Showing results by narrator "J. A. Smith" in All Categories

When five kids are invited to a cemetery at midnight, they think it's just a prank. When they find a gravestone that instructs them to dig up a grave, they think it's just a joke. It's no joke. An evil force is unleashed - a force that takes the shape of their worst fears. Once these fears are released, they won't go away. Not without a fight....

This is the story of the people, places, and events associated with the dramatic growth and equally rapid decline of the Wild West. It’s also the story of how myth and legend have shaped our understanding of this time to create an idealized perception of the American frontier. This is the real story of the Wild West.

In 1956, Britain, France, and Israel launched an invasion of Egypt. For Britain and France, the main objective was to secure control over the vital Suez Canal and to re-emphasize their place as significant world powers. For Israel, the issue was defeating a hostile and powerful Arab neighbor.

The Chernobyl Disaster, which occurred in late April 1986, was the worst nuclear accident in history. It not only caused widespread radioactive contamination, but even more importantly, it claimed many lives and caused panic worldwide about the safety of nuclear power. In short, it changed the face of nuclear energy globally.

When the establishment of the State of Israel was announced on May 14, 1948, it seemed to many people that the new nation could not survive for long. The haste with which it was created meant that Israel lacked the infrastructure of government, and its armed forces consisted of little more than a handful of lightly armed former guerilla fighters. Ranged against it were some of the most powerful nations in the Arab world, including Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, and Syria.

One of Hitler’s most notorious henchmen, Hermann Göring was the bulldog who obediently followed orders while destroying countless lives. In his early career as the leader of the SA, also known as the Brownshirts or Stormtroopers, Göring played a pivotal role in suppressing any and all opposition to the Nazi Party. He was also implicated in the Reichstag Fire of 1933, an event that resulted in the suspension of civil liberties in Germany and greatly aided in the consolidation of Nazi control.

The creation of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) in 1922 was one of the defining events of the 20th century. This new federation, created to embody the ideals of communism and the notion of rule by the people, was intended to be different from any other nation in the world. This utopian vision inspired people around the world, and soon, communism became an international movement. However, the history of the Soviet Union did not develop in the way its originators envisaged.

Audrey Pilar is a master in the art of breaking up. Her friends have dubbed her ritual of leaving men as “The Expiration Date.” Hurt from her past has caused Audrey to protect her heart at all costs, even if it means self sabotage. She’s developed the habit of looking for red flags, and it seems to work for her—until she meets Sullivan Santiago. The confident, thirty-three-year-old owner of Sullivan’s Coffee Tavern is unlike anyone she’s ever met, and for Audrey, if it’s too good to be true, it usually is.

The history of the Persian Empire (or Empires) stretches from ancient times well into the 20th century. Through biblical events, to the dawn and spread of Islam, to the revolutions of the 20th century, Persia - or Iran - has played an integral role in nearly all major events of world history. Uncover the fascinating story of this influential and unique civilization.

In the nineteenth century, historians began to classify the periods of human prehistory into three ages: Stone, Bronze, and Iron. Of these three, the period known as the Bronze Age (lasting approximately from 3300 to 1200 BCE) was the most significant, not just because people began to work metal on a large scale for the first time but because of other changes taking place. People started to live in large, permanent sites that became the first cities. Agriculture replaced hunting and gathering as the principal means of producing food.

Step into the world of Albert Einstein in this book and find out what was so extraordinary about him. Find out why Einstein valued creativity and freedom as the foundation stones of a good life, and how these two traits would inspire him and help to transform the world as it was known up until then.

Nikita Khrushchev came to power in the aftermath of the notorious Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s death. Although Khrushchev came on the scene with aggression and fury (the world would never forget how he declared that he would bury the West), he was ultimately a much more peaceful Soviet leader than Stalin ever was. Even when the Cold War was at its most dangerous point during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it was, in many ways, the measured restraint of Khrushchev which helped to avoid unleashing nuclear Armageddon.

John Denver was a musician with a roving free spirit. He left on a jet plane and promised to be back again. Just like the seasons, he went through plenty of changes, but he always returned to the source of his inspiration. John Denver was inspired by nature and the love of life in general. He wrote songs about how sunshine made him happy, and how the natural disposition of Mother Earth made him high.

The Seven Years’ War, also known as the French and Indian War in North America, was fought between 1756 and 1763, and it involved all of Europe’s great powers and many of the so-called middle powers. By the end of the conflict, Britain would gain control over Canada and Florida, but the war would nearly bankrupt the country as it doubled its national debt. Still, the war marked the beginning of the era of British dominance in North America. The war also had profound consequences for indigenous groups in North America.

In the world of philosophy and spirituality, few figures stand as distinctively as Alan Watts. With a charismatic and eloquent demeanor, he effortlessly blended insights from Zen Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and other spiritual traditions with Western thought, challenging conventional perspectives and encouraging a deeper understanding of oneself and the universe.

Before becoming disillusioned with political militancy and retiring to a quiet rural life where he wrote the majority of his historical and metapolitical texts, Dominique Venner was heavily involved in the fight for French Algeria, both during and after the war. While serving a prison term for his involvement with the dissident paramilitary group the Organisation armée secrète , he sought to write a text that would synthesize the vast domain of right-wing thought into a coherent political doctrine, a right-wing manifesto in the same vein as Vladmir Lenin's What Is to be Done?

Lyndon B. Johnson was a powerful figure in American politics for many decades. Rising to prominence as a congressman and senator in his home state of Texas, he then became the surprise vice-president pick for the young and dashing John F. Kennedy. LBJ certainly cut a far different figure and utilized a much different approach than JFK, but he was just as charismatic (and not to mention cunning) in his own right. When Kennedy was tragically struck down by an assassin’s bullet in 1963, Johnson was sure to rise to the occasion.

The Beatles came onto the scene like a force of nature. Their songs became the anthems of generations of fans, and their emergence marked a high-water mark of popular music. But beyond the Beatles themselves, there is one man who can be credited with engineering this perfect maelstrom of musical majesty, and that man is former Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

Kosovo is a tiny land-locked nation located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe. Before the 1990s, few people outside the immediate area had ever even heard of Kosovo. Then, in 1998, war began, and Kosovo moved to the center of the international stage.

The Civil Rights Movement in America is a broad term for the movement in the mid-20th century among and for the African American community in pursuit of equal protection and rights under the law. In reality, it began much earlier than the 1950s and continues until this day. What is more, it was about so much more than the extension of universal rights; the Civil Rights Movement is about the story of the long struggle to overcome the legacies of slavery and racism. It is a story of triumph over adversity and perseverance in the face of great hardship.