Showing results by narrator "Jim Johnston" in All Categories

The Guillotine. Its very name recalls scenes of horror during the French Revolution, as nobles lost their heads while gangs of people cheered and Madame Defarge knitted. Some of history's most famous people lost their heads at the guillotine, including Marie Antoinette, King Louis XVI of France, and Robespierre, and the apparatus is immediately recognizable across the world, not just for its appearance but for all the stories in which it featured prominently.

Of all the great cities in the world, few personify their country like New York City. As America's largest city and best known immigration gateway into the country, NYC represents the beauty, diversity, and sheer strength of the United States, a global financial center that has enticed people chasing the "American Dream" for centuries.

On April 27, 1898, six American ships of the line, led by the Olympia with Commodore George Dewey aboard, headed toward Manila Bay. After several days of sailing over the South China Sea, Dewey hoped to sail past the Spanish fort at Corregidor to arrive at Manila without detection, and sailed without lights in order to do so. He made it into the bay, where the naval battle with the Spanish South Pacific Squadron began in the wee hours of May 1, 1898.

The world we live in is, sadly, one where we feel the need to validate our origins and identity in all the wrong ways. There is now a call for radical change in racist mindsets. It's easy to assume that the only racists to be wary of are those who are outspoken and demonstrate their hatred openly and violently. But what about the not-so-obvious instances of racism?

The success of the emperors ironically brought about the worst plague in Rome’s epic history. Due to constant warfare on the borders and attempts to defend positions against various groups, Roman soldiers came into contact with foreign diseases, and they unwittingly brought them home when campaigns ended. This culminated around 165 CE, when an unidentified disease brought the empire to its knees and afflicted an untold number of individuals, one of whom may have been Lucius Verus, the co-emperor of Rome alongside Marcus Aurelius.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, notwithstanding its merits as a feat of exploration, was also the first tentative claim on the vast interior and the western seaboard of North America by the United States. It set in motion the great movement west that began almost immediately with the first commercial overland expedition funded by John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company and would continue with the establishment of the Oregon Trail and California Trail. That quest would reach its ultimate expression ...when the last spike was driven into the Union Pacific Railroad.

Ted Geisel: Few Americans are familiar with that name, but as kids, everyone comes across the books he wrote under the famous pseudonym Dr. Seuss. Initially, readers knew Dr. Seuss as a World War II political cartoonist (if at all), and his first attempt at a children's book, "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street", was rejected over two dozen times by publishers. It was not until the 1950s that Dr. Seuss began publishing some of his most famous and revered titles, including "How the Grinch Stole Christmas."

Divine Encounters is a collection of inspirational short stories with the full intention of drawing you closer to God, as you discover life and some of its solutions through the characters as their stories unfold before you. Feelings of joy, heartache, amusement, fear, forgiveness and grace are but a few of the emotions captured in the stories.

The works of John Bunyan are still relevant today as they were 300 years ago. Bunyan faced a lot of religious persecution due to his nonconformist preaching, and due to his faith, he was thrown into prison. Fearing that he might die in prison, John Bunyan synthesized all his struggles and journey of salvation into his writings so that his readers may follow on his path and find God.

Although Russia has long been considered part of Europe, it has always had a culture so distinct and a history so different that it is still foreign to Western Europe in many ways. Naturally, this sense of otherness has lent an aura of intrigue and mystique to Russia as people have struggled to understand it. Over the long course of Russian history, perhaps no aspect of the giant country has generated interest quite like Siberia, the easternmost part of Russia that lies in Asia.

War has always led to prisoners. In ancient times, many were turned into slaves by the victorious armies, while in medieval Europe, they were often returned to their families in return for a ransom, leading to fortune or poverty depending upon which side one was on. By the Napoleonic era, as armies grew in size and professionalism, many were kept in camps for the duration of the fighting, their captors not wanting to restore their enemies' manpower while the fate of nations hung in the balance.

Machine learning is fast becoming an important technique used by multiple industries, and in applications and research. But you don’t have to be part of a massive organization with an endless pot of money to get involved. Even beginners using the Python programming language can be a part of machine learning, and that is what this book is for. Today, the only limit to machine learning is your imagination. In this book, I provide you with an overview of machine learning and some practical work to get your hands dirty.

In March 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Lend-Lease Act, which authorized the president to give arms to any nation if it was in America’s national interest. Operation Barbarossa gave the Soviets common cause with the British, and subsequently the Americans, changing the purpose of the Lend-Lease Act. Getting supplies to the Soviets to help them resist the German armies became a strategic imperative, and Iran’s geography of bordering the Persian Gulf to the south and Soviet territory to the north brought Iran to the front and center in the strategic supply effort.

While the age of the mythical, ethereal musician fades with each new generation, Johnny Cash resided in American culture for more than 40 years as a folk legend. Steeped in the gospel, his tale always had the qualities of prophecy and retribution. Some remember Cash as a slack-jawed ballad master who took on issues like civil rights, sovereignty, and social justice. Others recall his youth as a folk outcast who sang the lord’s music during the day and trashed hotel rooms at night. No matter which way you take it, Cash defined the word enigma.

With a straightforward and down-to-earth introduction to the fascinating world of mobile homes, this complete handbook offers you an easy-to-digest approach to investing in your first mobile home. Ranging from firsthand insights and anecdotes to practical advice on buying, selling, renting, and flipping a wide variety of mobile homes, Mobile Home Investing for Beginners reveals how you can tap into this lucrative market and use it to achieve financial security. This guide will give you the confidence and knowledge you need to begin investing in mobile homes like an expert.

Why can't they just leave Christmas alone? Kris Kringle left behind his mercenary life to atone and accept the responsibility of delivering presents to the children each year. The children will smile on Christmas morning at all costs. Someone has set a trap for Kris Kringle - but the problem is, Kris is willing to go anywhere to get those gifts to the children. Including to his dark place. Be careful, world. You don’t want to piss off Saint Nick.

In the 19th century, the young United States was exposed to the profound changes that historians call the Market Revolution. Cities experienced drastic changes as manufacturing and trade created jobs that hungry job seekers from the countryside migrated towards, but the hype triumphed over the realities, and more unemployed recent migrants lived in the cities than the number of gainfully employed workers. Urban stresses dominated American cities and also attracted the attention of reformers.

The Wild West made legends out of many men and women through the embellishment of their stories, but it was Buffalo Bill Cody who truly brought the Wild West to life and provided the images that people still associate with the 19th century West today. Though he had a long career that spanned service in the Civil War, trapping, and even a stint with the Pony Express, Buffalo Bill eventually became synonymous with his world-famous Wild West Show.

Celebrants of the first Independence Day took little time to ponder the status of equality between the races. Primarily, their attention was taken up with the overthrow of a foreign colonial power, one not accomplished through the will of an overwhelming majority. The bold move shaped by colonial legislators and promoted to the colonies by the founding fathers represented a first-of-its kind emancipation, as no European colony had so completely faced down its mother country in a test of wills.

From the moment Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés first found and confronted them, the Aztecs have fascinated the world, and they continue to hold a unique place both culturally and in pop culture. Nearly 500 years after the Spanish conquered their mighty empire, the Aztecs are often remembered today for their major capital, Tenochtitlan, as well as being fierce conquerors of the Valley of Mexico who often engaged in human sacrifice rituals.