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ID: 131968

Title: Gulliver's Travels

Author: Jonathan Swift

Narrator: David Thorn

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11:34:00

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-07

Publisher: Alcazar AudioWorks

Genres: Kids, Action & Adventure, Classics

Summary:

Set and written in 1726, This is a marvelously imaginative tale of the four voyages of Lemuel Gulliver. He finds himself shipwrecked and the prisoner of captors ranging in size from 6 inches tall to 60 feet tall and of various other persuasions. But this is just the beginning of a story written, strangely enough to satirize the foolishness and vices of modern men as they were perceived at the time. No one, young or old, can ever forget the Lilliputians and the Yahoos that starred in these wonderful and riveting stories of long ago.

AUTHOR

Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Irish novelist, satirist, poet and political essayist. From a very literary family, his uncle married the daughter of a godson of William Shakespeare, Swift was very well educated, receiving an MA from Oxford University and a Doctorate in Divinity from Trinity College in Dublin.

An ordained priest in the Established Church of Ireland, Swift began writing satire, inspired by his misery in his profession. Politically active, Swift incurred the enmity of enough British nobles, that his career as a minister was over. Swift began writing novels, while also writing political phamphlets promoting Irish causes.

Swift's best know work, Gulliver's Travels is filled with satiric references to his current events, and was an immediate hit, written anomously, it had to be smuggled into Ireland. The Queen was not amused.

COMMENTARY

Reviews for Alcazar AudioWorks' production of Gulliver's Travels

Terrific Narration, Very interesting story

Written about 300 years ago this story has aged very well and Gulliver's adventures are event today very entertaining. Gulliver's Travels was meant to mock the hordes of books about adventurous travels released at the time which often exaggerated the dangers faced and the belitteled the intellect of the natives encountered. And so Gulliver meets giants, tiny people, horses which rule over men and people living on a floating island. In addition to the entertainment value these episodes hold it is also very interesting to see how critical Jonathan Swift was of English society and values. This criticism is never voiced by the main character directly, but surface through the discussions Gulliver has with the people he meets.

The Audiobook version published by Alcazar AudioWorks features a terrific Narrator which makes the story a joy to listen to.

Listener Review - Audible.com

This book is written with wonderful prose and read by a very talented narrator. When I first started the book it was a wonder to sit back and just listen. The story is very imaginative as well. This must be a very early example of the fantasy genre.

Listener Review - Audible.com

This is one of those books that people love to talk about but never actually read. At most they read the cliff notes version but let me tell you, you're really missing out on a jewel if you do. The unabridged version is the only way to go and this one does an excellent job. It leaves you with conversational pieces, insight into humanity and culture that you would not have had otherwise. Not to mention that just sticking with the abridged or cliff notes you get the ""official"" interpretation but you lose the opportunity to think for your self on the dilemmas presented.

The story basically follows the adventures of one guy who ends up shipwrecked on 3 different islands and with each island is presented with a unique situation.

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ID: 132005

Title: Little Duke

Author: Charlotte Yonge

Narrator: David Thorn

Format: Unabridged

Length: 04:22:00

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-07

Publisher: Alcazar AudioWorks

Genres: Kids, Action & Adventure, Historical, Classics

Summary:

Based on historical fact, this audiobook is full of intrigue and chivalry, and at a time when Normandy was not part of France. This is the romantic childhood history of Richard the Fearless, Duke of Normandy. After his father was assassinated, when he was just nine years old, he is kidnapped and imprisoned by Louis of France who wanted to annex Normandy.

But thanks to the bravery and daring of Richard's loyal squire and knight, Osmond de Centeville, he makes good his escape. Richard's great grandson was to become William the Conqueror and King of England. The story is full of suspense and bravery, of loyalty and resolve under the most scary cirucumstances. Courage is a strong value for all involved.

Table of Contents

Chapter 01: A Welcome Visit

Chapter 02: An Untimely Death

Chapter 03: Richard Assumes the Ducal Mantle

Chapter 04: A Comrade

Chapter 05: Danger in the Castle

Chapter 06: At the French Court

Chapter 07: For the Sake of a Falcon

Chapter 08: A Daring Escape

Chapter 09: Danes to the Rescue

Chapter 10: Royal Hostages

Chapter 11: The Passing of a Prince

Chapter 12: A Boon Granted

Chapter 13: Reconciliation at Last

AUTHOR

Charlotte Yonge

Charlotte Mary Yonge (1823-1901) was a prolific British novelist, magazine editor, best know for her work in children's literature. Yonge taught Sunday School for 71 years and her novels express the same values and concerns she shared with her students, courage and self-sacrifice for a greater good.

