Showing results by narrator "J. A. Smith" in All Categories

Michael Jackson is undoubtedly a legend. His music is known all over the world, and his status as the “King of Pop” is rarely if ever disputed. However, as much as we know about Jackson’s larger-than-life presence on the stage, less is known about the story of his life. MJ dominated the '80s, then fell hard in the '90s, but was poised for a comeback in 2009. He would put everything on the line to make sure that his performance was flawless. Although he would ultimately leave this mortal plane in the undertaking, his legacy would become greater than ever before.

Charles de Gaulle stands among the greatest statesmen in history. Even after the official French government collapsed under the weight of Nazi Germany, de Gaulle refused to accept defeat. He and his followers were pushed into exile, but still they fought on, never losing sight of an eventual victory over their oppressors. This book delves into Charles de Gaulle’s extraordinary journey—from leading the Free French forces during World War II to playing a key role in the rebuilding of postwar France.

Joan Crawford was a legend. Few could compare to the charm and grace that she brought to the silver screen. Little did anyone know, however, of the charmed yet ultimately tragic life she led away from the camera and the main stage. Crawford was married four times and ended up disinheriting two of her children from her will. She certainly had her share of problems, but no one could keep this ambitious leading lady down for long. In this audiobook, we cover the life and legend of Joan Crawford in full.

Are you stuck in a cycle you want to break because you feel ready to free yourself on a higher level? You are someone who deserves to be able to live your life in a way that allows you to be who you are deep down within. But how can you ever hope to do that? The truth is there’s a resource that’s ready and waiting to change the way you live: Psychic Empath (2 in 1) is for people who want to banish negative energy, connect with empathy, and unlock their inner psychic skills.

Almost half a millennium later, in 224 CE, a new Persian dynasty, the House of Sasan, challenged the waning power of the Parthian Empire, restoring the Persians to dominance. Emperors in the ancient world lived an exalted but often precarious existence, and this was true for the monarchs, or shahs, as they were known, of the Sasanian Empire. Some of the Sasanian shahs were mighty leaders, adept in battle and in governance, but that was no protection against the threat of assassination.

Heath Ledger rapidly rose to fame to become one of the most acclaimed actors of our time. Although his career was brief, spanning little over 10 years, he shot up like a rising star. People still remember his innovative portrayal of the Joker and so many other roles with awe.

Jim Morrison—the name still evokes an image of a rough-hewn rock star, absolutely oozing both profound intellectual wisdom as well as an inordinate amount of cool charisma. Few could encapsulate two ends of the spectrum as well as he did, but Jim Morrison was both the wild man and the soft-spoken poet. He was Mr. Mojo Risin’, ready to party, and that quiet voice searching for soft asylum all at the same time. This book examines both of these dynamic poles of Jim Morrison’s personality and more.

Spencer Tracy was a man who truly immersed himself in his craft. Ever since he was a boy, he dreamed of making his way to the big screen to play larger-than-life roles, and he didn’t stop until he made that dream a reality. Tracy brought a whole string of box office hits to the Golden Age of Film; still, his life wasn’t perfect. The actor struggled with alcohol addiction, and due to infidelity, his marriage at home would be strained. After separating from his wife, he kept in place a long-term relationship with actress Katharine Hepburn until the day he died.

Every one of the parties working on a project has their own interests, which many times are conflicted with the interests of the project itself. Nothing affects the progression of projects more than this conflict of interests, and yet, the theory of project management disregards it entirely. The Manager’s Dilemma is a groundbreaking project management book. It explains why the Critical Path and the Critical Chain methods fail time and time again, and paves a new road to project efficiency improvement, through the Theory of Constraints and Game Theory.

The Beatles came onto the scene like a force of nature. Their songs became the anthems of generations of fans, and their emergence marked a high-water mark of popular music. But beyond the Beatles themselves, there is one man who can be credited with engineering this perfect maelstrom of musical majesty, and that man is former Beatles manager Brian Epstein.

Whitney Houston was a rare star. She burst onto the music scene like a supernova one might only see once in a million years. Despite a humble beginning, she rapidly rose to fame on the strength of her voice and unbeatable charisma.

Friedrich Nietzsche was a born philosopher. It seems that ever since he crawled out of the cradle, he questioned the world around him. Why are we here? What is the purpose of life? Where are we headed as a society? These were things that Nietzsche would endlessly speculate about, probing the depths in order to find answers to these most difficult of questions. In the process, he had nihilistic visions of supermen, antichrists, and Zarathustra. For Friedrich Nietzsche, a man who was accustomed to questioning everything, reality itself was a long, strange trip.

The Italian Wars refers to a period of prolonged conflict between 1494 and 1559 when the major European powers of the time fought for control over Italy. While it began with a French attempt to gain control over the territory of Naples, it soon expanded to a general struggle between the royal houses of Valois and Habsburg - specifically, Francis I of France and the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. The Italian Wars represented a change in warfare tactics from the contract armies common in the Medieval period to full-time standing armies common in the modern era.

George H. W. Bush was a fascinating figure. Growing up in a wealthy family, he was driven by a calling to contribute to the greater good from an early age. His journey into adulthood was defined by valiant service in World War II, which laid the groundwork for a distinguished career in public service. He then navigated through various high-profile positions, from serving as a Congressman to holding pivotal roles as a US ambassador, and he was even made director of the CIA.

The Applegate Trail of 1846, describes the events that happened more than 150-years-ago, on the first wagon train, to take the trail through southern Oregon that would later be called the Applegate Trail. This trail left the Oregon Trial near Fort Hall in Idaho, and used the established California Trail through Idaho, Utah, Nevada, and California, to become the new southern emigrant route into the Willamette Valley of Oregon.

Douglas MacArthur was one of the greatest military generals in history and played a crucial role in securing an Allied victory in the Pacific during World War II. While he’s often remembered for his strategic genius and iron will, there’s much more to the man than his battlefield successes. MacArthur was deeply committed to his promises and driven by a strong sense of duty, qualities that came into sharp focus when he vowed to return to the Philippines after it fell to the Japanese. And true to his word, he did just that, making history along the way.

The US-led war in Iraq from 2003 to 2011 was one of the most controversial wars in recent history. The invasion of Iraq was justified by claims that the regime of Saddam Hussein had links with terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, and possessed weapons of mass destruction that might be used in an attack on another country. Both these claims were later shown to be false.

November 13, 2015. It was a Paris night that began like so many others - until a series of terrorist attacks brought darkness to the City of Light. Stirred by the tragic events at the Bataclan music club, One Night in November locks into the hearts and minds of all those whose paths crossed that fateful fall evening...

For one thousand years, a peace law has ruled over the realm of Raymara with an iron fist. When a storyteller unleashes five deadly beasts from the magic of his dreams, the once-harmless land is thrown into chaos. Five unlikely companions embark on a harrowing quest to find the beasts and return them to the pages from which they were created. Little do they know, they've been given a task much greater than they've bargained for.

The first female Doctor of the Church, Teresa of Ávila, was a visionary who took matters of reform into her own hands. Even when the church authorities came against her, she stood her ground and held fast to her convictions. In so doing, she managed to persuade the Catholic powers to come around to her point of view. Teresa was not someone who took “no” for an answer; she charted her own course in life.