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​Anthem

WRITTEN BY:
Ayn Rand

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

Anthem is set in a distant collectivist future, when every form and emblem of individualism has been erased and society has reverted to a preindustrial level. In this novella, as many of her writings, Ayn dramatizes her philosophy of Objectivism in the main character. Its hero is a scientist in a world where the pursuit of knowledge is a crime, and he struggles against the established society to discover the meaning of individual freedom.

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ThoughtAudio PDF Transcript: TA0011_Anthem_AynRand.pdf

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Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand, novelist and philosopher, was born in St. Petersburg Russia. From her earliest years, she felt alienated from the dark, brooding atmosphere of Russia, but loved the bright world projected in foreign magazine stories. At age nine she made the conscious decision to become a writer.

In addition to being a novelist, Ayn developed the philosophy of Objectivism, which holds that there is no greater moral goal than achieving happiness. But happiness fundamentally requires that one live by objective principles, including moral integrity and respect for the rights of others. The heroes of Objectivism are achievers who build businesses, invent technologies, and create art and ideas, depending on their own talents and on trade with other independent people to reach their goals.

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The Kybalion

WRITTEN BY:
Three Initiates / William Walker Atkinson

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

This book of Hermetic Philosophy claims to be the essence of the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. One of the foundations of the book is the dedication to the Seven Principles and there is a complete chapter describing each one in detail. Each one of the Seven Principles brings to light a number of ways to become more familiar with your self and become a better and more enlightened individual.

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ThoughtAudio PDF Transcript: TA0094_Kybalion.pdf

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William Walker Atkinson

While the book is said to be authored by Three Initiates, they chose to remain anonymous, resulting in much speculation as to the actual author. The author is generally believed to be William Walker Atkinson.

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To Build A Fire

WRITTEN BY:
Jack London

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

A man alone on the Yukon Trail, except for his husky dog, is planning on meeting friends on a day in which he encounters severe cold that reaches 75 degrees below zero. His troubles worsen when he falls through the snow and gets his feet and lower legs wet. His only hope of surviving is to build a fire, but his lack of ample supplies, extreme elements and his own diminishing senses prove to be an impenetrable barrier to his existence.

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ThoughtAudio PDF Transcript: TA0059_ToBuildaFire_JackLondon.pdf

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Jack London

This American author was one of the first Americans to make a career as a nonfiction writer for commercial magazines. Due to his prominent and successful nature as a writer, his controversial political views, as well as his reputation as an outspoken socialist, his life, as well as his death, was surrounded with rumors, accusations and controversy.

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THE WORDS OF CHRIST

AUTHOR:
The Book of Matthew from the Holy Bible

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

This audio book extracts the Words of Christ from the Book of Matthew. Listening only to the words of Jesus Christ brings his idioms to the forefront creating a new sense of his life’s story line. Even though the entire story line is not included in the audio, the pure sense of what Christ was saying during his short time on earth still rings true today.

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The Mysterious Stranger

WRITTEN BY:
Mark Twain

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

This story is told by Theodor Fischer, a boy who lives in a small Austrian village and quietly exists with his friends, relatives and community. One day a stranger appears in the village and befriends Theodor and his chums. He tells them that his name is Satan and he is the nephew of “the Satan”. He is capable of all types of magic, predictions and apparitions that he reveals in various ways to the boys. But throughout the story Satan expels his wisdom on the character and futility of mankind. While the book contains the wit and humor typical of Mark Twain, the story line is considered a serious social commentary on Twain’s criticism of organized religion.

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ThoughtAudio PDF Transcript: TA0098_MysteriousStranger_MarkTwain

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Mark Twain

Mark Twain has been one of the most widely loved and celebrated American writers since his books were released in the late 1860’s. The Mysterious Stranger was his final novel.

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Alice in Wonderland

WRITTEN BY:
Lewis Carroll

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

In the opening scene of this story Alice is a young girl living in the country and becomes bored by her sister sitting out in the open field quietly reading. When a white rabbit passes by Alice decides to follow it and when the rabbit pops down a large rabbit hole, well Alice follows as well. Once at the bottom she explores a new and strange world where nothing is as it seems and everything continues to change. She meets bizarre and crazy characters who speak in rhymes, riddles and just plain nonsense. Download this fantastical book and follow along the adventures of Alice in Wonderland.

