Audiobooks narrated by Fred Williams

"Originally published in 1918, this book considers topics that remain of vital interest to today's readers, including monogamy and polygamy, the double standard, sexual harassment, and declining marriage rates. Written in Mencken's characteristic no-nonsense manner, In Defense of Women crackles with controversy and caustic wit. "The truth is that neither sex, without some fertilization by the complementary characters of the other, is capable of the highest reaches of human endeavor. Man, without a saving touch of woman in him, is too doltish, too naive and romantic, too easily deluded and lulled to sleep by his imagination to be anything above a cavalryman, a theologian, or a bank director. And woman, without some trace of that divine innocence which is masculine, is too harshly the realist for those vast projections of the fancy which lie at the heart of what we call genius. Here, as elsewhere in the universe, the best effects are obtained by a mingling of elements."-H. L. Mencken"

H. L. Mencken (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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The Kiss and The Duel and Other Stories

"Here are the most unforgettable stories of a master writer who saw all of life and rejected none of it. In The Kiss, a lonely, love-starved soldier keeps a secret rendezvous for another man and becomes enamored with a woman he is never to see again. The Duel describes the collisions between men and women in hopeless relationships, and how two men are driven to settle the score in a clandestine meeting on a bridge, pistols in hand. In all of these stories, Chekhov's brilliant portrayal of people from all walks of life and how they deal with the moral dilemmas their circumstances press upon them comes to vivid life in the listener's mind. In all of these stories, Chekhov's brilliant portrayal of people from all walks of life and how they deal with the moral dilemmas their circumstances press upon them come to vivid life in the reader's mind. Other stories included here are "Excellent People," "Mire," "Neighbours," and "The Princess.""

Anton Chekhov (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Salambo: High Priestess of Ancient Carthage

"Beyond the gardens of Hamilcar's palace, beyond the walls of Carthage, the Roman hordes stood waiting to annihilate the noblest city of ancient Africa. Within the city, all was madness-the houses were filled with the screams of women and the streets teemed with terrified men. The veil of the goddess Tanit, sacred to Carthage, had fallen to Matho, Roman soldier-of-fortune. But when Salambo, the exquisite daughter of Hamilcar, rode into the Roman camp, into Matho's tent, to exchange her beauty for the veil of Carthage-he would throw away victory and forsake his army, his nation, and his soul for the price of her body. Set during the historical struggle between Rome and Carthage, Flaubert's novel offers a richly detailed portrait of the lives and rites of two ancient kingdoms moved by their allegiances to very different gods."

Gustave Flaubert (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Tales of Terror and Mystery

"This volume presents some of Arthur Conan Doyle's unduly neglected masterworks of suspense. Each begins in a quietly factual way, which makes all the more dramatic the crescendo of fear and puzzlement that ensues as each startling new circumstance is revealed. Even without his supremely logical brainchild Sherlock Holmes, Conan Doyle shows that his tales are unbeatable for thrills and excitement. This is a great opportunity for the listener to discover a new facet of the master's ability to mystify and enthrall. Included in this collection are six tales of terror: "The Horror of the Heights""The Leather Funnel""The New Catacomb""The Case of Lady Sannox""The Terror of Blue John Gap""The Brazilian Cat" And seven tales of mystery: "The Lost Special""The Beetle-Hunter""The Man with the Watches""The Japanned Box""The Black Doctor""The Jew's Breastplate""The Nightmare Room""

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Saint Patrick: Pioneer Missionary to Ireland

"Over sixteen hundred years ago, God raised up a man named Patrick to take the gospel of Christ to the people of Ireland. Seldom in church history has any missionary been blessed with a more fruitful ministry. The preaching of Patrick was used by God to transform many of the Irish people from idol-worshiping pagans into servants of the one true God of scripture. This biography seeks to vividly portray the true story of Saint Patrick and to encourage twenty-first-century Christians to be faithful to the great commission of Christ to 'Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.'"

Michael J. McHugh (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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The Poison Belt

"Professor Challenger summons his three best friends to come to his country house, each one to bring a cylinder of pure oxygen. When they arrive, the reason for this strange request becomes terrifyingly clear. Professor Challenger has become convinced that the earth is entering a poison belt of ether and that life upon this planet is doomed. In a sealed room, to the sound of the slow hiss of escaping oxygen, Professor Challenger and his friends wait out the night as humanity prepares to meet its fate… Also included in this volume are two other famous Professor Challenger stories, 'When the World Screamed'and 'The Disintegration Machine.'"

