Listen to Most Popular Audiobooks in Classics, American Literature

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Title: The Sea-Wolf

Author: Jack London

Narrator: Stephen Hoye

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 02-02-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 70 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

When Humphrey Van Weyden finds himself struggling in the freezing waters of San Francisco Bay, he thinks the worst that can happen to him is drowning. After he is rescued by the Ghost and its captain, Wolf Larson, Humphrey discovers that there are fates far worse than death.

On Larsen's hell-ship, the dilettante hero is forced to slave as cabin boy and humble seaman. Over the seven months' voyage to the sealing grounds off Siberia, he engages in an epic duel with his ruthlessly Nietzschean skipper, a conflict that must end with the death of one of them.

In Humphrey's story, Jack London recalls his own adventures on a sealing vessel at the age of 17. And in the vivid dialogs between Larsen and Van Weyden, he gives the clearest definition of his savage philosophy of life.

Members Reviews:

Great in every way

What did you love best about The Sea-Wolf?

A true classic and the way Stephen Hoye read it was perfect.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Sea-Wolf?

Wolf Larson is an amazing creation.

What about Stephen Hoyes performance did you like?

His voice doesn't distract at all. His many voices and accents were perfect throughout.

Any additional comments?

Listen to this version!

Great classic

I really enjoyed the narrator's voice for Wolf Larsen. It was confident and husky and puzzled all in the perfect proportions.

great narration

good story. interesting mix of sea adventure with a little romance. some of the philosophies expressed may be a bit painful for the idealist.

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Title: The Jefferson Bible

Author: Thomas Jefferson

Narrator: Mel Foster

Format: Unabridged

Length: 3 hrs and 7 mins

Language: English

Release date: 01-10-11

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 45 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In the early 19th century, Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the United States and the principal author of the Declaration of Independence, conceived the idea of extracting a gospel purified of what he saw as extraneous philosophical, mythological, and theological elements. To do so, he took verses from the four canonical gospels and arranged them into a single narrative, focusing on the actual words of Jesus. This work was never published during Jefferson's lifetime but was inherited by his grandson and printed for the first time in the early 20th century. The original bound manuscript, popularly referred to as The Jefferson Bible, is held by the United States National Museum in Washington.

Critic Reviews:

"[A] fascinating document, telling us a great deal about a great 18th-century mind and its world." (Charles S. Adams,

Religious Studies Review)

Members Reviews:

Thomas Jefferson's religious beliefs

Although called the Jefferson Bible, the actual title of the book is The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth. It consists solely of quotations Jefferson selected from the the the Christian New Testament books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth was composed by Jefferson in four volumes - one each in Latin, Greek, French, and English with The English version being literally cut from the King James Version and pasted onto sheets of blank paper - approximately a decade after he left the US presidency (he was president from 1801 - 1809). It was first released by his grandson in 1895 and was published by the US government in 1904. The original is in one of the Smithsonian museums in Washington DC.

The content of the Jefferson Bible along with his letters gives us a clear view of Jefferson's religious beliefs. He was most definitely a theist, ie, he believed in God, specifically the Jewish God. He likely believed in an afterlife and the possibility of hell. He believed in the teachings of Jesus but disbelieved his divinity. The Jefferson Bible excludes the virgin birth, the son of God claims, all miracles, the resurrection, and most supernatural events claimed in Gospels. Yet, it is safe to speculate that Jefferson strongly believed Jesus had a special relationship with God AND that his teachings on morality superseded and replaced all prior religious texts including the Jewish Bible.

Jefferson further believed that the rest of the New Testament and all religious beliefs coming from them including the Catholic and mainline Protestant churches were false. They were done in his view for self aggrandizement of the people and groups who wrote or began them.

Note that Jefferson specifically included references in the Gospels to and quotes from Jesus of hell, angels, and prophets.

The Jefferson Bible is an important historical document because it helps clarify the complex religious beliefs of one of our founders. During Jefferson's 1800 presidential campaign he was accused of being an atheist. He called himself a Christian. If a Christian is defined as one who believes in the divinity of Jesus, he was not Christian. If a Christian is defined as one who believes in God and the teaching of Jesus, Jefferson was a Christian.

Rating the Jefferson Bible on Audible is difficult for me. My decision is to rate it as a historical document rather than a religious one because I am not qualified to rate it based on content.

I liked it.

