Essays audiobooks

A Place Like Mississippi

By: W. Ralph Eubanks

Narrated by: James Shippey

Length: 5 hours 26 minutes

Abridged: No

“This is the book all of us Mississippi writers, dead and alive, need to read. It is indeed a strange but glorious sensation to see your literary and geographic lineage so beautifully and rigorously explored and valued as it's still being created.” —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy: An American Memoir

The South has produced some of America’s most... Read more

So Many Ways to Lose

By: Devin Gordon

Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur

Length: 12 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

“This is a weird, wonderful, and essential book about both America and its pastime. It’s about a place as vast as New York City and as intimate as the human heart. Fred Exley meets Richard Ben Cramer—a funny, wild, heartfelt, and keenly observed portrait of yearning itself.”—Wright Thompson, New York Times bestselling author of The Cost of These... Read more

China - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Kathy Flower & Indre Balcikonyte-Huang

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 3 hours 41 minutes

Abridged: No

For thousands of years, the Chinese believed that they had created a perfect social system based on Confucian values and tempered by the Mandate of Heaven. Dynasties came and went, but the essence of being Chinese remained essentially unchanged until the twentieth century. Since then, change has taken place in Chinese society at an unprecedented... Read more

الهاشميون وحلم العرب

By: روبرت ماكنمارا - ترجمة: منال حامد

Narrated by: سامي العربي

Length: 6 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

يدور الكتاب حول الأسرة الهاشمية، وطموحاتها في مملكة عربية تمتد حدودها إلى جميع أنحاء شبه الجزيرة العربية. بدءًا من الشريف حسين، الذي توَّج نفسه ملكًا على الحجاز عام 1916، وصراعه مع آل سعود ليحافظ على حكمه. ثم أبناءه، فيصل الذي ذهب للجميع وقدم الكثير ليحصل على حكم سوريا وانتهى به الأمر ملكًا على العراق، وعبد الله الذي فاز في نهاية الأمر بمملكة... Read more

In Search of Mycotopia

By: Doug Bierend

Narrated by: René Ruiz

Length: 12 hours 35 minutes

Abridged: No

"The author’s sharp ear for dialogue imbues his word portraits with vivid detail. . . . Mushrooms are having a moment. [A] natural sequel for the many readers who enjoyed Merlin Sheldrake’s Entangled Life."—Library Journal "Comprehensive and enthusiastic . . . This fascinating, informative look into a unique subculture and the fungi at its... Read more

Life's Edge

By: Carl Zimmer

Narrated by: Joe Ochman

Length: 9 hours 14 minutes

Abridged: No

“Carl Zimmer is one of the best science writers we have today.”
—Rebecca Skloot, author of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

We all assume we know what life is, but the more scientists learn about the living world—from protocells to brains, from zygotes to pandemic viruses—the harder they find it is to locate life’s edge.
 
Carl Zimmer... Read more

How to be a Brit

By: George Mikes

Narrated by: Richard Goulding

Length: 4 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

George Mikes's perceptive manual for everyone who longs to attain True Britishness provides a complete guide to the British Way of Life. Having been born in Hungary, he eventually spent more than forty years in the field, and the fruits of his labour include insights on important topics including the weather, how to be... Read more

Planetwalker

By: John Francis, Ph. D.

Narrated by: J. D. Jackson

Length: 12 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

When the struggle to save oil-soaked birds and restore blackened beaches left him feeling frustrated and helpless, John Francis decided to take a more fundamental and personal stand: he stopped using all forms of motorized transportation. Soon after embarking on this quest that would span two decades and two continents, the young man took a vow... Read more

Russia - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Anna King & Grace Cuddihy

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 3 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

Discovering the Russian soul is like opening a matryoshka, a Russian doll, revealing the many layers. The Russian Orthodox religion is unique, Russian history is tragic, and the people are unpredictable. Russia’s military and political power, as well as the rich contribution of its art and culture, is the result of an inner dynamic not always... Read more

Korea - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide To Customs & Culture

By: James Hoare

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 3 hours 10 minutes

Abridged: No

Apart from the headline-making politics, not much is known in the West about the Korean people and their ancient culture. Yet those who visit Korea, whether North or South, find a land of great interest. The Koreans, when not constrained by politics or other considerations, are friendly and sociable, and the peninsula has areas of outstanding... Read more

Read Through Bitter Mouth Sweet Mouth

By: Rongbao Li & Zuoren Zhou

Narrated by: Rongbao Li

Length: 3 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

Narrated in Chinese, an old professor from Beijing University, at end of Qing dynasty, Republic and early People's Republic of China, tells about what a Ru-ism is doing: follow mass scribes, note strange or fresh bugs and fishes, chant spring wind and autumn moon with head and tail rotating, also explore the reason of country governance peace or... Read more

Spain - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Belen Aguado Viguer & Marian Meaney

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 3 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

In the popular imagination, Spain conjures up a picture of rapacious conquistadores, fiery flamenco dancers, and brilliant artists. All true enough—but how closely does everyday life in modern Spain conform to these dramatic stereotypes? This book explores the complex human realities of contemporary Spanish life. It describes how Spain’s history... Read more

