Great Westerns

Sound interesting? The author thinks so too! Listen to The Guns of Shiloh and learn a story of the great Western campaign.

Sir Walter Ralegh was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth. She showered him with estates and political appointments. He envisioned her becoming empress of a universal empire. She gave him the opportunity to lead the way. In Walter Ralegh, Alan Gallay shows that, while Ralegh may be best known for founding the failed Roanoke colony, his historical importance vastly exceeds that enterprise. Inspired by the mystical religious philosophy of hermeticism, Ralegh led English attempts to colonize in North America, South America, and Ireland.

This thoughtful examination of a century of travel writing about the American West overturns a variety of popular and academic stereotypes. Looking at both European and American travelers' accounts of the West, from de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, David Wrobel offers a counternarrative to the nation's romantic entanglement with its Western past and suggests the importance of some long-overlooked authors, lively and perceptive witnesses to our history who deserve new attention.

The Captured Girl is an enthralling saga that follows Lieutenant Will Raines' crucible of combat and young Morgan O'Connor's struggle for survival after her capture by the Cheyenne. More than four years later, in 1875, when the cavalry attacks her Indian village, she is rescued by Lieutenant Raines. Now 18, she returns to white society with her Cheyenne son at her side. Her struggle for survival has just begun.

The Age of Genius explores the eventful intertwining of outward event and inner intellectual life to tell, in all its richness and depth, the story of the 17th century in Europe. It was a time of creativity unparalleled in history before or since, from science to the arts, from philosophy to politics. Acclaimed philosopher and historian A. C. Grayling points to three primary factors that led to the rise of vernacular (popular) languages in philosophy, theology, science, and literature.

Sienna, the young chief of a vanishing tribe, is given a second chance to bring abundance to his people when white traders bestow a gun upon him. The power of the gun brings him great renown and his people flourish for a time. Little does he know that his spreading fame will cause the downfall of his people as they are captured by a rival tribe and dragged away into slavery. Sienna knows that rather than resist or fight, he must bear the troubles of his captive people and wait for his destiny, foretold in a prophecy, to unfold.

Jake Jackson's white family was killed when he was a baby by a Comanche war party. Jake's red family raised him as White Wolf, Comanche warrior. He became a celebrated warrior of the tribe. When the Comanche were forced onto a reservation by the US military and the decimation of the buffalo herd, Jake transitioned to the white world and became known as the fastest gun on the western frontier.

For nearly a thousand years following its foundation, there was only one Christian Church. Centered in the city of Rome, the Church expanded and grew until it became the dominant religion in Europe and beyond. The early growth of the Church had been suppressed by the Romans until the Emperor Constantine became the first to convert the empire to Christianity, and from that point forward, the growth of the Church was inextricably linked with the Roman Empire, the most powerful military, economic, and political force in the ancient world.

The Bayeux Tapestry is the world's most famous textile: an exquisite 230-foot-long embroidered panorama depicting the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is also one of history's most mysterious and compelling works of art. This haunting stitched account of the battle that redrew the map of medieval Europe has inspired dreams of theft, waves of nationalism, visions of limitless power, and esthetic rapture.

The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.

Enterprising Boyd Archer decides to purchase and renovate the old ghost town of Galva, Wyoming, site of the once prosperous Galva Gold Mine. During the mine’s heyday, a strongbox filled with gold and jewelry was stolen in a stagecoach robbery by Max Rigby, the vicious Black Mountain Bandit. This treasure is rumored to be hidden somewhere on his rugged mountain property. As a promotional stunt, in the spirit of fun, Archer advertises a hunt for the missing strongbox. Archer doesn’t count on the ruffians who appear in serious quest.

Exploring the successful Norman invasion of England in 1066, this concise and listenable book focuses especially on the often dramatic and enduring changes wrought by William the Conqueror and his followers. Hugh M. Thomas considers the conquest's wide-ranging impact by taking a fresh look at such traditional themes as the influence of battles and great men on history and by assessing how far the shift in ruling dynasty and noble elites affected broader aspects of English history.

Are you intrigued by the monumental path Christianity carved through history? This masterful narrative weaves through 1,600 years of history, from Christianity’s origins in the 1st century AD to the transformative Counter-Reformation in 1700.

Someone is murdering innocent people in Santa Fe and cutting an upside-down cross on the victims' foreheads. The town is in a panic as many people swear a devil worshipper is responsible for the murders. Davidson, the Great Detective from New York City, is in town and he is more of a problem than a help in solving the case. Will Cannon enlists the help of a young cowboy and together they try to track down Damon the Demon before he kills more innocent people. 

Mark Scarbrough has been searching for something his entire life. Whether it’s his birth mother, true love, his purpose, or his sexual identity, Mark has been on a constant quest to find out who he really is, with the great Western texts as his steadfast companions. As a boy with his head constantly in a book, desperate to discover new worlds, he can hardly distinguish between their plots and his own reality.

After his daughter was born prematurely in 2010, Matt Burriesci set out to write a book about 32 great books, from Plato to Karl Marx, and how their lessons have applied to his life. As someone who has spent a long and successful career advocating for great literature, Burriesci defends the great books in this series of tender and candid letters, rich in personal experience and full of humor.

Hand-sled Riley is being pursued by Granden, a wanted man. Granden is wanted on the American side, which is why Riley is fleeing in that direction. But Granden has no intention of letting Riley escape. He has a gun, and Riley does not. He wants a bullet to settle the matter before they leave the Canadian wilderness.

Great Continental Railway Journeys is now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo, and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe using George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Will Cannon rides to Show Low, Arizona, to check on a shipment of lumber, and he finds some outlaws trying to take over the timber business in Arizona. Will enlists the help of two young men from Oregon to help fight the outlaws. Some ranchers join Will to fight India and his gang of cutthroats. Sam Blaze, The Lazarus Man, arrives from Springerville to help win the battle.Will sets thing right in Show Low and then rides the trail once again in search of the Blackman Gang. 

Jake Jackson was a legend in the Old West. His ability with a gun was unmatched. His name brought hope to the oppressed and sent shivers of fear up the spines of outlaws. Jake Jackson was equally as revered among the Comanche where he was raised from an infant to become the Comanche Warrior, White Wolf. There were many songs sung around campfires in Comanche villages praising his fierceness in battle.