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ThoughtAudio PDF Transcript: TA0086_AliceinWonderland_LewisCarroll.pdf

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Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and a photographer. Alice in Wonderland is his most famous work although he wrote a sequel, as well as several poems, all examples of the genre of literary nonsense.

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The Dream of a Ridiculous Man

WRITTEN BY:
Fyodor Dostoyevsky

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

One of the most fascinating psychological struggles of the modern world revolves around the competing tension between existential philosophy and metaphysical spirituality. The Dream of a Ridiculous Man beautifully encapsulates the extremes of both points of view and provides the listener a front row seat to a battle that still rages today.

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ThoughtAudio Transcript: TA0099_DreamOfARidiculousMan_Dostoyevsky.pdf

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FYODOR DOSTOYEVSKY
November 11, 1821 – February 9, 1881

Russian born, Fyodor Dostoevsky ranks as one of the greatest literary writers in the modern era. His literary themes still resonate in today’s social complex. Dostoyevsky was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist, journalist, and philosopher exploring existential human psychology in the troubled political, social, and spiritual atmosphere of 19th century Russia. Literary historians consider him the first true existential novelist.

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Heart of Darkness

WRITTEN BY:
Joseph Conrad

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

This classic tale of intrigue, mystery and adventure takes place on the ivory harvesting and trade route in the Congo, in the depths of Africa. In this book, Marlow, a sea captain on a ship at anchor, retells a story of his assignment upon a steamer ship in the Congo to a group of his ship mates. During his mission he is asked to retrieve and return Kurtz, an ivory hunter with a resounding reputation where ever his name is mentioned, who delivers more ivory than all the other stations combined, and who has a reverenced effect on the natives. Passages and references from the book are sprinkled through other writings and The Heart of Darkness was the base content for the movie Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppola.

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ThoughtAudio Transcript: TA0077_HeartofDarkness_JosephConrad.pdf

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Joseph Conrad

Józef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski was a Polish born English writer, who garnered much respect as an English novelist. Literary critics of his time often cited that his exotic style, complex narration, profound themes and pessimistic ideas put many readers off. Yet as Conrad’s ideas were borne out by 20th-century events, in time he came to be admired for beliefs that seemed to be more in alignment with subsequent times, than with his own.

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Candide: ou l’Optimisme

WRITTEN BY:
Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet)

NARRATED BY:
Michael Scott

Candide is a delightful story filled with boundless misadventure while tackling the great philosophical issues of the Enlightenment era. The story is about Candide, a young man who is the illegitimate nephew of a German baron with whom he resides. When it is discovered he is kissing the baron’s beautiful daughter he is thrown from the castle where he experiences the horrors of war, poverty, the maliciousness of man, and the hypocrisy of the church. Obviously, Voltaire is poking fun at Leibniz, Pope, and others who assail that the world created by God was the best possible of all worlds with perfect order and reason, as spoken through the greatest of all fictional philosophers, Candide’s tutor, Pangloss. As you listen to segments of Candide, take the time to research both the book and Voltaire to gain a richer understanding of the themes interlaced throughout the book.

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ThoughtAudio Transcript: TA0079_Candide_Voltaire.pdf

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Voltaire
(François-Marie Arouet)

Voltaire was a French writer, historian and philosopher famous for his wit and he frequently made use of his works to criticize intolerance, religious dogma and the French institutions of his day. He was a prolific writer with more than 20,000 letters and more than 2,000 books and pamphlets. He was an outspoken supporter of social reform, despite strict censorship laws with harsh penalties for those who broke them.

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METAMORPHOSIS

WRITTEN BY
Franz Kafka

NARRATED BY
Michael Scott

Metamorphosis, first published in 1915, is the story of Gregor Samsa, a young traveling salesman who lives with his family and financially supports his parents and younger sister. One morning he awakes to discover that during the night he has been transformed into a horrible bug. Although somewhat of a horror genre, the story is often very funny as Gregor, his family, and those around him deal with their own transformations as a result of this odd predicament.

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ThoughtAudio Transcript: TA0020_Metamorphosis_FranzKafka.pdf

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Franz Kafka
Franz Kafka is a Czechoslovakian writer who lived from 1883-1924. Though virtually unknown during his lifetime, Kafka has come to be known as one of the most influential writers of his century. His writings have been recognized as symbolizing modern man’s anxiety-ridden and grotesque alienation in an unintelligible, hostile, or indifferent world.