Great Westerns

A remarkable story of high hopes and crushing disappointment, the campaign contains moments of sheer horror and nerve-shattering excitement; pathos and comic relief; occasional cowardice and much selfless courage - all culminating in the climax of the First Battle of Ypres. And yet, as Peter Hart shows in this gripping and revisionary look at the war's first year, for too long the British part in the 1914 campaigns has been veiled in layers of self-congratulatory myth.

Along with the volcanic destruction of Pompeii and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Lisbon quake of 1755 is one of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded. After being jolted by a massive quake, Lisbon was then pounded by a succession of tidal waves and finally reduced to ash by a fire that raged for five straight days.

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.

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

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.

At the age of 48, film critic David Denby returned to his alma mater, Columbia University, to re-experience the core humanities courses he had taken as a freshman 30 years before. Facing the question of what he really knows, Denby re-examines the besieged Western classics, ranging from Homer, Sappho, and Sophocles to Dante, Nietzsche, and Woolf. What relevance do the writers and thinkers of the past have to our current life? The answer surprised Denby and will surprise and enlighten his listeners.

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.

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.

Nine thousand men of the First British Airborne Division were parachuted into the peaceful countryside that surrounded Arnhem. Their objective was to capture and hold the bridge over the Rhine ahead of the advancing British Second Army. Nine days later, after some of the fiercest street-fighting of the war, 2,000 paratroopers managed to escape to safety.

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.

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.

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. Jake Jackson could revert back to his Comanche ways in the blink of an eye when the situation demanded no mercy to those preying on the weak or unprotected. 

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.