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Title: Tales of the Alhambra

Author: Washington Irving

Narrator: Kevin Foley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 22 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-23-10

Publisher: Tantor Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 31 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the most entertaining travelogues ever written, Washington Irving's Tales of the Alhambra is a heady mix of fact, myth, and depictions of secret chambers, desperate battles, imprisoned princesses, palace ghosts, and fragrant gardens, described in a wistful and dreamlike eloquence. Irving, who also penned "Rip Van Winkle" and "Sleepy Hollow," wrote Tales of the Alhambra during a stay at the legendary Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The Alhambra is a combination fort, palace, and gardens dating from the thirteenth century, filled with fantastic Arabic architecture (ornate plasterwork, ceramic tiles, sculpted marble fountains, and archways) and plenty of room for imagining the days of its former greatness, which Irving brings to life most memorably.

Even though Tales of the Alhambra is over 170 years old, it seems as if it was written yesterday. There are tales of princes, genies, lost and found loves, enchanted treasures, battles, hellish headless horses, and commentary on the Spanish landscape and nature of the Spaniards that he lives with. Full of bewitching music, the smell of roses and exotic perfumes, fiery sunsets, and the ghosts of the past, Tales of the Alhambra is a sensory treat as well.

Members Reviews:

A Fascinating Travelogue, History, and Fantasy

In Tales of the Alhambra, Washington Irving recounts his 1829 sojourn from Seville to Granada and his stay in the marvelous Moorish castle-palace, the Alhambra. He engagingly describes the Spanish landscape and people and the Moorish civilization that played such a vital role in Spain for so many hundreds of years. Irving???s writing is vivid, imaginative, beautiful, and witty. And he clearly loved the enchanting courtyards, gardens, fountains, rooms, decorations, inscriptions, towers, walls, and vistas of the ???pile??? that epitomized the romantic heart of Spain for him: ???Perhaps there never was a monument more characteristic of an age and people than the Alhambra; a rugged fortress without, a voluptuous palace within; war frowning from its battlements; poetry breathing throughout the fairy architecture of its halls.???

In addition to telling the history of the Alhambra, Irving retells the tales set in or around it that he heard from local people or read in old manuscripts. The tales are humorous, eerie, or moving fantastic legends that feature Christian or Moorish characters from throughout the history of the Alhambra: ancient necromancers, chivalric knights, love-struck princes and princesses, talking birds, enchanted soldiers, phantom armies, foolish kings, sensual Padres, discreet duennas, spying barbers, punctilious governors, roguish bandits, proud poets, poor students, magical treasures, and more.

Reader Kevin Foley is professional, but almost too bland and metronomic, so that at times I wished that Ralph Cosham had read this book, the full, revised, 13.5 hour 1851 edition, instead of the 8.5 hour 1831 first edition. Foley does spark into life when he reads Spanish or English with Spanish or Moorish accents or English spoken by a hawk, an owl, a bat, a swallow, a dove, a raven, or a parrot. And Irving is so excellent that I do recommend this audiobook for anyone who has visited the Alhambra or who is thinking of doing so.

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Title: The Hamlet

Author: William Faulkner

Narrator: Joe Barrett

Format: Unabridged

Length: 14 hrs and 50 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-10

Publisher: Audible Studios

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 160 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Hamlet, the first novel of Faulkner's Snopes trilogy, is both an ironic take on classical tragedy and a mordant commentary on the grand pretensions of the antebellum South and the depths of its decay in the aftermath of war and Reconstruction. It tells of the advent and the rise of the Snopes family in Frenchman's Bend, a small town built on the ruins of a once-stately plantation. Flem Snopes wily, energetic, a man of shady origins quickly comes to dominate the town and its people with his cunning and guile.

As an added bonus, when you purchase our Audible Modern Vanguard production of William Faulkner's book, you'll also receive an exclusive Jim Atlas interview. This interview where James Atlas interviews James Lee Burke about the life and work of William Faulkner begins as soon as the audiobook ends.

Members Reviews:

Great narrator, great book, better read than heard

The narrator of this book is excellent. The stories themselves are excellent. The complexity of Faulkner's sentences and story structure, however, often forced me to rewind, because I wasn't certain if I had missed something.

Each story was fascinating, with tales of trickery and veniality mixed in with occasional kindness and hope.

I certainly cannot fault the narrator, who does a wonderful job with accents and differentiating the different speakers. Having read (in print) other books by Faulkner, I knew that he loves a rambling sentence, and always tells a moving tale.

If I had read this book (in print) before, perhaps I would not have been as confused by the sometimes abrupt turns the stories took.

It's book well worth reading, beautifully narrated, but I would recommend that if you haven't encountered Faulkner before, or if you like obvious continuity, you get the print edition.

And We Thought Control Freaks Were a New Phenom

What did you love best about The Hamlet?

I did not "love" The Hamlet. I was fascinated by it, kind of like being fascinated by a snake. These are mostly not nice people Faulkner writes about. He's not mocking them. He's reporting.

