This is a tale of an old man, Roderick Usher, who is being driven mad after his sister died and was entombed in a vault in the basement. Over the course of the story the unraveling of a terrible atrocity comes to light and threatens to avenge everyone dwelling in the House of Usher.

The Fall of the House of Usher

In 1860 Baltimore, Benjamin is born with the physical appearance of a 70-year-old man, already capable of speech. His father Roger invites neighborhood boys to play with him and orders him to play with children's toys, but Benjamin obeys only to please his father. At five, Benjamin is sent to kindergarten but is quickly withdrawn after he repeatedly falls asleep during child activities.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Short Story)

This classic tale of intrigue, mystery and adventure takes place on the ivory harvesting and trade route in the Congo, in the depths of Africa. In this book, Marlow, a sea captain on a ship at anchor, retells a story of his assignment upon a steamer ship in the Congo to a group of his ship mates. During his mission he is asked to retrieve and return Kurtz, an ivory hunter with a resounding reputation where ever his name is mentioned, who delivers more ivory than all the other stations combined, and who has a reverenced effect on the natives. Passages and references from the book are sprinkled through other writings and The Heart of Darkness was the base content for the movie Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola.

Heart of Darkness

The Apology of Socrates is one of the earliest existing documents of Greek philosophy – everything earlier was lost and is known only through quoted fragments in later works, like those of Plato himself. Rightly so, the Apology is still, all by itself, an excellent introduction to Western philosophy and traditionally the first complete text read in the formal study of Classical Greek. Although the meaning has changed through time, the Greek word apología simply and precisely meant a defense, or a defense speech. At the trial for his life in 399 BC, Socrates astonished his listeners by appearing, despite his vigorous "Defense Speech", to deliberately get himself found guilty and condemned to death. Plato, who's presence at the trial is mentioned twice in the Apology, provides us with the only witnessed recording of the trial proceedings and the historic Apology of Socrates

The Apology of Socrates

This story begins at an observatory in England where the narrator witnesses explosions on Mars. This event is followed by what is thought to be a meteor landing not far from the observatory. Once the narrator travels to the spot of the meteor landing he discovers it is actually a cylinder and the cylinder contains Martians. The story chronicles the Martian attacks throughout many parts of England, even devastating London and the narrator escapes with many chilling and near death adventures.

The War of the Worlds

"The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock", commonly known as "Prufrock", is the first professionally published poem by American-born, British poet T. S. Eliot (1888–1965). Eliot began writing "Prufrock" in February 1910, and it was first published in the June 1915 issue of Poetry: A Magazine of Verse at the instigation of Ezra Pound (1885–1972). It was later printed as part of a twelve-poem pamphlet (or chapbook) titled Prufrock and Other Observations in 1917. At the time of its publication, Prufrock was considered outlandish,[3] but is now seen as heralding a paradigmatic cultural shift from late 19th-century Romantic verse and Georgian lyrics to Modernism.

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

The Book of wisdom is one of the Old Testament books of the Bible and is classified with a number of other books that have the main purpose of instruction . The author, although many times wrongly attributed to Solomon, was an Alexandrian Jew who was attempting to strengthen the religious commitment of the Hellenistic Jewish community and, if possible, to convert the Gentiles. The Book Of Wisdom has three main parts: chapters 1 – 5 stress the superiority of the pious and wise over the godless; chapters 6 – 9 praise personified Wisdom; and chapters 10 – 19 illustrate the marvels of Wisdom.

The Book of Wisdom

This book of Hermetic Philosophy claims to be the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. One of the foundations of the book is the dedication to the Seven Principles and there is a complete chapter describing each one in detail. Each one of the Seven Principles brings to light a number of ways to become more familiar with your self and become a better and more enlightened individual.

The Kybalion

The Prince is a political treatise by Machiavelli that is not considered to be representative of the work published during his lifetime, but is the most remembered. The theories in this book describe methods that an aspiring prince can use to acquire the throne, or an existing prince can use to maintain his reign. These theories include defense and military, perceived reputation, generosity, cruelty versus mercy, gaining honors, fortune and a number of other discourses.

The Prince

The ancient texts we call Greek Myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the mind of the poets, but also in the hearts of the humble natives of ancient Greece. Listen to the wonderful journeys and adventures of these ancient Greek Gods and heroes.

