Audiobooks Narrated by Robert Bethune

My Double Life: the autobiography of Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt embodied--and indeed, in many ways, invented--the persona of the superstar actress. During her life and after her death, she was constantly the center of a swirl of drama, attention, controversy and emotional display, both on and off the stage--and she did everything she could to keep the swirl swirling, fanning the winds and the breezes in all possible ways. The one thing that cannot be denied about her is her extraordinary ability as an actress. Even George Bernard Shaw, who despised the florid, romantic, highly emotional style of Bernhardt and her contemporaries, admitted her power to hold the audience. For him, despite his antipathy toward her style, she still had the power of "making you admire her, pity her, champion her, weep with her, laugh at her jokes, follow her fortunes breathlessly and applaud her wildly when the curtain falls...." In 1907, at the age of 63, with many, many highly successful performances--both on and off the stage--behind her, she wrote this autobiography. In it, she shares her stories, her feelings, and even her fantasies, which do sometimes replace her memories, vividly and with great personal presence. She wrote in French and this English text was published at the same time. She intended to write a second volume, but never did so. The English text is by an anonymous translator|it was probably done in a hurry and has its faults, but it is the translation published in Bernhardt's lifetime. It is a book that takes us back to a time when live theatre was the dominant mass medium of the entire world|when a woman performing French plays in French commanded English- and Spanish-speaking audiences around the globe|when there was a unanimity of spirit and taste between playwrights, actors and audiences utterly lacking in our modern world. Enjoy! A Freshwater Seas production.

Sarah Bernhardt (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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Economic Consequences of the Peace

John Maynard Keynes died in 1946, but his name is still one to conjure with in economics and politics worldwide. Although his contributions to economic theory established and maintain his fame, he also--particularly at the time in his life when he wrote the present book, Economic Consequences of the Peace--showed a flair for practical political work on the basis of economics in his work with the Royal Commission on Indian Currency and Finance. At the outbreak of World War I, he began working with the British Treasury|in January 1915 he took up an official position there. At the end of the war he was appointed as the British Treasury's representative to the Versailles Peace Conference. His experiences at the Conference formed the basis of this book. In short, he was so disgusted with the resulting treaty that he resigned his post. This is not a theoretical text. It is a data-driven study of the consequences that must follow if the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles were put into full effect. To the extent that they were|Keynes was largely proven right|to the extent that they were ignored, delayed, or abrogated altogether, Keynes was also proven right: such measures were never put in practice because they were impossible. Beyond pratical economics and politics, his book is also a clear call for intelligent magnanimity in politics, both in peace and in war. His vision is of a world at peace in which the prosperity of each nation contributes to the prosperity of all people. He clearly demonstrates the practical working of that vision in his analysis of the disasters that would happen if the effort to rebuild war-torn Europe proceeded on a punitive basis versus the positive results of proceeding on a basis not of enmity, but of equity. In order to avoid forcing the reader to listen to long recitations of numeric tables, there are small abridgements at a few points in the book. However, no substantial text has been removed and Keynes' arguments and methods of analysis remain intact. This is economics|there are some places where the numerical facts get a little dense, but Keynes succeeds in keeping his argument clear even when the going gets heavy. Enjoy! A Freshwater Seas production.

John Maynard Keynes (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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Walden, or Life in the Woods

Noted transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau spent two years, two months, and two days chronicling his near-isolation in the small cabin he built in the woods near Walden Pond on land owned by his mentor, the father of Transcendentalism, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Immersing himself in nature and solitude, Thoreau sought to develop a greater understanding of society amidst a life of self-reliance and simplicity. Originally published in 1854, Walden remains one of the most celebrated works in American literature. This version of Walden, or Life in the Wood was recorded as part of Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.

Henry David Thoreau (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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On the Duty of Civil Disobedience

First published in 1849, this essay argues that individuals have rights and duties in relation to their government. Motivated by his disgust over both slavery and the Mexican-American War, Thoreau argued that individuals must not permit nor enable their government to act against their own consciences. This version of On the Duty of Civil Disobedience was recorded as part of Dreamscape's Walden and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.

