Showing results by narrator "David McCallion" in All Categories

The City of God is one of the most important works of Christian history and philosophy ever written. The writings of St. Augustine are as intriguing to the casual reader as it is to Christian researchers. St. Augustine's work provides insight into Western thought and the development of Western civilizations. The City of God provides the reader with an artful contrast between earthy cities and those in heaven as a representation of the eternal struggle between good and evil. The City of God was originally penned in the early 5th century as a response to the prevalent belief that Christianity was to blame for the fall of Rome. St. Augustine is known as one of the most influential Fathers of the Catholic Church. Born November 13, 354, Augustine would eventually be recognized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Christian Church, and the Anglican Communion.

When Alex MacLure’s friend and colleague dies he is determined to carry on her research into ancient Egypt. He finds she has left him a coded message, and, as he tries to make sense of it all, he discovers she was murdered. And now the murderer needs to silence him. With only a few clues and a mysterious object, Alex follows a trail from London to Cairo. He must crack the code and expose a shocking and inconceivable truth before the secret is buried for ever.

In an attempt to appeal to the Medici family during the Italian Renaissance, Machiavelli outlines the way to acquire and retain political power, and how great men should behave in a princely government. The book is divided into four parts - types of principalities and state, proper conduct of a prince as military leader, personal conduct of a prince, and the disparity of Italy's political situation. Many listeners will be able to see principals that Machiavelli advocates for are still used in many political systems today.

Read by the author. Find freedom from anxiety as you lift your gaze from the problems and pressures of this world to the changeless and powerful character of your heavenly Father. Is my cancer back? Is my job secure? Will I ever get married? Are my children safe? Our lives are often a chronicle...

Detective Inspector Munro is a burly Scottish policeman who doesn’t suffer fools gladly. Detective Sergeant West is an intelligent young woman, new to the force, with a lot to prove. When a missing person case lands on their desks, Munro is skeptical there is much to it. But their investigation soon comes to some strange findings, and before long a body is found. With a serial killer on their hands, they must act fast to trace a woman placed at the scene of the crime. Yet discovering her true identity, let alone finding her, proves difficult. And as the plot thickens they realise the crime is far graver than either of them could have imagined.

DS Hutton returns in a blisteringly brutal crime novel that obliterates the line between thriller and horror, and elevates the Hutton series to the upper echelons of contemporary noir fiction. Three people are dead. Murdered. Each one bound and gagged in a forest, the top of the skull removed, their exposed brain picked at by crows. If they were lucky, they died quickly. DS Hutton has been on sick leave for several months, living on the side of a Scottish mountain. However, the Plague of Crows has arrived, all hands are on deck and Hutton is summoned back to duty.

Detective Inspector Alec McKay is drawn into a chilling hunt for a serial killer. But first he must face the demons of his own past… Still grieving the tragic loss of his daughter, McKay becomes obsessed with a seemingly cold missing persons case—until bodies start turning up across the Black Isle. Each victim is surrounded by roses and candles, leaving McKay and his team to untangle the disturbing ritual behind the murders. As they struggle to crack the killer’s cryptic pattern, McKay’s own life begins to unravel.

First published in 1915, Of Human Bondage is widely considered to be Somerset Maugham’s masterpiece and is believed to have been at least partially based on Maugham’s own life. This is the tale of Philip Carey, who is orphaned at a young age and raised by his uncle. Of Human Bondage follows Philip on his travels to Paris, London, and Germany, taking the listener on an adventure of discovery as his travels brings him new discoveries and emotional growth.

1803. The Napoleonic Wars. A Royal Navy warship is ordered to pursue an enemy frigate to the icy waters far south in the Indian Ocean. There, it must capture the enemy ship and retrieve a mysterious sea chest, contents unknown, failure not permitted. For the determined young captain and his eager crew, this already dangerous mission turns into a battle with a mysterious vessel that appears not in the sea, but unbelievably, impossibly, in the sky above. But nothing could prepare the crew for what lay beyond the 50th latitude of south.