Greek Myths

Anthem is set in a distant collectivist future, when every form and emblem of individualism has been erased and society has reverted to a preindustrial level. In this novella, as many of her writings, Ayn dramatizes her philosophy of Objectivism in the main character. Its hero is a scientist in a world where the pursuit of knowledge is a crime, and he struggles against the established society to discover the meaning of individual freedom.

Anthem

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is a 19th century literary masterpiece and key philosophical work by Nietzsche. Zarathustra descends from his cave in the mountains after ten years of solitude, brimming with wisdom and love and wants to teach humanity. The individual lessons and sermons delivered by Zarathustra cover most of the general themes of Nietzsche's mature philosophy, though often in highly symbolic and obscure form.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

No book from the Bible is more controversial than the Book of Revelation. For many, the purpose of the book of Revelation is a message of comfort during a time of conflict, which ultimately results in a conquest and a victory over the oppressor. Although directly written to the Christians of the First Century, the message is applicable throughout the ages.

The Book of Revelation

Like many other philosophical writings, the Tao Te Ching is a timeless Chinese treasure. These ancient writings are credited to Lao Tzu, although some believe them to be authored by a number of persons writing under the Lao Tzu pen name. Nevertheless, this audio gives the listener a taste of the wisdom of age and the important values of human existence.

The Tao Te Ching

The Judge's House recounts the tale of a young student, looking for a remote location to study for his college exams. But the house he rents in the quiet town of Benchurch, delivers much more excitement than he ever could have imagined. Though Bram Stocker is inextricably linked with his infamous vampire novel – Dracula, he wrote many novels, essays, and short stories during his life such as this one.

The Judge's House

This short poem explores the death of a woman that the narrator loved so much that even the angels envied their love. This was the last complete poem written by Poe before his death.

Annabel Lee

It has often been said that there are two basic stories that define the ethos of men and women. For men it is the myth of Superman, the ultra powerful male figure who saves the world against evil. For women it's the Cinderella, the story of a downtrodden young maiden who eventually overcomes the miseries surrounding her to be saved by the dashing, rich and powerful Prince. It is a story that lives in almost every culture around the world to this day. As the story goes Cinderella is a young and beautiful young maiden who embodies the ideal values of good, piousness and ultimate virtue. The story starts with Cinderella living with her widowed father. The father remarries and when he suddenly dies Cinderella is left to be raised by her wicked and unjust step-mother, who dotes on her own two daughters. Cinderella is forced to do the chores and wait on the rest of the household, all the while maintaining her sweet composure. One day a nearby prince invites all the women of the countryside to a grand ball at the palace to choose his wife, but the step-mother does not allow Cinderella to attend. While home alone and almost giving up all hope, Cinderella is visited by a fairy Godmother who temporarily transforms her into a vision of loveliness and transports her to the ball where she captivates the handsome prince. As the clock approaches midnight, she must rush home and in the process loses one of her glass slippers. After a lengthy search the Prince finds Cinderella, they marry and live happily ever after. It is a theme about Good vs. Evil where Good is always rewarded after many tribulations. Everyone should read and listen to the story of Cinderella, if for no other reason than to gain a deeper understanding of the underlying values and perceptions that shape our modern world.

Cinderella

Contents: 1. Alice in wonderland 2. Heart of darkness 3. Don quixote 4. Curious case of benjamin button 5. The Raven 6. The metamorphosis 7. The call of the wild 8. The art of war 9. The war of the worlds 10. Apology of socrates

10 Masterpieces You Have To Listen To Before You Die: Vol. 1

This account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic was written by Lawrence Beesley and was first published in 1912. The interesting element is that Lawrence Beesley was a survivor of the Titanic disaster and provides a realistic account of some of the events leading to and following the sinking of the Titanic. The RMS Titanic was an Olympic class passenger liner that became infamous for its collision with an iceberg and dramatic sinking in 1912. The second of a trio of superliners, she and her sisters, Olympic and Britannic, were designed to provide a three-ship weekly express service and dominate the transatlantic travel business for the White Star Line. Built at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, Ireland, Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world at the time of her sinking. During Titanic's maiden voyage (from Southampton, England; to Cherbourg, France; Queenstown (Cobh), Ireland; then New York), she struck an iceberg at 11:40 PM (ship's time) on Sunday evening April 14, 1912, broke into two pieces, and sank two hours and forty minutes later at 2:20 AM Monday morning. According to the US Senate investigation, 1,523 people perished in the accident, ranking it as one of the worst peacetime maritime disasters in history and by far the most famous. Titanic's design used some of the most advanced technology available at the time and the ship was popularly believed to be "unsinkable". It was a great shock that, despite the advanced technology and experienced crew, Titanic sank with a great loss of life. The media frenzy about Titanic's famous victims, the legends about what happened on board the ship, the resulting changes to maritime law, and the discovery of the wreck in 1985 by a team led by Robert Ballard and Jean-Louis Michel have made Titanic persistently famous in the years since. This account by a survivor of the Titanic disaster was first published in 1912.

