an elephant, and a circus full of freaks, grifters, entertainers, and down-on-their luck individuals and what do you get? You get the best audio experience you?ll have all summer! WATER FOR ELEPHANTS is Sara Gruen?s atmospheric tale, told by ninety- (or is that ninety-three?) year-old Jacob Jankowski, who reflects back on his experience as a young man in a Depression-era circus. Pulitzer Prize winner Robert Olen Butler calls it ?utterly transporting,? and author Joshilyn Jackson exclaims, ?I am hopelessly, unabashedly in love with this book.? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents WATER FOR ELEPHANTS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/waterforelephants.html) by Sara Gruen, with John Randolph Jones as Jacob as an old man and David LeDoux as the young Jacob.

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THE LEMON TREE, the true story of two families--one Arab, one Jewish--accomplishes what no mere news report or history about the Middle East has done: It presents the human face of this seemingly endless conflict. Award-winning journalist Sandy Tolan expands on his documentary, first broadcast in 1998 on Fresh Air with Terry Gross, where he first introduced us to Bashir, the Palestinian forced from his home as a teenager in 1948 and Dalia, whose family took possession of that apparently deserted home when she was just a baby. When Dalia welcomes a visiting Bashir back into that home in 1967, it is a simple act of faith that sparks a friendship that has spanned decades and endured a deep political divide. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE LEMON TREE: AN ARAB, A JEW, AND THE HEART OF THE MIDDLE EAST (www.highbridgeaudio.com/lemontree.html), read by the author, Sandy Tolan.

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Before you slap hamburgers down on the grill this Memorial Day weekend, you might want to hear from Peter Singer and Jim Mason regarding the very real ramifications of our food choices, from the epidemic of obesity in children to the impact on the environment, both local and global. And what about food labels such as ?organic,? ?certified humane,? and ?fair trade?--how valid are they? The authors present some hard lessons, but with practical advice to help you make informed choices regarding your own consumption. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE WAY WE EAT: WHY OUR FOOD CHOICES MATTER (www.highbridgeaudio.com/wayweeat.html), read by Rick Adamson.

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In celebration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?s birthday this coming Monday, HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SHERLOCK HOLMES: A BAKER STREET DOZEN (www.highbridgeaudio.com/bakerstreetdozen.html). A BAKER STREET DOZEN features twelve stories, fully dramatized, with the great Sir John Gielgud as Sherlock Holmes, Ralph Richardson as Dr. Watson, and Orson Welles as the nefarious Professor Moriarty. Classic stories, classic radio dramatizations - elementary!

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In the woods of a small town, Adam, a nine-yearyear-old autistic boy, is discovered next to the body of his classmate. Now the police are relying on Adam as the only witness to an appalling crime. But he can?t tell them anything. Barely verbal on the best of days, Adam has retreated into a silent world that Cara, his mother, knows only too well. A thrilling novel of psychological syspense, Cammie McGovern?s EYE CONTACT is, above all, the powerful story of the complex bond between a mother and her son. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents EYE CONTACT (www.highbridgeaudio.com/eyecontact.html).

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Kenneth Branagh lends his considerable skills to this reading of the diary of the seventeenth century man-about-town Samuel Pepys. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents PEPYS? DIARY (www.highbridgeaudio.com/pepysdiary.html).

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It?s the national past time and, for some, the national obsession: We?re talking baseball, and who knows it better than love-him/hate-him coach Tony La Russa? THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST: STRATEGY, HEARTBREAK, AND JOY INSIDE THE MIND OF A MANAGER is Buzz Bissinger?s tribute to both the sport and the man. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THREE NIGHTS IN AUGUST (www.highbridgeaudio.com/thniinaubybu.html) read by Jeffrey Nordling. Play ball!

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Provocative New Yorker staff writer Caitlin Flanagan looks at women?s lives today and considers the price of progress. The New York Observer calls her work ?biting and witty, full of a writerly flair hard to find in discussions of ?women?s issues.?? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents TO HELL WITH ALL THAT: LOVING AND LOATHING OUR INNER HOUSEWIFE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/tohellwithallthat.html) by Caitlin Flanagan; read by Julia Fletcher.

