Audio Books
Showing 201–250 of 2033 results
Against Celsus Book 2
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia
Against Celsus Book 3
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia
Against Celsus Book 4
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia
Against Celsus Book 5
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. (Summary by Wikipedia)
Against Celsus Book 6
Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise “The True Word”. Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather than actual divine powers and of plagiarizing his teachings from Plato. Celsus had warned that Christianity itself was drawing people away from traditional religion and claimed that its growth would lead to a collapse of traditional, conservative values. – Summary by Wikipedia
Against Heresies
St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyons, describes several schools of Gnosticism which were prevalent among pre-Nicene Christianity. He then refutes these beliefs as heresies by contrasting them with what he describes as catholic, orthodox Christianity. Against Heresies demonstrates that earliest Christianity was a fascinating and diverse plethora of beliefs, debates, and schisms. (Summary by JoeD)
Against Indifference
LibriVox volunteers bring you 17 different recordings of Against Indifference by Charles Webbe. This was the weekly poetry project for the week of January 20th, 2008.
Against Jovinianus
Jovinianus, had published at Rome a treatise containing the following opinions: (1) “That a virgin is no better as such than a wife in the sight of God. (2) Abstinence is no better than a thankful partaking of food. (3) A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. (4) All sins are equal. (5) There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state.” Also he held the birth of our Lord to have been natural, rather than that Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as His Resurrection body afterwards did out of the tomb. All these opinions were condemned in synods at that city and at Milan (about A.D. 390). He subsequently sent Jovinian’s books to Jerome, who answered them in the present treatise in the year 393. Book I is wholly on (1), marriage and virginity. Chp 4-13 are Jerome’s sense, of St. Paul’s teaching in 1 Cor. vii. In chp. 14-39 Jerome uses both the Old and the New Testaments. Chp. 40 praises virginity and single marriages from examples in the heathen world. – Summary: A shortened version from the introduction.
Against Odds
Believed to have been written by Chicago socialite, Emma Murdock Van Deventer, this detective story set at the World’s Fair follows Carl Masters as he is in pursuit of international criminals Greenback Bob and Delbras. Conmen, lost handbags, jewel robberies, an adventuress… not to mention two missing young men and a murder, all come under the detective’s eye. ( Lynne Thompson)
Against The Grain, or Against Nature
?THE BOOK THAT DORIAN GRAY LOVED AND THAT INSPIRED OSCAR WILDE?. Such is the enticing epigraph of one early translation of Huysmans? cult novel of 1884, which is also routinely called the Bible of Decadence. Accurate descriptions, both, of this bizarre masterpiece which has reverberated ever since through high and popular culture. ?Against Nature? (or in this version ?Against The Grain?) explores to the furthest limit the life of the world-rejecting aesthete living a reclusive existence devoted entirely to artificial paradises of his own devising. This is no solemn tract, however: the book?s anti-hero Duc Jean Floressas Des Esseintes spectacularly fails to achieve his life?s work, as all his attempts to create worlds of perverse experience through synaesthesia and interior decoration prove ludicrously unsatisfying and injurious to health. An innocent tortoise also falls casualty to his theories, in the wonderful fifth chapter. This is probably a novel best savoured one chapter at a time, and not only because John Howard?s clunky translation makes indigestible listening. Those who can skip whole chunks without guilt would do well to avoid chapters 4, 7, 12 and 14. Revel, however, in the wonders of 5, 8, 9 and 11. Encounter the jewel-encrusted chelonian, the butch lady acrobat, the nightmarish orchids that cause the hero to exclaim ?All is Syphilis??Alas, this translation lacks a chapter, and two brief incidents are also suppressed on account of their sexual perversity. Enjoy what remains. (Summary by Martin Geeson)
Agamemnon (Browning Translation)
The play Agamemnon details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Argos, from the Trojan War. Waiting at home for him is his wife, Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder, partly as revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, and partly because in the ten years of Agamemnon’s absence Clytemnestra has entered into an adulterous relationship with Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and the sole survivor of a dispossessed branch of the family (Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, killed and fed Aegisthus’s brothers to Aegisthus’s father, Thyestes, when he took power from him), who is determined to regain the throne he believes should rightfully belong to him. Summary by Wikipedia
Agamemnon (Morshead Translation)
