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Title: White Fang

Author: Jack London

Narrator: William Hootkins

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 59 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-02-08

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

He soon learns the harsh laws of nature, yet buried deep inside him are the distant memories of affection and love. Will this fiercely independent creature of the wild learn to trust man again?

Read by the late William Hootkins, star of Star Wars, Batman, and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Members Reviews:

Gripping

White Fang is no disney character. The dog fighting is pretty grusome but since the 'pictures' are in your mind no animals were injured in the making of this book. Wonderful pace and narration.

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Title: The Purloined Letter

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Narrator: Bryan Schmidt

Format: Abridged

Length: 42 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-11-08

Publisher: Listener's Digest Inc.

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Poe is considered one of the best horror story writers ever. In this carefully crafted novel, Poe sets up a foundation for an ironic detective story that pits mind over matter and stumps the office police in their work. Through logic, detective C. Auguste Dupin comes to the rescue and pulls off a stunning coup that sabotages a blackmail plot against the Royal Family. This is a story you will never forget.

©2007 Listener's Digest Inc; (P)2007 Listener's Digest Inc

Members Reviews:

Foundational for detective fiction

Would recommend this to anyone who loves or even has a mild like for detective fiction. Fantastically well written detective short.

Great story

Another great story by the Master of Horror.

More Poe..Just right!

I like it, because I like Poe..Dark and spooky, as his usual style is. Give it a try..You might like it!

Booreing

Just like I remembered it from high school. I pitty poor Edgar to have his name attached to this booreing story. At least it I'd short.

Excellent as a Student Text for Analysis and Critical Thinking

"The Purloined Letter" is a story about an incriminating letter stolen in full view of the owner. The Chief of Paris Police seeks assistance from the detective, C. Auguste Dupin. Dupin outwits the thief before the Chief of Police does, and then goes to great lengths to explain the differences in their reasoning abilities. The story appears here in its unabridged form, in an easy-to-read print format. Activities to assist understanding are included at the beginning and end of the story. They include vocabulary study, factual and critical thinking questions, discussion and writing activities, and a student answer key. The activities encourage in-depth analysis and target a wide range of language arts skills.

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Title: Nostromo

Author: Joseph Conrad

Narrator: Nigel Anthony

Format: Abridged

Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins

Language: English

Release date: 08-01-08

Publisher: Naxos AudioBooks

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Nostromo is Conrad's masterwork, a forerunner of Modernism, and one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. A profoundly dark moral fable set in the surroundings of a silver mine, it is a story of power, love, and revolution in the fictional South American country of Costaguana.

Editorial Reviews:

The classic Joseph Conrad tale about the San Tome silver mine in South America, and all the evils that surround it, is a literary feat, and perhaps Conrad's greatest work. Since the story is essentially about the politics of a developing country, the novel is still topical today. Narrator Nigel Anthony's voice is perfectly suited to such a literary masterwork and never disappoints. Anthony brings listeners into an entirely new world in which power and greed prevail and the characters will do anything to obtain them. Anthony breathes life into the story, capturing the essence of the characters with stunning performances that display his range as a performer. A remarkable story - an outstanding listening experience!

Members Reviews:

even DJ even fine shape, what I would expect on a table ...

As described: new, not a dent or scratch on it, even DJ even fine shape, what I would expect on a table in a bookshop

Who has the silver? Or: the somber imbecilities of political fanatism

`Nostromo' was one of Conrad's most political and least personal stories. It is probably not one of his best, but it offers a lot of issues for discussion and disagreement.

JC's first hand experience in South and Central America was limited and dated. Therefore he had to build on knowledge acquired from books. He used travel reports and memories of independence wars and dictatorships and revolutions. I am by no means an expert on South American history, but from what I remember of Latino writers like Garcia Marques or Asturias, Conrad sounds fairly authentic in a generic way. (I would be interested in differing opinions here.)

His political world in the international dimension was firmly based on 3 antis: anti- Russian, -German and -American. While the first two are natural for a Pole of the time and not so relevant for this novel (but very much for some of his others), his anti-American stance is of a less automatic nature and needs a closer look.

Conrad's basic stance was pro-capitalist. He sided with the innovator, the risk taker, the builder, the entrepreneur, as opposed to the profiteer. He also had a sympathetic regard for the working man, but was not free of condescension.

He was not free of racial prejudices of the time either. There is a Jewish trader in the story who could have jumped out of a Stuermer article a few decades later. His `good guys', the Blancos, don't just have this name as a party colour, it has a racial meaning as well.

