Audiobooks narrated by Eric Meyers

From the president of Wesleyan University, an illuminating history of the student, spanning from antiquity to Zoom In this sweeping book, Michael S. Roth narrates a vivid and dynamic history of students, exploring some of the principal models for learning that have developed in very different contexts, from the sixth century BCE to the present. Beginning with the followers of Confucius, Socrates, and Jesus and moving to medieval apprentices, students at Enlightenment centers of learning, and learners enrolled in twenty-first-century universities, he explores how students have been followers, interlocutors, disciples, rebels, and children becoming adults. There are many ways to be a student, Roth argues, but at their core is developing the capacity to think for oneself by learning from others, and thereby finding freedom. In an age of machine learning, this book celebrates the student who develops more than mastery, cultivating curiosity, judgment, creativity, and an ability to keep learning beyond formal schooling. Roth shows how the student throughout history has been someone who interacts dynamically with the world, absorbing its lessons and creatively responding to them.

Michael S. Roth (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live without a Self

This audiobook narrated by Eric Meyers reveals why you don’t have a self—and why that’s a good thing In Losing Ourselves, Jay Garfield, a leading expert on Buddhist philosophy, offers a brief and radically clear account of an idea that at first might seem frightening but that promises to liberate us and improve our lives, our relationships, and the world. Drawing on Indian and East Asian Buddhism, Daoism, Western philosophy, and cognitive neuroscience, Garfield shows why it is perfectly natural to think you have a self—and why it actually makes no sense at all and is even dangerous. Most importantly, he explains why shedding the illusion that you have a self can make you a better person. Examining a wide range of arguments for and against the existence of the self, Losing Ourselves makes the case that there are not only good philosophical and scientific reasons to deny the reality of the self, but that we can lead healthier social and moral lives if we understand that we are selfless persons. The book describes why the Buddhist idea of no-self is so powerful and why it has immense practical benefits, helping us to abandon egoism, act more morally and ethically, be more spontaneous, perform more expertly, and navigate ordinary life more skillfully. Getting over the self-illusion also means escaping the isolation of self-identity and becoming a person who participates with others in the shared enterprise of life. The result is a transformative book about why we have nothing to lose—and everything to gain—by losing our selves.

Jay L. Garfield (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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The Foundations of Fiction - Sci-Fi

To know the future is perhaps the most fabled of wishes. In this volume we present a roll-call of classic authors including H P Lovecraft, H G Wells, Mary Shelley, Lewis Carroll, Jack London and many others who short story by short story establish much of what today is science fact. From space travel, the Internet, robots and cyborgs to voice control, organ transplants, mobile phones, these are just a few of the amazing and bewildering predictions that together bring a unique yet intricate account of the beginnings of this most prescient of genres.1 - The Foundations of Fiction - Sci-Fi - An Introduction2 - A Dream of Armageddon - Part 1 by H G Wells3 - A Dream of Armageddon - Part 2 by H G Wells4 - Doctor Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne5 - Master Zacharius - Part 1 by Jules Verne6 - Master Zacharius - Part 2 by Jules Verne7 - Photography Extraordinary by Lewis Carroll8 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London9 - The Color Out of Space by H P Lovecraft10 - The Conquest of the Earth by the Moon by Washington Irving11 - The Mortal Immortal by Mary Shelley12 - The Clock That Went Backward by Edward Page Mitchell13 - Plato's Dream by Voltaire14 - Caterpillars by E F Benson15 - Into the Sun by Robert Duncan Milne16 - The Blue Laboratory by L T Meade17 - The Crystal Man by Edward Page Mitchell18 - The Dust of Death by Fred M White19 - The Artist of the Beautiful by Nathaniel Hawthorne20 - The Tachypomp by Edward Page Mitchell21 - What Was It by Fitz James O'Brien22 - The Park of Kings by Alexander Kuprin23 - The Eidoloscope by Robert Duncan Milne24 - The Man Without a Body by Edward Page Mitchell25 - The Republic of the Southern Cross by Valery Bryusov26 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 1 by Robert W Chambers27 - The Repairer of Reputations - Part 2 by Robert W Chambers28 - Aepyornis Island by H G Wells29 - The Unparallelled Invasion by Jack London30 - The Voice of God by Winifred Holtby31 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft32 - The Flowering of the Strange Orchid by H G Wells33 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne34 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne

