Other books that might interest you

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  On the Nature of the Gods

  Marcus Tullius Cicero

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  De Natura Deorum (On the Nature of the Gods) outlines Stoic, Epicurean and Academic (Skeptical) views on religious questions. Problems discussed include: evil, the origin of the world, divination, and characteristics of God(s). (Summary by Geoffrey Edwards)

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  The Confession of Charles Linkworth

  E.F. Benson

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  Edward Frederic Benson (1867 - 1940) was an English novelist, biographer, memoirist, archaeologist, and short story writer, best known as the true master of the gothic occult story.Charles Linkworth is guilty of the very worst kind of murder imaginable and is sentenced to hang the next morning. The prison doctor certifies the death following the execution, but is struck by a strange sensation as he does so, as though the spirit of the executed convict were next to him.That night he receives a mysterious telephone call from the prison and discovers that a tortured soul is trying desperately to make contact with him. But what on earth can the restless spirit want from him?One of E. F. Benson's most uncanny ghost stories.

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  Lear - The Great Image of Authority

  Harold Bloom

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  King Lear is perhaps the most poignant character in literature. The aged, abused monarch is at once the consummate figure of authority and the classic example of the fall from majesty. He is widely agreed to be William Shakespeare's most moving, tragic hero.Award-winning writer and beloved professor Harold Bloom writes about Lear with wisdom, joy, exuberance, and compassion. He also explores his own personal relationship to the character: Just as we encounter one Emma Bovary or Hamlet when we are 17 and another when we are 40, Bloom writes about his shifting understanding — over the course of his own lifetime — of Lear, so that this audiobook also explores an extraordinarily moving argument for literature as a path to and a measure of our humanity.Bloom is mesmerizing in the classroom, wrestling with the often tragic choices Shakespeare's characters make. He delivers that kind of exhilarating intimacy, pathos, and clarity in Lear.

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  Classic Short Stories - Volume...

  H.P. Lovecraft, Ford Maddox,...

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  Stories are one of mankind’s greatest artistic achievements.  Whether written down or spoken they have an ability to capture our imagination and thoughts, and take us on incredible journeys in the space of a phrase and the turn of a page. 
   
  Within a few words of text or speech, new worlds and characters form, propelling a narrative to a conclusion with intricate ease. Finely crafted, perfectly formed these Miniature Masterpieces, at first thought, seem remarkably easy to conjure up. But ask any writer and they will tell you that distilling the essence of narrative and characters into a short story is one of the hardest acts of their literary craft.  Many attempt, but few achieve.

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  Wonderful Wizard of Oz The -...

  L. Frank Baum

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  This is a SoundCraft Audiobooks production - enhanced with music and sound effects - of a book long hailed as one of the great classics of children's literature. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" tells the story of a young orphan girl, Dorothy, who is caught up in a cyclone and transported to the magical kingdom of Oz. In order to return home, Dorothy is instructed to travel to the City of Emeralds and ask the Wonderful Wizard of Oz for his help in getting her back to Kansas. Along the way, Dorothy befriends a strange groups of traveling companions - a Scarecrow, a Tin Woodman and a Cowardly Lion - who are all in need of the Wizard's assistance. Thus begins this magical and wonderful journey into a world of unmatched imagination and creativity; a work that inspired no less than thirteen sequels and innumerable film, stage and television adaptations. "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is one of the greatest children's books in all of American literature.

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  The Open Boat

  Stephen Crane

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  "The Open Boat" is considered Stephen Crane's finest work and one of the great short stories of all time. The story begins with four men in an open boat, subject to the vagaries of the sea after their ship went down. The Captain, though injured, retains control over the boat and its occupants by force of habit and uncanny skills. In this trial, he proves his worth, putting his men first, guiding them at every step of the way. When they finally have to swim for it because they can't land the boat on shore, the Captain subordinates his own interests in being saved to go after another. Each man is called only by his title, the Correspondent, the Oiler, and the Cook. The oiler rises up to prominence and called by name, the only one that is honored so. He is clearly set up to fail and die as he does, and did in the real life event as well. 
  Nature is indifferent to these men bobbing on the surface of the sea. Yes, the sea threatens, but in no unusual way and they make it to land ultimately. A shark circles the boat, almost playing with it, but then moves on. This is the home of the sea and the shark and Crane treats them this way. The interesting part is nature is not in conflict with the men; nature is indifferent to them. The people on shore don't help much but they help enough to help save three of the four men. Crane tells his story as a painter would, with the most marvelous descriptions of color, the scene, and the internal movements. The story comes through better in the listening than the writing for these reasons as you can sit back and listen to the word pictures Crane paints. Many later authors used this story for their own learning and purposes. Perhaps the most interesting is fellow poet, James Dickey, who also has an event over water with four men, with three surviving. In both cases the others declare the best of them died. A landmark American story.

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