Showing results by narrator "Mike Nelson" in All Categories

Tallulah Bankhead was known just as much for her off-stage presence as she was for her on-stage performances. Fearless from birth, Tallulah charted her own course in life. She trudged off to New York to make it big in theater when she was still a teen. She then saw opportunity calling on the other side of the Atlantic and didn’t hesitate to hop on a steamship and head to England, chasing her dreams until they became a certain reality.

In 1963, Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with motor neuron disease and given two years to live. More than half a century later, Hawking had made some of the most significant contributions to our understanding of the universe since Albert Einstein. The world’s most famous physics professor, a best-selling author, and a father of three, Stephen lived his life to its fullest. Bridging the world of theoretical physics with the reach of pop culture, Stephen Hawking became an emblem of human determination and intellectual curiosity.

What would Russia look like today if there had never been a Peter the Great? Peter I did so much for Russia, including changing the education system to reach more people, reorganizing the government and the Russian Orthodox Church, and even modernizing the dress and social living standards of the Russian people. Peter grew up in a Russia that was stuck in archaic times, but he recognized the need for change, and when his time came to rule over his country he met the challenge head-on. Peter the Great turned Russia into one of the greatest powers of the world.

Subhas Chandra Bose was a revolutionary who sought Indian independence, but as many would contend, he ended up on the wrong side of history. In order to shake off the British yoke, Bose enlisted aid from Germany and Japan during World War II. This has led some to roundly condemn Bose as nothing more than a fascist cast in the same mold as Adolf Hitler, Hideki Tojo, and Benito Mussolini. But is there more to this complicated figure than meets the eye?

Pierre-August Renoir, leader of the 19th-century Impressionist movement, spent his entire life perfecting his style. Rejected for decades, he depended on friends for a place to stay and money for painting supplies. Renoir lived in poverty until his 40's, and when he was finally discovered and hailed as a great artist, his health began to fail him. Still, Renoir never gave up his passion for painting. His need to create beauty was the driving force of his life, and throughout rejections and deteriorating health, Renoir retained an optimism that is reflected in his paintings.

The Wars of Scottish Independence were a series of conflicts between Scotland and England that spanned more than 60 years during the 13th and 14th centuries. These wars led directly to the establishment of Scotland as an independent, sovereign country and to the emergence of two of Scotland’s best-known national heroes, William Wallace and Robert the Bruce. Yet these wars are much more than a simple struggle on the part of Scotland to free itself from English incursions.

Discover the remarkable history of the Maya Civilization...For more than one thousand years, the Maya people dominated areas of Central America and modern-day Mexico and made important advances in architecture, astronomy, mathematics, and medicine. Then, after the Spanish occupation in the 16th century, Maya culture and thinking were deliberately suppressed. Only in the 20th century did scientists appreciate just how advanced these people had been and how important they were in the history of Mesoamerica.

In the late 1800s, British engineers building some of the first railways in the Dominion of India discovered large numbers of bricks buried in the dusty plains of the Punjab. This was odd because historians were not aware of any cities or civilizations which might have constructed buildings in this area. It wasn’t until archeological expeditions in the 1920s that it was finally realized that these bricks were the remains of mighty cities built by a previously unknown ancient civilization.

The ingenious artist we know as Michelangelo lived during the Renaissance in Northern Italy, and you could say that he was indeed a Renaissance man - he was a painter, sculptor, poet, and engineer all rolled up into one. Even though it has been some 450 years since his passing, his legacy remains one of the strongest on record. If the burgeoning art student of today wishes to learn from the best, he takes his notes directly from Michelangelo.

John Wycliffe was known as the “Morning Star” of the Reformation. His doctrines of strict adherence to the Bible and his attacks on the wealth and corruption of the Catholic Church would be the spark that would later ignite the fires of the Protestant Reformation.

Florence Nightingale is usually thought of for her work in the Crimean War, where, as the “Lady with the Lamp”, she tirelessly nursed wounded soldiers at all hours of the night and day. But while these two years were a significant part of her life, she was also much more.

