Essays audiobooks

The Innocents Abroad

By: Mark Twain

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 18 hours 13 minutes

Abridged: No

In June 1867, Mark Twain set out for Europe and the Holy Land on the paddle steamer Quaker City. His enduring, no-nonsense guide for the first-time traveler also served as an antidote to the insufferably romantic travel books of the period.“Who could read the programme for the excursion without longing to make one of the party?”So Mark Twain... Read more

A Marriage Made in Heaven, or Too Tired for an Affair

By: Erma Bombeck

Narrated by: C. M. Hébert

Length: 5 hours 4 minutes

Abridged: No

“I now pronounce you husband and wife.” There are few phrases as sobering, with the possible exceptions of “We have lift-off” and “This country is at war.” Yet, as they have done for centuries, millions of courageous men and women continue to walk down the aisle every year, without so much as a job description. Now, in her most autobiographical... Read more

Future Science

By: Max Brockman

Narrated by: Various

Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

In this fascinating collection of writings that introduce the very latest theories and discoveries in science, editor Max Brockman presents the work of some of today’s brightest and most innovative young researchers. 
 
Future Science features eighteen young scientists, most of whom are presenting their work and ideas to a general audience for the... Read more

The Secret Knowledge

By: David Mamet

Narrated by: Johnny Heller

Length: 6 hours 46 minutes

Abridged: No

For the past thirty years, David Mamet has been a controversial and defining force in theater and film, championing the most cherished liberal values along the way. In some of the great movies and plays of our time, his characters have explored the ethics of the business world, embodied the struggles of the oppressed, and faced the flaws of the... Read more

Hope and Glory

By: Stuart Maconie

Narrated by: Stuart Maconie

Length: 12 hours 44 minutes

Abridged: No

Brought to you by Penguin.

In Hope and Glory Stuart goes in search of the places, people and events of the century we have just left behind that have shaped the look and character of modern Britain. From the death of Victoria to the demise of New Labour, he takes a single event from each decade of the 20th century that offers up a defining moment... Read more

My First Summer in the Sierra

By: John Muir

Narrated by: Brett Barry

Length: 6 hours

Abridged: No

It was June of 1869 when John Muir reluctantly accepted a job herding sheep from the central valley of California to the headwaters of the Merced and Tuolumne Rivers, high into the Sierra Nevadas and deep into the Yosemite region. He felt ill-equipped for the work, and yet the opportunity thrilled his adventurous spirit. With a notebook tied to... Read more

Geldof In Africa

By: Bob Geldof

Narrated by: Bob Geldof

Length: 8 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

Bob Geldof first visited Africa in 1984. The following year, Live Aid inspired a generation to raise millions for the starving in Africa.

Over twenty years on, passion undiminished, Geldof returns to what he calls the Luminous Continent. This is his personal diary. Unflinchingly honest, and stunningly illustrated with his own photographs, Geldof... Read more

Deutsche Sagen und Legenden

By: Christine Giersberg

Narrated by: Michael Nowack & Uve Teschner

Length: 2 hours 26 minutes

Abridged: No

Deutsche Sagen und Legenden ist ein literarischer Streifzug durch die Sagenwelt Deutschlands. Von Bayern ins Rheinland - vom Erzgebirge bis zur Ostsee. Hören Sie fantastische Erzählungen von stolzen Helden, pfiffigen Narren, mächtigen Riesen, wachsamen Berggeistern, neckischen Kobolden, fleißigen Männchen und klugen Wasserfrauen. Erzählt werden:... Read more

Travels with Charley in Search of America

By: John Steinbeck

Narrated by: Gary Sinise

Length: 7 hours 58 minutes

Abridged: No

An intimate journey across America, as told by one of its most beloved writers
 
To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the light—these were John Steinbeck's goals as he set out, at the age of fifty-eight, to rediscover the country he had been writing about for so many years.

With Charley,... Read more

Dave Gorman Vs the Rest of the World

By: Dave Gorman

Narrated by: Dave Gorman

Length: 8 hours 39 minutes

Abridged: No

Remember when you were a kid, and you used to go round to a friend's house to see if they were playing? Well, as adults we're not supposed to do that. Which is a shame... because Dave Gorman likes playing. He REALLY likes games. So he knocked on the biggest door you could ever imagine - the internet - and asked 76,000 people if they fancied a... Read more

Autobiography of a Fat Bride

By: Laurie Notaro

Narrated by: Hillary Huber

Length: 7 hours 54 minutes

Abridged: No

In Autobiography of a Fat Bride, Laurie Notaro tries painfully to make the transition from all-night partyer and bar-stool regular to mortgagee with plumbing problems and no air conditioning. Laurie finds grown-up life just as harrowing as her reckless youth, as she meets Mr. Right, moves in, settles down, and crosses the toe-stubbing threshold... Read more

NPR Driveway Moments Dog Tales

By: NPR

Length: 2 hours 7 minutes

Abridged: No

Dog lovers will delight in this audio celebration of the canine character. From our earliest encounters with Lassie, to the magical moments we share with our own imperfect but thoroughly lovable companions, dogs have become an integral part of our culture and beloved members of our family. NPR proudly presents these tales of unforgettable... Read more

Select Essays

By: Michel de Montaigne

Narrated by: Clive Chafer

Length: 5 hours 42 minutes

Abridged: No

Michel de Montaigne, one of the foremost writers of the French Renaissance and the originator of the genre of the essay, wrote on subjects ranging from friendship to imagination, from language to conscience. This collection includes twenty-two of Montaigne's essays, including "Of Prognostications," "Of the Custom of Wearing Clothes," "Of... Read more