Written by Saint Augustine of Hippo, Confessions is the saint's autobiography that features 13 books that detail his early life and his conversion to Christianity as a result of the sin that he had incurred in his youth. Throughout the series, he also delivers his philosophical ponderings and ideas on theology, and it becomes evident that each event that has occurred in his life has had something to do with religion, as Saint Augustine is able to bridge the connections between these two very important topics.

Sophocles was born at Colonus, near Athens in about 496 BC and is considered to be one of the premier playwrights of Greek tragedy. His stories may have been filled with strife, but Sophocles himself was prosperous and came from a good family. It is said that he was handsome, wealthy, and a highly respected citizen of Athens. During his life, he wrote over 120 plays and was instrumental in how plays would eventually be performed, including the addition of stage props.

Many of the world's leaders have turned to Niccolo Machiavelli's The Art of War as a guide to the fundamentals of war, including Frederick the Great, Napoleon, as well as countless other military leaders. Limited warfare is one of the philosophies promoted in this work. Machiavelli believed that military conflict should be a last resort and should only be considered when diplomacy fails. He was also of the belief that society could only remain stable and secure with a strong state military.

A killer stalks the streets of Glasgow, his attacks bestial in their ferocity. The police are lost, and soon, as the past begins to haunt them, they themselves become targets. Step forward Detective Sergeant Hutton, adrift in a sea of love, lust, deception, alcohol and murdered colleagues. And lost though he is, the dead will not rest, the past will not be buried, and Hutton must find the answers before the killer strikes again.

The Commentaries by Julius Caesar contains eight books on the Gallic War in addition to all three books on the Civil War. Brilliantly translated, these commentaries provide an account of the many extraordinary events of these wars, brought to life by the words of Julius Caesar himself. If you have ever wondered about the events and thoughts that shaped the mind of Caesar, these commentaries will provide you with that insight.

February 1981. The Cold War is in full swing. Richard Brodick decides to follow in his father’s footsteps, joining Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service. As a contract ‘head agent’ based in Pakistan, Brodick’s job is to train Afghans to capture video of the war against the Soviets. However, he finds himself in a murky world of blurred lines and conflicting stories, where he cannot trust anything he has been told, by anyone. What he had thought would be an adventure spying on the Soviets and their Afghan communist allies turns sour when he's ordered to kill his best friend.

DI Alec McKay is back. Twenty years ago, Jackie Galloway was a senior cop with a bad reputation. Then he ended up on the wrong side of the wrong people, and his career was ruined. Sacked and with no pension, he ends up eking out his last days on Scotland's Black Isle, his mind lost to dementia, supported only by his wife, Bridie...until Galloway is found dead. The police assume the death to be accidental until Bridie reveals that her husband has been receiving threatening letters containing only the phrase 'not forgotten. Not forgiven.'

Jimmy McGuire, a washed-up comic, is found dead on the streets of Inverness, his body garroted. Back in the 1990s, McGuire had been half of a promising double act until his partner, Jack Dingwall, was convicted of rape. Soon, a second corpse is found in an abandoned industrial site on the edge of the Moray Firth. The body has been there for some days and has also been garroted. The victim turns out to be a former musician turned record producer who had also been the subject of rape allegations.

In 1831, the HMS Beagle took sail. Onboard was a young Charles Darwin. He would set out on an adventure that would lead him to question everything about man's place in the world. The Voyage of the Beagle is the journal Darwin kept of his observations of the extraordinary and natural wonders he encountered, from volcanoes to the coral reefs of Australia. It would be these natural wonders that would lead to him questioning how the different species of the world came to be and eventually to his radical theories.

One of the most remarkable figures of the Renaissance, Michel de Montaigne was a brilliant French philosopher and statesman whose work directly influenced René Descartes, Friedrich Nietzsche, Isaac Asimov and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. He was a humanist and a sceptic, with an insatiable and wide-ranging curiosity. In 1571, on his 38th birthday, he withdrew from public life and retired to the library in his castle tower, where he assembled a body of work that is still highly relevant today.

Like many Jules Verne classics, The Mysterious Island takes you on an unforgettable journey of adventure and reflection. During the American Civil War, a group of Union soldiers escape their confederate captors when they steal a balloon. What they didn't anticipate is the violent storm that awaits them and leads them into uncharted territory.