King Edward VI, the only legitimate male heir of King Henry VIII, took his seat on the throne at the age of nine. His life would come to an end when he was only 15 years old, but the mark he would come to leave on England’s history has endured to this day. Edward VI led his country into a new age where the Church of England was no longer tied to the Catholic Church. Putting his efforts into spreading Protestantism throughout all of England, he continued his father’s work of freeing England from the Holy Roman Empire’s grasp.

Evil Prince Erik has discovered the bride he needs to secure his grip on the throne. But the idea doesn't grip his betrothed, peasant girl Jenny. Already in the shit, she doubles down with an escape through the castle's sewers. Her trusty raven, Croak, is never far behind, ready to peck the eyes out of anyone harming his mistress. Unless they have shiny things. Can Jenny ever escape the horny Prince? Will Leo stop eating and drinking long enough to help? And is there romance in the air, or is that just Leo's dodgy tummy?

Thor gefangen zwischen den gigantischen Kräften von Gut und Böse, als Andronicus und Rafi all ihre schwarze Magie anwenden, um Thors Identität zu zerstören und die Kontrolle über seine Seele zu übernehmen. Unter ihrem Zauber muss Thor seinen bisher größten Kampf ausfechten – aus dem Schatten seines Vaters zu treten, um sich von den Ketten der dunklen Magie zu befreien. Doch dazu ist es womöglich schon zu spät.

In Ritus Der Schwerter (Band #7 im Ring der Zauberei) ringt Thor mit seiner Herkunft: er muss sich damit abfinden wer sein wirklicher Vater ist, ob er sein Geheimnis verraten will und was er zu tun hat. Zu Hause im Ring mit Mycoples an seiner Seite und dem Schwert des Schicksals in der Hand ist Thor fest entschlossen, Rache an Andronicus‘ Armee zu neben und sein Heimatland zu befreien - und endlich um Gwendolyns Hand anzuhalten.

Local fireman, Danny Halloway, finds himself in trouble with the law after he finds out that his wife hasn’t been faithful. In the following days, he tries to figure out how to come to terms with it, but runs into some trouble.

In Der Schwur des Ruhms (Buch #5 aus dem Ring der Zauberei) bricht Thor gemeinsam mit seinen Freunden aus der Legion auf eine epische Reise in die unendliche Wildnis des Empire auf um das uralte Schwert des Schicksals zu finden und den Ring zu retten. Thors Freundschaften vertiefen sich auf der Reise zu unbekannten Orten und stehen unerwarteten Monstern gegenüber während sie Seite an Seite in unvorstellbaren Schlachten kämpfen. Sie bereisen exotische Länder, treffen auf Wesen jenseits der Vorstellungskraft.

In Rückruf Null (Buch 6) ist die Übersetzerin des Präsidenten die einzige Eingeweihte einer geheimen Unterhaltung, die unsere Welt ändern könnte. Dadurch wird sie zum Ziel eines Mordanschlags, bei dem man sie zur Strecke bringen will. Agent Null, den wieder die Pflicht ruft, ist möglicherweise der Einzige, der sie noch retten könnte.

An early feminist, Louisa May Alcott fought for women’s rights throughout her life and became the first woman in Concord, Massachusetts to register to vote. Her most famous novel, Little Women, was a semi-biographical version of her life with her three sisters and how they grew up. While her father, the educator Amos Bronson Alcott, could make her life exasperating, her beloved mother, Abigail, always supported her daughters’ right to chart their own course in life, whether society approved or not.

The Mahdist War took place at the end of the 19th century between Sudanese rebels and their Egyptian colonizers. A religious leader claiming to be the Islamic Mahdi, Muhammad Ahmad, raised an army and led a movement to guide not only Sudanese Muslims, but Muslims worldwide. He and the Mahdists envisioned a future in which they would live by the teachings of the Qur’an. However, larger global forces, especially those of global imperialism, would stand in their way. From the Mahdist grassroots movement to independence to reconquest, this is the story of the Mahdist War.