COMMENTARY

Reviews for Alcazar AudioWorks' production of The Little Duke

I like to listen to a story read aloud by a master storyteller just as much as any of my children. There is often a book-on-tape or book-on-CD playing in the background at our house when we're busy at some task like washing dishes, folding laundry, cutting and pasting and drawing and painting, anything that requires the attention of our hands and our eyes, while leaving our ears and brains free.

We had read The Little Duke together when we were studying the Middle Ages, and so we were already familiar with the story. What a joy to hear it read aloud by David Thorn, whose rich voice and British accent somehow suit the tale to a ""T""!

Richard's great grandson would someday become the famous William the Conqueror, but at the time this story is set, Richard is just a bewildered little boy, a pawn in the game of power, with no less than the King of France seeking to control him and the rich lands he has inherited upon the assassination of his father, the Duke of Normandy. But young Richard is not without friends and protectors...

The story has all the elements that appeal to young and old alike: adventure, intrigue, knightly doings, deadly peril, and thrilling rescue. The chapters are punctuated by music and the reading goes by all too quickly - four-and-a-half hours in all - if you listen to it in one sitting. (Which we have.) Or you could break it up and listen a chapter at a time. (We've done that, too.)

Through the story, Richard grows in wisdom, compassion, and understanding, and we see him go from an indulged child to a young liege lord. He learns such valuable lessons as controlling his temper and his impulses, and putting others before himself.

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ID: 115658

Title: Firestorm: Allied Airpower and the Destruction of Dresden

Author: Marshall De Bruhl

Narrator: Michael Prichard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13:00:00

Language: English

Release date: 01-01-07

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: History, World, Military

Summary:

On February 13 and 14, 1945, three successive waves of British and U.S. aircraft rained down thousands of tons of high explosive and incendiary bombs on the largely undefended German city of Dresden. Night and day, Dresden was engulfed in a vast sea of flame, a firestorm that generated 1,500-degree temperatures and hurricane-force winds. Thousands suffocated in underground shelters where they had fled to escape the inferno above. The fierce winds pulled thousands more into the center of the firestorm, where they were incinerated. By the time the fires burned themselves out, many days later, a great city-known as 'the Florence on the Elbe'-lay in ruins, and tens of thousands, almost all of them civilians, lay dead.

In Firestorm, Marshall De Bruhl re-creates the drama and horror of the Dresden bombing and offers the most cogent appraisal yet of the tactics, weapons, strategy, and rationale for the controversial attack. Using new research and contemporary reports, as well as eyewitness stories of the devastation, De Bruhl directly addresses many long-unresolved questions relating to the bombing: Why did the strike occur when the Allies' victory was seemingly so imminent? Was choosing a city choked with German refugees a punitive decision, intended to humiliate a nation? What, if any, strategic importance did Dresden have? How much did the desire to send a 'message'-to Imperial Japan or the advancing Soviet armies-factor into the decision to firebomb the city?

Beyond De Bruhl's analysis of the moral implications and historical ramifications of the attack, he examines how Nazi and Allied philosophies of airpower evolved prior to Dresden, particularly the shift toward 'morale bombing' and the targeting of population centers as a strategic objective. He also profiles the architects and prime movers of strategic bombing and aerial warfare, among them aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell, RAF air marshal Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris, and the American commander, General Carl Spaatz.

The passage of time has done nothing to quell the controversy stirred up by the Dresden raid. It has spawned a plethora of books, documentaries, articles, and works of fiction. Firestorm dispels the myths, refutes the arguments, and offers a dispassionate and clear-eyed look at the decisions made and the actions taken throughout the bombing campaign against the cities of the Third Reich-a campaign whose most devastating consequence was the Dresden raid. It is an objective work of history that dares to consider the calculus of war.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 115662

Title: Digging for the Truth: One Man's Epic Adventure Exploring the World's Greatest Archaeological Mysteries

Author: Josh Bernstein

Narrator: William Dufris

Format: Unabridged

Length: 07:30:00

Language: English

Release date: 12-26-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: Biography & Memoir

Summary:

Digging For the Truth: A Real-Life Adventurer Explores the World's Greatest Ancient Mysteries

Josh Bernstein, host of The History Channel's hit series Digging for The Truth, takes readers beyond the cameras for an even closer look at his adventures through some of the most intriguing, remote, and physically challenging locations on the planet as he explores the world's greatest ancient mysteries.

