Random Free audio books Podcasts

Echoing Homer’s epic poem The Iliad, Church offers a simplified rendering of the classic siege of Troy, as he retells the story which is regarded as one of the greatest masterpieces of Western literature. The Iliad for Boys and Girls is written in an easy to follow style that is certain to provide clarity to the otherwise perplexing tale presented in Homer’s original. Furthermore, the tale explores various themes including the destructive nature of pride, grueling revenge, honor, and the capricious interference of the Ancient Greek gods in temporal affairs. Set in the tenth year of the Trojan War, the story unfolds when the Greek commander in chief Agamemnon and his unrivaled warrior Achilles find themselves in disagreement over a beautiful maiden who is held captive. Insulted for having to give up the girl, Achilles is overwhelmed by fury as he decides to withdraw from fighting in the war as a means to spite Agamemnon for his inconsiderate demand. Additionally, he desires to witness the destruction of the Greek army and therefore seeks his mother’s help to sway the gods to assist his vengeful cause and see his vengeance through. His prayers are promptly heard by the all-powerful Zeus who ensures the Trojans temporary ascendancy, as they execute a successful counterattack and bring the Greeks to an unfavorable disadvantage. However, as the tale progresses and the conflict between the two opposing sides intensify, Achilles must put aside his grudge and abide by what is right and honorable. Apart from offering a more comprehensible version of the thrilling saga, the abridgement also reflects and delivers the original idea envisioned by Homer, as The Iliad for Boys and Girls focuses on the events surrounding the legendary tale. By providing a more explicit representation of characters and events, while concurrently eliminating the use of ambiguous language, Church enables the audience to experience the mythological allure of Ancient Greece in a clear-cut edition. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: Alfred J. Church, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Iliad for Boys and Girls

Harry Houdini, master illusionist and contortionist, unmasks the various ways that criminals take advantage of their victims.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Harry Houdini, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, The Right Way to Do Wrong

Machiavelli has created a ruthless guide on how to rule the country in his volume “The Prince”. The book is dedicated to Lorenzo De Medici, the ruler of Florence. The author explains in simple language about the nature of great men and the characters of the government. The first chapter gives an outline of the book discussing various styles of ruling as a prince, character traits that a ruler should have and the political situation of Italy in the 16th century. The book is composed of 26 chapters which fall into four major sections. In part one Machiavelli discusses the four types of principalities. The first type is hereditary princedoms meaning they are inherited by the ruler. There are also mixed principalities which are seized by force, civic principalities which are acquired by various criminal methods and finally ecclesiastical principalities influenced by the church. Machiavelli outlines how to maintain a newly acquired territory as these various types of principalities. The author details the characters of a prince for example paying close consideration to the armed forces so that they help him keep his power. There are four types of armies that are identified by the author beginning with mercenaries who are the hired soldiers and tend to be unreliable and dangerous. There are also auxiliaries which are the soldiers lent by other rulers, native troops which are the soldiers in their own country and lastly the mixed troops which will have soldiers from native troops, auxiliaries and mercenaries. Machiavelli also takes a chapter to put forth the character and behavior of a prince. In an ideal world a virtuous prince would do well. Additionally Machiavelli considers it better to be economical than to be generous, pitiless than amorous and sneaky rather than sincere. Reading “The Prince” will take you into the ruthless and cunning mind of Machiavelli as he systematically describes how to conquer and rule in the 16th century Italy. The astute reader will find that Machiavelli’s principals apply just as much in today’s world as they did hundreds of years ago. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education

Tags: advice, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, instruction, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Niccolò Machiavelli, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Politics, science, The Prince

