Showing results by author "A. A. Christian" in All Categories

The Emperor loves to wear the most fashionable and finest clothes in the land. However, when two strangers suggest that they can weave him a special suit - which is invisible to anyone who's not worthy and wise - it has to be seen to be believed. A magical retelling of the classic fairy tale, read by Tamsin Greig.

Perhaps no Christmas novel is more beloved than Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, and no holiday poem more well-known than Clement Clarke Moore’s “’Twas the Night Before Christmas”. Together, these classic literary masterpieces warm our hearts and remind us of the joy and love to be discovered anew each Christmas morning. A Classic Christmas features both of these traditional works, as well as other vintage poems and stories that celebrate the timeless truths of the holiday season.

They won't settle for mere victory. They want to exterminate us. Every last one of us. A surprise attack has sent the Star Alliance fleeing for its life. A remnant of a remnant, their meager fleet—all that remains alive—flees to what seems like a safe harbor: a forgotten backwater planet called Earth. Join ace fighter pilot Chase as he teams up with the modern-day militaries of Earth and fights the last battle for the universe.

It is bitterly cold, and the Little Match Girl is walking the icy streets in bare feet, trying to sell just one box of matches so she can go home and get warm. But no one wants to buy.... A magical retelling of the classic tale, read by Tamsin Greig.

A wizened old woman promises a soldier riches beyond his wildest dreams. All she wants in return is a small tinderbox - but is there more to the tinderbox than meets the eye? A magical retelling of the classic fairy tale, read by Stephen Mangan.

Debut sensation Christian O'Connell is back with more hilarious adventures of Spike, superstar radio DJ...and trouble-prone ordinary kid. The world's youngest DJ is still the talk of the town. A town that's about to turn against him. Radio Boy and his team, Artie and Holly, are back and continue to broadcast live to the world from Spike's garden shed. Then, following a shock split from Nan, Grandad Ray comes to stay. Spike decides to cheer him up by inviting him onto the show.

Most historians study the smallest slivers of time, emphasizing specific dates, individuals, and documents. But what would it look like to study the whole of history, from the big bang through the present day - and even into the remote future? How would looking at the full span of time change the way we perceive the universe, the earth, and our very existence? These were the questions David Christian set out to answer when he created the field of "Big History", the most exciting new approach to understanding where we have been, where we are, and where we are going.

Magical retellings of four classic fairy tales.

"The Little Mermaid", read by Tamsin Greig: The youngest child of the Mer King lives in a beautiful underwater city. "Rumpelstiltskin", read by Stephen Mangan: A beautiful miller's daughter is locked away by the King and told she will never see her family again unless she spins straw into gold. "The Snow Queen", read by Stephen Mangan: Sebastian and Anna are best friends who do everything together. "The Little Match Girl", read by Tamsin Greig: It is bitterly cold, and the Little Match Girl is walking the icy streets in bare feet, trying to sell just one box of matches.

From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to understanding the workings of human memory, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.

Ten thousands years ago, the Furies nearly exterminated all life in the universe, before being defeated by a coalition of worlds led by the Olympians. Or so everyone thought.... Now they're back and a new reign of terror has begun. Chase trains to increase his powers tenfold in the hope to defeat the Furies once and for all. But will it be enough to stop an unstoppable enemy?

Ex-paratrooper Christian Lewis had hit rock bottom, suffering with depression so severe he would shut himself in his bedroom for weeks. Then while surfing – his only respite – he cast his eyes along the coastline and realized it was the only place he really wanted to be.

From the Supernatural Case Files of Sherlock Holmes London's most beloved detective encounters his most deadly foe, and the results will be unlike any Sherlock Holmes adventure before it!

How is it possible for the disciplines of cosmology, geology, anthropology, biology, and history to fit together? These 48 lectures answer that question by weaving a single story from accounts of the past developed by a variety of scholarly disciplines. The result is a story stretching from the origins of the universe to the present day and beyond, in which human history is seen as part of the history of our Earth and biosphere, and the Earth's history, in turn, is seen as part of the history of the universe.

Glory. Death. Well-born Athenian cavalry officer Kineas fought shoulder to shoulder with Alexander in his epic battles against the Persian hordes. But on his return from the east to his native city, he finds not glory but shame - and exile. With nothing to his name but his military skills, Kineas agrees to lead a band of veterans to the city of Olbia, where the Tyrant is offering good money to train the city's elite cavalry.

A magical storyteller's timeless tales. Here are 127 of Andersen's classic stories, translated by "Mrs. Edgar Lucas" in the 19th century. Included are such well-known tales as "The Emperor's New Suit", "The Little Match-Seller", "Thumbelina", "The Little Mermaid", and "The Snow Queen".

Spike's your average awkward 11-year-old, funny and cheeky and with a mum to reckon with. When he becomes the first presenter ever to be sacked from hospital radio, he decides to carry on from a makeshift studio in the garden shed, with the help of his best friends, Artie and Holly, disguising his voice and going by the moniker Radio Boy. Week by week word gets around, and soon Spike is a star...if only people knew it was actually him.

Stan Weir is mourning a tragic loss when he meets a mysterious nine-year-old girl, who claims to be the reincarnated spirit of his late wife. Marcy Keef is a single mother trying to make ends meet when her daughter Erin starts describing ‘past life memories’. Neither wants to believe Erin, but as violent secrets are revealed, the truth becomes harder to deny.

Magical retellings of three classic fairy tales. The Three Billy Goats Gruff: The two younger Billy Goats Gruff want to be as big and fat as their older brother. Beauty and the Beast: Beauty is kind and loving; even though her two sisters tease her and her merchant father is too poor to buy her presents. Her father sees a beautiful rose bush on the grounds of the Beast's castle, he plucks a flower for her. The Beast is angry, and demands something precious in return.... >"The Emperor's New Clothes": The Emperor loves to wear the finest clothes in the land. Two strangers suggest that they can weave him a special suit - which is invisible.

This classic tale is a fantastical fable of two dear friends - one of whom goes astray and is literally lost to the north woods, while the other undertakes an epic journey to rescue him. This charming, strange, and wonderful story is a timeless allegory about growing up and the challenges of staying true to one's self, and it served as the wintry inspiration for the blockbuster hit Frozen.

"The Fir Tree" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, about a fir tree so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. It is a melancholy story, warning about the dangers of always expecting greater glory just around the corner, only to be disappointed or to regret the unappreciated instants; only the moment is worthwhile.