Showing results by narrator "J. A. Smith" in All Categories

Sean Connery is still well remembered for his role in the epic James Bond series. Although we often picture him as a smooth, daring, and debonair agent, surviving all manner of incredible stunts, Sean Connery was more than just James Bond. His films were indeed action-packed, but so was his personal life.

When historians discuss the great European empires of the 17th and 18th centuries, Sweden is sometimes not included in their conversations. Despite this omission, Sweden amassed a wealthy, prosperous empire during these years. Their territory spanned several regions of Europe and even included colonies in North America, Africa, and the Caribbean. They defeated some of the greatest militaries of their time and were widely recognized around the world by their allies and adversaries alike as an immense power and threat.

Pontiac’s War erupted in the Great Lakes region of North America just as the French and Indian War came to a close in 1763. The French, who had initially established a European presence there, were usurped by the British, whose relations with indigenous peoples were notoriously less diplomatic and more destructive. As a result, a Native American man named Pontiac helped lead a coalition against the British. The outcome of Pontiac’s War was not what either side intended, but it nevertheless helped shape the history of the region for decades to come.

The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest campaign of World War II, took place upon the Atlantic Ocean as the Allies traveled back and forth from North America to Great Britain with desperately needed oil, provisions, weapons, and supplies for the embattled forces fighting against Nazi Germany. The efforts of those valiant seafarers would eventually make D-Day possible, but there were times when even Winston Churchill feared that the prowess of the U-boats would imperil the Allies in their battle against the Nazi menace that had conquered Western Europe.

The mage Frank "Half Dead" Johnson is a marked man. Literally. A drunken decision fueled by tragedy has left him with half a soul, sorcerous powers, and two centuries to work off his debt to Scratch (a.k.a. the Devil) himself.

The War of the Spanish Succession, which occurred between 1701 and 1714, was fought over who would succeed the childless King Charles II to the throne of Spain. During the early modern era, European countries were almost constantly at war, vying for land, resources, power, and wealth. The succession of the Spanish throne - and everything that came with it - had much of all of those things up for grabs; therefore all of Europe had much to gain, or lose, from the new Spanish ruler. By the end of the war, conflict in Europe was hardly over, but a new, dominant power had emerged.

Casanova. Womanizer. Playboy. It has been more than 200 years, but Giacomo Casanova’s name is still a slang word. That name, emblazoned across Europe in the 1700s, is synonymous yet today with a player, someone who seduces a woman, makes a sexual conquest of her, and leaves her. It was once something more than that. Beyond the scams and the scandals, beyond the gambling debts, even beyond the lace ruffles and the powdered wigs, Giacomo Casanova was once something more, someone more. Someone formed by the social customs of the day; molded by the unique experiences of a little boy in Venice; sparked into life by the intelligence, philosophy, adventure, and passion that was Giacomo Casanova.

Hedy Lamarr was a rare kind of woman. She was not only a strikingly beautiful actress who took Hollywood by storm in the 1940s, but she was also an inventor - and not just any inventor. Hedy Lamarr’s work with radio frequencies is credited with paving the way for wi-fi. It seems that the greatest bomb that this bombshell dropped would only fully explode until the last years of her life because when Lamarr passed away in the year 2000, the computing world was just then mainstreaming many of her ideas.

With modern scholarship applied to ancient texts, the NRSVue is designed to help listeners explore the meanings of ancient texts in light of the cultures that produced them with unprecedented readability, accessibility, and inclusivity. The book contains the book of Revelation, from the NRSVue and accompanies the audio edition from The People's Book, narrated by Dr. Shively T. J. Smith.

Although he finds himself on the wrong side of history, Stonewall Jackson has become known as one of the American Civil War’s most brilliant strategists. His ride to acclaim was not easy; Jackson grew up poor, was orphaned by seven, jumped between different relatives’ homes, and had no real education, yet at 18 he was accepted into the prestigious military academy at West Point.

Alfred Hitchcock’s work is legendary, and although he himself was known as a rather quiet and subdued figure in public, those who knew him privately saw a fiery disposition and unbridled passion lurking just beneath the surface of his placid exterior. Films such as Rebecca, Vertigo, Psycho, and The Birds sky-rocketed him to fame, and have since led many to hail him as the greatest director of all time.

Jim Morrison—the name still evokes an image of a rough-hewn rock star, absolutely oozing both profound intellectual wisdom as well as an inordinate amount of cool charisma. Few could encapsulate two ends of the spectrum as well as he did, but Jim Morrison was both the wild man and the soft-spoken poet. He was Mr. Mojo Risin’, ready to party, and that quiet voice searching for soft asylum all at the same time. This book examines both of these dynamic poles of Jim Morrison’s personality and more.

Roy Orbison possessed a voice that commanded immediate attention. He may have appeared meek and mild-mannered on the surface, yet beneath this facade lay an inner world brimming with passion and fervor. Orbison’s style was innovative and avant-garde, almost as if he were an embodiment of alternative rock before the term even entered the lexicon. He represented the emotive, tender facet of rock and roll, a stark contrast to his contemporaries, who were often swathed in leather jackets and exuded the confidence of a typical rockstar.

What makes a shooting a massacre? If a mob of hundreds is facing down eight soldiers, and five citizens are killed, is that the Boston Massacre or the Incident on King Street? As was the case with so many of the tumultuous events in America’s colonial history, the answer depended upon whether one regarded oneself as a British subject or a free American.

With his signature guitar that reverberated like a ringing bell, Chuck Berry captured the spirit of teenage rebellion and the joy of the youth culture of the time. His performance style, including his famous duck walk, was as captivating as his music and soon made him a popular figure on stage. His breakout came in the mid-1950s when songs like “Maybellene,” “Roll Over Beethoven,” and “Johnny B. Goode” took America and the world by storm.

For many generations, the Aniyunwiya (meaning the “real people” or “principal people”) lived in harmony with the land they inhabited. They worshipped their ancestors and believed that every living thing—people, animals, trees, and plants—had a spirit and an important place in the world.

Kosovo is a tiny land-locked nation located in the heart of the Balkan Peninsula in Eastern Europe. Before the 1990s, few people outside the immediate area had ever even heard of Kosovo. Then, in 1998, war began, and Kosovo moved to the center of the international stage.

Chechnya’s modern history is marked by its fluctuating ties with the Russian Empire and, later, the Soviet Union. A notable dark chapter was in 1944 when Joseph Stalin ordered the mass deportation of Chechnya’s entire population. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, tensions between ethnic Russians and Chechens escalated into two full-blown wars. The first, in 1994, saw Russian forces invade Chechnya.

Joan Crawford was a legend. Few could compare to the charm and grace that she brought to the silver screen. Little did anyone know, however, of the charmed yet ultimately tragic life she led away from the camera and the main stage. Crawford was married four times and ended up disinheriting two of her children from her will. She certainly had her share of problems, but no one could keep this ambitious leading lady down for long. In this audiobook, we cover the life and legend of Joan Crawford in full.

The Industrial Revolution, which took place in Great Britain between the middle of the 18th century and the middle of the 19th, transformed British industry and society and made Great Britain the most powerful nation in the world. The Industrial Revolution didn’t happen due to one, single factor but rather to a number of separate, yet, related developments which interacted to change the world profoundly and completely. Improvements in the production of iron allowed the construction of efficient, reliable steam engines.