Lives West

Red Means Go is the amazing story of a young woman, Joanne Balducci from Bayside, Queens. The oldest among her four siblings, all boys except her, she learns at an early age to handle responsibility and be a strong leader against all odds and ill will.

A rare glimpse into heaven, hell, and previous lives - Dr. Rajiv Parti's near-death experience brought him on a journey through the afterworld, leading to a spiritual awakening that transformed his career, his lifestyle, and even his fundamental beliefs. Before his near-death experience, Dr. Rajiv Parti was a wealthy man of science with a successful career as the Chief of Anesthesiology at the Bakersfield Heart Hospital in California. Dr. Parti was the last man to believe in heaven or hell - that is, until he saw them with his own eyes.

Remington’s name remains recognizable today, and his work continues to impress viewers more than a century after he was active. From the bronze statuettes of anonymous Western heroes in crisis to large-scale actions set against vast backdrops, his works found their form through mythology and by "merging his experiences and memories." Both commercially and nostalgia-driven, the dualistic personality of Frederic Remington as a person is at times a problem for modern sensibilities.

Van has always been an outsider. Most people don’t notice him. But he notices them. And he notices the small trinkets they drop, or lose, or throw away—that’s why his collection is full of treasures. Then one day, Van notices a girl stealing pennies from a fountain, and everything changes.

Manuel Lindo came from nothing, but stubbornly worked his way up at the Dredging and Construction Company. Obliged to move from city to city for his job, the family couldn't put down roots, and Elvira and her siblings' childhood was marked by unpredictability. As they pass through temporary homes, they're caught between Manuel's outsized temper and their young mother's worsening illness, which would tragically take her life. Beginning with nine-year-old Manuel's experience in Madrid in 1939, Open Heart takes us on a journey through Spain full of insights about love in its many forms.

Lynette Carlisle witnessed her mother’s death twelve years ago. But her memory only speaks through nightmares. Her four older siblings each left their Nantucket home as soon as they were able, never speaking of that tragic day. Lynette alone stays with their father on the island, and when it becomes clear they are losing him to Alzheimer’s, she calls her siblings home, each of them bringing along their own secrets. They aren’t the only ones returning to the island—their childhood neighbor, Nick, comes home to his own family drama, never expecting a Carlisle family reunion.

When Tanisha spills grape juice all over her new dress, her classmate wants to make her feel better, wondering: What does it mean to be kind? From asking the new girl to play to standing up for someone being bullied, this moving story explores what kindness is, and how any act, big or small, can make a difference―or at least help a friend.

Sam and Jane Archer walk out of a backcountry hiking trip into a living nightmare. Their car is vandalized and dead, along with every other vehicle in the trailhead parking lot. Unable to get a cell phone signal, and spooked by a threatening encounter - they resign themselves to a long hike home, suspecting a possible EMP attack against the United States.

West Coast Tales takes a snapshot of the inherent dangers in the everyday lives of the denizens of a small island on the west coast of Canada. First, the orca family experiences a wayward child during a hunting expedition as Oliver sets out to prove himself as a hunter.

During the 19th century, Japan severely limited contact with the rest of the world, although it was not the total isolation sometimes presumed. The government was quite aware of what was happening in the rest of the world. The Japanese also left a window open to Europe, in the form of a small and highly restricted Dutch presence on an artificial island in Nagasaki harbor - a presence that lasted more than 200 years.

Nat Love: The Life and Legacy of the Former Slave Who Became the Wild West’s Most Famous Black Cowboy chronicles the colorful life of Nat Love and the legends that sprung up around him over time. You will learn about Nat Love like never before.

"The employee is regarded by the employer merely in the light of his value as an operative. His productive capacity alone is taken into account." (Stanford) Leland Stanford: The Life and Legacy of the Railroad Executive Who Became California’s Governor and the West’s Most Famous Robber Baron chronicles the remarkable life of Stanford.

Twins Aaron and Clive have been estranged for 40 years. Aaron still lives in the empty, crumbling tower block on the riverside in Deptford where they grew up. Clive is a successful property developer, determined to turn the tower into luxury flats. But Aaron is blocking the plan, and their petty squabble becomes something much greater when two ghosts from the past - twins Annette and Christine - appear in the tower. At once, the desolate estate becomes a stage on which the events of one scorching summer are relived - a summer that shattered their lives and changed everything forever.

The Wild West made legends out of many men and women through the embellishment of their stories, but it was Buffalo Bill Cody who truly brought the Wild West to life and provided the images that people still associate with the 19th century West today. Though he had a long career that spanned service in the Civil War, trapping, and even a stint with the Pony Express, Buffalo Bill eventually became synonymous with his world-famous Wild West Show.

In Charles River Editors' Legends of the West series, listeners can get caught up to speed on the lives of America's most famous frontier figures in the time it takes to finish a commute, while learning interesting facts long forgotten or never known. Legends of the West: The Life and Legacy of Butch Cassidy chronicles the outlaw's life, while also analyzing his legacy and the mythology that has enveloped his story, attempting to separate fact from fiction to determine what the notorious robber was really like.

The early 19th century saw the glorification of frontier folk heroes like Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, and after the Civil War the outlaws of the West were more popular than the marshals. Outlaws like Jesse James and Billy the Kid robbed and fought their way into dime novels, but one of the most notorious and unique outlaws of them all was Myra Maybelle Shirley, a Southern girl who knew her way around horses and guns.

The Wild West has made legends out of many men through the embellishment of their stories, such as crediting Billy the Kid and Wild Bill Hickok for killing far more people than they actually did. But it has also made icons out of outlaws like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid based on the mystery and uncertainty surrounding their crimes and deaths, allowing speculation and legend to fill in the gaps.

Few things have captured the American imagination like the “Wild West,” which still evokes images of dusty cowboys, outlaws, gunfights, gamblers, and barroom brawls over 100 years after the West was settled. A constant fixture in American pop culture, the 19th century American West continues to be vividly and colorfully portrayed not just as a place but as a state of mind.

Exploration of the early American West, beginning with Lewis and Clark’s transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the era’s new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the land’s indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico and Canada.

Before there was Charles Ponzi, there was Jefferson Randolph "Soapy" Smith II. The famed Old West con artist and gangster's criminal career ranged from Texas to Alaska, from Denver to the Klondike. Soapy Smith: The Life and Legacy of the Wild West’s Most Infamous Con Artist looks at the controversial times and crimes of the Western huckster, and the career that led to a notorious end. You will learn about Soapy Smith like never before.