The Loss of the SS Titanic

A man alone on the Yukon Trail, except for his husky dog, is planning on meeting friends on a day in which he encounters severe cold that reaches 75 degrees below zero. His troubles worsen when he falls through the snow and gets his feet and lower legs wet. His only hope of surviving is to build a fire, but his lack of ample supplies, extreme elements and his own diminishing senses prove to be an impenetrable barrier to his existence.

Jack London Collection

To Build a Fire

A Letter to a Hindu was written in 1908by Leo Tolstoy to Tarak Nath Das, an Indian revolutionary and internationalist scholar. The letter was translated and reprinted by Mohandas Gandhi, who used the ideas of love revealed through non-violent resistance in his own ideological teachings. Non-violent resistance was a principle of Tolstoy's christian belief.

Leo Tolstoy Collection

A Letter to a Hindu

This story is told by Theodor Fischer, a boy who lives in a small Austrian village and quietly exists with his friends, relatives and community. One day a stranger appears in the village and befriends Theodor and his chums. He tells them that his name is Satan and he is the nephew of "the Satan". He is capable of all types of magic, predictions and apparitions that he reveals in various ways to the boys. But throughout the story Satan expels his wisdom on the character and futility of mankind. While the book contains the wit and humor typical of Mark Twain, the story line is considered a serious social commentary on Twain's criticism of organized religion.

World Classics

The Mysterious Stranger

These charming Japanese Fairy Tales were translated by Yei Theodora Ozaki in 1908. Although taken from actual Japanese folk stories, these Westernized versions are not literal translations. These stories combine fictitious creatures and magical animals with the lives of normal humans and provide an insight into a piece of ancient Japan. The stories in this volume include: My Lord Bag of Rice, The Tongue-Cut Sparrow, The Story of Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad

Children's Classics

Japanese Fairy Tales

These four excerpts, from the writings of John Muir, document his naturalist studies in a number of different settings. These highly descriptive stories detail his expeditions in the rugged outdoors. His documented studies led him to an awe of the natural splendors of the earth, and eventually to a position of preservation. His direct activism helped to save the Yosemite Valley and other wilderness areas. Four Excerpts are included: A Geologists Winter Walk A Perilous Night on Shasta Summit Nevada's Dead Towns People and Towns of Puget Sound

Steep Trails (Excerpts)

This story represents one of the archetypal and sorrowful dilemmas of an artist, which is the inability to live out their creative life on a realistic plane. As we follow the story we find the artist talking grandiosely about his magnificent artwork ideals, the values of what encompasses great works and his intimate studies of the great works as it relates to his own life. Sadly we find out that execution was not a part of his romantic plan. Then as you follow this modern tragedy what you will find is the enduring quality of the artistic soul as it clashes with the reality of modernity.

Madonna of the Future

Phineas Taylor Barnum is best remembered for his entertaining acts and for founding the circus that eventually became Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Through his entire life, fraught with many failed ventures, Barnum remained a resourceful entrepreneur with a deep conceptual understanding of the use of advertising. This story is filled with entertaining and insightful exploits of his troupe, the towns he visited and the ventures he attempted on the road to becoming "the Greatest Show on Earth".

The Life of Phineas T. Barnum

William Frederick Cody, known as Buffalo Bill, is one of the great icons of the pioneer years in the early American West. His exploits provide much insight into the life on the plains, with its Indians, cowboys, rough riders, and overall rugged existence. You are sure to enjoy this selection of entertaining stories from the Old West, written by the Honorable William F Cody.

Buffalo Bill Cody:  Stories from the Old West

Julius Caesar is widely considered to be one of the greatest military geniuses of all time,  a brilliant politician, and one of the ancient world's strongest leaders. Caesar was proclaimed dictator for life, and heavily centralised the already faltering government of the weak Republic. However, Caesar's friend Marcus Brutus conspired with others to assassinate Caesar in hopes of saving the Republic. The dramatic assassination on the Ides of March, ushered in Octavian (later known as Caesar Augustus) as the first emperor and undisputed leader of the Roman world.