The images are vivid and the language is a treasure. I loved listening to the words. But it is not a comfortable book.

Well-Read

I like the way the reader does the accents. He's not a southerner but he does well enough that you can tell the character who is speaking by the way he reads - except, of course, when Faulkner himself forgets who is speaking - I still don't completely understand the book and probably never will, which is a good thing, because it's like a gold mine you can go back to over and over again and it never runs dry.

Their Only Chance to be Beautiful?

Faulkner's language is absolutely gorgeous, moving in wafts of sense-filled images through the reader/listener's mind and Joe Barrett's reading of it is perfection. I have read most of Faulkner's novels more than once (Absalom, Absalom, being my favorite). But times have changed and I was surprised by my patience being tried by the less-than-desirable characters. Getting older, I also find myself less patient with aspects of stories than seem contrived to shock; after decades of news, movies, and reading I find little actually shocking about "human" behavior so the attempts seem more artifice than art.

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Title: The House of Pride

Author: Jack London

Narrator: Patrick Girard Lawlor

Format: Unabridged

Length: 39 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-17-10

Publisher: Listen & Live Audio, Inc.

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The House of Pride, written by iconic American author Jack London (1876-1916), was first published in December 1910 issue of The Pacific Monthly. Author Jack London wrote The Call of the Wild and many other books. A pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commerical magazine fiction, he was one of the first Americans to make a lucrative career exclusively from writing.

Narrator Patrick Girard Lawlor, a classically trained stage actor, has performed on-stage throughout the United States and Europe. He has appeared in several feature films, as well as on the TV series L.A. Heat. His extensive work as an audiobook narrator has garnered numerous awards, including the Audie Award nomination.

Members Reviews:

Pleasant Short Stories of Hawaii

The House of Pride and Other Tales of Hawaii provides a brief snapshot back in time to what remains the most isolated, populated place on earth. London captures the caste system, the constant fear of leprosy, and the rise of multiculturalism in Honolulu through a series of intriguing short stories. Worth a read, particularly for those with an interest in Hawaii.

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Title: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Author: Mark Twain

Narrator: Patrick Fraley

Format: Unabridged

Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins

Language: English

Release date: 12-14-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 27 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

One of the greatest treats in all world literature, this masterpiece from Mark Twain is revolutionary. It offers both brilliant humor and tragedy as Huck and Jim explore moral dilemmas of slavery and freedom. Huck, the narrator, is shrewd, ingenious, and literal--he reports on everything he sees, which allows the listener to experience the hypocrisy of "sivilization." This superb reading by Patrick Fraley is rich in the color and adventurous spirit of the Mississippi River. It captures the world and people that Mark Twain knew and loved.

Members Reviews:

Great story telling

Huck Finn is one of the greatest American novels and a brilliant satire. If you were forced to read it in high school and didn't like it, forget about that and give it a fresh look. The book is not only insightful, it is also a pleasure to read. (True the n-word is offensive, but just listen to Pap's rant about voting and you'll understand the the use of the word exposes the ignorance of the people who use it.) Many books have been written about the story, so I'll just say a few words about the narration. Patrick Fraley's narration is brilliant. He does the accents well without overdoing them. He can handle multiple voices within a scene. Most important he understand the humor of the book. He has a knack for comic timing that enhances Twain's humor and satire. And he can switch (as the book does) from funny to somber in a way that captures meaning.

Very Enjoyable

The narration was a little over-dramatic but I got used to it. I enjoyed the story very much.

A true unabridged version with full Ch 16

This audio version is truly unabridged, with the original manuscript version of Ch. 16. Many printed and audio editions have an edited version of Ch. 16, which Twain shortened at the request of his editor. However, this removed portion contains some of Twain's sharpest satire on American culture.

Perfect Narrator

Patrick Fraley is the best narrator I've listened to. His voice characterizations are spot-on - his wide-ranging talent is phenomenal. I laughed to the point of tears throughout the whole book. I didn't remember Huckleberry Finn being that funny when I read it in high school. Patrick Fraley made the book incredibly entertaining. I highly recommend this audio version!!

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Title: The Jungle

Author: Upton Sinclair

Narrator: Raimundas Jonas

Format: Unabridged

Length: 13 hrs and 20 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-04-10

Publisher: Hudson Audio Publishing

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 23 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This 1906 novel by Upton Sinclair emphasizes the predicament of the working class and illustrates the corruption of the American meatpacking industry in the early-20th century. The story sets off with a dramatic portrayal of a Lithuanian wedding feast, which introduces the listener to all of the major and secondary characters: Jurgis Rudkus (originally "Rudkos"), his bride Ona, their extended family, and their friends. Drawn away from Lithuania by assurances of work, the Rudkus family arrived in the Back of the Yards neighborhood of Chicago at the end of the 19th century, only to learn that their dreams of a modest life are not likely to be fulfilled. The family had previously imagined that only Jurgis would support them in America; however one at a time, all of them - the women, the young children, and Jurgis' sickly father - are all required to look for jobs to contribute to the scanty family income.

