Showing results by narrator "Jim Johnston" in All Categories

In the 21st century, most people associate the idea of the possession of a person or place by a malevolent supernatural entity with the medieval world, and particularly with the Catholic Church, but the truth is considerably stranger. Virtually every human culture that has ever existed has talked about both possession and exorcism, a rite or ritual used to free a person or place from possession.

The Vietnam War could have been called a comedy of errors if the consequences weren’t so deadly and tragic. In 1951, while war was raging in Korea, the United States began signing defense pacts with nations in the Pacific, intending to create alliances that would contain the spread of Communism. As the Korean War was winding down, America joined the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization, pledging to defend several nations in the region from Communist aggression. One of those nations was South Vietnam.

Introducing Plant-Based Diets for Specific Health Conditions: A Comprehensive Guide to Holistic Healing and Prevention—your ultimate guide to embracing a plant-based lifestyle tailored to your unique health needs.

When Martin Eden, a young struggling sailor from a working-class background, falls in love with Ruth Morse, a young member of the wealthy Morses family, he decides to rise above his circumstances, become a writer, and achieve a place among the literary elite. He then embarks on a fervent and determined pursuit of self-education.

Alexander Hamilton: Founding Father chronicles the remarkable life of one of America's most controversial and significant founding fathers. From his humble beginnings in the British West Indies to his eventual rise to power in the United States government, Hamilton's story is one of perseverance and ambition. Through his contributions to the establishment of the country's banking and currency systems and his role in the ratification of the United States Constitution, Hamilton left an indelible mark on American history.

By the mid-15th century, the Byzantine Empire had collapsed and the various Crusades that had taken place in the region had largely disrupted the overland routes of the Silk Road and trade. Compounding the difficulties of trade was the rise of the Ottoman Empire in place of the Byzantines and the outbreak of the Black Death in Europe.

A Tale of Two Economies details the ongoing battle between the material and the monetary economies. The good news is that the development of modern technology in our material economy has us on the brink of prosperity. The bad news is that a turf war over the money supply in our monetary economy is destroying our prospects for enjoying this success. Thus, we have rampant inflation and a growing gap between the rich and the poor today.

When the San Francisco ferry called Martinez collides with another ship in the fog and sinks, Humphrey Van Weyden, an intellectual and well-known literary critic, is one of the “lucky” survivors, set adrift in the Bay. He is eventually found by "Wolf" Larsen, the brutal and cynical sea captain of a seal-hunting schooner called the Ghost.

Wovoka (1867-1932), the Ghost Dance Prophet, was a member of the Walker River band of Paiutes in Western Nevada. The Walker River Reservation was established in 1859, and was Wokova’s home off and on for years. Wovoka was also known as Jack Wilson, a name he acquired while he was, for some years, employed on the David Wilson family ranch in the Mason Valley.

A story that takes place during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush. White Fang is a wild wolf-dog hybrid who, through a series of dramatic twists and turns, grows to become a savage, callous, morose, solitary, and deadly fighter. But one day his life starts to change when a loving master named Weedon Scott, a rich, young gold hunter, buys him and starts a desperate attempt to tame White Fang.

As a gripping adventure story, The Call of the Wild is a legendary American fiction novel by Jack London. Republished for the modern listener, this audiobook captures the vivid imagery and compelling prose that solidified London’s reputation as a literary legend, allowing listeners to enjoy this timeless story in an all-new light.

It has been famously pointed out that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, but it was also not an empire in the sense people expect when hearing the term. In theory, the emperor was the highest prince in Christendom, and his dominion extended the length and breadth of Western Europe. The empire had been created by the papacy in 801 when Pope Leo III famously crowned the supposedly unwitting Charlemagne in Saint Peter’s Basilica, intending to recreate the Western Roman Empire.

It has been famously pointed out that the Holy Roman Empire was neither holy, nor Roman, but it was also not an empire in the sense people expect when hearing the term. In theory, the emperor was the highest prince in Christendom, and his dominion extended the length and breadth of Western Europe. The empire had been created by the papacy in 801 when Pope Leo III famously crowned the supposedly unwitting Charlemagne in Saint Peter’s Basilica, intending to recreate the Western Roman Empire.

Tragically, the Cherokee is one of America’s best-known tribes due to the trials and tribulations they suffered by being forcibly moved west along the “Trail of Tears”, but that overlooks the contributions they made to American society well before the 19th century. Despite all of the hostilities and the Trail of Tears, the Cherokee ultimately became the first people of non-European descent to become US citizens en masse, and today, the Cherokee Nation is the largest federally recognized tribe in the United States, boasting over 300,000 members.

Kris Kringle had a hell of a Christmas last year. This year isn't shaping up to be any better. The Workshop might have provided the enemy with a piece of jewelry she now wears around her neck. What is the purpose?

Since the dawn of humanity, people have both cared for those who have deceased yet also tried to keep them away, typically out of a fear of the dead. In time, that fear helped produce all kinds of legends and beliefs about the dead coming back, and one of the most persistent ones is of the vampire.

Living in the shadow of a famous parent is never easy. But having to endure the legacy of a legend whose music and life transformed a nation is even harder. As if the unwanted attention from fans, reporters, and endless onlookers isn't enough, there is intense pressure of expectation to keep up the public image of the parent.

One of the great ironies of the Enlightenment was that various societies produced the notion of the inalienable rights of man, bequeathed by God, alongside the long-established and deeply entrenched institution of slavery. As fate would have it, the refusal of Northern states to strictly apply the new fugitive slave law would be explicitly cited in several of the Southern states’ articles of secession in late 1860 and early 1861. In that regard, the Fugitive Slave Act ended up being one of the main tipping points that finally split the nation in two.

On April 27, 1898, six American ships of the line, led by the Olympia with Commodore George Dewey aboard, headed toward Manila Bay. After several days of sailing over the South China Sea, Dewey hoped to sail past the Spanish fort at Corregidor to arrive at Manila without detection, and sailed without lights in order to do so. He made it into the bay, where the naval battle with the Spanish South Pacific Squadron began in the wee hours of May 1, 1898.

Americans have long been fascinated by the Civil War, marveling at the size of the battles, the leadership of the generals, and the courage of the soldiers. The Civil War was the deadliest conflict in American history, and had the two sides realized it would take four years and inflict over a million casualties, it might not have been fought. Since it did, however, historians and history buffs alike have been studying and analyzing the military and political history of the conflict ever since.