Self-Reliance

By: Ralph Waldo Emerson

Narrated by: Kurt Andersen & Joyce Bean

Length: 1 hour 31 minutes

Abridged: No

Redefining the classic essay, this modern edition of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s most famous work, Self-Reliance, includes self-reflections from both historical and contemporary luminaries. With quotes from the likes of Henry Ford and Helen Keller to modern-day thought leaders like Jesse Dylan, Steve Pressfield, and Milton Glaser, we’re reminded of... Read more

On China

By: Henry Kissinger

Narrated by: Nicholas Hormann

Length: 20 hours 6 minutes

Abridged: No

“Fascinating, shrewd . . . The book deftly traces the rhythms and patterns of Chinese history.” —Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times

“No one can lay claim to so much influence on the shaping of foreign policy over the past 50 years as Henry Kissinger.” —The Financial Times

In this sweeping and insightful history, Henry Kissinger turns for the... Read more

Beyond Bin Laden

By: James A. Baker III, Karen Hughes & Eric Conger

Narrated by: Gayle Humphrey

Length: 2 hours 24 minutes

Abridged: No

Osama bin Laden was the most wanted man in American history—an enemy who brought the United States what President George W. Bush called “a day of fire,” and ushered in a new era of terrorism. It took a decade of blood and sacrifice, of determination and frustration, but finally, in a nighttime raid at the end of a dirt road in Pakistan, the hunt... Read more

Lies that Chelsea Handler Told Me

By: Chelsea's Family, Friends, and Other Victims

Narrated by: Johnny Kansas, Stephanie Stehling, Heather McDo...

Length: 6 hours 43 minutes

Abridged: No

A hilarious #1 bestselling collection of essays from those nearest and dearest to comedian Chelsea Handler--the people she's lied to.

"My tendency to make up stories and lie compulsively for the sake of my own amusement takes up a good portion of my day and provides me with a peace of mind not easily attainable in this economic climate." --... Read more

Familyhood

By: Paul Reiser

Narrated by: Paul Reiser

Length: 5 hours 18 minutes

Abridged: No

In the number one New York Times bestseller Couplehood, Paul Reiser wrote about the highs and lows of falling in love and getting married—and the heartbreak and hilarity that comes with it. In Babyhood, he turned his sharply observant eye to the experiences of having a brand-new family. And now in Familyhood, Reiser shares his observations on... Read more

Potsdamer Sagen und Legenden

By: Christine Anlauff

Narrated by: Uve Teschner

Length: 1 hour 19 minutes

Abridged: No

Im Jahr 993 hinterließ Otto III. seiner Tante in einer Urkunde die Orte Poztupimi et Geliti, wobei Poztupimi für Potsdam mit unter den Eichen übersetzt werden könnte. Erst 1317 wurde die Ortschaft urkundlich als Postamp erwähnt und bekam im Jahr 1345 das Stadtrecht. Der Große Kurfürst Friedrich Wilhelm verhalf der Stadt zu mehr Glanz und... Read more

Wien Sagen und Legenden

By: Lucas Edel

Narrated by: Uve Teschner

Length: 1 hour 15 minutes

Abridged: No

Erstmals urkundlich erwähnt wurde Wien im Jahr 881 in den Salzburger Annalen. König Otto der Erste verhalf Österreich zu einer Blütezeit und bereits im 11. Jahrhundert wurde Wien zur Hauptstadt des Herzogtums. 1221 bekam Wien das Stadt- und Stapelrecht verliehen, dies ermöglichte der Stadt noch größere Handelsbeziehungen. Unter der Herrschaft... Read more

This Is an AudioBook

By: Demetri Martin

Narrated by: Demetri Martin

Length: 4 hours 16 minutes

Abridged: No

From the renowned comedian, creator, star and executive producer/multiple title-holder of Comedy Central's Important Things with Demetri Martin comes a bold, original, and rectangular kind of humor book.

Demetri's first literary foray features longer-form essays and conceptual pieces (such as Protagonists' Hospital, a melodrama about the clinic... Read more

A Cat Abroad

By: Peter Gethers

Narrated by: David Laundra

Length: 7 hours 32 minutes

Abridged: No

From the incomporable Peter Gethers comes true-life adventure featuring the author and his Scottish Fold feline, Norton-seasoned world-traveler and renowned ice-cream critic. Whether it is the trademark flattened ears of his breed or the personality quirks individual to Norton, this cat has an uncanny knack for attracting celebrity attention.... Read more

I'm Over All That

By: Shirley MacLaine

Narrated by: Shirley MacLaine

Length: 5 hours 25 minutes

Abridged: No

The New York Times bestseller—now in paperback. Award-winning actress Shirley MacLaine pens the most funny, accessible, and timely book of her career, detailing all the things she’s over…and a few she’s not.

At a certain time in life, we all come to realize what is truly important to us and what just doesn’t matter. For Shirley MacLaine, that... Read more

A Mother's Gift

By: Dan Gediman

Narrated by: various

Length: 1 hour 14 minutes

Abridged: No

An inspiring collection of the personal philosophies and core values of a fascinating group of Americans with a focus on motherhood. The perfect Mother's Day gift.

Based on the NPR series of the same name, this new 1-CD collection of This I Believe essays will again gather a diverse group of essayists—ranging from famous to previously... Read more