They are confronted with a ruthless world of work in the Chicago Stockyards, where everybody has his or her price, where everyone in a position of power - including government inspectors, the police, and judges - must be rewarded, and where blacklisting is common. A sequence of ill-fated events - accidents at work, a number of deaths in the family that under normal conditions could have been avoided - draws the family toward ever more tragedy.

Members Reviews:

Last Chapter Repeated

Chapter 31 and 32 were the same. I'm not sure if the last one was repeated or they repeated the second to last and didn't provide the last one.

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Title: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe

Narrator: Sean Crisden

Format: Unabridged

Length: 17 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-20-10

Publisher: Hudson Capital Pty Ltd

Ratings: 4.5 of 5 out of 100 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

In this anti-slavery novel by the American author Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin is centered on the character of Uncle Tom, a long-suffering black slave around whom the stories of other characters - both fellow slaves and slave owners - revolve. This emotional novel portrays the reality of slavery while also stressing that Christian love can defeat something as damaging as enslavement of fellow human beings. Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling book in the 19th century, and second best-selling following the Bible.

Members Reviews:

The Narrator's Performance is AMAZING!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because the narrator was able to bring the book to life beautifully.

What did you like best about this story?

I enjoyed how Harriet Beecher Stowe showed a different side of slavery up-close and personally. She was able to allow the reader to connect with the characters and really get to know them on a deeper level.

What about Sean Crisdens performance did you like?

Sean did an amazing job! He had a different voice for every character, which made it easy to tell who was speaking. The voices he was able to do were simply wonderful - he brought each and every character alive. The way he allowed each character to speak showed so much more depth about their personalities.

If you could take any character from Uncle Tom's Cabin out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Uncle Tom, because he has so many valuable and coveted positive character traits and is a truly good person. I would try to learn some life lessons from him.

Any additional comments?

I had to read this book for school, and Sean Crisden really helped me to get into the book. I'm not a huge "bookworm," so having the audio was great!

Amazing Story...Emotionally Stirring Performance..

What did you love best about Uncle Tom's Cabin?

This performance is unlike any other others. I was amazed by how the author, through the performers, described the characters, as if you actually knew them ... I empathized with them and experienced their lives. I enjoyed the multi-voice discourse among the characters. I loved the twists and turns of the story.

Superb! Best ever narration.

Fantastic all the way around. Can't believe this wasn't required reading in my school daze. Great story and I love the way it was written. Very glad I listened to it instead of trying to struggle through it phonetically. Definitely one to keep in the library! The narration is probably the best I've ever heard.

Great story!

Wow what a story! I got this because we are reading in English and I have to say I really enjoyed this! I bought the paper copy as well and I'm glad I did. I can see myself reading this for a second time. Very powerful story and you come to love the characters in it. The speaker of this audible did a very great job too with their being so many characters I knew each one by the voice. Well done!

A "Must Read"

This classic tale, which is often credited with helping to change America's views on slavery just before the Civil War, is gripping and becomes even more powerful when, at the end of the book, the author explains that she is speaking from experience and many of the characters in the book are based on real people who lived the horrors of slavery.

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Title: Great Classic Stories II

Author: Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Mark Twain, Kate Chopin, Virginia Woolf, Aldous Huxley, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde

Narrator: Simon Vance, Kate Fenton, Stephen R. Thorne, Robert Fass, Bronson Pinchot

Format: Unabridged

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Language: English

Release date: 10-14-10

Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Ratings: 3.5 of 5 out of 53 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

This wonderful collection of 18 short stories includes work by some of literature's most treasured names, including Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, James Joyce, Virginia Woolf, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Oscar Wilde, and many more.

This superlative treasury includes "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe; "A Piece of String" by Guy Le Maupassant; "The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin; "The Mark on the Wall" by Virginia Woolf; "Nuns at Lunch" by Aldous Huxley, and many more!

Narrators include Simon Vance, Kate Fenton, Stephen R. Thorne, Robert Fass, Bronson Pinchot, and other talents, for a superb listening experience!

Members Reviews:

Another great selection of stories

This second collection of "Great Classic Stories" is just as rewarding as the first, with something for everyone, including comedy, tragedy, suspense, and romance.