No location is too dangerous, no terrain too rough, no culture too exotic for explorer and survival expert Josh Bernstein. With his unique hands-on approach, he travels the globe, seeking answers to some of the most enigmatic mysteries of the ancient world. Digging for the Truth shares Josh's personal stories, journals, and insights, revealing the risks and dangers of what went on behind the scenes in shooting the show, and the fascinating details about what he uncovers along each adventure. Readers are right in the action as he:

Discovers who built Egypt's pyramids and learns what secrets may be buried below the Sphinx.

Follows the trail of the Lost Ark of the Covenant to the remote monasteries and churches of Ethiopia.

Explores the journey of a potential Lost Tribe of Israel and examines DNA evidence that could make or break their claim.

Visits the ancient site of Stonehenge, witnesses a Druid ceremony, and learns what purpose the stone circles may have served.

Sails a Viking ship on a quest to determine if the Vikings landed in the New World five hundred years before Columbus.

Lives with a remote and mostly naked tribe in the Amazon to search for hidden cities and learn the fate of one of the world's great explorers.

Listeners will have access to all the inside details that viewers never see-everything from food poisoning and spider bites to the logistical challenges of shooting in some of the most remote places on earth.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 115645

Title: Letting Go of Your Bananas: How to Become More Successful by Getting Rid of Everything Rotten in Your Life

Author: Daniel T. Drubin

Narrator: Stephen Hoye

Format: Unabridged

Length: 03:00:00

Language: English

Release date: 12-15-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: Business & Economics, Management & Leadership

Summary:

This is a book for anyone who feels they've fallen short of their career potential, or wondered if the things they do-or don't do-at work are sabotaging their careers. The truth is, most people learn their greatest lessons not from grasping the brass ring but from letting go of negative influences and behaviors. Now Dr. Daniel T. Drubin helps readers identify what he terms the 'rotten bananas'-unhealthy habits, relationships, jobs, and beliefs-that are holding them back, while providing job-saving, step-by-step advice on how to get back on track, including ways to: Increase resourcefulness; Take responsibility and win 'the blame game'; Enhance fearlessness; Remain purposeful, passionate, and persuasive; And more.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 115678

Title: Against the Day

Author: Thomas Pynchon

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 53:33:59

Language: English

Release date: 12-15-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: Fiction & Literature, Historical Fiction, Literary Fiction

Summary:

Spanning the period between the Chicago World's Fair of 1893 and the years just after World War I, this novel moves from the labor troubles in Colorado to turn-of-the-century New York, to London and Gottingen, Venice and Vienna, the Balkans, Central Asia, Siberia at the time of the mysterious Tunguska Event, Mexico during the Revolution, postwar Paris, silent-era Hollywood, and one or two places not strictly speaking on the map at all.

With a worldwide disaster looming just a few years ahead, it is a time of unrestrained corporate greed, false religiosity, moronic fecklessness, and evil intent in high places. No reference to the present day is intended or should be inferred.

The sizable cast of characters includes anarchists, balloonists, gamblers, corporate tycoons, drug enthusiasts, innocents and decadents, mathematicians, mad scientists, shamans, psychics, and stage magicians, spies, detectives, adventuresses, and hired guns. There are cameo appearances by Nikola Tesla, Bela Lugosi, and Groucho Marx.

As an era of certainty comes crashing down around their ears and an unpredictable future commences, these folks are mostly just trying to pursue their lives. Sometimes they manage to catch up; sometimes it's their lives that pursue them.

Meanwhile, the author is up to his usual business. Characters stop what they're doing to sing what are for the most part stupid songs. Strange sexual practices take place. Obscure languages are spoken, not always idiomatically. Contrary-to-the-fact occurrences occur. If it is not the world, it is what the world might be with a minor adjustment or two. According to some, this is one of the main purposes of fiction.

Let the reader decide, let the reader beware. Good luck.

