Audiobooks narrated by Ralph Cosham

What I Was is a beautifully crafted and heart-achingly poignant coming-of-age tale that is set mainly in a hut on an isolated strip of land in East Anglia. The narrator is an older man who recounts the story of his most significant friendship-that with the nearly feral and completely parentless Finn, who lives alone in a hut by the sea. He idolizes Finn and spends as much time with him at the beachside hut as possible, hoping to become self-reliant and free instead of burdened by the boarding school dress code and curfew. But the contrast between their lives becomes evermore painful, until one day the tables turn and everything our hero believes to be true explodes-with dire consequences. "Rosoff's unconventional coming-of-age tale is elegantly crafted....[and] portrays how we often become who we need to be."-Publishers Weekly

Meg Rosoff (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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What Christians Believe

Master storyteller and essayist C. S. Lewis here tackles the central questions of the Christian faith: Who was Jesus? What did he accomplish? What does it mean for me? In these classic essays, which began as talks on the BBC during World War II, Lewis creatively and simply explains the basic tenets of Christianity. Taken from the core section of Mere Christianity, this book provides an accessible way for people to discover these timeless truths. For those looking to remind themselves of what they hold true, or those looking for a snapshot of Christianity, this book is a wonderful introduction to the faith. "If wit and wisdom, style and scholarship are requisites…Mr. Lewis will be among the angels."—New Yorker

C.S. Lewis (Author), Geoffrey Howard, Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Vision Quest: Searching for a Path to the Pacific with Lewis and Clark

More than a year and many hundreds of miles into their expedition, Lewis and Clark face their biggest hurdle yet: unless they acquire horses to carry them over the mountains, they will fail in their mission to reach the Pacific Ocean. With hope all but gone, Sacagawea, their young Shoshone interpreter, guides them to her tribal village. Though she knows it will forever change her people's way of life, Sacagawea helps obtain the horses, and thus ensures the completion of the historic journey. Marilyn Weymouth Seguin is the author of eight historical books for young readers. Marilyn teaches in the English Department at Kent State University.

Marilyn Weymouth Seguin (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Truth and Truthfulness

What does it mean to be truthful? What role does truth play in our lives? What do we lose if we reject truthfulness? No philosopher is better suited to answer these questions than Bernard Williams. Writing with his characteristic combination of passion and elegant simplicity, he explores the value of truth and finds it to be both less and more than we might imagine. Modern culture exhibits two attitudes toward truth: suspicion of being deceived (no one wants to be fooled) and skepticism that objective truth exists at all (no one wants to be naive). This tension between a demand for truthfulness and the doubt that there is any truth to be found is not an abstract paradox. It has political consequences and signals a danger that our intellectual activities, particularly in the humanities, may tear themselves to pieces.Williams's approach, in the tradition of Nietzsche's genealogy, blends philosophy, history, and a fictional account of how the human concern with truth might have arisen. Without denying that we should worry about the contingency of much that we take for granted, he defends truth as an intellectual objective and a cultural value. He identifies two basic virtues of truth, Accuracy and Sincerity, the first of which aims at finding out the truth and the second at telling it. He describes different psychological and social forms that these virtues have taken and asks what ideas can make best sense of them today.Truth and Truthfulness presents a powerful challenge to the fashionable belief that truth has no value, but equally to the traditional faith that its value guarantees itself. Bernard Williams shows us that when we lose a sense of the value of truth, we lose a lot, both politically and personally, and may well lose everything. The book is published by Princeton University Press.

Bernard Williams (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Treasure Island

This performance was awarded Audio Best of the Year.-- Publishers Weekly Jim Hawkins and his mother unlock a sea chest belonging to Billy Bones, an old sea captain who died while staying at their inn. Inside the chest was a logbook and map. Thus begins one of the greatest adventures of all time. Once again come aboard the Hispaniola in search of treasure with young Jim Hawkins, Dr. Livesey and Long John Silver. In the summer of 1881 Stevenson's first novel was inspired when he was helping his wife's son learn how to draw. He explained, '...I made the map of an Island; it was elaborately and (I thought) beautifully coloured. The shape of it took my fancy beyond expression...I ticketed my performance Treasure Island.' Narrator Ralph Cosham has recorded more InAudio titles by far than any other narrator, and he has received numerous awards to include several Audio Best of the Year awards & Earphone awards.