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HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents a special Good Friday podcast of THE GOSPEL OF JESUS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/gospelofjesus.html). Garrison Keillor narrates this harmonization (blending of the four gospels into a single story), edited by Daniel L. Johnson. Musical interludes by The VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, directed by Philip Brunelle. This excerpt relates the events of Good Friday, from Pilate?s interrogation of Jesus through Jesus? death on the cross.

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Next week is, for many Christians, what is known as 'Holy Week': the last week before Jesus' crucifixion. Recognizing its centrality to how Christianity is practiced, controversial historical Jesus scholars John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg turn their attention to what can be learned about that week, day by day. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE LAST WEEK (www.highbridgeaudio.com/lastweek.html).

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Irene Nemirovsky, an already renowned novelist--and a Jew--living in France during the WWII, completed two parts of an intended five-part novel SUITE FRANCAISE about the Nazi occupation before being sent to Auschwitz, where she later died. Her daughters survived in hiding, carrying among their few personal belongings their mother's manuscript. For decades they thought it was a journal and couldn?t bear to read it. Only when they planned to turn it over to an organization that preserves memories of the war did they discover what they held. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SUITE FRANCAISE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/suitefrancaise.html ) ?A masterpiece ... ripped from oblivion.?--Le Monde "Everything about this transcendent novel is miraculous."--Booklist (starred review) "... heroic ..."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

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The follow-up to the #1 New York Times bestseller and Oprah Book Club pick The Rapture of Canaan: A quirky, charming story of a young girl?s journey to find the mother who abandoned her. Eight-year-old Tessa Lee and her little brother, Travis, are left at a campground by their mother and her boyfriend with little more than their mother?s housecoat--with its print of tiny fireflies--and a phone number printed in magic marker on Travis?s back. So begins Tessa Lee?s journey, a quest steeped in Southern atmosphere and with themes, running like threads in a cloak, of loss and reunion. ?Ms. Reynolds?s poetic gifts are uncommonly powerful.?--New York Times Book Review HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents FIREFLY CLOAK by Sheri Reynolds (www.highbridgeaudio.com/fireflycloak.htm).

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This St. Patrick's Day, journey to County Cork, Ireland, where something's fermenting. Is it just cheese? Or could it be love? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents BLESSED ARE THE CHEESEMAKERS by Sarah-Kate Lynch, read by Heather ONeill (www.highbridgeaudio.com/blesarechees.html).

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Before there were cowboys on Brokeback Mountain, there was Dusty and Lefty on Garrison Keillor's PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. This pair--the crotchety Dusty and the yodeling, poetry-loving Lefty--bring humor to the range as they cope with citrusy aftershave, hangovers, and the difficulties of herding 10,000 free range chickens. Tim Russell is Dusty and Garrison Keillor is Lefty. Come June, this cowboy pair also hits the bring screen in the Robert Altman film A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION. In the film Woody Harrelson plays Lefty and John C. Reilly Dusty. Yee-haw! HighBridge Audio presents DUSTY AND LEFTY - THE LIVES OF THE COWBOYS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/dustyandlefty.html).

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Religion has been co-opted by politics in recent years. When it comes to Christianity, one Pulitzer Prize-winning author would like to suggest that, rather than assuming an understanding of how this faith should play out in the public sector, a very fundamental question should be revisited. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents WHAT JESUS MEANT (www.highbridgeaudio.com/whatjesusmeant.html) by Garry Wills; read by the author.

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"Doesn't anyone screen these calls?" is the often heard lament of Click and Clack, the Tappet brothers, otherwise known as Tom and Ray Magliozzi, hosts of NPR's CAR TALK. In this case, it's the title of their latest collection of calls about the times when cars and animals collide--figuratively. Over the years, the CAR TALK guys have learned that it's not just a dog-eat-dog world out there. Sometimes it's also horse-eat-steering-wheel--and you might as well just have a good laugh about it. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents CAR TALK DOESN'T ANYONE SCREEN THESE CALLS? (CALLS ABOUT ANIMALS AND CARS) (www.highbridgeaudio.com/doesntanyonescreenthesecalls.html)

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Take a trip back in history--before U.S. presidents Washington and Lincoln, before even Columbus. Does the history we've been taught in school--the history that has shaped American attitudes and policies--have much to do with what scientists now know? HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents Charles C. Mann's 1491: NEW REVELATIONS OF THE AMERICAS BEFORE COLUMBUS (www.highbridgeaudio.com/1491.html). If you'd rather not cast your mind back that far, revisit the 10-07-05 podcast of LINCOLN'S MELANCHOLY by Joshua Wolf Shenk.