The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus concerning the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The name derives from the character Orestes, who sets out to avenge his father’s murder. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theater trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. When originally performed, it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have followed the trilogy. Proteus has not survived, however. In all likelihood the term “Oresteia” originally referred to all four plays; today it generally designates only the surviving trilogy. Many consider the Oresteia to be Aeschylus’ finest work. Principal themes of the trilogy include the contrast between revenge and justice, as well as the transition from personal vendetta to organized litigation….The play Agamemnon (?????????, Agamemn?n) details the homecoming of Agamemnon, King of Argos, from the Trojan War. Waiting at home for him is his wife, Clytemnestra, who has been planning his murder, partly as revenge for the sacrifice of their daughter, Iphigenia, and partly because in the ten years of Agamemnon’s absence Clytemnestra has entered into an adulterous relationship with Aegisthus, Agamemnon’s cousin and the sole survivor of a dispossessed branch of the family (Agamemnon’s father, Atreus, killed and fed Aegisthus’s brothers to Aegisthus’s father, Thyestes, when he took power from him), who is determined to regain the throne he believes should rightfully belong to him. – Summary by Wikipedia
Agamemnon’s Tomb
LibriVox volunteers bring you 10 recordings of Agamemnon’s Tomb, by Emma Lazarus. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for May 16, 2021. —— Emma Lazarus was an American author of poetry, prose, and translations, as well as an activist for Jewish causes. She wrote the sonnet “The New Colossus” in 1883. Its lines appear inscribed on a bronze plaque, installed in 1903, on the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. – Summary by Wikipedia
Agatha Webb
A universally beloved woman has been murdered. But who would have the heart to kill Agatha Webb? Would her husband do it for money matters? Or would it be the cook, who died at about the same time? Or would it be the rich and well-connected Mr. Frederick, who ran away into the woods? Miss Page, a servant and the sweetheart of the same Mr. Frederick, wants to join the investigation, but is constantly prevented from doing so. (summary by Stav Nisser)
Aggressive Christianity: Practical Sermons
Catherine Booth was very much partner with her husband, William Booth, in founding the little London mission that would flourish into the global ministry of the Salvation Army. She was not only an organizer but a powerful preacher in her own right. This is a short collection of her passionate, but practical sermons, still full of transforming truth. – Summary by Larry Wilson
Agnes Grey
The novel tells the story of Agnes Grey, the daughter of a minister, whose family comes to financial ruin. Desperate to earn the money to care for herself, she takes one of the few jobs allowed to respectable women in the early Victorian era ? the role of governess to the children of the wealthy. In working with two different families (the Bloomfields and the Murrays), she comes to learn about the troubles that face a young woman who must try to rein in unruly, spoiled children for a living, and about the ability of wealth and status to destroy social values. After her father’s death, Agnes opens a small school with her mother and finds happiness with a man who loves her for herself. They have three children at the end of the novel, Edward, Agnes and Mary (Wikipedia)
Agnes Grey (Dramatic Reading)
Agnes Grey is the daughter of a minister, whose family comes to financial ruin. Desperate to earn money to care for herself, she takes one of the few jobs allowed to respectable women in the early Victorian era, as a governess to the children of the wealthy. In working with two different families, the Bloomfields and the Murrays, she comes to learn about the troubles that face a young woman who must try to rein in unruly, spoiled children for a living, and about the ability of wealth and status to destroy social values. After her father’s death, Agnes opens a small school with her mother and finds happiness with a man who loves her for herself. (Summary by Wikipedia) Cast: Narrator/Mary Grey/Grandmama Bloomfield: CaprishaPage Agnes Grey: Amanda Friday Edward Weston: Max K?rlinge Alice Grey: Tiffany Halla Colonna Richard Grey: Aidan Brack Mr. Murray/Uncle Robson: Anthony Mrs. Murray/Jem’s Wife: Elizabeth Klett Rosalie Murray: Arielle Lipshaw Matilda Murray: Elizabeth Barr Mr. Hatfield: Algy Pug Jem/Mr. Smith: Martin Geeson Servant: Charlotte Duckett Nancy Brown: Beth Thomas Mrs. Bloomfield: Victoria Martin Tom Bloomfield: Grace Mary Ann Bloomfield: April Gonzales Mr. Bloomfield: Robert Hoffman Betty: Kristingj Audio edited by Amanda Friday
Agnes Grey (Version 3)
Anne Bronte’s semi-autobiographic novel about Agnes Grey, a young woman who becomes a governess to support her family, but finds her new career more difficult than she expected. – Summary by Libby Gohn
Agnes Sorel
The Hundred Years’ War: a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, against the House of Valois, rulers of the Kingdom of France, over the succession to the French throne. It was a time of intrigue, plot, murder and romance. Agnes Sorel, aged 20, became the favorite mistress of the King of France, wielding much influence over him and earning many enemies. Her untimely death at the age of 28, just days after bearing him a fourth child, was blamed on dysentery. In this novel, we follow the trials of Jean Charost, secretary to the Duke of Orleans and brother of the king; and see how his life was entwined with that of the beautiful Agnes. – Summary by Lynne Thompson
Agricola
The Agricola (Latin: De vita et moribus Iulii Agricolae, lit. On the life and character of Julius Agricola) is a book by the Roman historian Tacitus, written c 98, which recounts the life of his father-in-law Gnaeus Julius Agricola, an eminent Roman general. It also covers, briefly, the geography and ethnography of ancient Britain. As in the Germania, Tacitus favorably contrasts the liberty of the native Britons to the corruption and tyranny of the Empire; the book also contains eloquent and vicious polemics against the rapacity and greed of Rome. This translation by Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb, was first published in 1877. (Summary from Wikipedia.