A masterly mix of romance, drama, mystery, suspense, love and jealousy, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux will haunt you long after you’ve turned the last page. Today the world knows it by Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s long running musical on stage and its 2004 film adaptation, and earlier from Lon Chaney’s screen portrayal of the dark intruder who roams the Paris Opera House. However, Gaston Leroux’s novel was first released as a serial in the French magazine, La Gaulois over four months in 1909-10. Gaston Leroux, himself led an extremely colorful life. Born into an immensely wealthy family, he had to abandon his early dreams of becoming a writer and began studying law. As a student, he inherited millions of francs on the death of his father and embarked on a debauched life which culminated in bankruptcy. Leroux then went to work as a journalist. He covered crime and theater and traveled extensively. He was almost forty when he took up writing as a full time profession. Detective fiction, plays, novels and tales of mystery were his forte. The Phantom of the Opera was translated from the original French by Alexander de Mattos. A tale of fatal obsession, it owes its inspiration to classic fairytales like The Beauty and The Beast, where physical ugliness leads a person to seek anonymity. Erik is a young man, tormented by his physical deformity. He runs away from home as a child and hides his hideous visage in the vast cellars of the Paris Opera House. As he grows, so does his knowledge of music. He falls in love with a young singer, Christine Daae, whom he lures into his lair with his angelic singing. This fatal attraction takes a tragic turn as Christine and her fiancé Raoul are caught in a web of horror and deceit. As a classic Gothic novel, The Phantom of the Opera is matchless in the atmosphere of mystery and evil that it evokes. However, it is also a story of human tragedy and the cruelty we practice on those who look different. The novel is structured in a very interesting way—it’s in the form of bits of information available from journal entries, police reports, interviews alternating with first person accounts. A great read for music lovers, mystery fans and Gothic romance enthusiasts!

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Gaston Leroux, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Phantom of the Opera

H. P. Lovecraft’s name is synonymous with horror fiction. His major inspiration and invention was cosmic horror: the idea that life is incomprehensible to human minds and that the universe is fundamentally alien. This collection contains 24 Lovecraft works that are in the public domain. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Collected Public Domain Works of H. P. Lovecraft, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, H. P. Lovecraft, Horror/Ghost stories, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Short stories

The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC, the Histories tell the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Herodotus of Halicarnassus, Herodotus' Histories, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

“No Clue! A Mystery Story” finds detective Jefferson Hastings at the home of wealthy but eccentric Arthur Sloane one hot summer night, when two other guests at Sloanehurst stumble across the body of young Mildred Brace lying dead on the lawn. Sloane’s daughter Lucille asks Hastings to help solve the crime, but Hastings gets surprisingly little help from anybody he interviews, including Mr. Sloane himself and even the mother of the victim. With few clues to aid him and nobody beyond suspicion, including himself, seemingly rock solid alibis begin to fall apart, expanding the list of potential suspects, and Hastings must rely on subtle expressions and the scant evidence at hand to try to solve the murder.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, James Hay, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY, No Clue! A Mystery Story

Florence Scovel Shinn, an illustrator living in New York City, became a teacher of New Thought after a divorce. New Thought was a movement which holds the belief that individuals can create their own reality through intentional thoughts and prayer, much like the current Law of Attraction movement. The Game of Life and How to Play It is her first book, and is remarkable for being written by a woman and meant for a genteel female audience. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: advice, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Florence Scovel Shinn, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, The Game of Life and How to Play It

Considered to mark the emergence of a new literary form, the unvarnished autobiography, Confessions by Jean-Jacques Rousseau was first published in 1782, four years after his death. The philosopher and educationist whose political philosophy is credited with having inspired the French Revolution, Rousseau was a man of immense wit, talent and depth of thinking. His skill in art, music, literature and cooking along with his magnificent body of work in philosophy, politics, education and sociology have made him a legendary figure. However, through Confessions, he aimed to present a complete picture of himself, exposing all the unsavory and shameful incidents in his private life as well as the public persona. Confessions deals with the first fifty-three years of his life and he completed it in 1769 and conducted many public readings of extracts before his death in 1778. This is an extremely thought-provoking book and its ideas remain as fresh and stimulating as they did more than two centuries ago. The entire book consists of two volumes of six books each and Rousseau apparently planned a third which he could not undertake. Though two previous autobiographies, by Saint Augustine and Saint Theresa, had been written earlier, both of them had focused more on their religious experiences. Rousseau writes in the opening lines, “…. the man I shall portray will be myself,” thus vowing to be honest and sincere. And truthful he proved to be. The dark side of his personal life, his affair with a house-maid and the children that were born and given away to protect his honor are faithfully chronicled alongside his brilliant thoughts on education, freedom, social inequality, the general will and common interest of society, collective sovereignty and the supreme importance of individual freedom. For those interested in the foundations of modern European thought, Confessions is indeed an interesting read.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Confessions, ebooks, free audio books, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Memoirs, Non-fiction, Psychology, Sea stories

