Showing results by narrator "Phil Gigante" in All Categories

The stories in Chicken Soup for the Soul will encourage listeners to stay upbeat, because there's always a brighter way to look at life. This collection includes 36 Stories about putting things in perspective, kindness, and unconditional love.

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.

When a young woman is found dead in a field, dressed up as a scarecrow with a slashed grin and a broken neck, the residents of Salem, Massachusetts, begin to fear that the infamous Harvest Man is more than just a rumor. But out-of-town cop Jeremy Flynn doesn't have time for ghost stories. He's in town on another investigation, looking for a friend's wife, who mysteriously vanished in a cemetery.

Zachary Flynn is off to Ireland to escort an old friend, Sean O'Riley, home to Rhode Island after a bout of illness in the land of his birth. Zach has no idea he'll be coming home with far more than old friends. While Zach doubts that murder was intended, he must accept the possibility, since Sean's business partner has gone missing. Caer, a woman with an agency in Ireland, knows that Sean's life is in danger, and she takes on the role of Sean's nurse to stay close to him.

Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales, which have been translated into more than 125 languages, have become culturally embedded in the West's collective consciousness. Readily accessible by children, they present lessons of virtue and resilience in the face of adversity that appeal to mature listeners as well. This collection of 18 tales includes "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Princess and the Pea", and "The Snow Queen".

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 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.

Originally published in a 1905 edition of The New York Sunday World, "The Gift of the Magi" tells the story of a young couple at Christmas when money is tight, offering important insight into the nature of gift giving. A well-known example of comic irony, it has been widely adapted as everything from an off-Broadway show to television episodes. This recording of "The Gift of the Magi" 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.

Peter and Evangeline have learned of an early, annotated draft of the Constitution that could forever change America's history - and its future. When word gets out about it, it launches a frenzied search, as both sides of the partisan machine. While battling politicians from both sides of the debate, Peter and Evangeline must get to the document first, because they know that if the wrong people find it, they will burn it, stripping the nation of its constitutional moorings.

"Can I interest you in saving America?” That’s the text message Peter Fallon receives from a Wall Street bigwig. It’s not a challenge he can turn down, especially since the country is in the midst of the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. The stock market is wobbling. The Chinese have stopped buying our T-Bills. If we don’t get control of our deficit, our economic future looks grim. But all may not be lost….

Although everyone thinks she's being paranoid, psychotherapist Jordan Sloan knows better. Haunted by the long-ago murder of her father, she learns that his killer has been paroled, and she instantly fears his revenge. Only she knows the dark secret of her relationship with Mallory - and the depth of her deception in providing the testimony that put him away. She sees him in shadows, in mirrors, in photographs her teenage daughter takes in the park....

A woman named Maria Gomez is murdered in Miami, apparently by her husband - who'd been presumed dead, slain by a crime boss. FBI agent Brett Cody can't believe it; dead or alive, the man had loved his wife. He also can't help feeling guilty, since he was responsible for protecting Miguel and Maria Gomez.

Where is Lara Mayhew? Lara, a congressman's media assistant, suddenly quits her job - and disappears on the way to her Washington, DC, apartment. Novice FBI agent Meg Murray, a childhood friend of Lara's, gets a message from her that same night, a message that says she's disillusioned and "going home." To Richmond, Virginia. Meg discovers that she never got there. And bodies fitting Lara's description are showing up in nearby rivers....

The Idaho Territory gold mines and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom come together for a wilderness-dwelling drifter in this tale of the Weird West.

Julia is married to a renowned psychiatrist, deeply loves her stepson and is forging a career as a journalist. When a writing job exposes Julia to phone sex, she glimpses a world that stirs her fantasies but threatens her carefully constructed life.

Crimes happen in a flash. Before you even know it, the shots have rung out, the jewels have been stolen, and the bodies are cooling on the floor. In this anthology, over eighty authors - including veterans such as Chuck Hogan, Ken Bruen, and Tasha Alexander - come together to tell tales of murder and mayhem, all in one thousand words or less. Dare to confront these fearful, furious tales, each offering a glimpse of the darkness lurking in the human heart.

As one of New York's top sex therapists, Dr. Morgan Snow sees everything from the abused to the depraved. From high-profile clients with twisted obsessions to courageous survivors, the Butterfield Institute is the sanctuary to heal battered souls.

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.

The rich are very different from you and me. Blessed by great wealth, they can get what they want, even what they shouldn’t have. Cursed by great wealth, they become the targets of others who will risk everything to become affluent. Nelson DeMille introduces twenty original tales by today’s most elite mystery writers who explore the life (and death) styles of the rich and infamous.