The Assassination of Julius Caesar

This is Works included: - The Raven - The Fall of the House of Usher - Annabel Lee - The Pit and the Pendulum Edgar Allan Poe born Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and of American literature as a whole, and he was one of the country's earliest practitioners of the short story.

Short Stories Collection

CONTENTS: W.W. Jacobs - The Monkey's Paw EA Poe - The Pit and the pendulum EA Poe - The Raven EA Poe - Annabel Lee EA Poe - The Fall of the House of Usher Washington Irving - The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Classic Horror and Supernatural Short Stories (Golden Deer Classics)

CONTENTS: 1. The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs 2. The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe 3. The Judge's house by Bram Stoker 4. Legend of sleepy hollow by Washington Irving 5. The Pit and the Pendulum by Edgar Allan Poe 6. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe 7. Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe

Classic Spooky Stories For Halloween

A fascinating and insightful document on the theory of rebirth and the principles of spiritual cause and effect. This study tracks the belief in the theory of reincarnation throughout cultures and enlightens the listener to the principles that make this concept sustain throughout thousands of generations.

Reincarnation and the Law of Karma (Excerpts)

One of the most fascinating psychological struggles of the modern world revolves around the competing tension between existential philosophy and metaphysical spirituality. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man beautifully encapsulates the extremes of both points of view and provides the listener a front row seat to a battle that still rages today.

The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

Gallegos represents the genre of independent writers that follow in the classic vein of story telling. Bar Room Brawls is an eclectic sampling from his latest collection of short stories and poems. The stories address the modern dilemmas of life, occasionally tapping into surreal metaphysical absurdities, yet always nested in a familiar and contemporary setting. Titles in this Collection: Then is Now Alligator College Bound Happy Hour Debris Myth of Etan

Bar Room Brawls

This well-known short story tells of an adulterous affair between a Russian banker, Dmitry Gurov and a young lady he meets while vacationing in Yalta, Anna Von Diederitz. The couple spend much time together but since Anna is married and lives far away, Gurov has obstacles to overcome in formalizing this relationship.

The Lady with a Dog

What if your house pet could talk? It has probably seen and heard quite a few things that you would not want spread around at a dinner party of your friends and acquaintances. Well that is exactly what happens in this short story. Listen in to see how quick the conversation can take a bad turn and how a houseful of guests handle the stress of a cat named Tobermory that can speak it's mind.

Tobermory

This is a famous tale of an old schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, who transfers to a small secluded settlement called Sleepy Hollow. During the course of the story Ichabod competes with the town bully, Brom Bones over the hand of Katrina Van Tassel. Listen to the story as one night Ichabod leaves a lively party of food, drink and scary story telling only to confront the infamous Headless Horseman.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

This story is about a young soldier, Henry Fleming, fighting in the American Civil War. It is a vivid and stark portrayal of war on the human psyche, interspersed with symbolic imagery and biblical metaphors. The story realistically portrays the young soldier's physical and psychological struggles after fleeing from his first encounter with a battle. He returns to his regiment to become a strong soldier and even taking on the task of the flag bearer in the final battle. Though Stephen Crane had never been in any combat situations, his interviews with a wide number of veterans enabled him to create this novel, widely regarded as a unusually realistic depiction of a young man in battle.

The Red Badge of Courage

Around the world in 80 days is an entertaining and light story about Phileas Fogg, a wealthy bachelor who makes a wager with a friend at his club regarding how long it would take for a person to circumnavigate the globe. Not wanting to lose his bet, he immediately embarks on a trip around the world with his valet Passepartout. Follow along on their extravagant adventure on a number of fascinating transportation modes that must be fully completed within 80 days or the bet is lost.

Around the World in 80 Days

In this autobiography, the American industrialist Henry Ford wrote, 'Repetitive labor… is a terrifying prospect to a certain kind of mind… but to other minds, perhaps I might say the majority of minds, repetitive operations hold no terrors.' Pushing the 'efficiency of movement' system of Frederick Winslow Taylor to its ultimate realization, Ford tirelessly toiled to reduce factory and assembly line work to its essential operations. This, in turn, reduced factory workers to automatons, seemingly nothing more than extensions of the machines for which they labored. Ford was not bothered by the prospect of reducing people to machines, since he firmly believed that it did not bother them and that they could do no better. But, paradoxically, and like all the great American industrialists, Ford feared the prospect that these 'mindless automatons' might get organized and demand their rights. So along with efficiency of movement came a system of indoctrination and punishment to insure that workers obeyed orders. In short, the industrialized west was built on the systematic oppression of its working people.