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In honor of Valentine's Day, HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents Alfred Lord Tennyson's "After the Ball," from the collection VOICES OF LOVE (www.highbridgeaudio.com/voicesoflove.html). The selection is read by Simon Prebble.

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This June a whole lot of big-name stars will appear in a movie based on a little old radio show. What's the attraction for Meryl Streep, Lindsay Lohan, Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Cline, Woody Harrelson, and others? Well, partly it's working with legendary film director Robert Altman. But there's also something about Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." Sure, just as the name of this collection attests, IT'S ONLY A SHOW, but it's also a Pretty Good show. Some might even say it's Above Average. If you're not familiar with the show--or even if you're a long-time fan--you'll enjoy this collection of everything that makes the show the favorite of millions (including movie stars): the News from Lake Wobegon; the Adventures of Guy Noir, Private Eye; Dusty and Lefty: The Lives of the Cowboys; the sound effects; the quirky commercial sponsors; and so much more. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents a monologue from IT'S ONLY A SHOW (www.highbridgeaudio.com/itsonlyashow.html).>

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HighBridge Audio invites you to "do the time warp again" with this complete and unabridged edition of THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE by Audrey Niffenegger (www.highbridgeaudio.com/timetravelersunabridged.html). HighBridge previously released an abridged edition, but now is offering this unabridged edition for the U.S. audience. This bestseller and book club favorite tells the story of Clare and her husband Henry, one of the first people diagnosed with Chrono-Displacement Disorder: Periodically his genetic clock resets and he finds himself misplaced in time. Clare and Henry's story unfolds from both points of view, depicting the effects of time travel on their marriage and their passionate love for each other. It's an intensely moving, frequently funny, and totally unforgettable story of the ability of love to transcend time.

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HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents SHE GOT UP OFF THE COUCH (www.highbridgeaudio.com/shegotupoffcouch.html) by Haven Kimmel, read by the author. Picking up where The #1 New York Times bestseller and Today Show book club pick A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY left off, Haven Kimmel crafts a tender portrait of her mother, a modestly heroic woman who took the odds that life gave her and somehow managed to win. When we last saw Zippy, she was oblivious to the storm that was brewing in her home. Her mother, Delonda, had literally just gotten up off the couch and ridden her rickety bicycle down the road. Her dad was off somewhere, gambling or "working." And Zippy was lost in her own fabulous world of exploring the fringes of Mooreland, Indiana. We happily follow Zippy from one story to another, but we know this is really her mother's book--the poignant tale of a strong woman who found a way to save herself and set a proud example for her daughter.

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Recipient of France's most prestigious literary award, the Goncourt Prize, Laurent Gaude's THE HOUSE OF SCORTA is an epic tale of love, lies, and a family's relentless faith in its own power. Set in the south of Italy in 1870 and spanning five generations, it tells the story of the Scorta family. Founded on an act of violence, they yet persevere through a belief in the pursuit of happiness. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE HOUSE OF SCORTA (www.highbridgeaudio.com/houseofscorta.html). Read by Daniel Oreskes with Barbara Caruso.

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A stranger comes to your door, you invite her in, and then she proceeds to turn your family's life upside down--or, possibly, right side up. That's part of the challenge of this Whitbread Novel of the Year winner and Man Booker Prize shortlisted title. THE ACCIDENTAL by Ali Smith (www.highbridgeaudio.com/accidental.html) challenges not just its characters but its audience to grapple with the nature of truth and the power of fiction. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE ACCIDENTAL by Ali Smith. Read by Heather ONeill, Stina Nielson, Jeff Woodman, Ruth Moore, and Simon Prebble.

