Showing results by narrator "Gregory Diehl" in All Categories

Dr. George Cotzias lived a large life. He stood over six feet tall; he drank Metaxa like milk; he smoked cigarettes as if eating candy. He bullied patients, sometimes looming over their wasted bodies. He had “a stare as strong as death”. His passion for women, his wife, and others was infamous. His voice boomed through the halls of the hospital where he was chief of physiology research.

Among other things, you will finally learn how weak little Tristan, with his “wit craft,” killed the strong big Morholt. You will marvel at how clever Queen Iseult, on her wedding night, concealed from King Mark, her husband, the fact that she was not a virgin. And best of all, you will finally find the scientific explanation of how, during her trial for adultery, Iseult carried a white-hot incandescent iron 30 paces without burning her hands.   

Louisa Catherine Adams, the wife of John Quincy Adams, the sixth president of the United States, was a talented and lovely lady by all accounts. She grew up in England and France and lived much of her life abroad with her diplomatic husband, in the major capital cities of London, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. She was a gifted writer of prose and poetry, a translator of classic literature, and a discerning critic of the society and the political realm.

For a man who would be known the world over for his genius, Albert Einstein had a rather unimpressive childhood. It would not be until his mid-20s that his insight into nature and its connection with mathematics became apparent. Working as a Swiss patent clerk, he would squirrel away his research papers in his desk and work on them when no one was looking. During his “miracle year” of 1905, Einstein would produce four papers that would revolutionize theoretical physics.

Dr. Robert Goddard was the first scientist who not only realized the potential for rockets for space flight but also contributed directly in making them a reality. His rare talent in both creative science and practical engineering placed Goddard well above the European rocket pioneers. The dedicated research and experimentation into the development of rockets by the modest man went largely unrecognized in the Untied States until the dawn of the space age.

Thomas Jefferson is known by most as the third president of the United States, but his legacy extends much further than that. Born to a wealthy plantation owner, Thomas was the third of nine children. When he was just 14, his father died, leaving him half his land, slaves, and wealth. These circumstances allowed Thomas to attend college at the age of 16, and later on, to study under one of the top lawyers of the time. His political history is one of great triumph and struggle.

Nikola Tesla, a Serbian American, was a major contributor to the start of the electric age, which transformed daily life at the turn of the 20th century. His inventions, patents, and theoretical work formed the basis of the modern AC electricity system. Meanwhile, his inventive genius led to the development of the radio, the television, and the modern world as we know it. Tesla was one of America's first celebrity scientists, much like his competitor Thomas Edison.

At first glance, John Forbes Nash Jr. seemed to have it all: a PhD from Princeton, a beautiful wife, and a fantastic job teaching mathematics at MIT. He had no idea that at the age of 31, his entire life would fall apart, and it would take decades of hospitalization before his brilliant self would reemerge from the hell of schizophrenia - not unlike a butterfly trapped too long in a cocoon.

Born of humble beginnings, Ronald Reagan came into the world as the son of working class parents in Illinois. During his youth, he wasn't a particularly gifted student, but he did graduate from college. A Hollywood actor and union leader turned politician, he served as the 33rd governor of California during the tumultuous period from 1967 to 1975. Though his hard work, determination, and a bit of good luck, Ronald Reagan became the 40th president of the United States, in office between 1981 and 1989.

Margaret Thatcher was a British stateswoman and the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. From 1975 to 1990, she was the Leader of the Conservative Party. She was elected Prime Minister three times and served for 11 years, longer than any other British prime minister of the 20th century. Her political views, based on loose economics and individual self-realization, along with her policies, were referred to as Thatcherism, which for decades remained an influential political concept in the United Kingdom.

Are you a citizen of the United States who lives abroad? Maybe you're thinking about moving from the United States, and aren't sure how this affects your tax filing requirements. Or perhaps you have been tax non-compliant for many years, and don't know how to get caught up with the US government without incurring huge fees. You could be a self-employed "digital nomad" who works from many different countries, moving wherever you want at your leisure.

It's Christmas time and there's a big problem in the forest! People from a nearby village want to chop down a special tree to use for their Christmas decorations. But this is the most beautiful tree in the whole forest! Wendy the Warbler, Wally the Woodlark, William the Woodpecker, and Sebastian the Squirrel all live in this old pine tree. All the animals have a plan to save the special tree and help the people from the village have a merry Christmas!

From living in a van on the streets of San Diego, to growing chocolate with indigenous tribes in Central America, to teaching in the Middle East and volunteering in Africa, best-selling author Gregory V. Diehl has followed a worldly and unconventional path through life. Leaving his California home as a teenager, he fully immersed himself, living and working, in 45 countries across the globe - all by age 28.

The descendent of Viking raiders, William the Conqueror, or William the Bastard as he was also known, took the throne of England in 1066. William showed himself to be an outstanding soldier and an extremely effective ruler, combining great fortitude with an unwavering insistence on his own authority. He was a formidable personality, whose political imagination and ruthlessness were the driving forces of the Norman Conquest of England.

Beginning with a skirmish involving inexperienced British officer George Washington, the Iroquois chief, and the ill-fated French emissary in the backwoods of Pennsylvania, a chain of events culminated in what would effectively become the First World War. The French and Indian War, as it is known in North America, was part of a larger conflict called the Seven Years' War, which involved nations on three continents.

In Danna's senior year of college, she and Jeff engage in a whirlwind romance. Problems, however, arise when Danna's father meets his daughter's boyfriend. He wants the best for Danna, and in his eyes Jeff doesn't fit the bill. The climax occurs around Danna's graduation, when she is preparing to move to the East Coast for an Ivy League MBA. What will become of Danna's relationship with Jeff?

The new nation, the United States of America, doubled overnight in size with the purchase of a vast tract of land west of the Mississippi River. The sitting president, Thomas Jefferson, negotiated a deal for the land with French ruler Napoleon. Now that America had all this new unexplored territory, Jefferson knew it was time to explore this new land and firmly place America's claim on this expansive wilderness. In 1803, Jefferson commissioned the Corps of Discovery and named Meriwether Lewis as the leader.

Both Jesse Owens and Adolf Hitler grew up in poverty, and both men struggled to find their footing later in life. Owens represented the United States in the 1936 Olympics, after which he found it difficult to sustain a well-paying job. Adolf Hitler moved to Vienna as a teenager, following his parents' death, but he never found the financial success he so desperately craved as an artist. He spent most of his time in the city a penniless, unemployed young man. The similarities between the two men end there.

There are many theories as to why the United States and then much of the world entered into a long period of price deflation, high unemployment, and an overall significant economic downturn, which we now call the Great Depression. People always wonder why this horrendous event occurred and there is no simple answer to this question. It was a perfect storm of events that came together and brought about an inevitable plummet in the lives of millions.

Alexander Hamilton, born in the British West Indies, was an outsider from the very beginning. His illegitimate birth drove him to prove his worthiness to others throughout his life. His quest for honor was one of the defining characteristics that colored his decisions. Hamilton was a small man with a large ambition, and this would drive him to greatness and create some powerful enemies in his wake.