Agriculture for Beginners
A textbook used by many public schools in the early 20th century. The authors believe that “agriculture is eminently a teachable subject. They see no difference between teaching the child the fundamental principles of farming and teaching the same child the fundamental truths of arithmetic, geography, or grammar. They hold that a youth should be trained for the farm just as carefully as he is trained for any other occupation, and that it is unreasonable to expect him to succeed without training.” – Summary by the authors
Aids to Forensic Medicine and Toxicology
A 1922 source-book for British criminal pathologists, this will be of particular interest to fans of popular police forensics television shows, films, and murder mysteries.(Summary by BellonaTimes)
Aino Folk-Tales
Not for the squeamish or for children, these folk-tales are from the Ainu, the somewhat mysterious indigenous people of Japan, thousands of whom still live in the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. Ranging over all of the usual themes of folklore, from creation to marriage to war, these stories have a pungent, ribald frankness concerning all aspects of human life that offended their scholarly collector Basil Hall Chamberlain (his apologies to the reader are themselves entertaining) but that make them fresh, provocative, and amusing to the twenty-first century reader. Attention to the Ainu is especially timely because of the revival in Japan of Ainu activism on behalf of indigenous rights, pride, and culture, but are well worth reading for their purely entertainment value.
Aircraft and Submarines
“Aircraft and Submarines” is a history of the development of these forms of transportation and their ultimate use in warfare. Also a brief history of submarine use in commercial applications. A thoroughly enjoyable piece for anyone interested in the detailed development of these modes of transportation. Summary by William Tomcho
Airplane Boys in the Black Woods
?The Airplane Boys accidentally bump into a new mystery which is only solved after many pages of excitement in this seventh book of air adventures.? Excerpt From: E. J. Craine. ?Airplane Boys in the Black Woods.?
Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A – Vol. 1
This audiobook contains chapters 1 through 10 from the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A. Study of the handbook should include the PDF from the FAA, which is available at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/. From the preface: “The Airplane Flying Handbook is designed as a technical manual to introduce basic pilot skills and knowledge that are essential for piloting airplanes. It provides information on transition to other airplanes and the operation of various airplane systems. It is developed by the Flight Standards Service, Airman Testing Standards Branch, in cooperation with various aviation educators and industry. This handbook is developed to assist student pilots learning to fly airplanes. It is also beneficial to pilots who wish to improve their flying proficiency and aeronautical knowledge, those pilots preparing for additional certificates or ratings, and flight instructors engaged in the instruction of both student and certificated pilots. It introduces the future pilot to the realm of flight and provides information and guidance in the performance of procedures and maneuvers required for pilot certification.” This audiobook, chapters 1 through 10 from the Airplane Flying Handbook, is Volume I. Chapters 11 -15 titled “Transition to ….” are recorded in Volume 2, and Chapter 16 “Emergency Procedures” is recorded in Volume 3. – Summary by Norman Elfer
Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A – Vol. 2
This audiobook is volume 2 from the Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A. This volume covers chapters 11 to 15, on transitions to complex, multiengine, tailwheel, turboprop, and jet aircraft. Study of the handbook should include the PDF from the FAA, which is available at http://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/ . From the preface: “The Airplane Flying Handbook is designed as a technical manual to introduce basic pilot skills and knowledge that are essential for piloting airplanes. It provides information on transition to other airplanes and the operation of various airplane systems. It is developed by the Flight Standards Service, Airman Testing Standards Branch, in cooperation with various aviation educators and industry.” Chapters 1-10 are recorded in Volume 1 and Chapter 16, Emergency Procedures, is Volume 3. – Summary by Norman Elfer
Airplane Flying Handbook FAA-H-8083-3A – Vol. 3
This audiobook is third and final volume of the Airplane Flying Handbook. This volume is chapter 16, Emergency Procedures. From the preface: “The Airplane Flying Handbook is designed as a technical manual to introduce basic pilot skills and knowledge that are essential for piloting airplanes. It provides information on transition to other airplanes and the operation of various airplane systems. It is developed by the Flight Standards Service, Airman Testing Standards Branch, in cooperation with various aviation educators and industry.” This volume applies to basic piloting skills and training aircraft, Volume 1, as well as transitions to other types of aircraft, Volume 2. – Summary by Norman Elfer
Aitreya-Aranyaka Upanishad
The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, “Upa” means “near;” “ni” means “down;” “shad” means “to sit.” Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter). Aryanka (Snskrit) ?????? means means pertaining to the forest. Aranyaka refers to a treatise to be read or expounded by anchorites in the quiet of the forest. Some Upanishads are incorporated inside Aranyakas. The subjects treated by Aranyakas are, in general, liturgical whereas the Upanishads are philosophical. The Aitareya-Aranyaka consists of three Aryankas. The first Aranyaka is purely liturgical, giving a description of the Mahavrata ritual. The second and third Aranyankas consist of the Mahaitareya Upanishad, while the Upanishad generally known as Aitareya Upanishad comprises 4th, 5th, and 6th adhyayas of the second Aranyaka. The date of Aitareya Upanishad is not known but has been estimated by scholars to be sometime around 6th or 5th century BCE. The 11 principal Upanishads to which Sankara appeals in his great commentary on the Vedanta-Surtras are: Chandogya, Talavakara or Kena, Aitareya, Kaushitaki, Vajasaneyi or Isha, Katha, Mundaka, Taittirtiyaka or Taittiriya, Brihadaranyaka, Svetasvatara, and Prasna. They are also called the 11 classical Upanishads or the fundamental Upanishads of the Vedanta Philosophy. Apart from these, Maitrayana-Brahmana-Upanishad is also considered as an important Upanishad. The Upanishadic literature is not a religious scripture and is free from dogma and doctrines. It is not a part of any religion but is a philosophy for all times and for all. German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, impressed by the Upanishads, called the texts “the production of the highest human wisdom”. – Summary by Jothi
