Audiobooks narrated by Andre Stojka

Reminiscences of a Ranger: Early Times in Southern California Adventures and Tales from old Los Ange

Daily gunfights, daily murders, frequent public hangings. Welcome to Los Angeles, California in the 1850’s. This amazing first person account of adventures, revolution history and tales, REMINISCENCES OF A RANGER was written by Major Horace Bell, who was there when it happened and wrote this eyewitness account of Los Angeles’ violent transition from a Mexican Pueblo to an American City. You’ll learn the beginnings and of political scheming and corruption. Bell was witness to the election of the first US Senators and Congressmen from California and saw the original corrupt practices of running for office Among the many stories and tall tales you’ll hear how: *Los Angeles became the Murder Capital of the United States in the 1850’s *A political schemer changed a presidential vote by lying to a parish priest *A woman’s angry curse gave Los Angeles its largest public park *A bunch of foot soldiers, with no enemy to fight, invented California’s Bear flag *An old Spanish Soldier with a 30 year old memory of Spain caused Los Angeles to become a pueblo. *Men bought liquor on Sunday during mass in old Mission San Gabriel. *The gold rush in the North changed Southern California economy *A jury of white gamblers easily voted to hang poor Mexicans *Dozens of Chinese were massacred as a result of misunderstanding. *The old Spanish Californio life was shattered by lawyers. taxes and drought *Americans tried to make money bringing democracy to Nicaragua. *Scalping really meant scalping. *A heroic sea captain saved the passengers of a doomed ship. *Spanish California became part of the Gringo nation REMINISCENCES OF A RANGER describes Southern California in a time of rapid clashes of culture. Los Angeles was established as El Pueblo de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles September 4, 1781, upsetting the long established Native American culture by imposing Spanish culture and religion. By 1881, only 100 years after Los Angeles was founded by Spain, the entire culture and structure of the city had changed from Native American to a mostly English speaking Eastern American culture. Horace Bell witnessed much of it. Horace Bell’s book, “REMINISCENCES OF A RANGER,” Early Times in Southern California, was self-published in 1881. It is said to be the first book printed and bound in Los Angeles. In fact, there was not enough type at the printers to set the entire book at one time, so the first half was set, printed and then the second half followed. Finally the two halves were combined and the entire book bound. Bell attempted to sell copies himself, once bringing 200 copies to a Los Angeles bookstore and complaining that the bookseller did not charge enough for them. Around 1910, the public rediscovered the book. New railroad lines brought large numbers of people into Los Angeles, evolving the city into a large and important place Chronicles of its early history and culture became valuable and “REMINISCENCES OF A RANGER” was ready to tell its fascinating and uninhibited story lthough it contains some language that would not be appropriate or acceptable today, “REMINISCENCESOF A RANGER” is considered by many as one of the most accurate, albeit flamboyant and irreverent, books of the early history of Los Angeles and California. It is a true story of how Los Angeles became Los Angeles and how California became California. Reminiscences of a Ranger contains 37 chapters, plus an original Afterward With occasional sound effects and music.

Major Horace Bell (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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To the South Seas: A Wild 1929 Family Adventure to the Galapagos Islands

