The true—and often shocking—stories behind some of the biggest names in business.We live our lives immersed in name brand products. What most of us don't know is that the origins of many of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world are shrouded in controversy, drug use, and sometimes even blatant racism.A Secret History of Brands cuts through the rumors and urban legends and paints a picture of the true dark history of famous brands, like...

Thirteen sensational tales of sex, lies, violence, and murder from the early decades of Hollywood.The dawning of the nineteenth century brought with it a new era for entertainment. Vaudeville was the preferred form of entertainment, until the popularization of the silent film. This new medium proved to be a draw for many of the stars of the Vaudevillian stage and soon they migrated to the exciting possibilities that the movies had to offer. Audiences were instantly ...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a powerhouse franchise ever since the debut of the indie comic book back in 1984. The TMNT have captivated kids and those young at heart for over thirty years now with several movies, multiple cartoon series, ongoing comics and one of the most extensive and playable toylines in history. The golden era of TMNT for many fans was from 1988 to 1995 and it’s that vintage era that this book aims to focus on. When you’re dealing with such an expansive fra...

Disney/Pixar's Toy Story has been a magical part of our lives for over twenty years now. The film put Disney back on track and ushered in a new era in animation. John Lasseter's brainchild about Andy's toys that come to life when he's not around has given us beloved characters like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bullseye, and Jessie. The trilogy about toys naturally spawned immense amounts of collectible toys for fans to collect and enjoy. Toy Story Collectibles features highlights from the past t...

The film Ghostbusters was released in June 1984 and became a cultural phenomenon and an instant classic, reaching No. twenty-eight in the American Film Institute’s top 100 comedies of all time and voted funniest film of the past twenty-five years by Entertainment Weekly in 2008. The release of the film marked the beginning of a franchise that would include a sequel (with a third film being released in 2016, more than thirty years later), comics, television series and action figures. In thi...

We live our lives immersed in name brand products. It's hard to drive down the street without seeing a plethora of chain restaurants, car dealerships, branded clothing they're all around us. What most of us don't know is that the origins of many of the most well-known and beloved brands in the world are shrouded in controversy, drug use and sometimes even addled with blatant racism.A Secret History of Brands cuts through the rumors and urban legends and paints a picture of...

**This program is read by the author.Decades after this celebrated work of narrative nonfiction won the National Book Award and changed the American conversation about race, Slaves in the Family makes its audio debut, with a new preface by the author.**The Ball family hails from South Carolina—Charleston and thereabouts. Their plantations were among the oldest and longest-standing plantations in the South. Between 1698 and 1865, close to four thousand black people ...

Learn the fascinating history and trivia behind the everyday items we take for granted—from the host of the popular podcast The Story Behind – Emily Prokop!Many of us learn about the major inventions that shape our world. But we too often overlook the objects we use every day. In The Story Behind, Emily Prokop, creator of the Webby Award nominated podcast, explores the who, how, and huh? of everything from Band-Aids to bubble gum; hypnosis to Hula Hoops; and lullabies to lead pipes...

Ten years after the infamous Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon presidency, Jim Hougan—then the Washington editor of Harper's Magazine—set out to write a profile of Lou Russell, a boozy private-eye who plied his trade in the vice-driven underbelly of the nation's capital. Hougan soon discovered that Russell was "the sixth man, the one who got away" when his boss, veteran CIA officer Jim McCord, led a break-in team into a trap at the Watergate.Using the Freedom o...

Holy Wars describes three thousand years of war in the Holy Land with the unique approach of focusing on pivotal battles or campaigns, beginning with the Israelites' capture of Jericho and ending with Israel's last full-fledged assault against Lebanon. Its chapters stop along the way to examine key battles fought by the Philistines, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Crusaders, and Mamluks—the latter clash, at Ayn Jalut, comprising the first time the Mongols suffered a decisive def...

Louisa May Alcott portrays a writer as worthy of interest in her own right as her most famous character, Jo March, and addresses all aspects of Alcott's life: the effect of her father's self-indulgent utopian schemes; her family's chronic economic difficulties and frequent uprootings; her experience as a nurse in the Civil War; and the loss of her health and frequent recourse to opiates in search of relief from migraines, insomnia, and symptomatic pain. Stories and details culled ...

Famous authors, like everybody else, know that one day they will die. Final Chapters tells the fascinating stories of more than one hundred writers' encounters with death—and their attitudes toward the Grim Reaper: fear, uncertainty, or acceptance.Francis Bacon wrote, "It is as natural to die as to be born," while Socrates told the judges who condemned him, "And now we go our ways, I to die and you to live. Which is better is known to God alone."Death often came in...