Audiobooks Narrated by Michelle Humphries

The World’s Most Famous Megaliths: The History of Göbekli Tepe, Stonehenge, and the Megalithic Templ

Despite the fact some Neolithic communities grew to considerable sizes, they’re typically not considered when people think of the first ancient civilizations or the first major cities, so when German archaeologists discovered the archaeological site of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey in the 1990s, it created an academic firestorm that is still raging. Far from being just another settlement, Göbekli Tepe has been described as the world’s first temple and perhaps one of the locations where human civilization began. Subsequent archaeological work at Göbekli Tepe has revealed that the site was a spiritual center for the local population during a time when humans were undergoing a transition as hunter-gatherers in the Paleolithic Period to a more sedentary lifestyle in the Neolithic Period, more than 10,000 years ago. Naturally, when European archaeologists began unearthing the megaliths of Malta in the 19th century, they did not know what to think, which led to a plethora of theories, many of them quite fantastic. At least 23 of these temples were uncovered, but because the people who built them lacked the knowledge of writing, speculation over who built them and why remained well into the 20th century (Rountree 2003, 26). Some people theorized that the Malta megaliths were built by a race of giants, while others believed that it was the center of a “Mother Earth” cult that later spread through Neolithic Europe.  On the Salisbury Plain, only a few hours from the hustle and bustle of Central London, remains one of the greatest surviving relics of humanity's ancient past: the mighty stone circle of Stonehenge. Stonehenge is one of the most well-known ancient sites in the world, and an image of it raises numerous associations and emotional responses. Its impressiveness comes not only from its size and remarkable level of preservation, but more so because of incredible precision during an era of simple technology.

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

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Serpent Legends: The History and Legacy of the Folk Tales about Sea Serpents

The first specimen of megamouth shark (megachasma pelagios) was discovered on November 15, 1976, when it was found entangled in the drag anchor of a U.S. Navy ship. The new creature wasn't described scientifically until 1983…The megamouth remains the only species in its genus, and the only genus in its order.” That discovery was a reminder that the oceans of the world have always had an air of mystery. About 71% of the Earth’s surface is covered by water, and until the 20th century no one had plumbed its depths. Even today the bigger seas and oceans remain a largely unexplored frontier, with new species being discovered every year. Thus it comes as no surprise that countless legends have arisen of strange creatures lurking in the depths.  Of course, the most famous serpent of them all supposedly dwells in Scotland. While cryptids like Bigfoot and the Yeti have become popular in recent decades, none of them can touch the notoriety of the Loch Ness Monster, a large, unknown creature allegedly living in a loch in the Highlands of Scotland. Was it a relic dinosaur or perhaps an entirely new species? New photographs and new eyewitness sightings fueled a growing debate and transformed the Loch Ness Monster, also known as Nessie, into an instantly recognizable staple of pop culture, to the extent that hundreds of thousands of visitors came to Loch Ness every year in hopes of catching a glimpse of the loch’s famous inhabitant.  The Loch Ness Monster remains an international brand and the best-known cryptid in the world, but after almost 100 years of fame and media attention, what do people really know about this cryptid, and is there any proof that there really is something large and unknown living in a remote Scottish loch? 

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

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The American Investigations of UFOs: The History, Mysteries, and Conspiracy Theories Surrounding the

Modern Ufology focuses on mysterious lights on Ceres or tales of alien abduction, but this wasn’t always the case, and looking at how the beliefs in the UFO phenomenon have changed or stayed the same can shed light on how culture and belief changes over time. One does not have to believe humans are actually being visited by aliens from another planet to recognize the importance of UFOs in human society. Any widespread belief that endures for centuries is worthy of study, and as always, cases exist that can’t be explained away simple superstition. The first large-scale, official investigation came during the UFO flap of 1947. On December 30, 1947, Major General L. C. Cragie, director of research and development for the United States Air Force, authorized the study of the flying saucer problem. His statement carried the line “by command of the chief of staff.” The program was called Project Sign, and it would be the first of three known U.S. government studies of the UFO phenomenon. While these American investigations of UFOs from the 1940s and 1950s were documented, nothing exemplifies the debate between those who believe that extraterrestrials visit the Earth and skeptics like the top secret papers that emerged in the 1980s and seemed to prove the existence of a shadowy secret organization known as MJ-12 or Majestic 12. To believers, these papers proved beyond a doubt not only that UFOs were real and of extraterrestrial origin, but also that the federal government had been aware of their existence since the 1940s and had even managed to recover one or more crashed alien spacecrafts. To skeptics, this notion simply proved how gullible UFO believers were. There was no middle ground - people either believed in the MJ-12 papers completely or laughed at them.