Ajax (Campbell Translation)
Ajax is a Greek tragedy written in the 5th century BC. The date of Ajax’s first performance is unknown and may never be found, but most scholars regard it as an early work, c. 450 – 430 BC. It chronicles the fate of the warrior Ajax after the events of the Iliad, but before the end of the Trojan War. At the onset of the play, Ajax is enraged because Achilles’ armor was awarded to Odysseus, rather than to him. He vows to kill the Greek leaders who disgraced him. Before he can enact his extraordinary revenge, though, he is tricked by the goddess Athena into believing that the sheep and cattle that were taken by the Achaeans as spoil are the Greek leaders. Much of the play shows the disintegration of Ajax in the face of this humiliation, leading ultimately to his suicide. – Summary by Wikipedia (edited by Expatriate)
Al Que Quiere! (and 18 more poems)
A book of William Carlos Williams’s early poetry. Included in this recording are 18 poems published by Williams in Volume 13 of ‘Poetry’ literary journal in 1919. – Summary by KevinS
Aladdin, Or, The Wonderful Lamp (A Dramatic Poem, in Two Parts)
This retelling of Aladdin in dramatic verse begins in the humble home of a tailor, whose son spends his days in idleness and brings his parents nothing but grief. Soon, however, this son is brought to a magical grotto, where he finds a great treasure which will bring him his fortune. This story will have some twists and turns that are almost certain to be different from the story you know. – Summary by Devorah Allen Cast: Tomas Peter: Aladdin Jenn Broda: Gulnare, the Princess Michele Eaton: Nurse to Gulnare Availle: Morgiana, Aladdin’s Mother Algy Pug: Soliman, the Sultan Tommy Hersant: Vizir to Soliman Adrian Stephens: Saladin, betrothed to Gulnare ToddHW: The Enchanter, Noureddin VocalPenguin: Hindbad, Noureddin’s brother Sonia: Spirit of the Lamp Phil Schempf: Spirit of the Ring Donzo: Selim Tindra: Slave Gerald Moe: Jester HelenaDiamandiz: Court Jew Diane Castillo: Old Man czandra: Second Courtier Chuck Williamson: Servant of the Court Anya: Captain of the Body Guard Eleonora Bettenzoli: Spider Kristine Wales: Voice of the Trees Linda Olsen Fitak: First Fairy Twinkle: Peasant; Second Fairy ambsweet13: Zephyr; Second Elf FreckleFriday: Bedreddin; Lympha, a Fairy Thoria: Master Mason; First Courtier; Deathwatch Pier: First Lord of the Treasury; Strength, a Giant Michael L. Hooper: Second Lord of the Treasury Tchaikovsky: Architect; Apothecary; Owner of the House Lydia: Zulima, Soliman’s Wife; Peribanou, Queen of the Fairies; Fatima Doug Fajardo: Sindbad; Grocer; Sentinel; Laborer; Headsman David Purdy: Ali; Casem; Goldsmith; Sculptor; First Elf; Good Spirits Devorah Allen: Nightingale; Melpomene; Female Bird; Beauty, a Fairy Alan Mapstone: Mustapha, Aladdin’s Father; An Old Jew; Ali Baba, an Astrologer; Coppersmith; Headsman’s Assistant; Minstrel; Male Bird; The Water Spirit; Wicked Spirits Wayne Cooke: Narrator
Aladore
Ywain, a knight bored with his administrative duties, abandons his estate to his younger brother and goes on a pilgrimage to seek his heart’s desire. Following a will-o’-the-wisp resembling a child, his quest takes him to the city of Paladore, where he meets the lady Aithne, half-fae enchantress. Sir Henry Newbolt’s allegorical fantasy was published in hardback in Britain in 1914 and in the Uniited States a year later. It was revived in 1975 as the fifth volume in the celebrated Newcastle Forgotten Fantasy Library. – Summary by Phil Benson, adapted from Wikipedia
Alarm Clocks
Joyce Kilmer (born as Alfred Joyce Kilmer) was an American writer and poet mainly remembered for a short poem titled “Trees” (1913), which was published in the collection Trees and Other Poems in 1914. While most of his works are largely unknown, a select few of his poems remain popular and are published frequently in anthologies. At the time of his deployment to Europe during World War I, Kilmer was considered the leading American Roman Catholic poet and lecturer of his generation, whom critics often compared to British contemporaries G. K. Chesterton (1874?1936) and Hilaire Belloc (1870?1953). He enlisted in the New York National Guard and was deployed to France with the 69th Infantry Regiment (the famous “Fighting 69th”) in 1917. He was killed by a sniper’s bullet at the Second Battle of the Marne in 1918 at the age of 31. – Summary by Wikipedia
Alarms and Discursions
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the “prince of paradox.” He wrote in an off-hand, whimsical prose studded with startling formulations. Chesterton wrote about 4000 essays on various subjects, and “Alarms and Discursions is one of his collections. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Karen Merline.)