Robert Louis Stevenson (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Transcendence

Charles Sheffield (Author), Geoffrey Howard, Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Thinking the Twentieth Century

Here is the final book of unparalleled historian Tony Judt. Where Judt's masterpiece Postwar redefined the history of modern Europe by uniting the stories of its eastern and western halves, Thinking the Twentieth Century unites the century's conflicted intellectual history into a single soaring narrative. The twentieth century comes to life as the age of ideas-a time when, for good or for ill, the thoughts of the few reigned over the lives of the many. Judt presents the triumphs and the failures of public intellectuals, adeptly extracting the essence of their ideas and explaining the risks of their involvement in politics. Spanning the entire era and all currents of thought, this is a triumphant tour de force that restores clarity to the classics of modern thought with the assurance and grace of a master craftsman. The exceptional nature of this work is evident in its very structure-a series of luminous conversations between Judt and his friend and fellow historian Timothy Snyder, grounded in the texts of their trade and focused by the intensity of their vision. Judt's astounding eloquence and range of reference are on display as never before. Traversing the century's complexities with ease, he and Snyder revive both thoughts and thinkers, guiding us through the debates that made our world. As forgotten treasures are unearthed and overrated thinkers are dismantled, the shape of a century emerges. Judt and Snyder make us partners in their project as we learn the ways to think like a historian or even like a public intellectual. We begin to experience the power of historical perspective for the critique and reform of society and for the pursuit of the good from day to day. In restoring-and exemplifying-the best of the intellectual life of the twentieth century, Thinking the Twentieth Century charts a pathway for moral life in the twenty-first. An incredible achievement, this book is about the life of the mind-and the mindful life. "A lively, browsable, deeply satisfying meditation on recent history by a deservedly celebrated public intellectual."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Timothy Snyder, Tony Judt (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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The Wind in the Willows

The magic unfolds from the first lines of Water Rat's soliloquy about messing about in boats in this captivating version of Kenneth Grahame's classic. Although it's generally considered a children's book, get a copy for yourself as well as the child in your life, as you won't want to give this away. Ralph Cosham's performance is a study in characterization without over-dramatization. His Ratty is breezy and lighthearted, his Mole shy and considerate. His Badger sounds just like that gruff old man you once knew who had a heart of gold. And his Toad-- well, his Toad is perfectly insufferable. Cosham sounds as if he is reading his favorite work of fiction, and his affection is contagious. Originally from Britain, Ralph Cosham has been in the US for over 30 years. He has had roles in major films and television but spends of most his time with the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, D.C. He has a truly remarkable talent for reading, and has received many awards for his narrations.

Kenneth Grahame (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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The Weight of Glory

Selected from sermons delivered by C. S. Lewis during World War II, these nine addresses show the beloved author and theologian bringing hope and courage in a time of great doubt. 'The Weight of Glory,' considered by many to be Lewis's finest sermon of all, is an incomparable explication of virtue, goodness, desire, and glory. Also included are: 'Transposition,' 'On Forgiveness,' 'Why I Am Not a Pacifist,' and 'Learning in War-Time,' in which Lewis presents his compassionate vision of Christianity in language that is both lucid and compelling. 'Lewis combines a novelist's insights into motives with a profound religious understanding.''New York Times Book Review

C.S. Lewis (Author), Geoffrey Howard, Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome

The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion - Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome's legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made king - the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed. Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of "finder," but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar's wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead - murdered - on her doorstep. With four successive triumphs for Caesar's military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies and to protect Caesar's life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar's, Gordianus agrees to help but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, or where it will end. "Gordianus the Finder is a marvelous example of a credible early-history sleuth-sophisticated, cagey, and loosely attached to the shifting power structure of Rome in the time of Caesar. . . . Fast-paced action, a deeply realized main character, and accessible history make this series first-rate on all fronts."-Booklist (starred review)

Steven W. Saylor (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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The Stabbing in the Stables

Fethering's favorite sleuths are at it again. Jude and Carole Seddon find themselves in the midst of some horseplay after stumbling upon the body of ex-equestrian Walter Fleet at Long Bamber Stables. The police attribute the stabbing death to the mysterious "Horse Ripper," who's been mutilating mares across West Sussex and who Walter obviously caught in the act. But considering Walter's track record out of the saddle, Jude and Carole find that there are plenty of murder suspects, including Walter's put-upon wife and more than a few jealous husbands who wanted Walter put out to pasture. "A pair of sleuths who are winning enough to make the reader invite them back for more...Holmes and Watson with a dash of Laurel and Hardy."-Toronto Star

Simon Brett (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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The Snow Goose

On the desolate Essex marshes, a young girl named Fritha arrives at a remote lighthouse seeking help from its lonely inhabitant: Philip Rhayader, a crippled artist who has established a bird sanctuary on his land. The girl brings to him a wounded snow goose, which the gentle Philip takes under his care. Soon a friendship blossoms as he and Fritha nurse the bird back to health, though as the years pass, Fritha visits the lighthouse only when the snow goose is there. Then the outbreak of World War II draws Philip away from his home to help in the war effort—and suddenly Fritha has a new reason to return to the lighthouse. Beautifully written all the way through to its powerful ending, The Snow Goose has been in print since its original publication in 1941. “Written during some of the darkest days of the last century, this sad, sweet tale still makes heartwarming reading.”—Guardian (London)

Paul Gallico (Author), Ralph Cosham (Narrator)

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Audiobooks Narrated by Ralph Cosham