Audiobooks narrated by John Rayburn

Whose Body: A Lord Peter Wimsey Mystery Audiobook

This is the first story written about a man who became interested in criminal investigation as just a hobby. It came as somewhat of a surprise to him when it became an occupation. This was Peter Wimsey, referred to as Lord Peter because he was the younger son of a Duke, justifying the courtesy title. He didn't have a right to sit in the House of the Lords, but that didn't seem to matter among his friends and associates. This initial disclosure of his activities began when a man's dead body was found in a bathtub in a London flat. He was nude and wearing only gold pince-nez glasses on his nose. The body was first thought to be well-known financier Sir Reuben Levy, who had disappeared overnight. There was a resemblance, but it was quickly discovered he wasn't the victim, even though he was still missing. There was a teaching hospital nearby, and suspicions were aroused that the corpse may have been placed as a prank by medical students. That, too, proved erroneous when respected surgeon-neurologist Sir Julian Freke disclosed no body was missing from the dissection room. The lack of information brought Scotland Yard Inspector Charles Park to the investigation, and he welcomed the assistance of Lord Wimsey. It was three years before another book about Lord Wimsey, but author Dorothy L. Sayers eventually turned out ten more stories featuring him. We listen now to the original effort.

Dorothy L. Sayers (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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What If…????...The British Empire Won the Revolutionary War?: Alternative History

This book is an example of Alternative History. That, in essence, is asking what the future could be like. It suggests the US could have become a Dominion of America. Call this standard history with a twist, or even mythology in part. It is certainly historical material, told in fictional fashion. The basis of the concept can help broaden your personal historical imagination by emphasizing an unorthodox perspective. The key to any such literary approach centers around a point of divergence and makes you wonder, or want to ask, “Could this really take place?” It occasionally feels as though it’s all in a different time and place even though there are historical references that lead you astray, a sort of chronology of curiosities. Digging into the basic idea makes you wonder about such outlandish possibilities as Martin Luther becoming Pope Germanian. Many years ago, humorist writer James Thurber posed the somewhat hilarious classic supposition, asking the inevitable “What If?” as per “If Grant had been drinking at Appomattox!” John Rayburn, the author/narrator of this virtual sideways story, offers material that will perhaps bewilder you, or perhaps stun you if you develop your own “What If?-ness.” Start listening now and don’t blame us if your senses reel—all because this seems like non-reality being the actual information.

John Rayburn (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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We the People: A Good News Odyssey

This adventuresome voyage put John and Carol Rayburn on the road seeking out heartwarming human interest stories about our great country and the positive accomplishments of its people. They visited with thousands of Americans at work and play and collected their upbeat attitudes about the way we are. This good news odyssey enabled John and Carol to explore the talents and integrity of our people; to rediscover the principles that have kept our country strong and always striving for pride and excellence; and to pass along impressions of the intriguing aura of our nation, the true substance and goals of individuals and communities in far-flung parts of the land. This is their story, but it's also your story; a story accentuating the richness and diversity of our country's unsurpassed and unique heritage. They invite you to come along and share their adventures. A contact with the White House brought forth encouraging words from the nation's chief executive. "Dear Mr. Rayburn: Thank you for your message. There is much to be done, and I count on your support in efforts to make the new beginning we all desire. I was pleased to hear about We the People, and I am honored that the theme of national renewal has struck a responsive chord among so many Americans. I hope for the success of the many efforts across this great land to revive the true principles of liberty and patriotism among our citizens. With best wishes to you as you begin your endeavor, Sincerely, Ronald Reagan President of the United States" An article in the Brockton, Massachusetts, Enterprise newspaper stated: "It is evident that in their quest they leave behind them the foundation to instill positive aspects, much the same as Johnny Appleseed left a fruitful trail in his wanderings."

