Showing results by narrator "David Zarbock" in All Categories

For the United States, the Battle of the Alamo is in many ways its version of the Greeks' Thermopylae. In February 1836, a few hundred defenders of a small fort, which once served as a mission, found themselves besieged by several thousand Mexican soldiers under Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Rather than withdraw, the defenders requested reinforcements and made a determined stand at the Alamo, eventually falling down to nearly the last man on March 6, 1836.

Germany's North African defeat opened up the possibility of taking the war in the west to the European continent for the first time since France's lightning conquest by the Wehrmacht in 1940. The British and Americans debated the merits of landing in France directly in 1943, but they ultimately opted against it.

In the 19th century, one of the surest ways to rise to prominence in American society was to be a war hero, like Andrew Jackson and William Henry Harrison. But few would have predicted such a destiny for Hiram Ulysses Grant, who had been a career soldier with little experience in combat and a failed businessman when the Civil War broke out in 1861. However, while all eyes were fixed on the Eastern Theater at places like Manassas, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, and Antietam, Grant went about a steady rise up the ranks through a series of successes in the West.

No single figure in 20th-century American history inspires such opposing opinions as J. Edgar Hoover, the iconic first director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. In his time he was arguably the most powerful nonelected figure in the US government. Serving under eight presidents (and outliving two of them), he remains the longest-serving head of a major government office. To many Americans in the '30s, '40s, and '50s, J. Edgar Hoover was a real American hero.

How do Michelin-ranked food stalls in Singapore and the decline of Swiss watches force all luxury brands to rethink their business models? What insights can the world's quietest place and a clothing dye produced by former tobacco farmers reveal about serving enlightened consumers? The answers to these questions may not be all that obvious. And that's exactly the point. For the past eight years, marketing expert and Georgetown University Professor Rohit Bhargava has curated his best-selling list of non-obvious trends.

When people think of ancient Italy, the Romans are usually the first and last people that come to mind, but long before Rome was built by Latin-speaking people, the culture of Italy was dominated by the Etruscans. Although the Etruscans may not comprise the core of most histories of the ancient Mediterranean, they exerted a profound influence on the region from the 8th-5th centuries BCE that continued to resonate for centuries after as the Romans carried on many of their traditions.

Unlike many aspects of other conspiracy theories, Area 51 is a frequently-documented fact. UFO seekers can theorize to their hearts' content about what might have gone on there or whether Area 51 even exists, but Area 51 is quite real.

As one of the most influential and recognizable religious figures in history, Martin Luther (1483-1546) continues to impact the world over 550 years after his death. Luther was a German priest and theologian whose writings and teachings sparked the Protestant Reformation in the early 16th century, creating one of the greatest schisms in the history of the Catholic Church and touching off religious turmoil and bloodshed that would engulf Europe for the next two centuries.

At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, time stands still throughout the world, as thousands converge on the Kennedy Space Center and millions tune in on live television. At that instant, the first rumbles began to shake the ground as a small spacecraft attached to a giant Saturn V rocket starts to lift off. Quickly being propelled several thousand miles per hour, it takes just a few minutes to enter orbit. Apollo 11 is on its way to a historic first landing on the Moon.

History for Kids: The Illustrated Life of Franklin D. Roosevelt covers all the well known highlights of Roosevelt's life and presidency, but it also humanizes the nation's longest-serving president, covering Roosevelt's family and famous wife, the philosophical shift Roosevelt led the country through with the New Deal, and the tenacious fighter who battled polio and Adolf Hitler.

Few things in American history are as controversial as Roswell. The one undeniable fact is that something happened near Roswell, New Mexico, in 1947, but beyond that, the facts become murky as memories and evidence lose their luster over the years. That said, the impact of an unidentified object continues to mystify residents, visitors and the curious, and it has not only put Roswell on the map but has kept it there for thousands of tourists.

"A long time ago, when all the grandfathers and grandmothers of today were little boys and little girls or very small babies, or perhaps not even born, Pa and Ma and Mary and Laura and Baby Carrie left their little house in the Big Woods of Wisconsin." So begins the first of a series of primarily autobiographical books for children that would give 20th century America a look at what it was like when the country was still young and the West was a largely empty, untamed wilderness.

The Wild West has made legends out of many men through the embellishment of their stories, but one of the most colorful stories of them all is the fateful Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. The West's most famous gunfight, the Gunfight at the O.K. Corral involved two of the West's most legendary figures, and though the gunfight lasted less than a minute, it is still widely remembered as the climactic event of the period, representing lawlessness and justice, vendettas, and a uniquely Western moral code.

Crockett had the distinction of being a living legend in his own life. Known as a hardscrabble frontiersman who could spin a good yarn but who also took a no-nonsense approach that brought him from the backwoods of Tennessee to the halls of Congress. Though he served during the presidency of another Westerner, Andrew Jackson, Crockett was very much his own man, and he was distrustful of other politicians, a sentiment that has only endured him further to subsequent generations of Americans.

Buddy Baker was Disney music. Mostly known as the composer of The Haunted Mansion song and score, he also was a composer of films ( Wicked Woman, The Fox and the Hound), TV shows (the original Mickey Mouse Club), and numerous theme park attractions (World of Motion, Wonders of China, Kitchen Kaberet, Impressions de France) around the globe.

Betsy Ross is one of the few women in American history whose name is known to every American, but that is not the only reason she's such a unique figure. Indeed, Betsy Ross is a true rarity in that she has been turned into a mythological heroine. Every country has legends, and tales that grow out of its founding, but given that the United States is a relatively young country, there is ample historical information on the lives and exploits of its Founders.

Buddy Baker was Disney music. Mostly known as the composer of the Haunted Mansion song and score, he was also a composer of films ( Wicked Woman, The Fox and the Hound), television shows (the original Mickey Mouse Club), and numerous theme park attractions (World of Motion, Wonders of China, Kitchen Kaberet, Impressions de France) around the globe.

The West Coast of the United States has always been a center of mystery. Native American legends, tantalizing traces of Chinese visits in the Middle Ages, lost gold mines, and supernatural visitations are only some of the phenomena in a region rich with stories of the unknown.

A lifelong statesman, James Madison was the youngest delegate at the Continental Congress from 1780-83, and at 36 he was one of the youngest men who headed to Philadelphia for the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Despite his age, he was the Convention's most influential thinker, and the man most responsible for the final draft of the US Constitution.

The Special Letters to Santa is a heartfelt story about three little orphan children that write letters to Santa at the request of their teacher. The little children did not ask for material things as they could have, they ask for something much more indeed! Does Santa always know who is naughty and who is nice? What do the children ask for? Do they get what they wish for? What happens at the end? Read on and find out for yourself! God bless and Merry Christmas everyone!