Mark Twain’s work on Joan of Arc is titled in full “Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte.” De Conte is identified as Joan’s page and secretary. For those who’ve always wanted to “get behind” the Joan of Arc story and to better understand just what happened, Twain’s narrative makes the story personal and very accessible. The work is fictionally presented as a translation from the manuscript by Jean Francois Alden, or, in the words of the published book, “Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France.”It was originally published as a serialization in Harper’s Magazine beginning in 1895 and later published in book form in 1896. However the Harper’s editors decided to cut 12 chapters that describe much of Joan’s Great Trial, saying the chapters were not suitable for serialization since, “They will not bear mutilation or interruption, but must be read as a whole, as one reads a drama.” This recording contains the complete text! De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc’s page Louis de Contes, and provides narrative unity to the story. He is presented as an individual who was with Joan during the three major phases of her life – as a youth in Domremy, as the commander of Charles’ army on military campaign, and as a defendant at the trial in Rouen. The book is presented as a translation by Alden of de Conte’s memoirs, written in his later years for the benefit of his descendants. Twain based his descriptions of Joan of Arc on his daughter, Susy Clemens, as he remembered her at the age of seventeen. Twain said, “I like Joan of Arc best of all my books; and it is the best; I know it perfectly well. And besides, it furnished me seven times the pleasure afforded me by any of the others; twelve years of preparation, and two years of writing. The others needed no preparation and got none.” More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Religion & Spirituality, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, History, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Memoirs, Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, religion, Volumes 1 & 2, War stories

Famous Men of Rome is a series of biographical sketches written for the purpose of making the study of history lively and interesting by giving insight into the men who lived during this time.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, Famous Men of Rome, free audio books, History, John H. Haaren, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

Set in the small secluded valley of Sleepy Hollow, Irving’s short speculative story follows the rivalry between Ichabod Crane and Brom Van Brunt for Katrina Van Tassel’s hand in marriage. Mostly inhabited by descendants from Dutch settlers, the residents are known for their belief in superstitions and the supernatural, and have many stories to suffice their colorful imaginations. The story begins when the scrawny schoolmaster Ichabod Crane from Connecticut moves to Sleepy Hollow for a teaching job and rotates living with the families of his students. This type of living arrangement allows him to grow familiar with the stories circling the strange town. The most popular phenomena being that of the Headless Horseman, supposedly ghost of a Hessian soldier who lost his head during a battle in the American Revolutionary War. As Ichabod adjusts to his new home town, a visit to the rich farm of Baltus Van Tassel inspires him to win the hand of his only daughter Katrina. However, Katrina’s beauty and wealth have also attracted the attention of other bachelors in town including the exuberant Brom Van Brunt, or locally known as Brom Bones. Well in the habit of intimidating and scaring off Katrina’s suitors, mostly through physical confrontations, Brom instead turns to pranks as his main method of persuading Ichabod to give up on his love quest. A story torn between logic and superstition, the characters must determine what is real and what is not, or fall victim to local myths determining their fate. Other than being an intriguing story of greed, superstition and the supernatural, Irving also uses his main character Ichabod as a means of satire, mocking the seemingly refined culture of city dwellers. It is no coincidence that the educated Ichabod trades big city life for the small Sleepy Hollow, and is victim to the many pranks played on him. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is one of the earliest samples of American fiction which has remained a classic and favorite among its readers. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Horror/Ghost stories, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, MYSTERY, Short stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Washington Irving