John Rayburn (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Trent's Last Case: The Woman in Black

This is a whodunit that neatly fits into the history of detective fiction. It features artist Philip Trent as he unexpectedly becomes an amateur detective. Some of his carefully collected information often proved erroneous. It begins when a wealthy American plutocrat, Bigsbee Manderson, uses his finances in an attempt to establish rules controlling society. When Manderson is found murdered on the grounds of his country house in England, Trent is hired as a reporter by a press association to investigate and file reports. The investigating officer from Scotland Yard, Inspector Murch, is an old acquaintance of Trent, and this gives the "new" detective contacts resulting in clues of both significant and spurious nature. The unusual aspect of this story, first published in 1913, is that although Trent winds up with the correct solution, he was so worn down he declared it would be his last case. It was twenty-three years later before author Bentley wrote another Trent story and began it with a recap of what happened in the "last case." Along the way, Trent becomes romantically interested in the character referred to in this book's subtitle as "the Lady in Black." Was she the widow of the murdered man? It's probably better for us to let you hear the whole story, beginning now.

E. C. Bentley (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Travel: Making Day Dreams Come True

Travel is one thing, but really going somewhere is something else. Here are first-hand tales of exciting places to see in the US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and the United Kingdom. The manuscript beginning is a truism: "The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page."-Saint Augustine Based on that long-ago quote, these stories originate from personal visits to a wide variety of destinations. The primary purpose is to entertain you by offering history and background of the many locales. Let the comment, "those who do not travel read only one page," become a thing of the past as you do, indeed, hear more than one page in vicarious fashion. Country singer Willie Nelson wrote a bestselling song that said, in part: "On the road againGoin' places that I've never beenSeein' things that I may never see againAnd I can't wait to get on the road again." These stories of our travels evoke a quote from Mark Twain: "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." We've been fortunate enough to more or less follow that line of thinking, and like a long-ago quote from Greek philosopher Aristotle, we have come to the conclusion that, quite simply, "Adventure is worthwhile."

John Rayburn (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Topper: A Ghostly Adventure

Here is a meeting with George and Marion Kerby, a couple of free-wheeling ghosts, who meet up with respectable banker Cosmo Topper. This was noted by the New York Times, claiming: “Thorne Smith created the modern American ghost story, ghosts with style and wit; ghosts that haunt us still.” Others pointed out, “Smith was a master of urbane wit and sophisticated repartee.” The overall mood has a touch of silliness, but it provides lighthearted reading and listening, a matter of nonsensical escapism. For Topper it meant relief from a nagging wife with ongoing indigestion. Smith himself was a heavy drinker and died of a heart attack at a youthful forty-two. Once, after an unexplained week-long disappearance, he was asked why he hadn’t called in sick. He replied, “The telephone was in the hall and there was a draft.” Shall we listen to the escapades? Well, why not?

Thorne Smith (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Tom Swift and His Electric Runabout

Three very successful series of stories aimed at children and teens were created by a man who had a book packaging house and didn't want to cause confusion. So, none of the stories ever had his name on them. Instead, Edward Stratemeyer hired several writers and provided them with story ideas that were then published under the pseudonym Victor Appleton. They were tales of the adventures of a teenager named Tom Swift. He was portrayed as a youngster who didn't have a lot of formal education but was inventive and science minded. This led to more than one hundred volumes with a variety of broad-ranging adventures and creative ideas placing emphasis on invention, science and technology. Stratemeyer later came up with successful stories about The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew. It is said the fertile Stratemeyer imagination often found him jotting down a short page of notes involving plots and assigning a stable of about a half-dozen writers to fill in the blanks. The Hardy Boys were amateur detectives often able to solve various cases when solutions eluded grownup professionals. First appearance of the female counterpart Nancy Drew series first appeared in 1930 and ran for nearly three-quarters of a century. We listen now to Tom Swift with one of his top inventions.