Japan - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Paul Norbury

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 3 hours 12 minutes

Abridged: No

The Japanese people have always seen themselves as a nation uniquely apart. Their exquisite art forms and elegant culture, military prowess and technological precision, have long been the envy of friend and foe alike. Today, even as Japan adapts to a rapidly changing world, its traditional culture and consensus-based philosophy have proved... Read more

India - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs & Culture

By: Becky Stephen

Narrated by: Charles Armstrong

Length: 4 hours 8 minutes

Abridged: No

India’s huge population of 1.2 billion people is as varied and colorful as the spice markets of Old Delhi. Each region, caste, and community has its own culture, reflecting unique histories shaped by conquest, creativity, and religion. Steeped in ancient traditions, exceptionally fatalistic, and intensely passionate about their culture, the... Read more

Today I F****d Up

By: Thomas Mitchell

Narrated by: Simon Kennedy & Coralie Bywater

Length: 5 hours 57 minutes

Abridged: No

A toe curling, laugh out loud collection of worst day disasters.
 
I’d always rolled my eyes when people describe things as 'happening in slow motion'. Surely everything happens in regular time and it's only when you replay it in your head that it seems to slow down?But as the car lurched forward and I found myself sailing through the back of the... Read more

You're Leaving When?

By: Annabelle Gurwitch

Narrated by: Annabelle Gurwitch

Length: 6 hours 36 minutes

Abridged: No

From the New York Times bestselling author of I See You Made an Effort comes a timely and hilarious chronicle of downward mobility, financial and emotional. With signature "sharp wit" (NPR), Annabelle Gurwitch gives irreverent and empathetic voice to a generation hurtling into their next chapter with no safety net and proves that our no-frills... Read more

A History of Scars

By: Laura Lee

Narrated by: Emily Woo Zeller

Length: 5 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

From a writer whose work has been called “breathtaking and dazzling” by Roxane Gay, this moving, illuminating, and multifaceted memoir explores, in a series of essays, the emotional scars we carry when dealing with mental and physical illnesses—reminiscent of The Collected Schizophrenias and An Unquiet Mind.

In this stunning debut, Laura Lee... Read more

And Other Essays

By: Michael Cohen

Narrated by: Dan Cohen

Length: 5 hours 50 minutes

Abridged: No

In this essay collection, Michael Cohen presents the odd idea of the suicide note as a writing project that can be critiqued like any other, describes encounters with illegal border crossers in south Texas, and ponders the sudden popularity of books about atheism. Books are a frequent subject here, and Cohen makes an argument for The Maltese... Read more

Über Wahrheit und Lüge im außermoralischen Sinne

By: Friedrich Nietzsche

Narrated by: Benjamin Lucas

Length: 40 minutes

Abridged: No

"Die Wahrheiten sind Illusionen, von denen man vergessen hat, daß sie welche sind, Metaphern, die abgenutzt und sinnlich kraftlos geworden sind, Münzen, die ihr Bild verloren haben und nun als Metall, nicht mehr als Münzen, in Betracht kommen."

Nietzsches einziger sprachphilosophischer Essay, geschrieben 1873, veröffentlicht 1896, vorgetragen von... Read more

Apuntes para enfrentar el destino

By: Miriam Mabel Martínez

Narrated by: Diana Huicochea

Length: 6 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

Anecdóticas reflexiones sobre la modernidad, el arte contemporáneo y la globalización de la cultura. ¿Se puede meter en un mismo saco la vida de una mujer de campo, alejada de todo lo que tiene que ver con el arte contemporáneo, las amarguras de un crítico de la plástica moderna, y la lectura de un filósofo sobre las novedades de la tecnología... Read more

Die Kausalität in der Natur und andere Vorträge

By: Max Planck

Narrated by: Patrick Beck

Length: 7 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

Der Nobelpreisträger Max Planck (1858 bis 1946) war nicht nur einer der bedeutendsten Physiker, sondern auch ein Philosoph, der unablässig nach Antworten auf grundlegende, weit über die Physik hinausgehende philosophische Fragen gesucht hat. In zahlreichen Vorträgen, gern dabei Goethe zitierend, hat er die Ergebnisse seines Nachdenkens über den... Read more

Libros de las explicaciones

By: Tedi López Mills

Narrated by: Ana Ragasol

Length: 6 hours 59 minutes

Abridged: No

Atenta siempre a ampliar los límites de su escritura, a hibridar y potenciar los géneros literarios, Tedi López Mills entrega a sus lectores este insólito y sorprendente libro. A diario estamos a la caza de explicaciones, respuestas que nos guíen a través de los laberintos de la existencia: en este diálogo entre la conciencia más íntima y los... Read more

Thus Spoke Zarathustra

By: Friedrich Nietzsche

Narrated by: Saul Reichlin

Length: 14 hours 31 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by Saul Reichlin, known for their roles in War and Peace and Miss Marple. This definitive recording includes an introduction by R.J. Hollingdale, also read by Saul Reichlin.

Nietzsche was one of the most revolutionary thinkers in Western philosophy, and Thus Spoke Zarathustra remains his... Read more

On Living and Dying Well

By: Cicero

Narrated by: John Hastings

Length: 7 hours 20 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

This Penguin Classic is performed by John Hastings. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Thomas Habinek read by John Hastings.

In the first century BC, Marcus Tullius Cicero, orator, statesman, and defender of republican values, created these philosophical treatises on such diverse topics as friendship,... Read more