The Terror of the Machine

This short story is about the stressful relationship between a son and his father. The family lives in a small house in the Russian countryside. Poverty has played a toll on how the father reacts to his childs need for money to attend college. An emotional conversation ensues.

Difficult People

Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr, along with many others, have referred to the influence that this work, written by Leo Tolstoy, has had on their psyche, and subsequent permanent change in their state of mind. The selected excerpt, from this much larger writing, reveal Tolstoy's philosophy regarding the literal interpretation of Christ's teachings and his fundamental ideas on nonviolent resistance.

The Kingdom of God is Within You

This story is from the book the Happy Prince and other Stories. In these tales, most of them being sad and even very sad, Oscar Wilde looks for a way to save one's soul in front of the misery of the world. In these tales the character will manage to obtain their salvation from their upper class blindness, by opening their eyes to misery and suffering and by doing what they can to repair these pains and evils.

The Nightingale and the Rose

The main character in this short story is Gabriel Conroy and the entire short story takes place during his attendance at a holiday party, annually thrown by his aunts. Near the end of the party Gabriel sees his wife, Gretta, in a new and expanded way at the same moment when she is reminiscing on a song being sung at the party. Listen as James Joyce weaves harsh realities back into this story, as is characteristic with other stories in this series, Dubliners.

The Dead

The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a talking raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow fall into madness. The lover, often identified as being a student, is lamenting the loss of his love, Lenore. Sitting on a bust of Pallas, the raven seems to further instigate his distress with its constant repetition of the word "Nevermore". The poem makes use of folk, mythological, religious, and classical references. Poe claimed to have written the poem logically and methodically, intending to create a poem that would appeal to both critical and popular tastes, as he explained in his 1846 follow-up essay, "The Philosophy of Composition". The poem was inspired in part by a talking raven in the novel Barnaby Rudge: A Tale of the Riots of 'Eighty by Charles Dickens. Poe borrows the complex rhythm and meter of Elizabeth Barrett's poem "Lady Geraldine's Courtship", and makes use of internal rhyme as well as alliteration throughout. "The Raven" was first attributed to Poe in print in the New York Evening Mirror on January 29, 1845. Its publication made Poe popular in his lifetime, although it did not bring him much financial success. The poem was soon reprinted, parodied, and illustrated. Critical opinion is divided as to the poem's literary status, but it nevertheless remains one of the most famous poems ever written.

The Raven

From Book IV of the Republic. Plato's description of the effects of knowledge and how it is to be gained. It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and Socrates.

The Allegory of the Cave

Call of the Wild is the story of Buck, a magnificent dog who is stolen from his idyllic life and sold for use on a Yukon dogsled team. His travels are not only of a physical nature, as he learns hard discipline from men who must discipline their dog teams, but his own journey back to his primordial roots in the frozen tundra – the roots of wolf. This amazing story of transformation is beautifully written and provides a glimpse of the hard life in the Yukon Territory during the 1900s.

The Call of the Wild

In the modern era, we take the concept of Enlightenment for granted. The concepts of personal freedom, liberty and the ability to think for one-self have become a personal choice and fundamental to our everyday lives. Yet in 1784, when the essay was written, the concept of Enlightenment was an emerging idea and still a vague notion to most people. What is important for the modern listener in this essay is how Kant outlines those things that discourage enlightenment as well as those things that can enhance it on a personal and social level. The WIKIPEDIA link below provides a more detailed analysis of the essay, although the listener will appreciate how many of the issues defined by Kant are still relevant in today's world.

What is Enlightenment?

The Blue Cross is the first Father Brown short story by Chesterton, who went on to write an entire series of Father Brown Mysteries. In this story, Aristide Valentin, head of the Paris Police, is on the trail of the world's most famous criminal, Flambeau, who is a master of disguise, and may appear to be anyone. Valentin deduces that Flambeau is going to try and steal The Blue Cross, a priceless silver cross with precious blue stones. Valentin must stop him, but in this case it is actually Father Brown who is the better detective.

The Blue Cross

Kahlil Gibran (author of The Prophet) was a Lebanese-American philosophical essayist, novelist, mystical poet and artist. During the last 20 years of his life, he lived in the United States, where his works gained recognition and influence within the American popular culture. This abridged audio of The Madman communicates in stories and metaphors Gibran's belief that if a sensible way of living and thinking could be found, people would have mastery over their lives.

The Madman

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