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Orthodoxy

"G. K. Chesterton was a journalist, playwright, poet, biographer, novelist, essayist, literary commentator, editor, orator, artist, and theologian. Orthodoxy is his great apologia for the Christian faith, which was prompted by a serious attack in 1903 against Christianity by well-known newspaper editor Robert Blatchford. Published just five years later, Chesterson's famous reply took the form of an autobiographical account of his own indoctrination into the faith. Rather than attempt to explain how Christianity can be believed, he emphasizes what fulfillment in this life can come from believing. His argument is that people in western society need a life of "practical romance, the combination of something that is strange with something that is secure. We need so to view the world as to combine an idea of wonder and an idea of welcome.""

G.K. Chesterton (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Allan Quatermain

"Thrilled by rumors of a lost civilization, three Englishmen decide to travel to the heart of Africa with their Zulu guide, where they meet with continual peril: an attack by a cruel warrior tribe, the scorch of underground volcanic fires, and an encounter with a huge species of ferocious black crab. Exhausted and depleted of supplies, the men at last arrive at a mysterious city in the highlands of the interior. The people, called the Zu-Vendi, enjoy a civilization suggesting Egyptian origin, which includes a sun-worshiping priesthood. The travelers immediately fall into disfavor with the priests by shooting some sacred hippopotami. More problems arise when Sir Henry falls in love with one of the twin queens who rule the land. Her devious sister becomes jealous, and civil war erupts. Drawing on his own rich experiences in the colonial service in Africa, Henry Rider Haggard has thrilled generations of readers with some of literature's greatest adventure novels, set in exotic locales all over the world. Written in 1887,Allan Quatermainis the sequel toKing Solomon's Mines."

H. Rider Haggard (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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The Golden Fleece and the Heroes Who Lived before Achilles

"Jason was born the son of a king, his destiny to rule Iolcus. But his uncle, King Pelias, who has taken over the throne, is not willing to give it up, so he cunningly persuades Jason to accept a dare to bring back the famous Golden Fleece of Colchis. Jason accepts the challenge, unaware that he is being conned into a dangerous and perhaps fatal journey far from the land he loves. Jason sets out, along with Heracles and Theseus, Perseus and Atalanta, and the sorceress Medea, on a wondrous journey in the shipArgoto strange lands populated by even stranger inhabitants. As they travel, Orpheus, the storyteller, sings songs about the gods and goddesses and the creation of heaven and earth. This book is the story of Jason, the Argonauts, and their quest for the Golden Fleece."

Padraic Colum (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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The Man Who Would Be King and Other Stories

"This collection brings together seventeen of Kipling's early stories, written between 1885 and 1888, when he was working as a journalist in India. Wry comedies of British officialdom alternate with glimpses into the harsh lives of the common soldiers and the Indian poor, revealing Kipling's legendary powers of observation. The title story, "The Man Who Would Be King," tells of two British vagabonds who set off to establish a small kingdom among primitive tribesmen in Afghanistan. From Hauksbee's Simla drawing room to Mulvaney's barracks cot and the wild hills of Kafiristan, Kipling re-creates the India he knew in stories by turns ironic and sentimental, compassionate and bitter, displaying the brilliance that has captivated readers for over a century. Stories included here are "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes," "The Phantom Rickshaw," "Gemini," "A Wayside Comedy," "At Twenty-Two," "The Education of Otis Yeere," "The Hill of Illusion," "Dray Wara Yow Dee," "The Judgment of Dungara," "With the Main Guard," "In Flood Time," "Only a Subaltern," "Baa, Baa, Black Sheep," "At the Pit's Mouth," "Black Jack," "On the City Wall," and "The Man Who Would Be King.""

Rudyard Kipling (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Under Drake’s Flag: A Tale of the Spanish Main

"In the days when England and Spain struggled for the supremacy of the sea, a young lad sails with Sir Francis Drake, the daring sixteenth-century privateer, in this action-packed story based on true historical events. Drake's superb navigational skill enabled him to outrun or outmaneuver his incessant pursuers. He escaped so often and so ingeniously that he became legendary and was assumed by some to have supernatural powers-even the Spanish tended to have admiration rather than hatred in their hearts. As Drake sails the Pacific on his great voyage of circumnavigation, the heroes pass through a variety of exciting and perilous adventures."

G.A. Henty (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Passages from the Diary of Samuel Pepys

"'The diary which Samuel Pepys kept from January 1660 to May 1669…is one of our greatest historical records and…a major work of English literature,' writes the renowned historian Paul Johnson. A witness to the coronation of Charles II, the Great Plague of 1665, and the Great Fire of 1666, Pepys chronicled the events of his day. His diary provides an astonishingly frank and diverting account of political intrigues, naval, church, and cultural affairs, as well as a quotidian journal of daily life in London during the Restoration. Pepys' vivid, unconscious style, originally written in a cryptic shorthand, reveals an ideal witness: honest, unpretentious, and true."

Samuel Pepys (Author), Fred Williams (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Fred Williams