Showing results by narrator "Peter Batchelor" in All Categories

The compelling tale of a spirited young Thoroughbred. Anna Sewell said that her purpose in writing this novel was "to induce kindness, sympathy, and an understanding treatment of horses." The book broke records for sales and is the sixth best seller in the English language.

Selected from Evenings on a Farm near Dikanka, Mirgorod, and Petersburg Tales and arranged in order of composition, the 13 stories in The Collected Tales of Nikolai Gogol encompass the breadth of Gogol's literary achievement. From the demon-haunted “St. John's Eve” to the heartrending humiliations and trials of a titular councilor in “The Overcoat”, Gogol's knack for turning literary conventions on their heads, combined with his overt joy in the art of storytelling, shines through in each of the tales.

One of Dicken’s best works appraising English society. Highlights the social and economic pressures of the times. A masterwork.

A young man commits all types of sins, but only his portrait shows the ravages of his life. Oscar Wilde's Faustian classic. Gothic horror at its best.

Shaun Attwood was a millionaire day trader in Phoenix, Arizona, but his hedonistic lifestyle of drugs and parties came to an abrupt end in 2002 when a SWAT team broke down his door. Attwood found himself on remand in Maricopa Jail with a $750,000 cash bond and all of his assets seized. The nightmare was only just beginning as he was submerged in a jail in which rival gangs vied for control, crystal meth was freely available, and where breaking rules could result in beatings or death.

Born to an unmarried woman who dies after giving birth, orphan Oliver Twist seems destined to slog through a dismal life in the workhouse. A rebellious cry for more gets Oliver banished, and ultimately lands him on the dismal streets of London. The young outcast finds refuge with Fagin and his band of thieves before fate intervenes and puts Oliver in the hands of a kindly benefactor. It is likely that Dickens's own early youth as a child labourer contributed to the story's development.

The colonies of Mistria are in turmoil. They face wars between the competing empires and insurrection from natives and colonists alike. Prince Vladamier is a Norillian noble, and Nephew to King Richard. He has little political power, but struggles to ensure the colonists interests are represented back in the court. The one thing he does have is a wurm... one of the few existing "dragons" from a clutch of eggs discovered in the old world, hundreds of years ago.

The War of the Worlds has been both popular and influential. It has never gone out of print. It has spawned half a dozen feature films, radio dramas, various comic book adaptations, a television series, and sequels or parallel stories by other authors. It has even influenced the work of scientists. It is one of the earliest stories that details a conflict between mankind and an alien race.

The original swashbuckling novel! Heroic, chivalrous swordsmen fight for justice!

Listen to the story of Pip, an English orphan who rises to wealth. After he deserts his true friends, he becomes humbled by his own arrogance. Great Expectations is Dickens at his finest.

With well over 200 million copies sold, it ranks among the most famous works in the history of fictional literature. The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralized by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period.

Leon Battista Albert was an Italian author, artist, architect, poet, priest, linguist, philosopher, cryptographer and general Renaissance humanist polymath. This is the essay that coined the term “renaissance man”. An inspiring essay on the full potential of the human spirit. Especially important listening for the modern male who aspires to greatness.

The Art of War has been applied to many fields outside of the military. Many business books have applied the lessons taken from the book to office politics and corporate business strategy. Many Japanese companies make the book required reading for their key executives. The book is also popular among Western business circles citing its utilitarian value regarding management practices. Many entrepreneurs and corporate executives have turned to it for inspiration and advice on how to succeed in competitive business situations.

Sequel to The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling. First published in 1895, it features five stories about Mowgli and three unrelated stories.

A classic of literature and the author's best-known work. Adapted many times for cinema. A major motion picture in summer 2016.

In the three years since defeating the Tharyngians at Anvil Lake, The Crown Colonies of Mystria have prospered. Colonists, whether hunting for new land or the Promised Land of prophecy, have pushed beyond the bounds of charters granted by the Queen of Norisle. Some of these new communities have even had the temerity to tell the Crown they are no longer subject to its authorities. To survey the full extent of the western expansion, the Crown has sent Colonel Ian Rathfield to join Nathaniel Woods, Owen Strake, and Kamiskwa on an expedition into the Mystrian interior.

Perhaps one of the most influential and controversial books in history, Machiavelli’s The Prince raises issues that are still debated centuries after its publication. The theories he developed in The Prince were derived from his observation of the successes and failures of the ruling class. The Prince was designed as a practical guide for newly appointed rulers and is required reading for all persons in a position of authority who strive for grandeur in business and politics.

Here are three classics that must be in any business person's library: The Art of War by Sun Tzu, The Prince by Machiavelli, and A Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi. This impressive collection is accompanied by one hour of Zen-inspired Japanese music, performed on authentic instruments.

Anne of Green Gables has been translated into at least 36 languages and has sold more than 50 million copies. The novel recounts how Anne makes her way through life in the fictional Canadian town of Avonlea, in Prince Edward Island, Canada.

First published in 1888. Contains five stories: "The Happy Prince", "The Nightingale and the Rose", "The Selfish Giant", "The Devoted Friend", and "The Remarkable Rocket". Brilliant and haunting, these tales are timeless.