-Thomas Pynchon

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 295674

Title: Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland

Author: Bryan Sykes

Narrator: Dick Hill

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10:09:34

Language: English

Release date: 12-15-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: History, Europe

Summary:

WASPs finally get their due in this stimulating history by one of the world's leading geneticists.

Saxons, Vikings, and Celts is the most illuminating book yet to be written about the genetic history of Britain and Ireland. Through a systematic, ten-year DNA survey of more than 10,000 volunteers, Bryan Sykes has traced the true genetic makeup of British Islanders and their descendants. This historical travelogue and genetic tour of the fabled isles, which includes accounts of the Roman invasions and Norman conquests, takes readers from the Pontnewydd cave in North Wales, where a 300,000-year-old tooth was discovered, to the resting place of 'The Red Lady' of Paviland, whose anatomically modern body was dyed with ochre by her grieving relatives nearly 29,000 years ago. A perfect work for anyone interested in the genealogy of England, Scotland, or Ireland, Saxons, Vikings, and Celts features a chapter specifically addressing the genetic makeup of those people in the United States who have descended from the British Isles.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 115639

Title: Union 1812: The Americans Who Fought the Second War of Independence

Author: A. J. Langguth

Narrator: Grover Gardner

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13:00:00

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: History, North America, Military

Summary:

A gripping narrative of the second and final war of independence that secured the nation's permanence and established its claim to the entire continent, by the author of the enormously successful and acclaimed Patriots: The Men Who Started the American Revolution.

This dramatic account of the War of 1812 fills a surprising gap in the popular literature of the nation's formative years. It is this war, followed closely on the War of Independence, that established the young nation as a permanent power and proved its claim to Manifest Destiny.

Full of fascinating characters-Presidents Thomas Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, James Madison, James Monroe, and the future President Andrew Jackson, as well as Dolley Madison, Sam Houston, the great Indian chieftain Tecumseh, Francis Scott Key, Davey Crockett, and Oliver Perry, among others-Langguth's riveting account covers a vast panorama of battles, from the American sacking of Toronto and the British burning of the White House and the Capitol, to the thrilling war at sea and on the Great Lakes and the final spectacular American victory at New Orleans.

Union 1812 will take its place on the history shelf of essential books on the young nation, alongside Langguth's Patriots.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 202649

Title: Harmony's Way

Author: Lora Leigh

Narrator: Alexandria Wilde

Format: Unabridged

Length: 10:17:00

Language: English

Release date: 12-05-06

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Genres: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Romance, Mystery

Summary:

The author of Megan's Mark continues her PURRfectly paranormal series.

Lora Leigh's series about genetically-altered humans with feline DNA is turning into a roaring success. When the Breeds desire the passions of the flesh, they can't help but get frisky.

Contact: [email protected]

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ID: 115651

Title: Lincoln and Chief Justice Taney: Slavery, Seccession and the President's War Powers

Author: James F. Simon

Narrator: Richard Allen

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11:30:00

Language: English

Release date: 12-01-06

Publisher: Tantor Media

Genres: History, North America, Military

Summary:

The clashes between President Abraham Lincoln and Chief Justice Roger B. Taney over slavery, secession, and Lincoln's constitutional war powers went to the heart of Lincoln's presidency.

Lincoln and Taney's bitter disagreements began with Taney's Dred Scott opinion in 1857, when the Chief Justice declared that the Constitution did not grant the black man any rights that the white man was bound to honor. Lincoln attacked the opinion as a warped judicial interperatation of the Framers' intent and accused Taney of being a member of a pro-slavery national conspiracy.

In his first inaugural address, Lincoln insisted that the South had no legal right to secede. Taney, who administered the oath of office to Lincoln, believed that the South's seccession was legal and in the best interests of both sections of the country.

Once the war began, Lincoln broadly interpreted his constitutional powers as commander in chief to prosecute the war, suspending habeas corpus, censoring the press, and allowing military courts to try civilians for treason. Taney vociferously disagreed, accusing Lincoln of assuming dictatorial powers in violation of the Constitution. Lincoln ignored Taney's protests, and exercised his presidential authority fearlessly, determined that he would preserve the Union.

James F. Simon skillfully brings to life this compelling story of the momentous tug-of-war between the President and the Chief Justice during the worst crisis in the nation's history.

'...taut and gripping...a dramatic, charged narrative.'-Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Contact: [email protected]