E F Benson, Edward Page Mitchell, Fitz James O'brien, Fred M White, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Jack London, Jules Verne, Lewis Carroll, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Duncan Milne, Robert W Chambers, Voltaire, Winifred Holtby (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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What Makes an Apple?: Six Conversations about Writing, Love, Guilt, and Other Pleasures

This audiobook narrated by Laurel Lefkow and Eric Meyers brings alive revelatory talks about art and life with internationally acclaimed Israeli novelist Amos Oz In the last years of his life, the writer Amos Oz talked regularly with Shira Hadad, who worked closely with him as the editor of his final novel, Judas. These candid, uninhibited dialogues show a side of Oz that few ever saw. What Makes an Apple? presents the most revealing of these conversations in English for the first time, painting an illuminating and disarmingly intimate portrait of a towering literary figure. In frank and open exchanges that are by turns buoyant, introspective, and argumentative, Oz explains what impels him to begin a story and shares his routines, habits, and challenges as a writer. He discusses the tectonic changes he experienced in his lifetime in relationships between women and men, and describes how his erotic coming of age shaped him not only as a man but also as an author. Oz reflects on his parents, his formative years on a kibbutz, and how he dealt with and learned from his critics, his students, and his fame. He talks about why there is more humor in his later books and gives his exceptional take on fear of death. Resonating with Oz’s clear, honest, and humorous voice, What Makes an Apple? offers unique insights about Oz’s artistic and personal evolution, and enables readers to explore his work in new ways.

Amos Oz (Author), Eric Meyers, Laurel Lefkow (Narrator)

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The Kid Wolf and Kraken Boy

Brought to you by Penguin. 'Kid' Wolffe is an up-and-coming boxer in 1920s New York. An honest fighter's got little chance at success on the mob-controlled circuit-until ambitious lieutenant 'Hinky' Friedman starts making moves to take over her boss's business, and sees a use for the kid. Teitelstam is a struggling tattoo artist, whose natural talent for ink magic won't amount to much without formal training. So he's got no idea why Hinky would offer him ten times what he's worth to come work for her. But Hinky has a vision for a better world, and her high-stakes plan to make it reality requires both Wolffe's fists and Teitelstam's magic. What neither Wolffe nor Teitelstam expects is to fall in love; and in this world, love might be more dangerous than deadly magic or an underworld turf war... © Sam J Miller 2022 (P) Penguin Audio and Rebellion Publishing 2022

Sam J. Miller (Author), Adonis Kapsalis, Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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The Paratwa: The Paratwa Trilogy, Book III

This is the third novel from award-winning novelist Christopher Hinz. Beginning where the critically acclaimed Liege-Killer and Ash Ock ended, The Paratwa chronicles the lives of the Irryan colonists as they prepare for the imminent attack of the fierce and vicious Paratwa assassins. Facing the threat of their dark enemies, Gillian must also cope with his inner turmoil, as the madness of his nature threatens to consume his life. He discovers that he is a genetically modified creature whose purpose is to serve the needs of others, and the course of his destiny is not in his own hands.

Christopher Hinz (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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Ash Ock: The Paratwa Trilogy, Book II

A quarter of a millennium ago, before the nuclear apocalypse forced the inhabitants of earth to flee their home planet, few humans could have imagined the course their path would take. Now, the orbital colonies are the final sanctuary of humanity and life is more dangerous than ever before. The colonists fear the return of their dreaded enemies, the Paratwa - ferocious warriors who are genetically engineered to exist in two bodies which remain telepathically connected. The new generation of Paratwa is far deadlier than the old, forming a powerful caste of fighter known as the Ash Ock. A mysterious virus infecting the humans database signals the return of their most feared enemies…

Christopher Hinz (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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Liege Killer: The Paratwa Trilogy, Book I