Victor Appleton (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Thrilling Days of Yesteryear: The Golden Age of Radio

Radio was the number one form of family entertainment for a quarter century. In a dazzling step back in time veteran broadcaster John Rayburn talks about the fantastic era of broadcasting in fascinating interviews with a sterling list of guests, including Durward Kirby (Garry Moore Show), Parley Baer (original "Chester" on radio's Gunsmoke), Arthur Anderson (Let's Pretend), Carmel Quinn (Irish singer on Arthur Godfrey), Ezra Stone (Henry Aldrich), Minnie Pearl (Grand Ole Opry), Fred Foy (Announcer on The Lone Ranger), Gale Gordon (I Love Lucy, Our Miss Brooks), Charles Correll (Andy of Amos 'n' Andy), Himan Brown (Inner Sanctum, Grand Central Station), Chet Lauck (Lum of Lum and Abner), Frankie Carle (Big band leader). There are great stories about Red Skelton, Jack Armstrong, Lights Out, Quiz Kids, Little Orphan Annie, Jimmy Durante, Time Marches On, Hindenburg disaster, President Roosevelt's December 8, 1941 declaration of war against Japan and many, many more.

John Rayburn (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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This Land Is Our Land: Myths, Facts, and Mysteries

Throughout the stories here is information on how places, cities, and states got their names. However, questions arise because Native American tribes of the day didn’t yet have a written alphabet, and none of those came along until Sequoyah invented one in 1821, one that was actually more of a syllabary with symbols that stood for consonant/vowel sequences and could make words, basically just a writing system. One such word example is Tsa-La-Gi in Oklahoma, a recreated Cherokee settlement showing what one was like before European contact. The name means “Cherokee,” and if you say it out phonetically as “Say-la-ghee,” it’s understandable how that was understood as the word Cherokee. It wasn’t written out because there wasn’t yet a means of doing so. Many such words were heard by early frontiersmen, most of whom had little or no formal education. As a result, they pronounced and spelled anyway they heard various words, and because that was all that was available, their decisions held up more often not. It brings to mind an old phrase aimed at accepting something while having at least a degree of skepticism about the actual truth or meaning, and that is to “take it with a grain of salt.” This all means if you come across something here with either skepticism or at least no specific literal interpretation, don’t fret. The information is interesting, whether or not always logical or with an occasional small degree of accuracy. Don’t let any word choices by those early, often under-educated frontiersmen cause you to be “anti-semantic.” We repeat the suggestion to just go along with whatever is mentioned, but remember to have that “grain of salt” handy.

John Rayburn (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz

Back in 1900 author L. Frank Baum says he wrote The Wonderful Wizard of Oz to please children of his time. He called it a modernized fairy tale, totally unlike older stories often filled with blood-curdling events. He left out the heartaches and nightmares. He pointed out that youngsters have long had a love of fantastic stories, but times change and they look forward more to entertainment that still has the wonderment and joy of time gone by. His fantastic creation of "Oz" provides exactly that.

L. Frank Baum (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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The Wind in the Willows

This is a classic fantasy story about four animals who behave like humans. They talk, philosophize, and emphasize friendship but also keep their animal habits. They are Mole, Rat, Toad, and Badger. There are some adult books read by children and some children's books read by adults. However, this one appeals to both because it stresses a main theme of doing your best at all times, forgiving others, and setting a goal to make the world a better place. It is based in an English countryside with wonderful descriptions that make you feel as though you're there with them. It has a wonderful read-and-listen-aloud feeling with good humor and imagination. We invite you to join us.

Kenneth Grahame (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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The Tower Treasure: A Hardy Boys Adventure

Their instincts and intelligence were valuable assets for teenage brothers, Joe and Frank Hardy, as they followed in the footsteps of their well-known father, Fenton Hardy, a former police detective. They had wits and courage that gave them what it took to solve cases in their fictional home of Bayport in the upper east coast area of the US. They never lost their nerve despite being frequently confronted by danger. In this instance there is a robbery at the Tower Mansion and a friend of the Hardy Boys’ father is falsely accused. Young Joe and Frank take on the case. The actual crook is found but he utters mysterious words while dying and these have to be deciphered to find the stolen loot. The boys wind up with a nice reward. Listen now to learn of their persistent determination.

Franklin W. Dixon (Author), John Rayburn (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by John Rayburn