Showing results by narrator "Phil Gigante" in All Categories

Virginia City, 1861. As thousands of fortune-seekers descend on the silver-rich boomtown hoping to cash in on the Comstock Lode, a very different cause unites the ranks of courageous soldiers in the coming Civil War - the supreme battle for America’s future. Major General Lee Blake is assigned the treacherous task of transporting silver to the Union troops in Missouri - while enemies plot to sabotage his mission. By his side are some of the bravest men and women Blake has ever known. With states seceding one by one, and tensions rising every day, the fate of a nation is riding on their journey.

The bold new Republic of Texas is fighting for its life. Rallying to the cause of liberty, the brave pioneers who forged the Oregon Trail are called upon to lead a new wagon train into the fray. Leaving their homes in the thriving Oregon Territory, they face impossible odds on the wild Texas frontier, overrun with dangerous outlaws, native tribes, and the powerful Mexican Army.

Haunted by a 20-year-old murder of a beautiful young painter, Lucian Glass keeps his demons at bay through his fascinating work as a special agent with the FBI’s Art Crime Team. Currently investigating a crazed art collector who has begun destroying prized masterworks, Glass is thrust into a bizarre hostage negotiation that takes him undercover at the Phoenix Foundation — dedicated to the science of past-life study — where, in order to maintain his cover, he agrees to submit to the treatment of a hypnotist.

Three mighty nations have sent explorers to stake their claims - the English army, Russian agents, and American pioneers - but only one can win. Devoted to the dream of a new home, Whip Holt finds himself divided by two women: his wife, who is courted by both the English and the Russians, and Cathy van Ayl Blake, who is married to an American commander. Together, these would-be settlers must fight for what they believe in, or die for what they love - in the name of freedom, justice, and destiny.

In this impressive, well-researched biography, Phelps separates historical fact from long-standing myth to reveal the life of Nathan Hale, a young man who deserves to be remembered as an original American patriot. Using Hale's own journals and letters as well as testimonies from his friends and contemporaries, Phelps depicts the Revolution as it was seen from the ground.

He is both feared and admired, and for the past two decades he has been both lionized and demonized by the media. Outspoken, no-nonsense, and eminently fascinating, Joseph M. Arpaio captured the public's imagination from his first day as sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona (a county larger than the state of New Jersey), in 1992.

It is 1838. The first wagon train to Oregon country moves slowly across the Great Plains, reaching the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in early autumn. Led by wagon scout “Whip” Holt, the 500-strong community of courageous men, women, and children prepare for the bitter winter ahead. Among them are dreamers and drifters, foreigners and natives, friends and enemies.

Autumn, 1837. Blazing onward from the eastern shores, to Missouri, the legendary wagon train sent by U.S. President Andrew Jackson has reached the last outpost of civilization. Now five hundred strong, these brave pioneers set a course across the great rolling plains toward the treacherous Rockies, hoping to stake a claim in the American West. Led by their new wagon master, “Whip” Holt, they must unite as a team if they are to survive, despite their vast differences.

The year is 1837. The American West is untamed, uncivilized, and largely unclaimed. U.S. President Andrew Jackson, in a race with the British and Russians, sends a wagon train of would-be settlers into the uncharted Oregon territory, led by his close friend, mountain man and veteran Sam Brentwood. Teaming up with trail hand Whip Holt, widow Claudia Humphries, and a colorful group of courageous pioneers, Brentwood sets off from New York, heading westward to Independence, Missouri.

Originally published in Harte's 1875 short-story collection The Tales of the Argonauts, "How Santa Claus Came to Simpson's Bar" is set in California in the early 1860s and, like the rest of the tales in that collection, features the gold-seeking Argonauts. In this tale, like many of Harte's others, the folly and grit of human existence balance any good intentions, good cheer, or hope, resulting in a more complicated and somewhat bleak ending than is commonly found in most Christmas tales.

When Mark Twain's daughter Susie wrote a letter to Santa Claus, her father wrote back, signing Santa's name. Charming and heartwarming, this version of the short letter was recorded as part of Dreamscape's Classic Christmas Stories: A Collection of Timeless Holiday Tales.

Originally published in 1844 in one of CA Reitzel's New Fairy Tales collections, "The Fir Tree" is a moralistic tale that reveals the importance of appreciating what you have. In it, a young fir tree is so fixated on growing up that he does not value his life in the forest. But when Christmas comes, he discovers that what he thought he wanted wasn't what he expected it to be. This presentation of "The Fir Tree" was recorded as part of Dreamscape's Classic Christmas Stories: A Collection of Timeless Holiday Tales.

Cousins Coleman and Dinah Greene moved from North Carolina to New York after college to make their mark on the art world: Coleman is the editor of an influential arts magazine and Dinah is the owner of a print gallery in Greenwich Village. But their challenges are mounting as one of Coleman's writers is discovered selling story ideas to a competitor and The Greene Gallery is in the red because sales are down. When billionaire Heyward Bain arrives with a glamorous assistant, announcing plans to fund a fine print museum, Coleman is intrigued and plans to get to know Bain and publish an article about him.

At thirteen, William Sheppard was sent to the Swope Ranch Boys’ Reformatory for stabbing his abusive father in the chest with a pocketknife. Buried deep in the Colorado Mountains, Swope is shrouded in legend and defined by one prevailing rumor: the boys who go in never come out the same. Days from civilization with only one accessible road - any prisoner who attempts to escape will be shot down without hesitation.

Some came for freedom; others, to build a new life. But in 1858, when gold is discovered in the Colorado region, thousands of desperate men and women descend on Denver like a hungry swarm. Homesteaders struggle to hold onto their claims, but none are immune to the effects of gold fever. Wagon train veteran Chet Harris risks his life to repeat the success he found in the California gold fields. Mineral expert Luke Brando masquerades as a banker, while his wife hides a yearning for riches of her own. And young Cathy Blake discovers just how far she’ll go to defeat a voluptuous rival.

When a high-speed chase goes terribly wrong, Santa Fe police officer Dan Page watches in horror as a car and gas tanker explode into flames. Torn with guilt that he may be responsible, Page returns home to discover that his wife, Tori, has disappeared. Frantic, Page follows her trail to Rostov, a remote town in Texas famous for a massive astronomical observatory, a long-abandoned military base, and unexplained nighttime phenomena that drew onlookers from every corner of the globe.

Eddie starts stealing cars long before he's old enough to get a license. Driven by a force so compelling that he never questions, just obeys. After a series of false starts, interrupted by stays in juvenile institutions, he connects with two brothers, professional criminals who make Eddie one of their own. But, when their last job goes to hell - alarms blaring, and police sirens closing fast - Eddie stands his ground at the wheel.... In prison Eddie's skills and loyalty come to the attention of J.C., a notorious and respected hijacker.