Showing results by narrator "Bruce F. Davis" in All Categories

This is the uplifting story of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of the modern nursing profession, from her earliest days as the daughter of English squire to her role as Angel of the Crimea, and her later life of service. With the training she received at hospitals on the Continent, she was fully prepared to care for the wounded in the Crimean War (between Russia and an alliance of Great Britain, France, and Turkey).

The satirical novel, Babbitt (1922), by Sinclair Lewis, is a critique of the social pressure toward conformity and what Lewis regarded as the emptiness of middle-class life. The setting is the city of Zenith in the Midwest. The book’s first seven chapters describe a day in the life of a realtor, George F. Babbitt, starting with his morning routine. 

The Devil's Pool is George Sand's most popular novella. Set in rural France, the narrative explores relations between the sexes, the power of fantasy in human life and the plight of the underprivileged. Two of the main characters are Father Maurice and his son-in-law Germain, who is considering marriage again after the death of his wife. His father-in-law organises a meeting with the rich widow, Catherine Leonard, but he finds her vain and haughty and much in demand. He seeks out the company of Marie, a shepherdess from his own village, who would prefer a younger husband.

Ostensibly written by an English knight, The Book of Marvels and Travels claim to recount his experiences in Egypt, the Levant, India, and China. It describes a journey from Europe to Jerusalem and further into Asia, and the many weird and wonderful peoples and practices of the East. The author claims to have traveled in land populated by Amazons, dog-headed people, cannibals, one-footed tribes, and Pygmies.

This audiobook of true-life tales was first published in 1883. The accounts are related by a Ranger who experienced most of the history first-hand. It deals with, among others, the War of Independence from Mexico including the Alamo, and scouting expeditions into the Wichita Mountains.

James Gillett joined the rangers in 1875 and for the next six years, he would be combatting thieves and murderers, fighting in the Mason County War, capturing vigilantes, and providing law and order for the towns. First published in 1921, Gillett's account of his six years of service relates how the Rangers maintained law and order on the frontier. Gillett witnessed the kind of action that established the Rangers' enduring reputation.

In May 1874, Dan W. Roberts was given his commission as second lieutenant of Company "D" of the Ranger Battalion; he would remain with them for the next eight years. During his time with the Texas Rangers, Roberts was active in protecting settlers, quelling unrest, arresting stage coach robbers, and assisting the army in building roads. His account of his time with the Rangers was published in 1914. 

Francis Pretty was a diarist and sailor who wrote detailed accounts of his two separate circumnavigations of the globe. The first was with Sir Francis Drake (1577-1580) and the second with Thomas Cavendish (1588).

In a time where patriotism can sometimes be perceived as a rather negative trait, it can be refreshing to listen to the accounts of those who were filled with boundless love for their country. Samuel Williams’ 1774 discourse reads as an ode to America. He draws continuous parallels between his native country and Jerusalem, both whom he believed to possess the qualities to reach a stage of ultimate perfection.