Showing results by narrator "Alastair Cameron" in All Categories

In this acclaimed Plato masterpiece, you travel back in time to attend an elaborate high society dinner. At this party, you meet Plato's mentor, Socrates, and the comic poet Aristophanes. During the banquet, each of these men is invited to praise Eros, the god of love and desire. You witness them deliver speeches that embody their wisdom and philosophies on love. You hear Socrates' celebrated account of Diotima, the prophetess who taught him that love is the manifestation of human goodness. Finally, you even hear from the famous Alcibiades.

This gloomy book is written in the form of letters exchanged between two cousins, Makar Devushkin and Varvara Dobroselova, who live on the same street in a shockingly deprived part of St. Petersburg Russia. Makar is a lowly clerk, who is being bullied at work and lives in the screened-off corner of someone else's kitchen and Varvara has taken in sewing as a means of avoiding falling into prostitution to make money. Their friendship is touching and sentimental, but it begins to suffer.

On Liberty is a book by John Stuart Mill, one of the most celebrated philosophers on the subject of leadership and governing ideals. The book focuses on Mill's philosophy on utilitarianism which is one of his defining principles. The principles of the book are focused on developing a relationship between the ruling authority and liberty.

"Night Mission", with its burning plane, heroism, and greed, was - like the other six short stories in this collection - inspired by Clive Lodge's experiences in World War II and the decade after. "There's No Scar Now" - with its gripping opener, "I killed John James Beresford", is set in Kent and draws on his experience in the Home Guard before he enlisted in the RAF. "The Tunnel", by contrast, is set in peacetime, some years after the war, but reveals how unpunished atrocities of war can haunt a person.

It's 1647: a time of bitter civil wars in England. Wayland, the village blacksmith, returns from army service to find his wife, Rebecca, murdered, and his son traumatised and struck dumb. Wayland's overpowering desire for revenge is thwarted by the collapse of laws and a dearth of clues to her sadistic killer. Thwarted, that is, until the villagers ask him to investigate a runaway horse. Whilst searching for its rider, he discovers instead the body of a young boy, cut with symbols in the same way as Rebecca's body had been.

Usually timid and subservient, councilor Golyadkin has lately become worryingly paranoid. After being humiliatingly thrown out of a party for acting erratically, he runs off into the night where he is shocked to come across a man who appears to be his exact double. The double follows him home and begins to insinuate himself into every part of Golyadkin's life, and alternates between befriending him and cruelly taunting him.

David Hume's An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding was considered to be one of the most contentious works of its time. Hume's view of reasoning through experience and "sophistry and illusion" in reference to religiously inspired fantasy was extremely controversial in the 18th century.

A repressed and fastidious Satyr from the lower classes dreams of wealth and success among the decadent sorcerers of southern France. Set within the Lovecraftian Eldritch Demimonde, and filled with elder gods, monsters, and fairytale creatures that live alongside the modern world.

Today, we do not use our ancient cosmic orientation to relate to the natural world as we once did. It's no longer determined by where we are or what time it is by the Sun's daily motion across the sky. Our perception of the outside world has changed, and we have lost our sense of wholeness within a great system. Factors such as our work and play rhythms, clothing, diet, and travel are affected by climatic and seasonal factors. These factors affect our unconscious sense of timing and our ability to communicate with nature, which we often overlook.

When a disgraced British spy goes under the knife at a secret research facility, he's as surprised as anybody to wake up on four legs instead of two. But barely has the shock registered, before a scientist is trying to stick a needle in his butt and put Tony Dodds out of his newfound misery.

In pursuit of his passion to create artificial life, Cornell University professor, Arthur Maxon travels the remote Pamarung Islands in the East Indies with his daughter and Dr. Carl Von Horn. Once the group is on the island and the experiments begin, it becomes clear how truly dangerous and unhinged Dr. Maxon has become. Born September 1, 1875, Edgar Rice Burroughs is an American author best known for his classic story, Tarzan. Burroughs's work became so successful that he influenced generations of science fiction authors, as well as the future exploration of space.

Within Utopia, the listener is taken to an island where there is an idealistic community with complete social harmony. In Utopia, the community owns all property and everyone works and contributes to society which has a balance of religious and social tolerance. Throughout history, Thomas More's Utopia has been the inspiration of many social movements. Although many of More's critics believe this type of utopia to be unachievable in human societies, his work does paint a picture of what life could be like if it were possible.

The Enchiridion and Discourses is a compilation of Epictetus's philosophical teachings. Although Epictetus spent much of his life as a slave, he believed that all people were free to control their emotional well-being and live in harmony with their circumstance and those around them. His works are a guide for applying philosophy to day-to-day living. Although many of the great philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, promoted grand ideas, they never approached the subject of integrating those ideas into everyday life.

Originally published in 1848 as a political pamphlet, The Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels would become one of the most influential works of the era. Written as a summary of the authors' political thought, the manifesto is also a reflection of the unrest and the revolutions of the time.

A Study in Scarlet takes you back to the beginning of one of the most renowned detective duos of all time. After being wounded in the Afghan war, Doctor Watson decides to rent a room from the eccentric scientist, Sherlock Holmes, and is quite intrigued by his new landlord's bizarre behavior. He soon discovers that Holmes is using forensic science to help Scotland Yard solve difficult cases.

Sun Tzu's book, The Art of War, is a detailed outline of how to win a war, taken from principles in Chinese science and philosophy. This ideology is divided up into three different parts and is written in a circular way with the first and last chapters relating to the same ideas and tying it all together.

Fey magic and animal magic: that troublemaking imp Trix Woodcutter has both, if not the ability to use them to their full potential. While traveling with his companion - the golden girl Lizinia - to see the King of Eagles, Trix is sent a vision of the Faerie Queen, who is in desperate need of his help.

Common Sense is a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1776 advocating for the independence of the American colonies from Britain and is considered very influential in American history. It stresses the logic of America's independence emphasizing the defects of Britain's monarchy and the economic cost of participating in Britain's repeated wars.

After her marriage to Jareth, First Lord of Clan Brannach, Viviane takes up the responsibilities and title of First Lady. But her most difficult task is learning to control her newly emerging talents, with psychic abilities as strong and varied as any first lord would have. On top of that, her brother Carl demands his right to face his accusers at his trial for treason, a bad idea with Viviane's out-of-control talents - talents enhanced by her emotions.

Hard Times, set in 19th century England, explores the moral and social thinking of the time. The rise of self-interest and the climb to the top has forced people to dehumanize themselves, and be more like the machines that run their daily lives. The Gradgrind family learns all too well the effects of social status on the soul as the family patriarch masks his own selfish interests in charitable donations and funding of schools.