Alcatraz
This is a story of a wild horse who many said could not be caught or broken, and the man who set out to prove them wrong. (Summary by Richard Kilmer)
Alcestis
Alcestis is the earliest surviving play by Euripides. Alcestis, the devoted wife of King Admetus, has agreed to die in his place, and at the beginning of the play she is close to death. In the first scene, Apollo argues with Thanatos (Death), asking to prolong Alcestis’ life, but Thanatos refuses. Apollo leaves, but suggests that a man will come to Pherae who will save Alcestis. Euripides’ play is perhaps the most unusual Greek drama ever written: a tragedy that is not a tragedy. (Summary by Elizabeth Klett) Cast Admetus: Todd Alcestis/Chorus: Elizabeth Klett Pheres: Bruce Pirie Little Boy: Lyn Silva Manservant: bala Handmaid: Arielle Lipshaw Heracles: mb Apollo: Libby Gohn Thanatos: engineerdst Chorus Leader: Caprisha Page Narrator: David Lawrence Audio edited by Elizabeth Klett
Alcestis (Way Translation)
Alcestis, queen of Pherae, is one of the noblest heroines in all of Greek drama. Her husband Admetus is the supposedly virtuous king of Pherae who wins the friendship of the god Apollo. Apollo tricks the Eumenides into an agreement that when the time comes for Admetus to die, a willing substitute will be accepted in his place, allowing his friend to go on living. Admetus selfishly tries to persuade anyone to agree to be his substitute, even his own parents, but no one is willing to make that sacrifice; this disappointment and its tragic consequences embitter him, leading him ultimately to disown his father and mother. Finally his wife Alcestis nobly agrees to die for him, unwilling to leave her children without a father. When the play opens, the moment for the death of Alcestis is at hand and an unexpected guest is at the door. ?Alcestis,? first produced at the City Dionysia festival in 438 BCE, has always been hard to categorize. Its ambiguous, tragicomic tone?which may be “cheerfully romantic” or “bitterly ironic”?has earned it the label of a “problem play.” “Alcestis” is, possibly excepting the “Rhesus,” the oldest surviving work by Euripides, although at the time of its first performance he had been producing plays for 17 years. (Expatriate; supplemented by Wikipedia)
Alcibiades I
As Jowett relates in his brilliant introduction, 95% of Plato’s writing is certain and his reputation rests soundly on this foundation. The Alcibiades 1 appears to be a short work by Plato with only two characters: Socrates and Alcibiades. This dialogue has little dramatic verisimilitude but centres on the question of what knowledge one needs for political life. Like the early dialogues, the question is on whether the virtues needed by a statesman can be taught, on the importance of self-knowledge as a starting point for any leader. While this may be only partially the work of Plato, or even not his at all, Jowett favoured the work with his magisterial translation and appears to favour its inclusion in the canon of true works. (Summary by Kevin Johnson)
Aleriel; or, A Voyage to Other Worlds
When an Oxford undergraduate meets by chance, a mysterious stranger, during a walking tour of France, he does not know that the unusual charismatic being he has made the acquaintance of, is in fact a disguised alien being, named Aleriel. Coming from the planet of peace, Venus, this space traveler claims to be visiting Earth for the first time. Thus begins an unusual interplanetary friendship, that takes our Oxford graduate on an amazing adventure, first into the war-torn streets of Paris, then across the English Channel, to busy London and finally on to tranquil Oxford. Aleriel then leaves his friend and explores many parts of the earth, to discover the state of mankind and humanity, before departing in his ‘ether car’ for the Moon, then returning to his home planet to report all his findings to advanced beings there. Aleriel next experiences, with two Venusian companions, an perilous, exciting and illuminating tour, of the solar system, visiting first Mars, the asteroids and planetary moons and finally, mighty and mysterious Saturn and Jupiter. All this extra-terrestrial experience, Aleriel records in a fantastic journal, which arrives mysteriously at our now-married undergraduate’s home. It is an incredible story. But is it really the truth or just a very clever hoax? Our young couple travel to meet Aleriel in the mountains of Switzerland, determined to find out. A contemporary of both Jules Verne, the fantasy Victorian novelist Edward Bulwer-Lytton, and later the futuristic writer HG Wells, This 1883 novel by Polish-English curate, author and historian: Wladislav Lach-Szyrma, is an extraordinary, futuristic and visionary tale, will entertain, enlighten and intrigue every listener. Nigel C.