The 1980's cult classic, Compton Crook Award Winner, now remastered with never-before-seen added material Two hundred years after a nuclear apocalypse forced humanity to flee earth, humans still remember the most feared warriors of that planet - the Paratwa. These are genetically modified killers who occupy two bodies controlled by one vicious mind. The legendary Paratwa named Reemul, known as the Liege-Killer, was the strongest of them all. Now someone has revived Reemul from stasis and sent him to terrorize the peaceful orbital colonies of Earth. Is this an isolated incident, or has the one who unleashed this terrible power announced a gambit for control over the entire human race? File Under: Science Fiction [ New Classic | High Stakes | Defrosted | Double Trouble ]

Christopher Hinz (Author), Eric Meyers (Narrator)

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On the Gull's Road

Willa Sibert Cather was born on 7th December, 1873 on her grandmother's farm in the Back Creek Valley near Winchester, Virginia. After several years and moves the family eventually settled in Red Cloud, Nebraska and for the first time Cather could now attend school.In Red Cloud Cather had her earliest writings published in the local Red Cloud Chief newspaper. Her time in the mid-West created a vivid tranche of experiences for the young woman. It was still, for the most part, the frontier; a landscape of dramatic environment and weather, the vastness of the Nebraska prairie, as well as the many diverse cultures of the local families. Attending the University of Nebraska she published a well received essay on Thomas Carlyle in the Nebraska State Journal and thereafter became a regular contributor to its offerings. After being hired to write for the Home Monthly, in 1896, Cather moved to Pittsburgh. Within a year she became a telegraph editor and drama critic for the Pittsburgh Leader as well as contributing poetry and short fiction to The Library, another local publication. Her first collection of short stories, "The Troll Garden", was published in 1905 and contains several of her most famous including "A Wagner Matinee," "The Sculptor's Funeral," and "Paul's Case."As a writer Cather was now taking immense strides forward. By 1912 she had finished her first novel "Alexander's Bridge" which was serialized in McClure's to favourable reviews. Cather now began her Prairie Trilogy: "O Pioneers!" (1913), "The Song of the Lark" (1915), and "My Ántonia" (1918). All three were popular and critical successes nationwide.Throughout the 1910s and 1920s, Cather continued to establish herself as a major American writer and received the Pulitzer Prize in 1922 for her novel "One of Ours". A determinedly private person, Cather destroyed many old drafts, personal papers, and letters. Her will would also restrict the ability of scholars to quote from personal papers that remained. In 1932, Cather published her final collection of short stories, "Obscure Destinies" which contained the highly regarded "Neighbour Rosicky." She now began work on "Lucy Gayheart", a novel that was rather darker than those before it.With her career settled as one of America's greatest writers honours began to flow. In 1943 she was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The following year, 1944, Cather received the gold medal for fiction from the National Institute of Arts and Letters. However time was about to settle scores with her. On April 24th, 1947, Willa Siebert Cather died of a cerebral haemorrhage at her home at 570 Park Avenue in Manhattan. She was 73.

Willa Cather (Author), Eric Meyers, Ghizela Rowe (Narrator)

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An Open Boat

Stephen Crane was born 1st November, 1871 in Newark, New Jersey and was the eighth surviving child out of fourteen. Incredibly he began writing at the age of four and was published several times by the age of sixteen. Crane only began a full-time education when he was nine but quickly mastered the grades needed to catch up and move forward. Although educated at Lafayette and Syracuse he had little interest in completing university and was keener to move on to a career, declaring college to be 'a waste of time'. By twenty he was a reporter and two years later had published his debut novel 'Maggie: A Girl of the Streets'. In literary circles this was hailed as the first work of American literary Naturalism. Two years later, in 1895, he was the subject of worldwide acclaim for his Civil War novel, written without the benefit of any actual war experiences, 'The Red Badge of Courage'. It was indeed a masterpiece and his finest hour. A year later life began its downwards descent when he became embroiled in a scandal which was to doom his career. In attempting to help a suspected prostitute being falsely charged by a policeman he became the target of the authorities.Later the same year en-route to Cuba as a War Correspondent he met the hotel madam Cora Taylor in Jacksonville, Florida. This was to become the defining relationship of his life. Continuing his journey, somewhere between Florida and Cuba his ship sank, and he was cast adrift for several days. Rescued, he returned to cover conflicts wherever they were situated, some as far away as Greece. For a time he lived in England with Cora, usually beyond their means, befriending fellow writers such as H G Wells and Joseph Conrad. In declining health and beset by money problems, Stephen Crane died of tuberculosis, aged a mere 28 on 5th June 5, 1900, at Badenweiler, Germany. He is buried in New Jersey.

