Random Memoirs Podcasts

Up From Slavery is the 1901 autobiography of Booker T. Washington detailing his slow and steady rise from a slave child during the Civil War, to the difficulties and obstacles he overcame to get an education at the new Hampton University, to his work establishing vocational schools—most notably the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama—to help black people and other disadvantaged minorities learn useful, marketable skills and work to pull themselves, as a race, up by the bootstraps. He reflects on the generosity of both teachers and philanthropists who helped in educating blacks and native Americans. He describes his efforts to instill manners, breeding, health and a feeling of dignity to students. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, Booker T. Washington, ebooks, free audio books, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Memoirs, Non-fiction, Politics, Up From Slavery

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

A river memoir documenting Twain’s early days as an apprentice steamboat pilot on the Mississippi River before the American Civil War. Reminiscing about his happy experiences as a young man under the instruction of an experienced mentor, the autobiographical tale depicts one of the most vivid illustrations of river life. Furthermore, the book captures the author’s nostalgic emotions through his resonant depiction of one of the most notable periods of his life. Twain begins his memoir with a rich historical account of the Mississippi River including its exploration by early explorers, its evolution, and its vastness. He then proceeds to tell of his youthful experiences along the river, and its significant role in his life from early childhood right up to adulthood. Subsequently, the classic focuses on Twain’s time as a cub-pilot on a steamboat and the incidents that occur during his apprenticeship. Never depicting a dull moment, the author mentions various characters and encounters which further enrich the tale as he navigates along the river. Written from a personal point of view, the story offers insight as the audience is exposed to a different angle of river life through an enchanting travel log. He vibrantly describes the beauties of the Mississippi River with its twists, shallows, rapids, turns and landmarks, consequently bringing life to the river. In the second part of the book, however, Twain describes a different experience on the Mississippi River, conveying the harsh reality of progress as he travels along the river years later. In addition the book presents opposing images of a bucolic setting not yet altered by the inescapable grasp of industrialization, and the image of the consequences instigated by industrialization and automation. A stunning blend of autobiography, history and tall tales, the book has much to offer to its audience, and also includes humorous appendixes and commentaries. A well comprised piece of writing, Life on the Mississippi is full of imagery and descriptive language that portrays the beauty of nature, culture and heritage. Exploring themes such as inevitable change and progress in society, gratification gained from the simplicity of nature, and the deceptiveness of outward appearance, the book is a timeless classic portraying an important part of American history. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, free audio books, Life on the Mississippi, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mark Twain, Memoirs, nature, Non-fiction, travel

If you’ve loved and cherished The Wind in The Willows, you’ll be delighted to read The Golden Age. In this book of reminiscences by Kenneth Grahame, the much loved creator of Winnie The Pooh, readers are granted an insight into the writer’s childhood. The opening lines of the Prologue provide a poignant reminder of Grahame’s childhood. When he was just five, his mother died in childbirth and his father who had a long standing problem with alcoholism consigned his four children, including the newborn baby, to the care of their grandmother in Berkshire. The rambling old house was a treasure trove of passages and attics, filled with old things and provided the children with plenty of excitement. Their uncle who was a member of the clergy in a neighboring village, often came to take them boating and walking in the nearby woods. These are the memories that are so charmingly captured in Grahame’s books. Though he was a brilliant pupil, financial issues did not allow him to pursue further education at college. Instead, he went to work in a bank. His writing career began relatively early on, with the publication of short stories in various magazines when he was just 20 years old. However, it was in 1908, when he was more than 40 that The Wind in The Willows was published, which was received with great admiration and enjoyment by both adults and children. The Golden Age was published in 1895. Some of the stories in it had already appeared in various magazines. It was greeted by poets like Swinburne with much praise and almost instantly regarded as a classic. What’s interesting about The Golden Age is that in this book, Grahame uses the metaphor of Ancient Greek legends and stories as parallels to his own life. The adults are termed “The Olympians” appearing remote, inaccessible and lofty to a child. Their activities are incomprehensible to the young mind while they had no interest in the doings of their wards. Grahame’s humorous yet ironical tone lends a touch of fun to the adult world as seen through the eyes of a child. Other chapters describe the fun of being outdoors, visitors and relatives who come to the house, childhood games of Roundheads and Royalists, King Arthur’s Knights, bandits and damsels in distress, knights errant, soldiers and princesses and everything else that a group of high spirited children could devise out of their boundless imaginations. Youthful escapades, stolen fruit, daredevil stunts and the carefree days of childhood are vividly captured in The Golden Age. For modern day readers, these recollections are interesting and in almost complete contrast to children’s lives today, yet the book is an amusing and easy read for all ages. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, Kenneth Grahame, Kids, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Memoirs, The Golden Age

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

An autobiography of Helen Keller published when the author was still in her early 20’s. The narrative reveals how her mind developed and matured until she began her studies at Radcliffe College

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, ebooks, free audio books, Helen Keller, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Memoirs, Non-fiction, science, The Story of My Life

The Nasiona Podcast amplifies the voices and experiences of the marginalized, undervalued, overlooked, silenced, and forgotten, as well as gives you a glimpse into Othered worlds. Hosted, edited, and produced by Julián Esteban Torres López.

Categories: News, Society & Culture

Tags: Authors, creativenonfiction, Culture, essays, foreign, History, Identity, Immigrants, immigration, interviews, journalism, literary, Literature, Marginalized, Memoir, Memoirs, nonfiction, personalessays, race, researchers, Society, storytelling, writers

A podcast devoted to telling the world about Vietnam Veteran news, issues, interviews and commentary.

Categories: Uncategorised

Tags: mack, Memoirs, News, payne, veteran, veterans, Vietnam, war