Mostrando resultados por narrador "Matthew J-Chandler-Smith" en Todas las categorías

Freddie Mercury was the ultimate rock star. With a natural sense of timing and exuberance - some would say even flamboyance - Mercury seemed to be made for the stage. Still, it took a lot of hard work for him to get there. This book details Freddie Mercury’s rise to stardom - from his youth in Zanzibar and his arrival in England to his first forays with rock music and the ultimate formation of Queen.

Discover the remarkable life of Marlon Brando.... Marlon Brando has been a household name for decades, and even though he passed away in 2004, his life’s work still stands as a testament to the unique ability he possessed for his craft. Whether he was playing a sentimental yet ruthless mafioso in The Godfather, an insane megalomaniac colonel of the U.S. Army in Apocalypse Now, or a misguided and misunderstood teenager in The Wild One, Brando was a man of all seasons.

Much of the history of Ireland is defined by the basic facts of its location as an island perched on the very western edge of Europe. Events that had a profound impact on other parts of Europe—the rise of the Roman Empire, the diaspora of Celtic people, and the settlement of Anglo-Saxons in Britain—either had relatively little impact in Ireland or happened much later than in other parts of Europe.

The Boxer Rebellion saw impoverished Chinese peasants strike a blow against the Western powers, particularly the British, who had come to challenge China’s sovereignty. The uprising was both a harbinger of things to come for China and a by-product of simmering decades of friction between the Chinese and the British. The Chinese had been able to call the shots during the initial engagement of trade with the West, but lost control after the British began smuggling opium into the country.

Until 1939, World War I was known as “the war to end all wars”, but when Nazi Germany capped its mounting aggression against its neighbors by invading Poland, Europe was plunged into a second global conflict. It threatened the entire continent as well as the far-flung colonial possessions claimed by the French, the British, and the Dutch. German triumphs saw nation after nation fall, until only Great Britain remained defiant against Hitler’s dreams of conquest.

Dean Martin was a natural entertainer, known not only for his singing ability but also for his great showmanship on the stage. With Martin, it wasn’t just about the song—it was about the whole package. With songs such as “That’s Amore” and movies like Rio Bravo, he took the world by storm. Later, Dean Martin, along with other famous entertainers such as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., forged the ultimate group of performers: The Rat Pack. No one could keep Dean Martin’s spirit down for long. This is his life—this is his story.

Voltaire, born François-Marie Arouet in Paris, France, was a writer and leading figure of the Enlightenment. His insistence that all authority could and must be questioned was so radical, he ended up in prison several times and was ultimately exiled. Voltaire’s writings were instrumental in influencing the American and French revolutions. Man as a being with natural rights was a radical concept at the time, but one which the American founding fathers embraced. Voltaire’s anger was specifically directed at the arbitrary powers of the state and the church.

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was the most feared pirate of the Golden Age—a towering figure who struck terror into the hearts of sailors from the Caribbean to the Carolinas. Most biographies seem to start and stop with that statement, but there was much more to the life of Blackbeard than that, and much more to learn about the man behind history’s most fearsome pirate legend.

The audiobook covers the first stages of the war, from 1927-1937, the interlude from 1938-1945 during the Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II, and the final and most well-known phase of the war from 1946-1949. Learn about the causes, events, and lasting effects of the Chinese Civil War and about the warfare tactics and political strategy of the Chinese Communist Party and the Nationalist Kuomintang during these integral years. This is the story about how a group of young, inexperienced Chinese revolutionaries changed the destiny of China.

This is the extraordinary story of how a king who once hid in the swamps became the man who saved Christian civilization in England. From his childhood pilgrimage to Rome to his deathbed vision of a united England, discover how King Alfred earned his place as the only English monarch ever called “the Great.” This is the life and legend of Alfred the Great in full.

At one point, the Japanese Empire was one of the largest the world had ever seen, governing almost 20 percent of the total population of the Earth. One of the most striking features of this empire was the rapidity with which it grew. In 1870, Japan was a largely agrarian nation with a culture and society based on feudal values.

The cave dwellers of the Stone Age were brutish and primitive compared to the human civilizations that would follow. Their technological developments were limited, and their society and culture provided few lasting legacies. Until surprisingly recently, this was the general view of the period of prehistory known as the Stone Age, an age that lasted for over 2 million years and ended only around 5,000 years ago.

Discover the remarkable life of Crazy Horse... Famed Lakota warrior Crazy Horse was more than just a fearless fighter—he was a symbol of resistance and commitment to his people’s way of life. During his life, the Lakota faced relentless pressure from all sides. Rival tribes waged war over land and resources while waves of US settlers, backed by an ever-growing military presence, pushed further into their territory on the Great Plains. Despite these challenges, Crazy Horse stood unwavering, fighting not for personal glory but for the survival of his people and their homeland.

The most common depictions of Native Americans feature mounted warriors and iconic events such as the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Wounded Knee Massacre. The best-known Native American leaders include Chief Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse, and most people’s impression of such a leader includes the wearing of a feathered headdress. All these archetypes have one thing in common: they are all Sioux, and many are Lakota, one of the coalition of seven Sioux Nations.

Wyatt Earp was one of the most famous lawmen that the Wild West ever produced. He was also one of the longest-lived. Considering the fact that he lived all the way up until his 80s while many of his contemporaries never made it out of their 30s, this in itself was quite a feat. Wyatt Earp’s good friend and sidekick Doc Holliday, for example, perished at 36. But even though Earp lived a long life, he was no stranger to danger. He was shot at more times than he could count, and there were plenty of people out there who wanted him dead.

The Cristero War took place in Mexico between 1926 and 1929. It was a war of rebellion by Mexican Catholics against the government, which had enforced restrictions on their faith. It was mainly a guerilla war, in which the Cristeros launched sudden, quick attacks against strategic locations. It began in central Mexico but quickly engulfed the entire country. In the end, the United States and the Catholic hierarchy intervened to help the combatants reach a peace agreement.

What would become the Russian Empire began in the ninth century. In 1682, a new tsar took over the nation that had become known as Russia. Peter I, remembered as Peter the Great, transformed the country, and in 1721, he adopted the title of emperor. A series of powerful rulers, including Catherine the Great, built on the foundations that Peter had created to expand the territory controlled by the Russian Empire until it became one of the largest empires the world had ever seen. At its zenith, the Russian Empire controlled over one-sixth of the total landmass of the Earth

Known as one of the deadliest battles in history with its over one million casualties, the Battle of the Somme in 1916 is regarded by many as the ultimate war of attrition. Intended to bring about a swift end to the First World War, the British planned a grueling five-day bombardment of German forces, only to be thwarted at seemingly every turn. Bad weather, poor communication, inferior planning, hubris, and even betrayal led to the Battle of the Somme lasting longer than anyone had anticipated.

The Battle of the Coral Sea was a major naval conflict which took place a month before the Battle of Midway. Because Midway is regarded as the turning point in the war in the Pacific, Coral Sea is seldom given the respect it deserves. This view fails to take into account the strategic victory that the Allies enjoyed over their powerful, more experienced Japanese foe.

Mary Baker Eddy stands unique in our collective remembrances of supposed prophets of the bygone past. She was a girl that quite literally felt a calling at an early age when she thought she heard a supernatural voice call her name. Shortly thereafter, she was intermittently beset with chronic illnesses and remarkable bouts of healing. Whether or not you believe her claims of healing and divine intervention, the story of Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist, is a riveting one all the same.