Soon we could see the outline of the great fish through the dark water, as it swam slowly along. It was like a barn door just under the surface, a big barn door, with cavernous mouth and two arm-like feeders. Giant Sea Bats, Land Crabs, Lap Dragons, untouched islands and native villages are visited by Gifford Pinchot the father of modern environmentalism, and Chief of the United States Forest Service under Theodore Roosevelt. Gifford Pinchot, with his family, explores the Galapagos Islands, the Marquesas, the Tuamotu Archipelago and Tahiti in 1929, before the South Seas was changed forever by modern civilization and war. The To the South Seas adventure really began when Gifford Pinchot bought a three mast, topsail schooner, 148 feet in length, of steel construction and spent several busy months refitting the ship. As Pinchot wrote: This was to be no mere yachting trip. It was to be a scientific expedition, for adventure seasoned with science is the very best kind. On March 31, 1929, Gifford Pinchot, his wife, Cornelia Bryce Pinchot, their young 13-year-old son Giff, and his friend Stiff Stahlnecker boarded their ship, the Mary Pinchot, in New York City, along with a crew and experts from the National Museum in Washington and various scientific organizations. Their goal was to collect specimens from the islands they planned to visit. Also on board were a physician and a photographer. The Galapagos Islands held special interest for Pinchot. These were the islands explored by Charles Darwin in the Beagle, in 1831. Darwin's observations of the animal life on these isolated islands led to his book in 1859, On the Origin of Species, proposing a theory of evolution. As an important and respected environmentalist, Pinchot wanted to examine the varied animal life himself. The Pinchot Family's adventure was not without accidents. On board a private ship, sailing their own course, they were on their own, totally alone, far from emergency assistance. Leaks kept them in Key West for repairs, longer than planned. A ruined rudder and jammed stuffing box required a dangerous trip of 920 miles out of their way for repairs.

Gifford Pinchot (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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To Cuba and Back: A Vacation Voyage in 1859

"The Master is a policeman as well as a Judge. His revolver and rife are always loaded. He has his dogs, his trackers and seizers. No man rides unarmed." Join Abolitionist Richard Henry Dana, as he explores Spanish Cuba of 1859, where kidnapped Black Africans were slaves on vast sugar plantations, along with impoverished Chinese Coolies, suffering under unbreakable eight- year contracts. Dana visited Cuba on a fact finding mission he calls a "vacation voyage." He describes Cuban slavery, explores Cuban society, institutions, educational systems and exposes a corrupt prison system, where the more a prisoner pays, the less he is punished.

Richard Henry Dana (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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A Tour On the Prairies

Washington Irving (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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Narrative of the Most Extraordinary And Distressing Shipwreck of the Whaleship Essex

"I saw the whale ahead of us, coming with twice his ordinary speed, and with tenfold fury and vengeance in his aspect. The surf flew in all directions about him and his coursetoward us was marked by a white foam which he made with continual violent thrashing of his tail; his head was about half out of water and in that way he came upon and again struck the ship." An angry whale rams and destroys a whale ship in 1820. The helpless crew stranded 1500 miles from land struggles in a desperate journey for survival fighting storms at sea, the relentless sun, lack of water and a dwindling food supply. This is a recording of the original book published in 1821, which influenced author Herman Melville and his novel "Moby Dick". An angry whale rams and destroys a whale ship in 1820. The helpless crew stranded 1500 miles from land struggles in a desperate journey for survival fighting storms at sea, the relentless sun, lack of water and a dwindling food supply. This is a recording of the original book published in 1821, which influenced author Herman Melville and his novel "Moby Dick". Note to listeners: the end of this narrative describes cannibalism and may disturb some persons.

Owen Chase (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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Stickeen

"Stickeen...pushed his head past my shoulders, looked down and across, then looked me in the face and began to mutter and whine; saying as plainly as if speaking with words, "Surely, you are not going into that awful place." As the darkness of a freezing night approaches, an experienced American naturalist and a dog are trapped on an Alaskan Glacier. This is a true story, written by one of the United States' most famous naturalists and explorers. Public Domain (P)2015 Andre Stojka et. al.

John Muir (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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A Tramp Across the Continent

Adventurous author, pioneering reporter, workaholic newspaper editor, passionate Indian rights activist, librarien, poet, anthropologist and archeologist, Charles Fletcher Lummis was a great colorful individualist who explored and popularized the American Southwest. In 1884, with a job offer to become City Editor of the Los angeles Times, Lummis determined to walk to his new job from Ohio, covering over 3,500 miles through 8 states and territories. He witnessed and documented the end of the old American West and the beginnings of the modern age which picked new winners and new losers. Travel with him and hear in his own words this extraordinary adventure. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic first person accounts of extraordinary adventures by Americans or by visitors to America. The entire series can be previewed at Listen2Read.com