Opening with an introduction to the life of the most famous Englishman of all, William Shakespeare, Edith Nesbit captures the reader’s imagination in her inimitable way. Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare is a compendium of stories that re-tells some of his most famous plays. As the author of some of the best-loved children’s classics like The Railway Children and The Story of the Treasure Seekers, E Nesbit always felt that children should be introduced to Shakespeare in an easier and more enjoyable way. She has thoughtfully included a glossary of difficult names in the plays and a guide on how to pronounce them. Another useful inclusion is a collection of memorable quotations from the plays. In this Age of the Internet, very few people are able to, or even find the need to, memorize quotations from their favorite works of literature – but it is an art which gives much pleasure and keeps the memory of the book or poem alive in the mind. The plays retold here range across the Great Tragedies like King Lear, Hamlet, Macbeth and Othello. One of the most appealing features of Nesbit’s retelling is that she retains the atmosphere and milieu of the plays while she makes the text simpler for children to understand. In Macbeth for instance, the witches, the crimes and the final tragic climax are superbly recreated. A lighter note is struck in plays like A Midsummer Night’s Dream, As You Like It, Measure for Measure and Twelfth Night where all Shakespeare’s wit and talent for creating comic situations is brought out. Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare contains twenty stories and they are so attractively presented that both young and old readers alike can enjoy them. For younger readers, they would be a great stepping-stone to go on and read the magnificent plays in their original form.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare, ebooks, Edith Nesbit, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult

The Last Days of Pompeii, a novel by Edward George Bulwer-Lytton tells the love story of the Greeks Glaucus and Ione who were living in Pompeii when Mt. Vesuvius erupted and destroyed the city. But aside from telling their romance, the book is also full of insights about the decadent lifestyle of the Romans during the later part of their empire’s history. The different characters in the story represent the different civilizations which they come from. Glaucus, the main protagonist in the novel was portrayed as a handsome Greek nobleman. His main love interest, Ione was a very beautiful Greek who ended up in Pompeii after being orphaned while she was still a child. Then, there’s also Arbaces, an Egyptian who was the guardian of Ione. He’s the villain in the novel and repeatedly attempted to seduce Ione but failed. Edward George Bulwer-Lytton interestingly set the story in Pompeii during the time when Roman society was already decaying. In the novel, Glaucus and Ione met and fall in love with each other. When Arbaces learned about this he cleverly devised a plan so that Glaucus will be convicted of a murder that he never committed. But as Glaucus was about to be fed to the lions in the amphitheatre as his punishment, the truth is revealed as to who really committed the murder. Don’t miss the end of this story to find how who the real culprit was and what the final fate of Pompeii would be. This book is definitely a good read for those who are looking for an interesting love story and at the same time to learn more about ancient Roman civilization. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Last Days of Pompeii, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

An old carpenter carves a little wooden puppet from a mysterious piece of wood that seems to have the ability to talk! He begins to love the little creature like his own son and names him Pinocchio. But the mischievous fellow runs away from his loving father as soon as he learns to walk. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi follows the misadventures and naughty exploits of this delightfully “human” puppet who in his heart of hearts longs only to become a real boy. Carlo Collodi was the pen name of a gifted writer of children’s books, Carlo Lorenzini who lived in Florence, Italy, during the late 19th century. He was also a political activist and author of several novels, short novels, articles and sketches for adults. He began writing for children in 1876 and translated children’s literature from other languages into Italian. The Adventures of Pinnochio is meant to be an allegory and a cautionary tale for children. Through the adventures of this playful and headstrong puppet, Collodi provides many valuable lessons for young children. Wonderful characters like the Talking Cricket, the Fox and the Cat, the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair and old Gepetto himself are colorful, memorable and each one contributes to Pinnochio’s final transformation. With plenty of magical moments, fantasy and thrills, the plot provides enough excitement for children of all ages. Since it first appeared in 1883, the book has enjoyed immense fame and popularity. There have been innumerable translations into more than 250 major world languages, making it the most translated book in the world. There have been plenty of adaptations for stage, radio, television and film, including cartoons and merchandise. Pinnochio’s long nose has even become a metaphor for people who tell lies. As a pioneer in the field, Collodi’s works became instantly popular, as children’s literature as a genre was not very prevalent before the 19th century. His easy and engaging style caught the imagination of children instantly and became a benchmark for children’s writers ever since. There are some very endearing and thought-provoking moments and incidents in the story, which make it very memorable for both children and adults. Enduring values of love and loyalty, the essential contradictions that make us human and the transformation of a rebellious, thoughtless, uncaring and self-indulgent youngster into a mature young person are what makes this story so beloved and treasured the world over.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Carlo Collodi, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Adventures of Pinocchio