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

Audiobook

Saint Nicholas and Krampus: The History of the Popular Companions Who Reward and Punish Children dur

One of the most important figures constantly brought up during the Christmas season is Saint Nicholas, despite the fact most people know little about him. In the 21st century, Saint Nicholas (or as people often refer to him, “Jolly Old Saint Nick”) has been reduced to a pretend, adorably portly grandfather-type, a visual often accompanied by a fleet of magical reindeer and a bustling workshop staffed by endlessly cheerful elves. Most assume, quite understandably, that Saint Nicholas was the fount of inspiration that Santa Claus' myth weavers steadily drank from over the centuries. While this is accurate to some extent, it is important to remember that the parallels between Saint Nicholas and the present-day Santa Claus marketed by mass media are actually quite limited. After Nicholas of Myra’s death, December 6 became his feast day, and over the centuries, children anticipated his appearance with gifts. However, other children, particularly those of the mischievous sort, trembled under their covers on December 6, because they could not look forward to tinkling sleigh bells or belly-shaking laughs. Instead, they feared the disconcerting sounds of heavy breathing, guttural growls, and rattling chains, all of which came from the terrifying Krampus. Despite the best efforts of the Catholic Church and other conservative groups, Krampus is in the midst of a major Renaissance, penetrating not only modern literature, but even becoming a fixture of pop culture. This is evidenced by the creature's recent starring roles in the films Krampus, Night of the Krampus, and Mother Krampus, and its cameos in such TV shows and animations as Grimm, Supernatural, American Dad, and Venture Brothers.

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

Audiobook

Academy Award Winning Sisters: The Lives of Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine

Olivia de Havilland was one of the last living actresses who worked during the Golden Era of Hollywood, but also one of the most decorated, winning dozens of awards over the course of a 50 year career. Among those, she most notably won the Academy Award for Best Actress for To Each His Own (1946) and The Heiress (1949), more than a decade after she got her start as an 18 year old in Hollywood. Of course, de Havilland isn’t well remembered for any of those accolades or other movies but because she played Melanie Hamilton in Gone With the Wind (1939), perhaps the most famous movie in American history. Although she was a veteran actress at the time, de Havilland’s career hadn’t progressed much since she started, and rumor has it that she eventually got the role after her own sister, Joan Fontaine, was asked to audition for the part and recommended Olivia instead. Although Fontaine and de Havilland would make history by becoming the only sisters to both win an Academy Award for Best Actress, that anecdote was just one of the various stories about the siblings that has shed light on their notoriously contentious and complicated relationship. As Fontaine once put it, “I married first, won the Oscar before Olivia did, and if I die first, she'll undoubtedly be livid because I beat her to it!' De Havilland herself once said, 'Joan is very bright and sharp and can be cutting.' Meanwhile, Joan Fontaine won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role in Alfred Hitchcock’s Suspicion (1941). She also earned a nomination for her performance in The Constant Nymph (1943), and in a television career that spanned several decades, she earned an Emmy nomination for her work on Ryan’s Hope in 1980, nearly 40 years after winning the Academy Award for Suspicion. Fontaine even appeared on Broadway in a couple of productions that ran for several years. 

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

Audiobook

Anne Bradstreet and Phillis Wheatley: The Lives and Legacies of Colonial America’s Most Prominent Po

Anne Bradstreet was born into an unusual family that, in the early years of the 17th century, believed in educating daughters as well as sons. She then moved to the American wilderness as a young bride and proceeded to produce children and poetry at nearly equal speed in the years that followed. Historian Theodore Stanton observed, “The most of her poems were produced between 1630 and 1642, that is, before she was thirty years old; and during these years she had neither leisure, nor elegant surroundings, nor freedom from anxious thoughts, nor even abounding health. Somehow, during her busy lifetime, she contrived to put upon record compositions numerous enough to fill a royal octavo volume of 400 pages, — compositions which entice and reward our reading of them, two hundred years after she lived.” Phillis Wheatley has always been a difficult figure for people to wrap their minds around, both during her life and centuries after it. Indeed, she fits no easy stereotypes that historians or contemporaries liked to use to classify their subjects. Even her name is complicated, with her first name being spelled at times “Phyllis,” and her surname being given without the extra “e” in the final syllable. Like so much of her life, her name was not the one given to her by her parents but instead by the people who first enslaved her. Then there was the matter of her “career,” which has always escaped definition. In the 18th century, enslaved people were not supposed to have been educated, certainly not to the level that Wheatley was, nor were they supposed to have creative abilities beyond those taught to them by their masters. In a time and place where slaves were rarely taught to read, they were obviously not expected to write better poetry than the vast majority of their peers. 

Charles River Editors (Author), Michelle Humphries (Narrator)

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