Alexander Hamilton
Alexander Hamilton was a significant figure in the political and economic development of the early United States. He served in the American Revolutionary War and became an aide to General George Washington. He was one of the authors (along with John Jay and James Madison) of a series of essays know as The Federalist Papers, which were written in support of the ratification of the proposed Constitution. Scholars and others still refer to these essays to this day for interpretation of the Constitution. As the first Secretary of the Treasury in George Washington?s Cabinet, Hamilton was a proponent of a strong centralized government. Hamilton pursued many actions (some controversial) in an attempt to provide financial stability for the new government, including the establishment of the U.S. Mint and a National Bank. Ironically, he may most often be remembered for the infamous pistol duel with Aaron Burr that resulted in Hamilton?s death. (Summary by lubee930)
Alexander the Great
Alexander the Great was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and was undefeated in battle. By the time of his death, he had conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks. Alexander the Great is one of many biographies aimed at young people written by Jacob Abbott and his brother. The biographies are written in such a way that makes them appealing and easily accessible to everyone. – Written by Wikipedia and Lizzie Driver
Alexander the Great
Racine caused furour in the French theater community with his second play, Alexander the Great, when “The sensitive poet seems to have been disgusted by the manner in which it was being acted; for, a fortnight after it had been put on the boards at the Palais Royal [by Moliere], Moliere’s company learned with astonishment and indignation that it was being simultaneously performed at a rival theatre.” “The story of this drama is derived from Quintus Curtius, Plutarch, and Justin.” Racine followed the rules of classical French dramatists: one main plot, action takes place in one day and at one location. – Summary by Translator and ToddHW Cast list: Alexander: Ron Altman Porus, Indian King: ToddHW Taxiles, Indian King: Ethan Hurst Axiana, Queen of another part of India: Matea Bracic Cleophila, sister of Taxiles: Availle Hephaestion: Chris Pyle Stage Directions: Sonia Editing: ToddHW
Alexander’s Bridge
Bartley Alexander is a construction engineer and world-renowned builder of bridges going through what’s known today (but not in 1912) as a mid-life crisis. Although married to his wife Winifred, Bartley resumes his acquaintance with a former lover, Hilda Burgoyne, in London. The affair proves to gnaw at Bartley’s sense of propriety and honor. (Summary from Wikipedia)
Alexander’s Bridge (version 2)
Bartley Alexander is a construction engineer and world-renowned builder of bridges going through what’s known today (but not in 1912) as a mid-life crisis. Although married to his wife Winifred, Bartley resumes his acquaintance with a former lover, Hilda Burgoyne, in London. The affair proves to gnaw at Bartley’s sense of propriety and honor. (Summary by Wikipedia)
Alexander’s Bridge (version 3)
Alexander’s Bridge is the first novel by Willa Cather, published under the name Willa Sibert Cather. Heavily influenced by the works of Henry James, the book tells the story of bridge builder Bartley Alexander. Through his relationship with Actress Hilda Burgoyne while he is married his wife, Winnifred, he meets his moral downfall, and through another set of circumstances he meets his physical. (Summary by Miranda Stinson)
Alias Miss Sherlock
Dick Brewster is implicated in a murder and comes to his aunt’s farm to hide. His Aunt Sarah stands by him in his need and they all move to the city in the effort to clear his name. She investigates on her own account and…. – Summary by The Author Cast list: Lily Ann, Help at the farm: Devorah Allen Aaron Flint, the hired man: Alan Mapstone Mrs. Brewster, from New York: TJ Burns Helen Brewster, her daughter: Jenn Broda Leonard Fillmore, a young country lawyer: skypigeon Sarah Newcomb, sister of Mrs. Brewster: Availle Dick Brewster: David Purdy Henson, a butler: Adrian Stephens Ralph Deering: Matthew Reece Henry Markham, a detective: ToddHW Officer Higgins: Wayne Cooke Delphine: JgreenVO Stage Directions: MichaelMaggs Editing: ToddHW
Alice Adams
A Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Alice Adams chronicles the attempts of a lower middle class American midwestern family at the turn of the 20th century to climb the social ladder. The eponymous heroine is at the heart of the story, a young woman who wants a better place in society and a better life. As Gerard Previn Meyer has stated, “Apart from being the contribution to social history its author conceived it to be, [Alice Adams] is something more, that something being what has attracted to it so large a public: its portrait of a (despite her faults) ‘lovable girl’.” (Summary by Jeannie)
Alice Dugdale
An ordinary village girl’s plans for the future with her long-standing beau are threatened when he is seen to be an attractive prospect by a local noble family Trollope’s novella works through the consequences with typical affection and sensitivity. – Summary by Anthony Ogus
Alice in Blunderland: an Iridescent Dream
From Alice in Blunderland: “Certain of our members claim that they have a right to sell their votes for $500 apiece–” “Mercy!” cried Alice, “Why, that is–that is terrible.” “It certainly is,” said the March Hare ruefully, it’s rotten. Here I’ve been holding out for $1,250 for mine, and these duffers want to go in for a cut rate that will absolutely ruin the business.” John Kendrick Bangs takes Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland and turns it into a political satire in many ways as fresh, keen and relevant today as it was a hundred years ago. (Summary by Ruth Golding)