Showing results by narrator "John Rayburn" in All Categories

This is a classic fantasy story about four animals who behave like humans. They talk, philosophize, and emphasize friendship but also keep their animal habits. They are Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. There are some adult books enjoyed by children and some children’s books enjoyed by adults. However, this one appeals to both because it stresses a main theme of doing your best at all times, forgiving others, and setting a goal to make the world a better place.

The description “consulting detective” was often a reference to Sherlock Holmes, but that was inadequate to tell about his unusual characteristics. He was a loner who preferred to keep to himself and kept many secrets from others, including the few friends he had. Holmes did have a constant professional relationship with Dr. Watson, and it was the faithful Watson who once said, “I had no idea that such personalities exist outside of stories.”

Just who was Edgar Allan Poe? Of course he was an author, but there were parts of his life that were shrouded in mystery, like many of his stories. The differences between fact and fiction were intermingled and became even more so after his death. Readers around the world had their imaginations stimulated by his tales of mystery and sometimes horror. This book features two of his horror variety tales, “The Fall of the House of Usher” and “The Tell-Tale Heart”, as well as two of his more famous poems, “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee”.

Back in 1900 author L. Frank Baum says he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to please children of his time. He called it a modernized fairy tale, totally unlike older stories often filled with blood-curdling events. He left out the heartaches and nightmares. He pointed out youngsters have long had a love of fantastic stories, but times change and they look forward more to entertainment that still has the wonderment and joy of time gone by. His fantastic creation of Oz provides exactly that.

One of America’s best-known stories in all of literature began with the imagination-stretching tale of probably the most famous little girl in English literature.

Veteran broadcaster John Rayburn here combines philosophy, poetry, inspiration, motivation, and touches of humor to provide comfort, cheer, and encouragement. This audiobook is an opportunity to collect your thoughts and set aside a few moments for contemplation in a busy, busy world.

Radio was the number one form of family entertainment for a quarter century. In a dazzling step back in time, veteran broadcaster John Rayburn talks about the fantastic era of broadcasting in these fascinating interviews.

A weapon used to murder a wealthy business man was apparently an ancient dagger stolen from a museum. It supposedly was from Peru and had a centuries-old inscription that was thought to tell whereabouts of a massive gold stash in the South American country. It was said to have a curse on it for anyone using it to track down the treasure. Professor Craig Kennedy, noted user of science to solve such cases, was contacted to see what he could do. Would his thinking prowess be enough? The finger of blame points at several possibilities as to the guilty party, or possibly parties.

Being able to unravel and analyze the findings of others was a rare attribute of University Professor Craig Kennedy. He coupled this with use of various gadgets and devices that were commonplace in the early twentieth century. They seem primitive by much of today’s standard equipment but were actual forerunners to what are matter-of-fact equipment, enhanced and extended in the present day. His ability to analyze his findings resulted in the well-earned recognition of “The Scientific Detective.” He was always accompanied by young newspaper reporter Walter Jameson, who kept tabs on plot details.

This was a time that was a major part of western history, a sort of baptism of sweat and blood. Great buffalo herds covered mile after mile, and hide hunters swarmed the plains. They were hard-riding and reckless and killed buffalo by the tens of thousands, bringing on near extinction. The invasion was part of the great western migration, and it caused major confrontations with such Indian tribes as Comanche, Kiowa, Arapaho, and others.

This book has all the ingredients of cowboys, horses, boots, and spurs, in a period of lawlessness that often brought on gunfights in those days. The cowboy hero is Panhandle Smith, known as Pan, as he grew to be wild and free virtually from childhood. The tale prompts seeing, hearing, and feeling what it was like in those bygone days.

Some of the stories by Arthur B. Reeve seem more plausible today than to some skeptical readers back in the early twentieth century. The primary character, University Professor Craig Kennedy, used forensic methods before such criminalistics were commonplace. These include DNA analysis as well as studies of such topics as fingerprints, blood stain patterns, tool marks, and toxicology (poisons used alone or administered in non-lethal potions).

It gives us considerable pleasure to be able to offer to the public the “inside” record of those of former District Attorney Markham’s criminal cases in which Mr. Philo Vance figured so effectively. The true inwardness of these famous cases has never before been revealed by S. S. Van Dine, Mr. Vance’s lawyer and almost constant companion, being the only person who possessed a complete record of the facts and has only recently been permitted to make them public.

The story you’re about to hear took place primarily in what is Southern Utah and has been called the quintessential Western, meaning simply it is a top-notch example of quality. It is composed of an extensive list of ingredients: adventure, action, violence, crisis, suspense, conflict, sentimentalism, and sex - they are all there. This classic of the Western genre was the kind of story the public clamored for, and author Zane Grey had great skill in supplying the desire.

Travel is one thing, but really going somewhere is something else. Here are firsthand tales of exciting places to see in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

The writing of P. G. Wodehouse put him among the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. He began his post-collegiate career working in a bank. Very dissatisfied with the job, he began writing magazine articles when he had any spare time. What an outstanding professional decision that turned out to be. A Damsel in Distress is a prime example of the Wodehouse trademark of elaborate quirks of hilarity.

The Brass Bottle is the story of an architect who bought an antique brass bottle to give to a professor dealing in Mideast antiquities. After the purchase, the architect’s curiosity was aroused, and he removed the stopper in the bottle. And when he did, a big cloud of smoke was released, producing a major surprise when a genie emerged. His name was Fakrash el-Aamash, and he turned out to be a fairy-tale-type character who wound up trying to repay the architect, Horace Ventimore, for giving him release from what amounted to a brass prison.

We begin with a story published in McClure’s magazine, December 1899. This was the first story published under the pseudonym O. Henry. Let’s listen.

This book marks an epoch in my literary career. It is written in blood. It is the outpouring of a soul as deeply seared by Fate’s unkindness as the fairway on the dog-leg hole of the second nine was ever seared by my iron. It is the work of a very nearly desperate man, an 18-handicap man who has got to look extremely slippy if he doesn’t want to find himself in the 20s again.

The author’s birth name was Alan Alexander Milne, but his pen name used only the initials A. A. Milne. He eventually won worldwide acclaim for his renowned youth-oriented stories about Winnie-the-Pooh. However, he tried something different a few years before that, a story based on parental devotion.