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HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE WAVE by Walter Mosley (www.highbridgeaudio.com/wave.html). The New York Times bestselling author returns to science fiction with an eerie, transcendent novel of the near future. Errol's father has been dead for several years. Yet lately Errol has been awakened in the middle of the night by a caller claiming to be his father. Is it a prank, or a message from the grave? When he hears the unmistakable sound of a handset being put down on a table, he decides to investigate. Curious and not a little unnerved, Errol sneaks into the graveyard where his father is buried. What he finds there changes his life forever. Caught up in a war between a secret government security agency and an alien presence infecting our world, touched by the Wave, he knows that nothing will ever be the same again.

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It may seem a little unfair to bring up questions of personal finance this painfully close to the biggest buying season of the year. But what better time to get a handle on how your money type--your personal attitude toward money--is impacting your finance future? Jordan E. Goodman, "America's Money Answers Man," will show you how to make your money attitudes work for you rather than against you. So whether you're dreading the arrival of your January credit cards bills, or you're wondering how you can shake your image as the family Scrooge, Goodman can help. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents MASTER YOUR MONEY TYPE: DISCOVER YOUR FINANCIAL PERSONALITY AND CREATE A LIFE OF WEALTH AND FREEDOM (www.highbridgeaudio.com/masteryourmoneytype.html).

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HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE COLD WAR(http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/coldwar.html). From the dean of Cold War historians (New York Times) an important new reckoning with the hostile relationship that defined our age. Drawing on new and often startling information from newly opened Soviet, Eastern European, and Chinese archives, this thrilling account explores the strategic dynamics that drove the Cold War, provides illuminating portraits of its major personalities, and offers much fresh insight into its most crucial events. Riveting, revelatory, and wise, it tells a story whose lessons it is vitally necessary to understand as America once more faces an implacable ideological enemy.

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HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE ROMANTIC POETS (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/romanticpoets.html). Evocative, emotional, imaginative, personal, and powerful, the poetry of the Romantic period still inspires us today. This collection includes the works of Blake, Byron, Coleridge, Keats, Shelley, and Wordsworth12 hours in all. The following is commentary on and then a reading of Wordsworths I wandered lonely as a cloud.

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FRESH AIR fans have reason to celebrate this season with the release of THE BEST OF STAGE AND SCREEN on CD. Award-winning host Terry Gross engages actors, directors, playwrights, producers, icons, and legends in intelligent and entertaining discussions of their craft. The three CD-set includes 17 interviews the following excerpt features actor Robert Duvall discussing his famous line from Apocalypse Now I love the smell of Napalm in the morning. HighBridge Audio Book Excerpts presents FRESH AIR THE BEST OF STAGE AND SCREEN (www.highbridgeaudio.com/freshairstage.html).

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It's Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year, when retailers expect Christmas sales to turn their balance sheets from red to black (thus the name). And so HighBridge Audio excerpts presents COMMERICAL RADIO (www.highbridgeaudio.com/cora.html) from Garrison Keillor. The quirky official sponsors of A PRAIRIE HOME COMPANION remind you to eat more ketchup, fly to your holiday destination on Lutheran Air, and appreciate the many uses for duct tape (Christmas wrapping probably among them)>

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HighBridge Audio Excerpts presents THE CHRISTMAS COMPANION with Garrison Keillor (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/christmascompanion.html). Go Prairie Ho-Ho-Home for the Holidays with this first Christmas collection in over a decade. It features lots of music from special guests Rene Fleming, Diana Krall, Ricky Skaggs, Sarah Jessica Parker, and more--as well as plenty of sketches and stories, including one memorable Christmas in Lake Wobegon when the dark angel of stomach flu visited. In the following excerpt, Garrison Keillor is joined by a very special guest Santa.

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On this Veterans Day, a reminder that war is Heck. Nick Arvins ARTICLES of WAR tells the WWII story of George Tilson, an 18-year-old Iowa farm boy, nicknamed Heck because he won't curse. Other than that, he's a typical soldier, willing to do his duty without much fuss or musing about grand goals. During his first horrific exposure to combat, Heck discovers a dark truth about himself He is a coward. As the stark reality of combat--and the knowledge that he could cease to exist at any moment--presses in on him, he makes a series of choices that would be rational in every human situation except war. AUDIOFILE magazine says Reader J.D. Cullum narrates with a tone of spiritual withdrawal that seems exactly suited to the moral dilemmas faced by Heck. Both story and reading are compelling, their message challenging. Here now is an excerpt from Nick Arvins ARTICLES of WAR (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/arofwarbynia.html).

