Showing results by publisher "Phoenix BookS" in All Categories

The welfare of children—a theme of many novels by Charles Dickens—is central to Nicholas Nickleby, the story of a fatherless young man, his mother, and his sister who find themselves at the mercy of a greedy and unscrupulous relative. Nicholas Nickleby is both a vivid indictment of the exploitive, brutal boarding schools of the late 19th century and a celebration of a little family's resilient generosity of spirit. Actor Paul Scofield's performance captures the warmth and charm of this story and its array of colorful characters.

In the squalor of a textile town, successful businessman and arch-pragmatist Thomas Gradgrind, proclaiming that he is a self-made man, teaches his children to suppress their imaginations and embrace hard facts. He arranges the marriage of his daughter Louisa to Josiah Bounderby, an unattractive, boastful manufacturer who is thirty years older her senior, and Gradgrind's son Tom goes to work in Bounderby's bank. But after Tom steals from his employer and Louisa flees the horrors of her marriage, Gradgrind must reconsider his lifelong devotion to facts and utility.

In London, Little Nell lives in The Old Curiosity Shop with her grandfather, who has a weakness for gambling. Hoping to mend his finances, the old man borrows money from Quilp, a moneylender and swindler. After losing that money as well, the grandfather flees to the country with Nell in a desperate attempt to escape the clutches of Quilp, who has designs on Nell and believes that the grandfather is secretly a rich miser. Out of devotion to Nell, Kit Nubbles, the shop's errand boy, pursues the pair and in the process earning the wrath of Quilp.

Pip—the orphaned hero of Great Expectations—is one of Charles Dickens's best-loved characters. Young Philip Pirrip—nicknamed Pip—is apprenticed to his blacksmith brother-in-law, but an anonymous benefactor changes the boy's future. After he is lifted to what seems a higher station in life, Pip shuns his kind friends and slips into debt. But as he matures, he progresses from thoughtless selfishness to humble industry.

Nearly two centuries after The Pickwick Papers first appeared in 1837, listeners continue to enjoy the vigorous humor and heartwarming optimism of Dickens' first great literary achievement. Actor Paul Scofield evokes all the warmth and laughter of the unlikely adventures of the immortal Samuel Pickwick, Esq., and the other members of the Pickwick Club. Abetted by Pickwick's faithful manservant, Sam Weller, the Pickwickians bumble through hilarious misadventures, romantic escapades, and other twists of plot, encountering many delightfully Dickensian characters along the way.

During Desert Storm, Major Darren Mace made a fateful decision to go against orders—to abort a secret mission that was, in his judgment, ill-advised. His actions landed him in military exile. Now Mace has moved on to the Air Force Reserves. There's a new US president, a new era, and a new war is escalating along the Ukraine border. And this time Mace has a partner—Rebecca Furness, the military's first woman combat flyer—while the chains of command tighten around him.

Do you believe in Santa Claus? You will after you've experienced this magical Christmas classic that pits cynics against Santa-believers. Miracle on 34th Street begins when a last-minute replacement in the annual Thanksgiving Day Parade claims to be the genuine Santa. Is he the real thing or just a charlatan in a red fuzzy coat? In a classic courtroom climax, the department store's Kris Kringle must convince everyone, including a skeptical little girl named Susan Walker, that Santa Claus really does exist.

In the 1960s and 70s, actor Steve McQueen was the king of cool, appearing in such classics as The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and Bullitt. McQueen left the world at age 50, a film legend who went from abandoned child to glittering superstar to a haunted man.

The challenges of today and tomorrow demand new ways of leading organizations, building collaborations, and creating communities. Since its premiere issue, the award-winning journal Leader to Leader—published by The Drucker Foundation—has presented the best thinking from leaders for leaders. This recording collects some of the best contributions to the journal from the likes of management pioneer Peter F. Drucker, Southwest Airlines leader Herb Kelleher, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Jim Hawkins, the son of an innkeeper, longs for adventure. One of the inn's guests, a coarse old bully named Billy Bones, reveals a map showing the whereabouts of buried treasure. After Bones dies, Jim and his mother flee with the map to Squire John Trelawney, outwitting other pirates who were chasing Bones. With Trelawney's friend Dr. Livesey, the squire charters a schooner carrying a band of pirates led by Long John Silver. Excitement and heroic action await Jim Hawkins as he seeks to foil the pirates, find the buried gold, and bring Long John Silver to justice.

Your angels want to speak to you! It's important to them that you know who they are and that you receive their loving messages, guidance, and support. Opening the door to spiritual communication with them will transform your life. To get in touch with your angelic companions is to avail yourself of love, comfort, protection, and the ability to seize opportunities that will bring you peace of mind, success, and happiness.

This superb collection of nine detective stories focuses on the police procedural genre where crime investigation takes on a sense of reality.

Murder for Love: Murder for Women is a collection of wickedly witty crime-of-passion short stories by some of the best women writers inside and out of the mystery field.

There are certain defining events that occur to people—the sort of things we use as markers in the timetables of our lives: Birth and Deaths. Marriages and Divorces. Windfalls and Calamities. For Tom Bodett, it was the day he got electrocuted. On May 27, 1975, about seven o'clock in the morning, Tom Bodett was “exploded” in Medford, Oregon.

Eleven-time Emmy Award winner and icon of American comedy, Carl Reiner, performs a sweet, wry, and whimsical collection of two dozen multi-dimensional short stories—some true and others merely tales. Included in this collection are stories about a man too handsome for his personality, a lifetime bond that is created by a football accident, and a widower's nostalgic trip to the live chicken market. Together they represent the poignant, nostalgic, and laugh-out loud funny genius of this comedic superstar.

Mick Winger is only 17, and he's already killed over a dozen people—not on purpose, though. He never means to hurt anyone. But when Mick gets angry, people die—even the people he loves the most. Now he's on the run from his own terrible talent and from those who would use his power for their own purposes. But Mick is not alone. There are others like him. And if he will not join them, they will make him pay.

The stories for this annual collection of the Mystery Writers of America were selected for their strange and exotic locales. Breathtaking suspense, cold-blooded crime, and challenging twists of plot—set in the four corners of the world—make this recording a chilling audio experience.

Young Alvin was born the seventh son of a seventh son. By his birthright, he possesses magical powers and is destined to become something great, perhaps even a Maker. Indeed, Alvin is special. But the boy remains vulnerable to dark forces who reach out to destroy him and are willing to do anything to keep him from growing up. Carefully weaving the lore and the folk-magic of the men and women who settled a continent—as well as the beliefs of the tribes who were there before them—Orson Scott Card has created a fascinating alternate frontier America.

Norma Jean Baker was a Hollywood starlet who transformed into Marilyn Monroe, a Hollywood sex symbol and one of the world's most iconic figures. Sadly, she died at age 36 in 1962 from a drug overdose. Montgomery Clift was a highly regarded actor. Dependent on drugs and alcohol, Clift was only 45 when he died of heart disease in 1966. But imagine if the lives of the costars of The Misfits had not been cut short? In this pair of speculative biographies, two writers suppose what might have been if Monroe and Clift had survived their drug-related demises.

This classic adventure story chronicles a fantastic voyage from the lost continent of Atlantis to the South Pole. Professor Aronnax begins his incredible underwater journey with his faithful servant Conseil and a Canadian harpooner, Ned Land. They set out on a hazardous voyage to rid the seas of a little-known and terrifying sea monster. After discovering that the “monster” is actually a giant submarine, they are captured by the vessel's mysterious commander, Captain Nemo.