Stephen Crane (Author), Eric Meyers, Ghizela Rowe (Narrator)

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The Poetry of Stephen Vincent Benét

Benét was born on 22nd July in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. His father was a serving Army colonel and his first decade dictated that family life and education was centered at the base his father was serving from. From ten it became a little more stable when he was dispatched for a traumatic year to the Hitchcock Military Academy in San Rafael, California before graduating from the Summerville Academy in Augusta, Georgia and thence to Yale University, at age 17, where he quickly established himself in its deep literary traditions. He edited as well as contributed a selection of light verse to the campus humor magazine, The Yale Record, and gave freely and generously of his time thereafter to keep Yale producing new literary talents. Prodigiously his first book was published at 17 and for he obtained his M.A. in English when he submitted a poetry volume as his thesis.Whilst travelling in France, in the early 20s, he met and quickly married a fellow writer and poet, Rosemary Carr. She would also collaborate with him on several works. In Paris he wrote the book-length narrative poem of the American Civil War 'John Brown's Body', for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.Benét was immensely gifted. A mere glance at his literary CV dazzles with literary gems. Some of his poems seem to foretell both the rise of machines and of Fascism. He won the O'Henry Award on three occasions, for his short stories as well as an incredible four Pulitzers; two for poetry and two for short stories. Add in his several novels, speech-writing, radio scripts and various other pursuits and you have some measure of the man. In 1930, Benét was hit with debilitating attacks of arthritis of the spine which made the rest of his life one of much pain and discomfort.Stephen Vincent Benét died in his wife's arms on 13th March 1943 of a heart attack in New York City. He was 44. He was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 1944 for Western Star, an ambitious and projected five, six or nine book narrative poem (there are various accounts of its projected length) on the settling of the United States, for which he only finished the first book.

Stephen Vincent Benét (Author), Christopher Ragland, Eric Meyers, Laurel Lefkow (Narrator)

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Bartleby the Scrivener

Herman Melville was born in New York City on 1st August 1819. At the age of 7 Melville contracted scarlet fever which permanently diminished his eyesight. Add this to a contemporary description of being "very backwards in speech and somewhat slow in comprehension" and his opportunities for success seemed limited.His father died when he was 12 leaving the family in very straitened times. 2 years later Melville took a job in a bank and followed up with a failed stint as a surveyor. He went to sea and travelled across to Liverpool and then to the Pacific on adventures which included a mutiny, being jailed and falling in love with a South Pacific beauty. He was also a figure of opposition to the coercion of native Hawaiians to the Christian religion. These experiences helped provide the novels 'Typee', 'Omoo', and 'White-Jacket'.By 1851 his ambitious masterpiece, 'Moby Dick', was ready to be published. It never sold out its initial print run of 3,000 and Melville's earnings on his masterpiece was a mere $556.37.In succeeding years his reputation waned, life was increasingly difficult. His family was growing and a stable income was essential. Melville took the advice of friends to try public lecturing, as others had, to increase his revenues. He embarked on three successful lecture tours, speaking on Roman statuary and sightseeing in Rome. In 1876 he was at last able to publish privately his 16,000 line epic poem 'Clarel'. It was to no avail. The book had an initial printing of 350 copies, but sales failed miserably.It was only in late 1885 that Melville was at last able to retire after his wife inherited several legacies, enough to provide them with a reasonable income.Herman Melville, novelist, poet, short story writer and essayist, died at his home on 28th September 1891 from cardiovascular disease.Perhaps his best known short story is 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' an enduring story of a Wall Street lawyer and his very particular assistant.

Herman Melville (Author), Eric Meyers, Ghizela Rowe (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Eric Meyers