Essays & Anthologies Audiobooks | Literature

Great Detective Stories: The Purloined Letter, the Crooked Man, the Man in the Passage

Various Authors (Author), David Case (Narrator)

Audiobook

The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la

"The Last River: The Tragic Race for Shangri-la is a breathtaking account of the ill-fated October 1998 expedition of an American whitewater kayaking team who traveled deep into the Tsangpo Gorge in Tibet to run the Yarlung Tsangpo, known in paddling circles as the "Everest of rivers." For Wick Walker and Tom McEwan, extreme whitewater pioneers, best friends, and trip leaders, the Tsangpo adventure was the culmination of a twenty-five-year quest for glory. Yet the team's magnificent dreams crumbled when their ace paddler was swept over a thunderous eight-foot waterfall, never to be seen again. Here is a fascinating exploration of both the seething big water and perilous terrain of the legendary Shangri-la, and the men who dared challenge the furious rapids that raced through this 140-mile-long canyon. The Last River invites us to view the Himalayas from a totally new perspective -- on a historic river so remote that only the most hardy and romantic souls attempt to unlock its mysteries."

Todd Balf (Author), Dennis Boutsikaris (Narrator)

Audiobook

Bella Tuscany

"Frances Mayes, whose enchanting #1 New York Times bestseller Under the Tuscan Sun made the world fall in love with Tuscany, invites readers back for a delightful new season of friendship, festivity, and food, there and throughout Italy. Having spent her summers in Tuscany for the past several years, Frances Mayes relished the opportunity to experience the pleasures of primavera, an Italian spring. A sabbatical from teaching in San Francisco allowed her to return to Cortona-and her beloved house, Bramasole-just as the first green appeared on the rocky hillsides. Bella Tuscany, a companion volume to Under the Tuscan Sun, is her passionate and lyrical account of her continuing love affair with Italy. Now truly at home there, Mayes writes of her deepening connection to the land, her flourishing friendships with local people, the joys of art, food, and wine, and the rewards and occasional heartbreaks of her villa's ongoing restoration. It is also a memoir of a season of change, and of renewed possibility. As spring becomes summer she revives Bramasole's lush gardens, meets the challenges of learning a new language, tours regions from Sicily to the Veneto, and faces transitions in her family life. Filled with recipes from her Tuscan kitchen and written in the sensuous and evocative prose that has become her hallmark, Bella Tuscany is a celebration of the sweet life in Italy."

Frances Mayes (Author), Frances Mayes (Narrator)

Audiobook

Eiger Dreams

"No one writes about mountaineering and its attendant victories and hardships more brilliantly than Jon Krakauer. In this collection of his finest essays and reporting, Krakauer writes of mountains from the memorable perspective of one who has himself struggled with solo madness to scale Alaska's notorious Devils Thumb. In Pakistan, the fearsome K2 kills thirteen of the world's most experienced mountain climbers in one horrific summer. In Valdez, Alaska, two men scale a frozen waterfall over a four-hundred-foot drop. In France, a hip international crowd of rock climbers, bungee jumpers, and paragliders figure out new ways to risk their lives on the towering peaks of Mont Blanc. Why do they do it? How do they do it? In this extraordinary book, Krakauer presents an unusual fraternity of daredevils, athletes, and misfits stretching the limits of the possible. From the paranoid confines of a snowbound tent, to the thunderous, suffocating terror of a white-out on Mount McKinley, Eiger Dreams spins tales of driven lives, sudden deaths, and incredible victories. This is a stirring, vivid book about one of the most compelling and dangerous of all human pursuits."

Jon Krakauer (Author), Jon Krakauer (Narrator)

Audiobook

Great Classic Hauntings

"Feel the breathtaking tingle of suspense. Share the captivating horror of the supernatural in these six complete stories presented by a masterful reader. This audio recording includes: “A Watcher by the Dead” by Ambrose Bierce: a corpse brings death, dereliction, and madness to those who would play with it.“The Body-Snatchers” by Robert Louis Stevenson: a never-ending demand for bodies for medical dissection delivers nightly horrors.“Adventure of the German Student” by Washington Irving: a German student, caught up in the tempestuous times of the French Revolution, is intoxicated by the beauty of a stranger and pledges himself to her forever.“Dick on the Devil” by J. Sheridan Le Fanu: Barwyke Hall, isolated and sinister, is haunted by both the living and the dead.“The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe: the melancholy House of Usher afflicts its owner with a morbid gloom. It is justifiably considered one of the best stories of this genre ever written.“The Open Window” by Saki: a nervous newcomer is overcome by a surprising visit."

Various Authors (Author), Geraint Wyn Davies (Narrator)

Audiobook

Neither Here Nor There

"Bryson brings his unique brand of humour to travel writing as he shoulders his backpack, keeps a tight hold on his wallet and heads for Europe. Travelling with Stephen Katz-also his wonderful sidekick in A Walk in the Woods-he wanders from Hammerfest in the far north, to Istanbul on the cusp of Asia. As he makes his way round this incredibly varied continent, he retraces his travels as a student twenty years before with caustic hilarity."

