Great Westerns

The Bayeux Tapestry is the world's most famous textile: an exquisite 230-foot-long embroidered panorama depicting the events surrounding the Norman Conquest of 1066. It is also one of history's most mysterious and compelling works of art. This haunting stitched account of the battle that redrew the map of medieval Europe has inspired dreams of theft, waves of nationalism, visions of limitless power, and esthetic rapture.

These stories are vintage L'Amour: A hard-bitten cattle driver is pitted against a man trying to steal his woman, the disappearance of a thousand head of cattle, and a plot to frame him for murder....A private eye visits a remote mining town on a case involving a sexy widow, an uneasy lawman, and a fortune in gold buried in an abandoned mine shaft....A country boy with a good right hand must fight not only his vicious opponent in the ring but the ruthless gangsters who'll do anything for profit-even commit cold-blooded murder....and more.

A remarkable story of high hopes and crushing disappointment, the campaign contains moments of sheer horror and nerve-shattering excitement; pathos and comic relief; occasional cowardice and much selfless courage - all culminating in the climax of the First Battle of Ypres. And yet, as Peter Hart shows in this gripping and revisionary look at the war's first year, for too long the British part in the 1914 campaigns has been veiled in layers of self-congratulatory myth.

Great Continental Railway Journeys is now a firmly established series on BBC2, following in the illustrious tracks of its predecessor - Great British Railway Journeys. Both series are fronted by ex-politician Michael Portillo, and in this European odyssey he travels around continental Europe using George Bradshaw's 1913 Continental Railway Guide.

Along with the volcanic destruction of Pompeii and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, the Lisbon quake of 1755 is one of the most destructive natural disasters ever recorded. After being jolted by a massive quake, Lisbon was then pounded by a succession of tidal waves and finally reduced to ash by a fire that raged for five straight days.

The Great American West is a series that was originally done on radio narrated by Jeff Tracy and Berry Burks. We hope you enjoy listening to The Great American West as we really enjoyed voicing these shows.

For nearly a thousand years following its foundation, there was only one Christian Church. Centered in the city of Rome, the Church expanded and grew until it became the dominant religion in Europe and beyond. The early growth of the Church had been suppressed by the Romans until the Emperor Constantine became the first to convert the empire to Christianity, and from that point forward, the growth of the Church was inextricably linked with the Roman Empire, the most powerful military, economic, and political force in the ancient world.

Exploring the successful Norman invasion of England in 1066, this concise and listenable book focuses especially on the often dramatic and enduring changes wrought by William the Conqueror and his followers. Hugh M. Thomas considers the conquest's wide-ranging impact by taking a fresh look at such traditional themes as the influence of battles and great men on history and by assessing how far the shift in ruling dynasty and noble elites affected broader aspects of English history.

The story of the love affair between Wallis Simpson and King Edward VIII, and his abdication in order to marry the divorcée, has provoked fascination and discussion for decades. However, the full story of the couple's links with the German aristocracy and Hitler has until now remained untold. Meticulously researched, 17 Carnations chronicles this entanglement, starting with Hitler's early attempts to matchmake between Edward and a German noblewoman.

The Captured Girl is an enthralling saga that follows Lieutenant Will Raines' crucible of combat and young Morgan O'Connor's struggle for survival after her capture by the Cheyenne. More than four years later, in 1875, when the cavalry attacks her Indian village, she is rescued by Lieutenant Raines. Now 18, she returns to white society with her Cheyenne son at her side. Her struggle for survival has just begun.

In this fascinating BBC Radio series, Katie Hickman examines the lives of 'diplomatic women' through their letters and diaries. From the first exploratory expeditions into foreign lands, through the heyday of the British Empire and still today, the foreign service has been shaped and run behind the scenes by the wives of ambassadors and minor civil servants.

This thoughtful examination of a century of travel writing about the American West overturns a variety of popular and academic stereotypes. Looking at both European and American travelers' accounts of the West, from de Tocqueville's Democracy in America to William Least Heat-Moon's Blue Highways, David Wrobel offers a counternarrative to the nation's romantic entanglement with its Western past and suggests the importance of some long-overlooked authors, lively and perceptive witnesses to our history who deserve new attention.

After his daughter was born prematurely in 2010, Matt Burriesci set out to write a book about 32 great books, from Plato to Karl Marx, and how their lessons have applied to his life. As someone who has spent a long and successful career advocating for great literature, Burriesci defends the great books in this series of tender and candid letters, rich in personal experience and full of humor.

Mark Scarbrough has been searching for something his entire life. Whether it’s his birth mother, true love, his purpose, or his sexual identity, Mark has been on a constant quest to find out who he really is, with the great Western texts as his steadfast companions. As a boy with his head constantly in a book, desperate to discover new worlds, he can hardly distinguish between their plots and his own reality.

Will Crump has survived the Civil War, Red Cloud’s War, and the loss of his love, but the search for peace and belonging still eludes him. From Colorado, famed Texas Ranger Charlie Goodnight lures Will to Texas, where he finds new love, but can a Civil War sharpshooter and a Quaker find a compromise to let their love survive? When Will has a chance to join in the founding of a new town, he risks everything—his savings, his family, and his life—but it will all be for nothing if the new railroad passes them by.

Enterprising Boyd Archer decides to purchase and renovate the old ghost town of Galva, Wyoming, site of the once prosperous Galva Gold Mine. During the mine’s heyday, a strongbox filled with gold and jewelry was stolen in a stagecoach robbery by Max Rigby, the vicious Black Mountain Bandit. This treasure is rumored to be hidden somewhere on his rugged mountain property. As a promotional stunt, in the spirit of fun, Archer advertises a hunt for the missing strongbox. Archer doesn’t count on the ruffians who appear in serious quest.

Jake Jackson's white family was killed when he was a baby by a Comanche war party. Jake's red family raised him as White Wolf, Comanche warrior. He became a celebrated warrior of the tribe. When the Comanche were forced onto a reservation by the US military and the decimation of the buffalo herd, Jake transitioned to the white world and became known as the fastest gun on the western frontier.

Jake Jackson was a legend in the Old West. His ability with a gun was unmatched. His name brought hope to the oppressed and sent shivers of fear up the spines of outlaws. Jake Jackson was equally as revered among the Comanche where he was raised from an infant to become the Comanche warrior, White Wolf. There were many songs sung around campfires in Comanche villages praising his fierceness in battle. Jake Jackson could revert back to his Comanche ways in the blink of an eye when the situation demanded no mercy to those preying on the weak or unprotected.

It is 1880, Nebraska. All Angel wants is to go someplace where no one knows her name or—more importantly—what happened to her. However, Angel’s plans are disrupted when she becomes stranded in an unfamiliar town. With no means to leave and no place to stay, Angel finds aid in an unexpected place: Nathan, a childhood acquaintance with scars of his own. All Nathan wants is to leave every memory of his father far, far behind. But when Nathan’s path leads him to Angel, he begins to realize that his father’s influence has reached further than he could ever have imagined.

Jake Jackson was a legend in the Old West. His ability with a gun was unmatched. His name brought hope to the oppressed and sent shivers of fear up the spines of outlaws. Jake Jackson was equally as revered among the Comanche where he was raised from an infant to become the Comanche Warrior, White Wolf. There were many songs sung around campfires in Comanche villages praising his fierceness in battle.