“An Adventurer – He that goes out to meet whatever may come!” This is the credo of Allan Quatermain, the quintessential, swashbuckling protagonist of Allan Quatermain by H. Rider Haggard. Quatermain first makes his appearance as a character in Haggard’s most famous bestselling adventure tale, King Solomon’s Mines. Published in 1885, this Victorian action novel depicts a group led by Allan Quatermain who travel to a remote region in Africa in search of the missing brother of one of them. It is considered the very first English adventure tale set in what was perhaps disparagingly then called the “Dark Continent.” King Solomon’s Mines was also an early example of marketing hype. The book became an instant bestseller following weeks of relentless publicity on billboards, newspaper ads and posters in London. It was also published at a time when expeditions to Egypt and other ancient civilizations were underway, thus generating huge interest in unexplored lands. In Allan Quatermain, the second book in the series, Rider Haggard tells of the further adventures of his cult hero. Quatermain is a professional big game hunter and trader. He is a typical colonialist and imperialist who believes that Africa needs to be “civilized” by the efforts of the White Man. However, he also believes that the native people should have a say in their own affairs. His faithful old servant, a Hottentot named Hans, accompanies him on most of his adventures. The book is set in the years following the King Solomon’s Mines episode. The opening chapter, The Consul’s Yarn begins with Quatermain’s two friends Sir Henry Curtis and Captain John Good visiting him to condole him on his young son’s untimely death. Quatermain is bored with his uneventful life in civilization and plans to return to the Africa. The friends agree to accompany him and this is the start of another fast paced saga, replete with blood thirsty tribal people, Masai warriors, meeting with an old Scottish civil servant and much more. Author of more than 60 books, Henry Rider Haggard was sent to Africa by his relatively wealthy father who felt that the boy would never amount to much. He returned from Africa following a moderately successful career as a government servant and settled down to write about his experiences. His novels did not meet with much initial success, but with the publication of King Solomon’s Mines, his name became a byword for adventure. He was also passionately interested in agricultural reform and social uplift of the colonies. Allan Quatermain is a great read and a good addition to your collection of adventure sagas.

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, Allan Quatermain, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, H Rider Haggard, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

One of the most controversial novels written by Austen, Mansfield Park follows the life of the young heroine Fanny Price as she searches for her place in society. Set in early 19th century England, the classic novel depicts the social issues of the time including marriage, social mobility and morality. The classic centers on the life of the poor young girl Fanny Price, who is the oldest daughter of nine siblings. Her father is a former naval officer and a heavy drinker, while her mother has married beneath her and is undeniably the black sheep in the family when compared to her two sisters, Mrs. Norris and Lady Bertram who lead comfortable lifestyles. As a form of charity, Fanny is taken in to live with her wealthy aunt Lady Bertram and her husband Sir Thomas Bertram at their Mansfield Park estate. At her new home, Fanny is raised and lives beside her four cousins Tom, Edmund, Maria and Julia. Although sharing the same home, Fanny is never really considered their social equal. She is often mistreated by her aunt and treated as an inferior by her cousins. The only person who shows her kindness is Edmund Bertram, for whom she gradually develops feelings. However, Fanny is constantly reminded of her social status and grows up shy and humble, but nevertheless remains true to herself. As the years pass by, the Bertram children find themselves in love entanglements with the sophisticated Crawfords, while Fanny keeps her feelings for Edmund well hidden. As the novel reaches its climax, the true nature of morality and its fruits are revealed. A plot questioning the infinite dilemma of nature versus nurture, Fanny must decide whether she places a higher value on priceless morality or the expectations imposed on her by society. Because of its uniqueness, Mansfield Park has a love-hate relationship with its readers, due to its unconventional protagonist. Although it is known to have sparked many debates among audiences due to its subtle criticism of society and moral integrity, it still remains one of the most profound pieces written by its author. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, jane austen, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mansfield Park, romance, satire

This is Mill’s first work on economics. It foreshadows his Political Economy which was the standard Anglo-American Economics textbook of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Mill’s economic theory moved from free market capitalism, to government intervention within the precepts of Utilitarianism, and finally to Socialism.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Economics/Political Economy, Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy, free audio books, John Stuart Mill, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy