Published in 1923, THE PROPHET is the narrative of Almustafa, a man preparing to return to the island of his birth after 12 years away. Before he departs, the people of his adopted city ask him to reflect on ideas such as love, the law, freedom, and self-knowledge. His answers are poetic and wise--the style is closer to the Gospels than to today's crop of inspirational titles--and their beauty is enhanced by the pitch-perfect narration of Paul Sparer. Sparer has a magnificent voice that can't help but evoke Orson Welles. Whatever your religious bent, this recording, first released in 1985, is well worth a listen.
Pub Date: Oct. 3, 2006
Duration: 1 hr, 30 mins
Publisher: Random House Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Mark Twain's ironic tale follows a man from the nineteenth century who travels back in time to the sixth century. Narrator Nick Offerman's deep voice is at once familiar. He uses his natural voice for the narrator, the Connecticut Yankee, who speaks in a likable tone and distinctly American accent. However, Offerman is especially surprising in his flawless transition from the measured American speaker to the cadenced speech of the sixth-century British characters. He achieves a range of British dialects, and his voice completely transforms in these vocal characterizations. Offerman's distinct contrast between the informal narrator and the elevated sixth-century language enhances the conversational exchanges. Offerman's performance is fitting to Mark Twain, who even mentions in the novel how essential dialects are in helping the reader to distinguish individual characters.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2017
Duration: 13 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: Audible, Inc.
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
Ayn Rand's Anthem is a short dystopic novel about a man who escapes a society from which all individuality has been squeezed. Its allegory is crudely transparent, and the ideas have lost their political urgency. (The book was published in 1938, a decade before Orwell's 1984.) But Anthem provides a good introduction to Rand's philosophy of "objectivism," which is built on individuality, freedom, and reason. Paul Meier is an excellent choice for the novel's first-person narrator--he manages to maintain an urgency in his voice, pleading but never whining, mirroring the main character's struggle against his totalitarian world.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 2002
Duration: 2 hrs, 30 mins
Publisher: HighBridge Audio
Review Posted Online: Jan. 22, 2026
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