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In this masterful history of the McCarthy era, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Haynes Johnson recreate that time of crisis, painting vivid portraits of the main players Eisenhower, who hated McCarthy but would not attack him the politicians who both used and feared McCarthy the media that feed on the controversy journalist Edward R. Murrow and lawyer Joseph Welch, whose courageous stances exposed the lies and, most striking, figure of Joseph McCarthy himself. Publishers Weekly calls the AGE OF ANXIETY an engrossing account . . . and a chilling description of McCarthys legacy for today. And that is what makes THE AGE OF ANXIETY so compelling Johnson tells this monumental story through the lens of its relevance to our own time, when fear again affects American behavior and attitudesand public policy. HighBridge Audio presents THE AGE OF ANXIETY MCCARTHYISM TO TERRORISM (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/ageofanxiety.html) by Haynes Johnson read by Kristoffer Tabori

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Louis L'Amour was arguably the greatest writer of Westerns the world has ever known. Seven of his classic stories are presented on two collections TRAIL MIX VOLUME ONE (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/trailmix1.html) and TRAIL MIX VOLUME TWO (http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/trailmix2.html). The stories are read by legendary country singer Willie Nelson. On the following excerpt from 'Riding for the Brand' (VOLUME ONE) Willie is joined by friends Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, and Waylon Jennings in a fully dramatized performance.

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For five decades, Louis Studs Terkel, bestselling author of many books, included his latest AND THEY ALL SANG, brought artists, philosophers, scientists, and activists--the voices of our time--into our living rooms through his program on WFMT in Chicago. With his wit, maverick opinions, and eye to the people and issues of the times, Studs exemplifies what a new generation of alternative broadcasters, sattelite jockeys and podcasters are seeking to bring back to the air waves originality of thought and content. Highbridge Audio Book Excerpts presents STUDS TERKEL'S VOICES OF OUR TIMES ('http://www.highbridgeaudio.com/voicofourtim.html), produced in cooperation with The Chicago Historical Society. VOICES comprises highlghts from 48 of Studs' most important interviews from the 1950s to the 1990s. This excerpt features the legendary folk artist Pete Seeger.

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Highbridge Audio Book Excerpts presents 'LINCOLN'S MELANCHOLY How Depression Challendged a President And Fueled His Greatness' by Joshua Wolf Shenk read by Richard Davidson. ('www.highbridgeaudio.com/lincolnsmelancholy.html'). An American Bookseller's Association 'BookSense Pick' for November, LINCOLN'S MELANCHOLY offers a wholly new perspective on how our greatest president brought America through its greatest crisis. Shenk describes how Lincoln harnessed his depression and gained the strength and insight to not just lead but transform a nation. The audio edition contains an interview with the author not available in the print edition.

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Life changes fast. Life changes in an instant. Thus begins Joan Didion's account of a year that began with her daughter in a coma and her husband and collaborator John Dunne dead of a sudden heart attack. What follows is an profoundly moving story that will touch anyone who has loved and lost. Highbridge Audio Book Excerpts presents THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING by Joan Didion read by Barbara Caruso(www.highbridgeaudio.com/yearofmagicalthinking.html). "A lyrical, disciplined entry in the annals of mourning literature."--Publishers Weekly starred review (HC)

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Our inaugural issue of Highbridge Audio Book Excerpts is James Frey's A Million Little Pieces (www.highbridgeaudio.com/millitpiec.html). Yesterday Oprah Winfrey selected A Million Little Pieces as her new Oprah Book Club title. A Million Little Pieces tells the story of Frey's drug and alcohol addiction and his path to sobriety. An uncommonly genuine account of a life destroyed and reconstructed, it offers a provocative alternative understanding of the nature of addiction and the meaning of recovery. Oprah proclaimed it "gut-wrenching . . . raw and . . . real." The audio edition is read by Oliver Wyman, who won praise for his narration. Publishers Weekly called it ideal and AudioFile magazine a searing performance.

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