Books with author -James Rollins-

Built to Last was a phenomenal success: 'It is a fair assumption that as the seminal importance of this audiobook begins to permeate the upper echelons of business and business schools...Collins and Porras will emerge as the gurus to watch over the next decade.' The Director.Good to Great explores a whole new concept, backed by the rigorous research standards which gave Built to Last such an impact. 1. Good is the Enemy of Great -- the scope of the project 2. Level 5 Leadership -- the type of leader required, humble and ferocious 3. First Who ...Then What -- how companies set the foundation for their shift from good to great 4. Confront the Brutal Facts (Yet Never Lose Faith) -- the duality that leads to greatness 5.Hedgehog Concept -- how to find the one big thing your company must focus on 6. A Culture of Discipline -- the magical alchemy of great performance 7. Technology Accelerators -- technology is a trap, unless used right 8. The Flywheel and the Doom Loop -- how to build sustained momentum and avoid the 'new regime, new revolution' doom loop 9. From Good to Great to Built to Last -- how to take a company from great to enduring great. Appendices:Good to Great in: the New Economy; non-Profits; Government; Investors; outside the US.Plus four research appendices

In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu -- the staff of Jesus Christ -- a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever. A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president. Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency. For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning... Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries...a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking: Could you live forever? Would you live forever?

The bones lead to ancient mysteries and present-day terror . . . To follow them means death. During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior . . . a treasure that could reshape the world. With the Vatican in turmoil, Sigma Force under the command of Grayson Pierce leaps into action, pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order. For there are those with dark plans for the stolen sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind . . . when science and religion unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.

“Bone-chilling.” –Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)“One of the best in the series.” –Booklist (Starred Review)To save mankind’s future, the members of Sigma Force must make a devil’s bargain as they join forces with their most hated enemy to stop an ancient threat in this gripping adventure from #1 New York Times bestselling author James Rollins.Off the coast of Brazil, a team of scientists discovers a horror like no other, an island where all life has been eradicated, consumed, and possessed by a species beyond imagination. Before they can report their discovery, a mysterious agency attacks the group, killing them all, save one: an entomologist, an expert on venomous creatures, Professor Ken Matsui from Cornell University.Strangest of all, this inexplicable threat traces back to a terrifying secret buried a century ago beneath the National Mall: a cache of bones preserved in amber. The artifact was hidden away by a cabal of scientists—led by Alexander Graham Bell—to protect humankind. But they dared not destroy it, for the object also holds an astonishing promise for the future: the very secret of life after death.Yet nothing stays buried forever. An ancient horror— dormant in the marrow of those preserved bones—is free once more, nursed and developed into a weapon of incalculable strength and malignancy, ready to wreak havoc on an unsuspecting world.To stop its spread, Commander Grayson Pierce of Sigma Force must survive a direct attack on the island of Maui. To be there first has always been the core mission of Sigma Force, a covert team forged to be America’s front line against emerging threats. But this time, even Sigma may not be able to decipher the deadly mystery, one that traces back to the founding of the Smithsonian Institution.With each new discovery, the menace they hunt is changing, growing, spreading—adapting and surviving every attempt to stop it from reconquering a world it once ruled. And each transformation makes it stronger . . . and smarter.Running out of time and options, Commander Grayson Pierce will be forced to make an impossible choice. To eradicate this extinction-level threat and expose those involved, he will have to join forces with Sigma’s greatest enemy—the newly resurrected Guild—even if it means sacrificing one of his own.

During a crowded service at a cathedral in Germany, armed intruders in monks' robes unleash a nightmare of blood and destruction. But the killers have not come for gold; they seek a more valuable prize: the bones of the Magi who once paid homage to a newborn savior . . . a treasure that could reshape the world. With the Vatican in turmoil, SIGMA Force leaps into action. An elite team of scientific and Special Forces operatives under the command of Grayson Pierce and accompanied by Lieutenant Rachel Verona of Rome's carabinieri, they are pursuing a deadly mystery that weaves through sites of the Seven Wonders of the World and ends at the doorstep of an ancient, mystical, and terrifying secret order. For there are those with dark plans for the stolen sacred remains that will alter the future of humankind . . . when science and religion unite to unleash a horror not seen since the beginning of time.