The bad guys happen to be mostly the Indio military and politicians and the `friends of blacks' ie the liberated former black slaves.

JC's travels exposed him to colonialism of different varieties. He saw mainly the more established English and Dutch versions, which he treated with critical irony, but without heavy polemics. He met and hated the newcomers from Belgium in Heart of Darkness. At the time of JC's writing, the US was just about to assert itself. JC disliked what he saw. He was a conservative man.

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Title: My Double and How He Undid Me

Author: Edward Everett Hale

Narrator: Sherman Allen

Format: Abridged

Length: 43 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-28-08

Publisher: Listener's Digest Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 2 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This memorable and laughable story, first published in the Atlantic Monthly, was the catalyst that spiraled Hale into becoming one of America's most famous writers. Naturally, when two Frederic Inghams showed up in a small parish in Maine, the inevitable twist and turns of deceit could lead only to disaster.

©2007 Listener's Digest Inc; (P)2007 Listener's Digest Inc

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Title: O. Henry's Christmas Stories

Author: O. Henry

Narrator: Alex Burton

Format: Unabridged

Length: 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 07-28-08

Publisher: Listener's Digest Inc.

Ratings: 2 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

O. Henry loved Christmas. These three stories are representative of how diverse in time, place, and characters his love for Christmas takes him. Both the well-known and the little known stories capture the hearts of all others who also love Christmas. This collection features "A Chaparral Christmas Gift", "Christmas by Injunction", and "The Gift of the Magi".

©2007 Listener's Digest Inc; (P)2007 Listener's Digest Inc

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Title: The Essential Kipling

Author: Joseph Rudyard Kipling

Narrator: Rupert Degas, Martin Jarvis, Richard Pasco, Liza Goddard

Format: Unabridged

Length: 4 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-14-08

Publisher: CSA Word

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 26 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Throughout his life, Kipling never stopped writing. He was greatly revered during his lifetime and received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature. The Essential Kipling celebrates a truly prolific and varied career; with his poetry and stories interpreted vividly by wonderful actors.

Critic Reviews:

"Very readable, with good characterisation and a light touch of bugeoing romance" (Leicestershire Libraries' Book of the Month)

Members Reviews:

Kipling as you never knew him.

If you could sum up The Essential Kipling in three words, what would they be?

The whole shooting-box!

Any additional comments?

This startling compilation of Kipling's life and constant critique of the British Empire around him was a revelation to me. I have always admired him for seeing the Empire as it was. With this sympathetic reading he has become a true hero in my eyes. Well worth buying!

Fine Readings of Many of Kipling's Best Works

The only thing wrong with this collection is its title. While it offers a lot of Kipling's best works, it does not give all the works that are essential to understanding him.

Aside from that, there is little to do but listen to the book and forward it to your friends. I may have heard one word I thought was mispronounced, which is a good record for any reading and exceptional for one full of dialect of all kinds and foreign words from French, Urdu, and less well-known tongues. More importantly, each story, poem, and letter is read with understanding and clarity.

I just wish the narrators of this collection had been able to present more of Kipling's world to us.

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Title: Little Women

Author: Louisa May Alcott

Narrator: Kate Harper

Format: Abridged

Length: 2 hrs and 48 mins

Language: English

Release date: 03-06-08

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

Ratings: 3 of 5 out of 1 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Even though money is short, times are tough, and their father is away at war, their infectious sense of fun sweeps everyone up in their adventures - including Laurie, the boy next door. And through sisterly squabbles, happy times, and sad ones too, the sisters discover that growing up is sometimes very hard to do.

Members Reviews:

Not enough of it.

My mother gave me this on cassette when I was eight. I listened to it so often that I wore out the tape, and was very excited to find it and download it on Audible. My problem with it is the same now as it was when I was a child - why is it abridged?! Kate Harper's performance is so brilliant, but I can't help but notice the jarring gaps where whole chapters have been ommitted from the audiobook. I really hope this exists somewhere in an unabridged form, but I haven't found it yet after years of searching.

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Title: The Three Strangers

Author: Thomas Hardy

Narrator: Walter Zimmerman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 56 mins

Language: English

Release date: 05-30-07

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 12 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Thomas Hardy was an English poet, novelist, and short story writer. He is famous for his depictions of Wessex, an imaginary county. Many of his stories also reflected his sense of the tragedy in human life.

Editorial Reviews:

With its lush landscapes and provincial old-world lifestyle, Thomas Hardys fictional borough of Wessex suggests the hidden magic and adventurous lure of the English countryside : It is the England of Chaucers pilgrims, or what E. M. Forster called "the greenery" - a mythic landscape of boundless possibility. Recited in Walter Zimmermans lilting baritone, "The Three Strangers" serves as a pastoral history for the Wessex area. Hardys short tale is almost like an allegory - perhaps passed down orally - and Zimmerman captures the wistful folksiness of the storyteller, relating the parable of a traveler wrongfully convicted of theft. As the townspeople realize their error in judgment, the true criminal begins to elicit sympathy among the country-folk, calling into question the very nature of crime and justice.

Critic Reviews:

"The foremost novelist of his time." (Geoffrey Harvey, The Complete Critical Guide to Thomas Hardy)

Members Reviews:

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Hanging

Walter Zimmerman did a fine job narrating this fun little tale. Hardy relates a story in which the hangman and his proposed victim met by accident with song and drink the night before the big event. The story satisfies and leaves one smiling. One cannot often say that about a hanging.

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Title: Persuasion

Author: Jane Austen

Narrator: Amanda Root

Format: Abridged

Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins

Language: English

Release date: 04-25-07

Publisher: Hodder Headline Limited

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

Persuasion is a tale of love and marriage, told with the irony and insight that sets Jane Austen's work apart. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth have met and separated years before. The story of how their reunion forces a recognition of the false values and people that drove them apart gives Persuasion its enduring power.

(P)1995 Hodder and Stoughton Audiobooks

Critic Reviews:

"[An] exquisite touch which renders ordinary commonplace things and characters interesting." (Sir Walter Scott, on Jane Austen)

Members Reviews:

Warning - Abridged

missing senses and flavours of the story through abridging. Good performance but disappointing not to be the full story.

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Title: Percival Keene

Author: Frederick Marryat

Narrator: William Sutherland

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 29 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-29-06

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 51 votes

Genres: Classics, British Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The adventures of the mischievous young midshipman Percival Keene begin when he learns that the demanding Captain Delmar, a member of the wealthy and titled De Versely family, is actually his natural father. Stung by his father's refusal to acknowledge him, Keene sets about to win his father's love and acceptance and gain the family fortune. To do so, he survives shipwreck and capture by murderous pirates, fights duels of honor with his fellow officers, and battles against the French. Percival Keene is a thrilling ride through the exciting naval world of the Napoleonic wars.

Critic Reviews:

"[Marryat] set[s] us in the midst of ships and men and sea and sky all vivid, credible, authentic." (Virginia Woolf)

"[Marryat's] adventures are enthralling; the rapidity of his action fascinates....His greatness is undeniable." (Joseph Conrad)

Members Reviews:

brief comment

Slightly slow start as the listener gets used to the language of a different era but the plot is very good and the story drags you along well worth listening to

This is a real treat

Even since I finished listening to "21 - The Final Unfinished Voyage Of Jack Aubrey" I've been looking for books to fill the void left in my life when I finished the Aubrey/Maturin series. The Hornblower books are okay. I just finished one called "Kydd" by contemporary author Julien Stockwin and found it flat and dull.

Then I listened to "Percival Keene" by Frederick Marryat. While O'Brian combined naval life with the style of Jane Austen (he even gave his hero her initials), Marryat seemed to be combining naval action with Charles Dickens.

But a little research tells me that Marryat precedes Dickens. Marryat was actually a post captain in the Royal Navy around the time of Aubry and served under Lord Cochrane, the man Aubrey is patterned after.

Percival Keene is full of colorful characters and humor as well as action. William Sutherland, the book's narrator does a terrific job. It's definitely worth a listen. Marryat's books may even help fill the void left by finishing O'Brien's cannon.

I sincerely hope Audible.Com posts more of Marryat's seagoing adventures.

Enter Capt. Aubrey

As a Patrick O'Brian devotee and having been through the "Cannon" at least three times I relish books like this one that eventually gave rise to the HMS Surprise. Indeed, O'Bryan has acknowledged this, and much of Capt. Keene's adventure can be seen in Capt. Aubrey's although in a much abreviated way and without the wonderful bells and whistles of the O'Brian cast.

The rating is a five as a foundation work for all that is to come.

Keen to discover more?

Writing period narratives about the sea requires knowledge, great characterization and a deft touch with understanding the time and place. You will happily find all within the gentle, clipped and distinctive narration of William Sutherland. The highly proper delivery carries all the hallmarks of military life and the early pranks of our heroes a light counterpoint to the ways of the sea, My only criticism is the romantic cleanliness of the overall tale for life in those time was bitter for those pressed into service. Percy lives a charmed life which makes the overall story a little Disney for this ardent procurer of maritime tales.