Classic Audiobook Collection

The Influence of Monarchs by Frederick Adams Woods audiobook. Genre: history In The Influence of Monarchs, physician and early social scientist Frederick Adams Woods sets out to test a bold claim: that the personal qualities of rulers can measurably shape the fortunes of nations. Writing in 1913, Woods proposes a 'new science of history' he calls historiometry, blending biography, genealogy, and comparative historical narrative to look for patterns rather than isolated anecdotes. He surveys the rise and decline of fourteen European states and places their turning points alongside the reigns of kings and queens, asking whether periods of national strength align with monarchs marked by unusual intelligence, energy, and force of will. Drawing on large family networks among royal and noble houses, Woods also weighs heredity against circumstance, treating dynastic succession as a natural experiment in leadership. Part political history, part philosophical argument, and part early quantitative study, the book invites listeners to consider how much history is driven by institutions and social movements - and how much by the character of the individual at the top. The result is a provocative, method-driven tour through European monarchy and the causes of national change. Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:08:02) Chapter 01 (00:34:52) Chapter 02 (01:18:43) Chapter 03 (02:14:59) Chapter 04 (02:38:45) Chapter 05 (02:46:57) Chapter 06 (02:57:26) Chapter 07 (03:05:20) Chapter 08 (03:47:46) Chapter 09 (04:05:43) Chapter 10 (04:36:44) Chapter 11 (05:00:53) Chapter 12 (05:19:57) Chapter 13 (05:53:02) Chapter 14 (06:10:19) Chapter 15 (06:27:52) Chapter 16 (07:10:45) Chapter 17 (07:55:47) Chapter 18 (08:59:42) Chapter 19 (09:47:51) Chapter 20 (10:58:54) Chapter 21 (12:10:49) Chapter 22 (12:38:57) Chapter 23 (12:45:11) Chapter 24 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Oscar Wilde - His Life and Confessions by Frank Harris audiobook. Genre: biography In Oscar Wilde - His Life and Confessions, journalist, editor, and notorious raconteur Frank Harris offers a vivid, argumentative portrait of one of the most dazzling figures of the late Victorian world. Part biography, part memoir, and part personal testimony, the book traces Wilde's rise from brilliant student and apostle of aestheticism to celebrated playwright and social lion, while also probing the private appetites and risky choices that collided with the era's strict moral codes. Harris writes not as a distant scholar but as a man who knew Wilde, recreating conversations, drawing sharp character sketches of friends and enemies, and insisting on his own interpretation of what Wilde wanted, feared, and believed. Alongside the glamour of salons and opening nights, Harris follows the tightening net of gossip, law, and public outrage, and the devastating consequences that follow when wit and fame prove no shield. The result is a dramatic, intimate account of genius, self-invention, and the price of defiance, as well as a revealing look at the storyteller behind the story. Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:09:27) Chapter 01 (00:46:17) Chapter 02 (01:09:15) Chapter 03 (01:32:45) Chapter 04 (02:13:50) Chapter 05 (02:44:28) Chapter 06 (03:03:49) Chapter 07 (03:21:17) Chapter 08 (03:58:01) Chapter 09 (04:17:29) Chapter 10 (04:39:19) Chapter 11 (05:12:53) Chapter 12 (05:59:58) Chapter 13 (06:42:54) Chapter 14 (07:40:20) Chapter 15 (08:32:13) Chapter 16 (09:24:32) Chapter 17 (10:06:55) Chapter 18 (10:38:33) Chapter 19 (11:22:01) Chapter 20 (11:55:36) Chapter 21 (12:44:08) Chapter 22 (13:15:02) Chapter 23 (13:48:46) Chapter 24 (14:23:36) Chapter 25 (15:00:46) Chapter 26 (15:40:53) Chapter 27 (15:58:36) Chapter 28 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Rural Improvement by Frank Albert Waugh audiobook. Genre: science Written in the early 20th century by landscape gardener and horticulturist Frank Albert Waugh, Rural Improvement is a practical manifesto for making the American countryside not only productive, but livable, orderly, and beautiful. Aimed at farmers, village residents, and local leaders, the book applies principles of civic art to small towns and open-country neighborhoods: how roads should be laid out and cared for, how public grounds can serve community life, and how private homes, barns, fences, plantings, and farmyards can be planned with both usefulness and good taste in mind. Waugh treats improvement as a shared responsibility, arguing that prosperity alone does not guarantee comfort or dignity unless communities choose to invest in design, maintenance, and public-minded habits. Moving from broad principles to concrete examples, he connects architecture, horticulture, and town planning to everyday rural problems, from neglected streetscapes to poorly used commons. The central tension running through the book is how to balance economy and function with lasting beauty and civic pride, and how ordinary citizens can cooperate to raise the standard of rural life without losing its character. Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:04:55) Chapter 01 (00:24:42) Chapter 02 (00:34:53) Chapter 03 (00:57:41) Chapter 04 (01:21:40) Chapter 05 (01:35:47) Chapter 06 (01:51:26) Chapter 07 (02:06:42) Chapter 08 (02:22:38) Chapter 09 (02:37:45) Chapter 10 (02:58:41) Chapter 11 (03:14:55) Chapter 12 (03:35:30) Chapter 13 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Four Last Things - Death, Judgement, Hell, Heaven by Fr. Martin Von Cochem audiobook. Genre: religion Written by Capuchin priest Fr. Martin von Cochem, The Four Last Things confronts the great horizons that Christian tradition says shape every human life: Death, Judgement, Hell, and Heaven. In four sustained meditations, von Cochem speaks with the urgency of a pastor and the imagination of a storyteller, drawing on Scripture, the Church Fathers, and moral theology to make these realities feel immediate rather than abstract. He begins with the fragility of life and the inevitability of death, pressing the reader to examine habits, attachments, and neglected duties. He then turns to the particular and general judgement, exploring conscience, accountability, and the meaning of repentance. The book does not shy away from stark descriptions of sin's consequences in hell, yet it also insists that fear is not the final word, setting that warning beside an extended vision of heaven as the fulfillment of love, communion, and joy in God. Throughout, the central conflict is spiritual: the struggle between complacency and conversion, despair and hope, self-will and grace. Designed to be read slowly, it aims to awaken seriousness, encourage confession and amendment of life, and strengthen a steady desire for holiness. Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 01 (00:10:57) Chapter 02 (00:20:21) Chapter 03 (00:24:21) Chapter 04 (00:29:19) Chapter 05 (00:42:27) Chapter 06 (00:54:04) Chapter 07 (01:12:07) Chapter 08 (01:20:05) Chapter 09 (01:26:09) Chapter 10 (01:35:12) Chapter 11 (01:47:28) Chapter 12 (02:03:41) Chapter 13 (02:18:25) Chapter 14 (02:27:35) Chapter 15 (02:35:21) Chapter 16 (02:48:11) Chapter 17 (02:56:38) Chapter 18 (03:06:57) Chapter 19 (03:21:26) Chapter 20 (03:32:38) Chapter 21 (03:38:00) Chapter 22 (03:54:30) Chapter 23 (04:15:37) Chapter 24 (04:32:28) Chapter 25 (04:42:23) Chapter 26 (05:01:43) Chapter 27 (05:21:03) Chapter 28 (05:42:24) Chapter 29 (05:58:54) Chapter 30 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Narrative of My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians by Fanny Kelly audiobook. Genre: biography In Narrative of My Captivity Among the Sioux Indians, Fanny Kelly recounts her ordeal as a young woman traveling west with a wagon party when a sudden attack on the frontier tears her from the life she knows. Separated from her companions and thrust into an unfamiliar world, Kelly is forced to endure long marches, hunger, exhaustion, and the constant uncertainty of what will happen next. As she is carried deeper into Sioux country, she observes daily life in camp at close range - family routines, moving villages, ceremonies, trade, and the tense calculations of survival on the Plains - while also confronting the fear and grief that accompany loss and isolation. Written in a clear, urgent voice, her memoir blends eyewitness detail with the emotional reality of captivity: the struggle to keep dignity under coercion, the fragile bargains that can mean the difference between safety and violence, and the stubborn hope that refuses to die. Along the way, Kelly offers a window into a turbulent era of westward migration, cultural collision, and life lived under extreme pressure. Chapters (Approximate) (00:00:00) Chapter 00 (00:02:55) Chapter 01 (00:14:45) Chapter 02 (00:28:24) Chapter 03 (00:41:20) Chapter 04 (00:52:43) Chapter 05 (00:57:22) Chapter 06 (01:16:51) Chapter 07 (01:31:42) Chapter 08 (02:01:41) Chapter 09 (02:22:14) Chapter 10 (02:30:52) Chapter 11 (02:42:11) Chapter 12 (02:54:01) Chapter 13 (03:03:44) Chapter 14 (03:19:36) Chapter 15 (03:30:03) Chapter 16 (03:37:33) Chapter 17 (03:44:00) Chapter 18 (03:59:43) Chapter 19 (04:23:52) Chapter 20 (04:34:28) Chapter 21 (04:52:40) Chapter 22 (05:01:06) Chapter 23 (05:07:30) Chapter 24 (05:14:04) Chapter 25 (05:28:47) Chapter 26 (05:45:53) Chapter 27 (05:52:54) Chapter 28 (06:12:01) Chapter 29 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices