Showing results by narrator "Jack Chekijian" in All Categories

Whether intended as historical fiction or not, this tale of a California bandit in the early years of the Gold Rush by America's first Native American novelist was based on real occurrences. By early 1853, a certain "Joaquin" was being blamed for seemingly every murder and robbery in the young Golden State—a Robin Hood-like figure originally from Mexico said to be an inspiration a half a century later for the character of Zorro (who in turn was an influence on masked vigilante and avenger characters like Batman).

A cavalcade of Spaniards, Indians, miners, prospectors, and adventurers have all madly searched since pioneer times for lost gold - hidden gold. To this day, the fabric of dreams blends over the wild Western mountain mysteries of many centuries, many people, and many traditions. Ill-fated Peraltas, the Dutchman, the Lost Wheelbarrow Mine, the Lost Dutch Oven, the Lost Cabin Mine, the Lost Padre, and more are investigated - a saga of incredible frontier fortunes and treasure trails. This work was the basis of the 1949 motion picture, Lust for Gold.

A four-star general pays tribute to a remarkable man in this biography. Believing that America owes a debt to a great character, a superb aviator, and a devoted citizen that was not paid, General Kenney tells the story of Paul Irvin "Pappy" Gunn with the hope that it will help discharge some of that debt. Gunn, who was known during World War II as an expert in daredevil low-level flying and as a hero and mechanical genius, modified light and medium bombers and transformed them into attack aircraft to hit Japanese targets in New Guinea, the Philippines, and Okinawa.

The collected fables, short stories, and essays of writer, newspaper columnist, and playwright George Ade, who has been called the creator of modern American humor in the early 20th century. Introduced, edited, and revised by storyteller and radio personality Jean Shepherd. Originally published by G. P. Putnam's Sons in 1961.

Twenty years of settlement and growth of Denver and Colorado are detailed in this account, from the area's earliest years up to 1880. It is a history of Denver, of its growth and improvements in areas of business, industry, and society.

A Texas Ranger reflects on his years of service, a career in which he was said to have run down more criminals than any other Ranger. Sullivan tells of numerous scouts and expeditions, of hunting buffalo, of encounters with Native Americans, and of important captures of train robbers and outlaws. Originally published by Von Boeckmann-Jones Co. in Austin in 1909.

Was Jesse James really shot from behind by friend Robert Ford in 1882? A 100-year-old man comes forward in the late 1940s claiming to be the Missouri outlaw, and he becomes a local sensation. Four affidavits supporting his claim are immediately signed by those who meet him and who knew Jesse James. This is the account of how J. Frank Dalton emerged from obscurity and claimed to be the "outlaw with a heart of gold".

Innocent, his own country had called him a murderer. Now murder was his livelihood. John Seldon hired himself out as an assassin, a sharpshooter, to kill a tyrant named Castro in exchange for cash. He did not flinch from his task until the fatal moment, when he found the girl whose love had made him want to live again.

Did Jesus Christ really exist? A rationalist answer to the question is given here by an ordained minister, independent preacher, and lecturer on "independent religion", M. M. Mangasarian. Though the full work was a series of studies from several additional authors from the Independent Religious Society in Chicago, this production highlights Mangasarian's contribution.

Though Edgar Allan Poe is best known for his 19th-century tales of mystery and the macabre, this collection highlights some of the American author's humorous work (here given a wry cast) in addition to several of his poems.

This short story first appeared in science fiction magazine Amazing Stories and tells of a meteorite crash in rural Massachusetts...and of the horrific results. It was one of HP Lovecraft's most popular works for its combination of science fiction and horror, and it was the author's personal favorite short story.

Benjamin Franklin tells the story of his life here, as he himself says, for the benefit of his posterity. His autobiography is his longest work, and yet it is only a fragment. It is comprised of four parts written years apart. This production features the first part, composed in 1771.

George Washington's Masonic Correspondence as Found Among the Washington Papers in the Library of Congress allows for an insight of the great esteem in which the first President held Freemasonry. Since his early days, Washington had been an honored member of the fraternity, formerly established in England in 1717. This work groups the material together in chronological order, and shows the surroundings and conditions under which the correspondence was made.

This critically acclaimed holiday staple about a bitter old man visited by three ghosts in London at Christmas has never been out of print. The work on which this somewhat wry production is based, and that has been adapted often for film, stage, and opera, is a story of redemption, moral concience, and charity. But it is also what its subtitle plainly states: a ghost story.

This famous tale featuring a headless horseman is among the earliest examples of American fiction with enduring popularity, especially during Halloween. It is set in 1790 in the countryside around a Dutch settlement of present-day Tarrytown, New York, in a secluded area called Sleepy Hollow.

This is the long first piece in the first edition of Walt Whitman's classic poetry collection. Among other things, it contains Whitman's philosophy of life and his opinion of the purpose of poets and poetry. Though created when he was in his mid-30s, Whitman spent much of the rest of his life rewriting Leaves of Grass.

Find amusement with the hundreds of classic riddles, jokes, and puzzles in this collection! Gathered from every conceivable source and delivered in a droll fashion, this selection of brain teasers is as sound today as it was 100 years ago.

Though it may never be known if Mother Goose was based on an old French queen, a Boston housewife, or someone else entirely, these nursery rhymes will continue to entertain as they have in varying forms for hundreds of years. Though commonly thought of as children's literature, the alternatingly dry, sarcastic, and histrionically tinged humor with which this production is delivered appeals to a wide audience. Arguably.

This abridgment of Paul Creswick's retelling of the tales of Robin Hood is a journey through forests and fiefdoms in the company of merry outlaws, ladies of court, and stalwart knights. As Robin awaits the return of England's rightful king from war, the Sheriff of Nottingham and his cronies attempt to hunt down the bandit and his men thriving in Sherwood Forest.

This production of the famous 16th-century political treatise by diplomat and political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli will appeal to those interested in his political philosophy and not in the many historical and regional allusions that the original work contains. The latter have been excised in this abridgement.