Henry David Thoreau (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Frontier in American History

Frederick Jackson Turner was the dean of American historians in his time. He originated, and he and his students popularized, the Frontier Hypothesis of American history: that the primary driving force in the development of American society and politics was the encounter with the frontier, conceived of as a vast area of essentially free land, a seemingly limitless resource available to all comers. This book, The Frontier in American History, is a collection of essays Turner wrote between the 1890's and 1918--itself a highly dynamic time in American history, a point which he addresses from the perspective of his ideas about the frontier in numerous ways. As all books must do, Turner's writing shows the influence of his time. He pays virtually no attention to the oppression inflicted upon Native Americans, and despite giving considerable time to the interaction of the development of the frontier with the issue of slavery, he gives very little space to the consideration of slavery itself. This should be no cause for surprise; he is, if anything, somewhat better on these issues than many intellectuals of his time. The value of his book--and it is a very valuable work--lies in his ability to synthesize the great migratory movement of Europeans and Americans westward across the North American continent into a coherent view of the nature of that movement, the ways in which the peoples involved changed in response to it, and the effects it had on the long-term development of the United States. The processes he describes have not ended. We are still dealing with the effects of our long engagement with the frontier in many ways. Enjoy! A Freshwater Seas production.

Frederick Jackson Turner (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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A Preface to Politics

Walter Lippmann still stands today as one of the foremost figures of American political journalism, social commentary, and cultural criticism. At the age of 24, he published A Preface to Politics; that same year, along with Herbert Croly and Walter Weyl, he founded The New Republic magazine. In short, he burst upon the scene. He went on to become an advisor to Woodrow Wilson and was involved in drafting Wilson's famous "Fourteen Points." He won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964, the Pulitzer Prise in 1958 and again in 1961. The fundamental message of A Preface to Politics is that statesmanship cannot succeed if it focuses merely on the forms and mechanics of government and the technical development and administration of policy. Political leadership can only be successful if political leaders attune themselves to the human beings they lead, keeping themselves abreast of their wants and needs and the social and cultural movements among them. No political mechanism can function without intelligent, perceptive, and responsive people to make it work. It is startling to see how relevant, indeed important, Lippmann's message still is, over a century after it was written. In our day as in his, deliberate lies and deception is the rule in the highest offices of our government. He saw the same fundamental corruption at work in our national politics as still pollutes it today. Then, as now, he emphasizes the vital importance of informal leadership exercised by educated, informed, energetic people who function as activists and visionaries in the endless process of maintaining a responsive society and government. Over and over again, Lippmann's message will make us open our eyes to what is still critically important. Enjoy!

Walter Lippmann (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table

Imagine a boarding-house in the days when the Civil War was still a decade in the future, in which an erudite, polished, witty, sophisticated, learned gentleman holds forth each day at breakfast, entertaining the boarders with fascinating talk: observations on people and nature, occasional flights of verse, remarks on current events, moralizations and philosophical thoughts, and anything else that comes to his mind. Imagine a boarding-house full of people putting up with such a man, and even liking and respecting him! There you have it: the Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table, as imagined by Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., father of the famous Supreme Court justice, dean of the Harvard Medical School, lecturer, writer, poet, co-founder of the The Atlantic Magazine, and as charming a conversationalist as one would care to meet--provided, of course, you don't interrupt him! And yet, for all his powers of mind, he is very human as well; there is one of the lady boarders, a certain schoolmistress--keep an eye on her! As if the charm, grace, and variety of this man's mind were not enough, the book also gives us a fascinating picture of life in the United States, specifically in Boston, over 150 years ago. The manners, morals, opinions, thoughts and dreams of Americans of that time are fascinating, both in their similarities and differences to our own, and in the ways in which the unspoken assumptions that underlie so much of who we are have changed and yet remain recognizeable. There are two or three passages in which the unquestioned, indeed almost unexamined, racism of the day does appear. We do well to remember that some of our greatest minds have thought and spoken in that way. For that reason, those expressions remain as Holmes wrote them in 1857. A Freshwater Seas production.

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Life of Napoleon: Volume 6

William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the sixth volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through his fall from power. He shows us how the situation of Europe at that time: England controlling the sea, England, Austria, Russia and Prussia massed on the borders of France, ready to consummate their twenty-five year struggle to restore the Bourbon monarchy. Nor were these the only enemies confronting Napoleon. Many of his own countrymen were ready to turn their backs on him, now that his aura of invincibility was at an end, destroyed by the disastrous campaign in Russia and further defeats in Europe. Hazlitt brings us to the great climax of the tragedy, the battle of Waterloo, and then follows Napoleon as he casts himself on the mercy of the English and finds himself transported to St. Helena. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great events, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition.of Napoleon as his most important work. William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the fifth volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through Napoleon's captivity on the island of St. Helena, his decline and his death. Napoleon is no longer involved in the great affairs of France and Europe, which gives Hazlitt the opportunity to focus as never before on Napoleon the man. We see the Emperor who once battled the combined nations of Europe engaged in constant war against the petty tyranny of the English governor of the island while preparing his memoirs and longing for his family, who were never allowed to visit him. In the end, death claims him. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great events, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition.

