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. 

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. 

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".

Buster's in big trouble. He's been dragged to Dog Court for breaking one of the most sacred of all dog rules: Never ever talk to a human, or let a human know how smart you really are. But he swears he had a good reason! The boy he's been taking care of, Tonio, needed his help in a big way. You see, Tonio is afraid all the time - afraid of saying or doing the wrong thing, afraid of making a fool of himself or (even worse) hurting someone else's feelings. His doctor thinks having a therapy dog will help his anxiety - and Buster wants to help.

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. 

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....

When the Scarlet Witch of the Avengers and Rogue of the X-Men all disappear under mysterious circumstances, each team's search leads them to more questions than answers. When the X-Men appear to attack a high-security government installation, the Avengers must track down the mutants and learn the truth behind the abductions before it's too late.

The X-Men - mutant protectors of a world that fears and hates them - and the Avengers - Earth's mightiest heroes - team up with the Incredible Hulk to track down the evil Leader to his base on the moon. Fighting not only his dangerous Gamma Sentinels but also each other, each team must work through their differences in order to save not only their teammates, but the entire world as well. 

The greatest super-team ever assembled tries to find out who abducted two of their teammates. With the help of the Incredible Hulk, they learn that their foe is the deadly Leader. But the search is more difficult than imagined, for the Leader has the power of the Gamma Sentinels behind him - and another surprise ally. 

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. 

When the acclaimed Cuban painter Wifredo Lam turns up dead in his Greenwich Village studio, officers Juanita Diaz and Brian Fitzgerald must investigate the crime. But what they find is much more gruesome than they ever could have imagined. Suspicion soon falls on a tight-knit circle of Surrealist refugees who fled Nazi-occupied Europe during World War II, and Diaz and Fitzgerald must traverse the city, from Chinatown's underworld to Spanish Harlem's gangland, to find the truth. Did one of the artists' bizarre parlor games turn deadly? Or is there something even more sinister afoot?

Twin brother and sister Benji and Kelly wander off at the local county fair after witnessing their parents argue. When Benji runs into a group of bullies, he escapes into a tent called The Memory Emporium, where he meets a strange old man named Louis. The old man shows him a magically vivid memory of a fighter pilot in the hopes of getting him to pay to see the other memories he’s collected from people over the years.