Bill Bryson (Author), Bill Bryson (Narrator)

Audiobook

Great American Suspense

"Immerse yourself. Savor the best storytelling from the greatest authors of the supernatural; the haunting language and brilliant rendition create an extraordinary atmosphere. This audio recording includes: 'Ethan Brand' by Nathaniel Hawthorne: a lime-burner and his young son encounter the man searching for the Unpardonable Sin.'The Yellow Sign' by Robert W. Chambers: using the rich, gothic language of Poe, the author creates a similar shocking effect.'The Oval Portrait' by Edgar Allan Poe: a painter exchanges the life of his young bride for a painted image.'The Upper Berth' by F. Marion Crawford: apparent suicides aboard a ship lead to uncanny supernatural conclusions.'An Occurence at Owl Creek Bridge' by Ambrose Bierce: one of the most famous short stories ever written."

Various Authors (Author), Geraint Wyn Davies (Narrator)

Audiobook

Postcards from the Edge

"Here are the excruciatingly funny adventures of Suzanne Vale—a young film star and drug addict—who survives a rehab clinic only to rejoin the equally harrowing world of Hollywood. Out there on the edge, despair flips into hilarity, and we're left laughing as Suzanne struggles to come to terms with her various fantasylands. This stunning literary debut—read by author and actress Carrie Fisher herself—evokes the deliciously irreverent humor that formed the lens through which Fisher looked at life in the '80s: the stardom, the success, the sex—as well as the drugs, the desperation, and the insecurity."

Carrie Fisher (Author), Carrie Fisher (Narrator)

Audiobook

River Horse: A Voyage Across America

"In this abridgement of River-Horse, the pre-eminent chronicler of American back roads -- who has given us the classics Blue Highways and Prairyerth -- recounts his singular voyage through American waters from sea to sea. Along the route, he offers a lyrical and ceaselessly fascinating shipboard perspective on the country and its rivers, lakes, canals, and landscapes. Brimming with history, drama, and wisdom, River-Horse belongs in the pantheon of American travel literature. In his most ambitious journey ever, Heat-Moon sets off aboard a small boat he named Nikawa ('river horse' in Osage) from the Atlantic at New York Harbor in hopes of entering the Pacific near Astoria, Oregon. He and his companion, Pilotis, struggle to cover some five thousand watery miles -- more than any other cross-country river traveler has ever managed -- often following in the wakes of our most famous explores, from Henry Hudson to Lewis and Clark. En route, the voyagers confront massive floods, submerged rocks, dangerous weather, and their own doubts about whether they can complete the trip. But the hard days yield up incomparable pleasures: strangers generous with help and eccentric tales, landscapes unchanged since Sacagawea saw them, riverscapes flowing with a lively past, and the growing belief that efforts to protect our lands and waters are beginning to pay off. And, throughout its course, the expedition enjoys coincidences so breathtaking as to suggest the intervention of a divine and witty Providence. Teeming with humanity and high adventure, Heat-Moon's account is an unsentimental and original arteriogram of our nation at the edge of the Millennium."

William Heat-Moon, William Least Heat-Moon (Author), Jay O. Sanders (Narrator)

Audiobook

True At First Light: A Fictional Memoir Of His Last African Safari

"Both a revealing self-portrait and dramatic fictional chronicle of his final African safari, Ernest Hemingway's last unpublished work was written when he returned from Kenya in 1953. Edited by his son Patrick, who accompanied his father on the safari, True at First Light offers rare insights into the legendary American writer. A blend of autobiography and fiction, the book opens on the day his close friend Pop, a celebrated hunter, leaves Ernest in charge of the safari camp and news arrives of a potential attack from a hostile tribe. Drama continues to build as his wife, Mary, pursues the great black-maned lion that has become her obsession, and Ernest becomes involved with a young African girl whom he supposedly plans to take as a second bride. Increasingly enchanted by the local African community, he struggles between the attraction of these two women and the wildly different cultures they represent. Spicing his depictions of human longings with sharp humor, Hemingway captures the excitement of big-game hunting and the unparalleled beauty of the landscape. Rich in laughter, beauty, and profound insight. True at First Light is an extraordinary publishing event—a breathtaking final work from one of our most beloved and important writers."

Ernest Hemingway (Author), Brian Dennehy (Narrator)

Audiobook

Tips for the Savvy Traveler: The Audiobook to Hear Before Taking Any Trip

Deborah Burns (Author), Suzanne Toren (Narrator)

Audiobook

Please Don’t Eat the Daisies

"This collection of essays observes the perils of motherhood, wifehood, selfhood, and other assorted challenges. Since its publication in 1957, it has sold millions of copies and has been adapted into a Broadway play, a film, a TV series, and now an audiobook. Jean Kerr’s parodies of the clichéd 1950s prescription for glamorous or maternal feminine behavior still resonate today as we enter the twenty-first century."

Jean Kerr (Author), Marni Webb (Narrator)

Audiobook

Essays & Anthologies Audiobooks in Literature