From Huxley's brassy lunchtime companion to the sad teller of Gilbert's love story, nearly every story reveals an unforgettable character or two, and the narrators are first-rate. I particularly enjoyed Bill Wallis and Simon Vance.

Here are the stories in order:

YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN by Nathaniel Hawthorne

THE CASK OF AMONTILLADO by Edgar Allan Poe

COUSIN WILLIAM by Harriet Beecher Stowe

HOW I EDITED AN AGRICULTURAL PAPER by Mark Twain

A PIECE OF STRING by Guy de Maupassant

ANGELA, AN INVERTED LOVE STORY by W. S. Gilbert

THE NIGHTINGALE AND THE ROSE by Oscar Wilde

THE STORY OF AN HOUR by Kate Chopin

A JURY OF HER PEERS by Susan Glaspell

ARABY by James Joyce

THE MARK ON THE WALL by Virginia Woolf

THE INTERLOPERS by Saki

HEAD AND SHOULDERS by F. Scott Fitzgerald

THE STRANGER by Katherine Mansfield

THE BLIND MAN by D. H. Lawrence

NUNS AT LUNCHEON by Aldous Huxley

Entertaining!

This audio book would have been worth the purchase if only for the reading of Mark Twain's "How I Edited An Agricultural Paper." I bust up laughing every time I hear that story! However, this audio book is filled with great short stories and are sure to entertain and are read by a variety of great readers. I would recommend this to anyone!

Great Classic Stories II

The audible download does not itemize this book by each story so I have no way to find a specific story and play it. I see no index or table of contents to review to know titles, author, narrator, etc. Maybe I am missing something but that is a huge drawback.

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Title: The Innocents Abroad

Author: Mark Twain

Narrator: Robin Field

Format: Unabridged

Length: 24 hrs and 4 mins

Language: English

Release date: 09-20-10

Publisher: Mission Audio

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 99 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

What do you get when you combine classic travel literature with the inimitable wit of Mark Twain? The Innocents Abroad is a keenly observant, politically incorrect and often hilarious narration of the authors cruise to the Holy Land aboard a retired Civil War ship. First published in 1869 and the best selling of Twains works in his lifetime, The Innocents Abroad will delight listeners with the celebrated authors musings on historic landmarks, cultural differences, and silly travelling companions.

Members Reviews:

A step in the right direction.

Until recently, "The Innocents Abroad" was only available read by Flo Gibson. The Flo Gibson reading is one of the most horrible readings available.

I was glad to have this narration available. However, it's got issues: first of all, goofy music at the beginning of each chapter, first it was banjo, then crazy computer music.

The narrator adds some cheesy editorial "ahems" and some other noises that I don't think were present in the text. He also reads very slow in an attempt at a drawl. I was so glad to get a version other than Flo Gibsons, and was happy enough until I listened to Bronson Pinchots "Autobiography," then I knew how this book should have been done.

The Innocents Abroad is a great read, good enough to make up for the shortcomings of this narration, but we can wish for a Bronson Pinchot reading.

Channeling Mark Twain

Robin Field comes about as close to channelling Mark Twain as it's possible for someone to do in the electronic age. Contemporaries described Twain's voice as a somewhat high-pitched drawl, and Field's reedy voice comes close to matching that description. He delivers Twain's observations on the Mediterranean world and the people who travel to see it with mostly deadpan humor, occasionally pausing slightly for timing or not-quite-clearing-his-throat for emphasis. For a long time, the only version of this book available on Audible was narrated by Flo Gibson; and while Flo Gibson is always a delight to hear, this reading is clearly more Twain-ish.

The book itself poses some problems for the reader in the 21st century. Twain spares no one his satiric eye; the "quaint" customs of Old Europe come in for particularly acidic commentary, as do the fawning antics of the New World travellers. But it's when the book veers out of Europe and into the Muslim worlds of Turkey, Syria, and Palestine that Twain's voice becomes a bit grating. Twain had few equals when decrying the ravages of poverty close to home, but for some reason when he got to the Middle East, his usual compassion deserted him, and the behavior of people trapped in brutal poverty -- alternately begging, feuding, and slumped in despair -- seems to have aroused a sense of moral indignation at the victims.

Still, Twain was a hard-nosed reporter to his core, and it would be difficult to find more precisely-observed pictures of unfamiliar sights than the ones he sets forth here. This isn't the funniest of his travel books, but it's a good place to start.

An epic journey with digressions

What did you love best about The Innocents Abroad?

Well, Mark Twain is delightful the 5th time or the 100th time, and this is a book that had stayed with me 25 years, so needed revisiting.