Aneas, an Elfin boy, has to find and set free a vast treasure that belongs to his people, the Neiblings. Four nutty kids accompany Aneas on his treacherous journey, while evading evil forces bent on stopping him.Excerpt:It flapped it’s massive wings, once, twice, it’s immense bulk rising incredibly with each powerful flap. It’s heft would pull it, naturally, toward earth, but the wings would flap again - a slow, folding wave that ran from front to back - allowing it to slowly lift again. Hovering up and down like that, the dragon turned her gaze sharply toward the gunships high above. The aircraft, like black spiders suspended in the sky, were facing the dragon. A series of white flashes materialized just below each chopper. The dragon flapped those mighty wings and rose quickly, as six sidewinder missiles converged in the spot she had just vacated, and lit up the river with a great conflagration. “Guys,” Aneas said. “I say we get outta here. Now.”Nadia kicked at the broken windshield, shattering it. The kids proceeded to crawl out.Up in the air, the dragon was flapping her wings with vigor and climbing quickly, aiming for the closest gray chopper. The gunship fired off four Mistrals, two at a time, the dragon swerving and dodging each, and continuing straight at it. The chopper banked to the left, and took off. The dragon gave chase, each powerful flap of her wings drawing her closer and closer. The other two gunships tried to intervene. The second gray one got behind the dragon and opened up with it’s chain gun. Raining hellfire, the murderous sparks trailed into the back of the dragon. And the creature took notice. She spread her wings suddenly, braking her momentum, and turned to face the chopper that had done the firing. This chopper tilted back to brake, and dropped to it’s right. The dragon started toward it and the chopper swerved hard, trying to get away. The dragon flapped those massive wings twice and, reaching the aircraft, placed giant claws at it’s rotor mount, like a hawk catching a fish. The rotating airfoils disintegrated against the dragon’s limbs, and she lifted the chopper and flung it against the cliff-side. The aircraft impacted the rocks and tumbled down to the riverbank without exploding.James Collins likes to read a lot. Some of his favorite books are Jeff Kinney and the Diary of a Wimpy Kid, Rachel Renee Russell and the Dork Diaries, Judy Blume and Superfudge, Barbara Park and Junie B Jones, Lincoln Peirce and Big Nate, Bill Watterson and Calvin and Hobbes, Lemony Snicket and many others.

When a mysterious envelope arrives for Jake Ransom, he and his older sister, Kady, are plunged into a gripping chain of events. An artifact found by their parents--on the expedition from which they never returned--leads Jake and Kady to a strange world inhabited by a peculiar mix of long-lost civilizations, a world that may hold the key to their parents' disappearance. But even as they enter the gate to this extraordinary place, savage grackyls soar across the sky, diving to attack. Jake's new friends, the pretty Mayan girl Marika and the Roman Pindor, say the grackyls were created by an evil alchemist--the Skull King. And as Jake struggles to find a way home, it becomes obvious that what the Skull King wants most is Jake and Kady--dead or alive.

In a thrilling masterwork that will make you rethink your perceptions of life and death, New York Times bestselling author James Rollins takes you to the edge of medicine, genetics, and technology, revealing the next evolutionary leap forward: immortality.Galilee, 1025. Infiltrating an ancient citadel, a Templar knight uncovers a holy treasure long hidden within the fortress's labyrinth: the Bachal Isu -- the staff of Jesus Christ -- a priceless icon that holds a mysterious and terrifying power that promises to change humankind forever. A millennium later, Somali pirates hijack a yacht off the coast of the Horn of Africa, kidnapping a young pregnant American woman. Commander Gray Pierce is enlisted for a covert rescue mission into the African jungle. The woman is no rich tourist: she's Amanda Gant-Bennett, daughter of the U.S. president. Suspicious that the kidnapping masks a far more nefarious plot, Gray must confront a shadowy cabal which has been manipulating events throughout history...and now challenges the current presidency. For this unique mission, SIGMA is aided by a pair of special operatives with unique talents: former Army Ranger Captain Tucker Wayne and his military war dog, Kane. But what should be a straightforward rescue turns into a fiery ambush and a deadly act of betrayal, as Gray and his team discover that the hostage is a pawn in a shattering act of terrorism with dark repercussions. And the danger is only beginning... Halfway around the world, a firebombing at a fertility clinic in South Carolina exposes a conspiracy that goes back centuries...a scheme that lies within our genetic code. With time against them, SIGMA must race to save an innocent unborn baby whose very existence raises questions about the nature of humanity, asking: Could you live forever? Would you live forever?