William Hazlitt (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Life of Napoleon: Volume 5

William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the fifth volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through his fall from power. He shows us how the situation of Europe at that time: England controlling the sea, England, Austria, Russia and Prussia massed on the borders of France, ready to consummate their twenty-five year struggle to restore the Bourbon monarchy. Nor were these the only enemies confronting Napoleon. Many of his own countrymen were ready to turn their backs on him, now that his aura of invincibility was at an end, destroyed by the disastrous campaign in Russia and further defeats in Europe. Hazlitt brings us to the great climax of the tragedy, the battle of Waterloo, and then follows Napoleon as he casts himself on the mercy of the English and finds himself transported to St. Helena. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great events, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition.of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the fourth volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through the the great turning point in Napoleon's life: his invasion of Russia. He shows us how the situation of Europe at that time: England controlling the sea, France controlling the land, and only Russia left as a land-based threat to France. He also explores the changes in Napoleon's life and mind: his divorce from Josephine, his marriage to Maria Louisa, his friendship with the Emperor Alexander--a friendship that turned to deep enmity. Last but not least, he shows us Napoleon adrift in a world strange to him as the tried to fight a war different from any of his previous campaigns: a war across vast expanses of open land, in which he could not pin his enemy down and force him to a decisive combat, as he had so often done in Italy and Germany. Hazlitt also explores how Napoleon's campaigns in Spain also led him into unfamiliar modes of operation and political situations that did not fit the models he had used up to that time. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great evens, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition. A Freshwater Seas production.

William Hazlitt (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Life of Napoleon: Volume 4

William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the fourth volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through the the great turning point in Napoleon's life: his invasion of Russia. He shows us how the situation of Europe at that time: England controlling the sea, France controlling the land, and only Russia left as a landbased threat to France. He also explores the changes in Napoleon's life and mind: his divorce from Josephine, his marriage to Maria Louisa, his friendship with the Emperor Alexandera friendship that turned to deep enmity. Last but not least, he shows us Napoleon adrift in a world strange to him as the tried to fight a war different from any of his previous campaigns: a war across vast expanses of open land, in which he could not pin his enemy down and force him to a decisive combat, as he had so often done in Italy and Germany. Hazlitt also explores how Napoleon's campaigns in Spain also led him into unfamiliar modes of operation and political situations that did not fit the models he had used up to that time. Hazlitt was a lifelong admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clearsighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great evens, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 18281830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition. A Freshwater Seas production.

William Hazlitt (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Life of Napoleon: Volume 3

"William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the third volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through the a critical period in Napoleon's life: his leadership of France as First Consul. He shows us how the political developments of the time conincided with Napoleon's personal development, the experiences that convinced him that France needed a new leader and how he came to believe that he himself was that leader. This volume ends with the greatest transition of all: from First Consul to Emperor. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great evens, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition."

William Hazlitt (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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The Life of Napoleon: Volume 2

William Hazlitt is one of the foremost writers of the English language. His fame as a critic, essayist and social commentator ranks with the likes of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. He considered his justly famous Life of Napoleon as his most important work. In this, the second volume of the work, William Hazlitt takes us through the history of Napoleon's campaigns in Italy and Egypt. In the course of these campaigns, and in Napoleon's life in Paris between them, we can see a young, brilliant military leader starting to transform himself from a leader of armies into a leader of nations. His brillian successes on the battlefield bring him to the adoring attention of the French people and the rather alarmed attention of the French government. The Directory finds him to be a very valuable asset and a substantial threat, both at the same time. Hazlitt was a life-long admirer of Napoleon and of the French Revolution, but his admiration was not blind. His analysis is both passionate and clear-sighted. At this stage in Napoleon's career, he focuses more on the great evens, less on the man and his mind. It is an appropriate focus; at this stage in his life, Napoleon's whole existence was wrapped up in those great events, his personal life was submerged in them. Hazlitt sometimes transcends and sometimes falls victim to the prevailing attitudes of his day. His thinking sometimes juxtaposes highly progressive ideas with casual bigotry. His text has been left as he wrote it; it is valuable to hear and remember that even great minds have held ideas we prefer to think we have overcome. The Life of Napoleon was originally published in four volumes in 1828-1830, not long before Hazlitt's death. It was later republished in a limited edition of six volumes by the Grolier Society. This audiobook is based on that edition.

Robert Bethune (Author), Robert Bethune (Narrator)

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