Charles Fletcher Lummis (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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Camps and Trails in Old China

A famous naturalist and his photographer wife explore China in 1916, then a medieval counjtry torn apart by revolution, the Japanese military and the onset of World War One. Traveling by mule train, they find themselves in conflict with Mandarins, the elements, the brutal treatment of women and a closed civilization controlled by the past. From exploring bat caves, attempting to hunt and photograph the elkusiuve Blue Tiger, and experiencing the Yen Ping rebellion first hand, this is an exhilarating husband and wife adventure led by a man said to be the model for the fictitious film character Indiana Jones. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic, true first person accounts of extrordinary adventures by Americans or by visitors to America. The entire series can be previewed at Listen2Read.com

Roy Chapman Andrews, Yvette Borup Andrews (Author), Andre Stojka, Leslie Walden (Narrator)

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My Attainment of the North Pole

A wild epic journey by an American phusician and two Inuit companions struggling to be the first humans to reach the North Pole. The adventure continues with a year long, near dath journey back to civilization and concludes with the wrath of an angry unbelieving establishment. Liste as Dr. Frederick Albert Cook, a respectd physician and experienced explorer, tells you how he became the first man to reach the North Pole on April21, 1908. Hear his bitter fight with Admiral Robert E. Peary who denied that Cook had beaten him to the Pole and sought to destroy Cook's reputation. This is one of the great controversies in the history of exploration. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic first person accounts of extraordinary adventures by Americans or by visitors to America. The entire series can be previewed at Listen2Read.com

Frederick Albert Cook (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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The Voyage of the Liberdade

A tall ship if trapped on a sandvar in 1885, broadsided by heavy seas and doomed to destruction and break-up on a lonely Brazilian beach. This is just the beginning of an incredible sea adventure by a North American sea Captain, his wife and two sons. To returnm his family to saftey, Captain Slocum builds a new boat our of the wreckage of the old. He sails his family along the perilous ocean of the South American coast, crosses the Caribbean Sea and navigates up the cost of the United States to Washington, D.C.. 'The Voyage of the Liberdade' is a first person telling of this exciting true adventure. This recording includes two additional adventures written by Captain Slocumn: 'Rescueof some Gilbert Islanders' who were lost at sea and 'The Voyage of the Destroyer. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic first person acounts of extraordinary adventures by Americans orvisitors to America. The entire series can be previewed at Listen2Read.com

Joshua Slocum (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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Jungle Peace

Naturalist, ornithologist, marine biologist, entomologist, explorer and gifted writer, William Beebe escapes from the violence of World War One into the jungles of Brittish Guiana. Beebe's curiosity and patience magnifies natures raw details revealing the huge drama being played out in the tropical jungle. Beebe's scientific curiosity aboard a steamship, his study of a rare bird that never leaves home, his examination of hordes of Army Anyson the attack, an attempted capture of a huge snake crawling at night, his interaction with Hindu immigrants who work the plantations, the building of a new road by convicted prisoners, reveal an amazing scientist with great nerve and traordinary powers of observation. William Beebe is one of the founders of the field of ecology and an early advocate for conservation. When he wrote Jungle Peace. he was the Curator of Birds at New York Zoological Park was was director of the Tropical Research Station. Some years later, he was the first biologist to observe deep-sea life in the original underwater Bathysphere. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic first person accounts of extraordinary adventures by Americans or by visitors to America. The entire series can be previewed at Listen2Read.com

William Beebe (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons

The great unknown of the American Southwest is conquered by a one-armed man and his crew of adventurers, placing the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon on the map of the American continent. John Wesley Powell lost his arm at Shiloh in the Civil War but continued his rugged outdoor life with a series of explorations of the Rocky Mountains. Travel with Powell on his greatest adventure of all-the exploration of the ubnknown and dangerous Colorado River. The Listen2Read American Adventure Library is a series of historic first person accounts of extraordinary adventures by Americans or by visitors to America.

John Wesley Powell (Author), Andre Stojka (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Andre Stojka