Showing results by narrator "Phil Gigante" in All Categories

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.

This novel, Dick said, is about Leo Runcible, "a brilliant, civic minded liberal Jew living in a rural WASP town in Marin County, California." Runcible, a real estate agent involved in a local battle with a neighbor, finds what look like Neanderthal bones in Marin and dreams of rising real estate prices because of the publicity. But it turns out that the remains are more recent, the result of an environmental problem polluting the local water supply.

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....

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.

Arch Wizard is the second thrilling adventure in The Falconfar Saga, a classic sword and sorcery adventure. Having been drawn into a fantasy world of his own creation, Rod Everlar continues his quest to defeat the corruption he has discovered within.

The year is 1837. The American West is untamed, uncivilized, and largely unclaimed. U.S. President Andrew Jackson, in a race with the British and Russians, sends a wagon train of would-be settlers into the uncharted Oregon territory, led by his close friend, mountain man and veteran Sam Brentwood. Teaming up with trail hand Whip Holt, widow Claudia Humphries, and a colorful group of courageous pioneers, Brentwood sets off from New York, heading westward to Independence, Missouri.

It is 1838. The first wagon train to Oregon country moves slowly across the Great Plains, reaching the foothills of the Rocky Mountains in early autumn. Led by wagon scout “Whip” Holt, the 500-strong community of courageous men, women, and children prepare for the bitter winter ahead. Among them are dreamers and drifters, foreigners and natives, friends and enemies.

He is both feared and admired, and for the past two decades he has been both lionized and demonized by the media. Outspoken, no-nonsense, and eminently fascinating, Joseph M. Arpaio captured the public's imagination from his first day as sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona (a county larger than the state of New Jersey), in 1992.

Private detective Harry McGlade is on the prowl, looking for a one-night stand. Or, in McGlade's case, a five-minute stand. When he finds a sexy lady at his local bar, he thinks he has a chance with her. But she isn't alone. There's a guy with her. A guy with a gun whom she's desperately trying to get away from. When the local mafia becomes involved with McGlade's tryst, things start going bad.

When a high-speed chase goes terribly wrong, Santa Fe police officer Dan Page watches in horror as a car and gas tanker explode into flames. Torn with guilt that he may be responsible, Page returns home to discover that his wife, Tori, has disappeared. Frantic, Page follows her trail to Rostov, a remote town in Texas famous for a massive astronomical observatory, a long-abandoned military base, and unexplained nighttime phenomena that drew onlookers from every corner of the globe.

It all starts with a train rushing through the night…. Well, actually, it starts when Jon Scieszka, former National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, writes a cliff-hanger episode and passes it on to the next member of a cast of celebrated writers, who continues the story and pass it on. And what happens between episodes one and 27? Think werewolves and mad scientists, a talking pig, plenty of explosions, a blue Star Wars lunchbox, two meatballs, a whole army of villains and varmints, and more!

The town of Lake Woebegotton, MN is a small town, filled with ordinary (yet above average) people, leading ordinary lives. Ordinary, that is, until the dead start coming back to life, with the intent to feast upon the living! Now this small town of above average citizens must overcome their petty rivalries and hidden secrets in order to survive an onslaught of the dead.

In the final days of World War II, an Irish soldier discovers a cache of artifacts in an Austrian cave that threatens to expose a long-buried secret of the Catholic Church. The artifacts prove that the Druids of Ireland did not die out; they were systematically exterminated in cold blood. However, the secret will stay buried within the walls of the soldier’s home for another 50 years before it is brought to light by his son, a modern-day proponent of the Druids’ enlightened, pacifist culture.