Showing results by narrator "Pete Cross" in All Categories

Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.

Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.

Born in a cabin deep in the backwoods of Kentucky and growing up in a family considered the poorest of the poor, Abraham Lincoln rose to become the 16th president of the United States. As president, he guided the United States through the Civil War, helped end slavery in America, and strengthened the federal government. This third installment in the Making of America series continues the story of the first 100 years of America's constitutional history, a story that began with Alexander Hamilton and Andrew Jackson.

On February 24, 1868, the impeachment of the United States’ 17th president was initiated. Democrat Andrew Johnson was accused of high crimes and misdemeanors that were detailed in 11 articles of impeachment and faced trial before the United States Senate. Andrew Johnson took office after John Wilkes Booth assassinated Abraham Lincoln on April 15, 1965. After months of Johnson and the Senate butting heads, oftentimes with Johnson defying the Senate and doing whatever he wanted, the final straw came when Johnson fired his Secretary of War, Edwin M. Stanton.

Filled with catchall research, American Hemp examines what this new domestic crop can be used for, what makes it a superior product, and what made it illegal in the first place; the book also delves into the many health and medical benefits of the plant. Hobbs weighs in on how hemp can improve existing industries, from farming to energy to 3D printing, plus how it can make a serious impact on climate change by removing toxins from the soil and by decreasing our dependence on plastics and fossil fuels.

Every great author started out as a kid. Before the best sellers, fan clubs, and beloved stories we know today, the world's most celebrated writers had regular-kid problems just like you. Sam Clemens (aka Mark Twain) loved to skip school and make mischief, with his best friend Tom, of course! A young J. R. R. Tolkien was bitten by a huge tarantula - or as he called it, "a spider as big as a dragon." Toddler Zora Neale Hurston took her first steps when a wild hog entered her house and started chasing her!

Copeland Cane V, the child who fell outta Colored People Time and into America, is a fugitive. He is also just a regular teenager coming up in a terrifying world. A slightly eccentric, flip-phone loving kid with analog tendencies and a sideline hustling sneakers, the boundaries of Copeland’s life are demarcated from the jump by urban toxicity, an educational apparatus with confounding intentions, and a police state that has merged with media conglomerates - the highly rated Insurgency Alert Desk that surveils and harasses his neighborhood in the name of anti-terrorism.

Jack London was one of the most notable authors of his time, and this collection showcases some of his most popular short stories. Filled with reflections on the human condition, our interactions with wilderness, and the chance of underlying magic that surrounds us all, these short stories offer a brief respite from the bustling world around us. This collection of short stories contains "A Thousand Deaths", "An Odyssey of the North", "A Relic of the Pliocene", "The Law of Life", "The Minions of Midas", "To Build a Fire", "Grit of Women", "That Spot", "Flush of Gold", and "Lost Face".

Learning is an adventure in Ms. Frogbottom’s class because she’s got a magic map - one that takes her students all over the world to do battle with mythical monsters no one believes are real. All Ms. Frogbottom has to do is take out the map, tap a country and - SHAZAAM! - off they go to a place somewhere far far away. When Ms. Frogbottom’s crew lands in Scotland, they come nose-to-nose with the legendary Loch Ness Monster!

Angie is awakened by a midnight call from an officer with the Boise Police Department and thinks there must be a misunderstanding. The officer tells her that her husband was involved in a shooting at a local bar, but how can that be when her husband is sleeping right next to her? But when she turns to wake him, he isn’t there. Tessa is the 23-year-old bartender who escapes to a backroom storage closet during the shooting. When it comes to light that five people were killed, she is burdened with the question of why she survived.

Curtis Quinn is a Chicago mob legend with a price on his head and a particular set of skills. Beth Jarvis is a plucky teenager unwrapping the secrets of her hometown, Harlow, where no one is allowed to leave and a mysterious ceremony awaits her on her 18th birthday. What Beth doesn't know is the truth about her sister, Kate, who escaped more than a decade ago and has evaded the town's sinister ruler, known only as the Mayor, and his High Servants, Scouts, and Disciples who rule the town, making her a local legend....

Summer on Nantucket island. Three high school friends drinking warm beer on a rooftop. Everything is cool, until a seemingly innocent game takes a sinister turn, and the course of their lives are changed forever. For a year, they keep it a secret - until the following summer when they meet a mysterious girl with her own dark past who may have the answers they’re looking for.

Lions, Komodo dragons, dogs, monkeys, and pheasants - all have shared spotlights and tabloid headlines with celebrities such as Sharon Stone, Thomas Edison, and David Hasselhoff. In this critically acclaimed collection, Lydia Millet hilariously tweaks these unholy communions to run a stake through the heart of our fascination with famous people and pop culture.

In a post-Trump world, a relatively unknown candidate, Ian Wrightman, is elected president to heal a nation frayed by years of extreme partisanship. When a series of coordinated terrorist attacks rock the United States, Wrightman begins to take more and more executive control in the name of protecting democracy. But DC reporter and war veteran Rollie Stone uncovers evidence that the attacks might be coming from somewhere much closer to home.

When Regionalist painter Thomas Hart Benton's corpse is discovered behind the easels of Manhattan's famed art school, whispers in the art community say he had it coming. As Benton's list of enemies lengthens to include League instructors, Vietnam War protesters, and members of Andy Warhol's entourage, one art student is ultimately pinned for the crime. The only problem? The suspect has vanished.

In a time when people believed flying was impossible, Joseph and Etienne Montgolfier proved that the sky wasn’t the limit. When most thought horseback was the only way to race, Bertha and Karl Benz fired up their engines. From the invention of the bicycle and the passenger steam locomotive to the first liquid-fuel propelled rocket and industrial robot, inventors across the world have redefined travel. Informative and celebratory, this collective biography tells the story of the experiments, failures, and successes of visionaries who changed the way the world moves.

While camping near Indian Creek, Matt and his best friend, Parker, get up early to see if they can spot a blue heron. Instead, they find the body of a dead man floating in the clear water. Parker is sure that George Evans, the smooth-talking local antiques dealer, must somehow be connected to the dead man. Matt isn’t so sure - but then, on Halloween night, while snooping around Evans’s antique shop, the boys make another shocking discovery that puts their own lives in danger. There are murderous grownups who would do anything to keep what the boys found in the shop a secret....

Safe and cozy where he is, a tiny seed wants to remain in the drawer where he lives happily with other seeds. But one day the gardener who lives in the mansion takes him from his drawer and plants him in the ground. Faced with his biggest fear, the seed undergoes a miraculous experience that changes his life forever. Beautifully written in simple but delightful verse, The Seed Who Was Afraid to Be Planted reminds us all that no matter how small or scared we may be, God has great plans for us - plans even more wonderful than we can imagine.

This brilliant account of the proud and ferocious American fighters who stood up to the British forces in savage battles highlights just how crucial these individuals were in deciding both the fate of the Carolina colonies and the outcome of the American Civil War.

On the night of August 11, 1956, in the East Hampton hamlet of Springs, Jackson Pollock crashed his car into a tree, killing himself. Pollock, the world-renowned abstract painter and notorious alcoholic, also killed his 24-year old passenger, Edith Metzger, in the crash...or did he? Metzger’s autopsy reveals that she was already dead before the crash. Murdered? Perhaps.