Classic Audiobook Collection

A Problem in Modern Ethics by John Addington Symonds audiobook.
Genre: philosophy
Privately printed in the late 19th century for a tiny circle of readers, John Addington Symonds' A Problem in Modern Ethics is a bold, carefully argued inquiry into what his era called 'sexual inversion' - same-sex desire and relationships - addressed to the people who shaped public opinion and policy: doctors, psychologists, clergy, and jurists. Writing as a humane scholar steeped in history and literature, Symonds surveys how societies across time have understood and regulated same-sex love, then turns to the competing medical explanations of his day, challenging easy assumptions that treat homosexuality as a vice, a contagion, or a simple acquired habit. He weighs the ethical stakes for individuals forced into secrecy, the damage done by stigma and blackmail, and the contradictions of laws that punish consenting adults while claiming to defend morality. Along the way, he brings a literary critic's eye to cultural evidence, including discussion of major writers whose work was implicated in contemporary debates. Part historical study, part ethical brief, and part early rights argument, the essay captures a pivotal moment when modern sexology and modern civil-liberties thinking were beginning to collide.
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Chapters (Approximate)
(00:00:00) Chapter 00
(00:10:37) Chapter 01
(00:18:30) Chapter 02
(00:30:45) Chapter 03
(00:39:01) Chapter 04
(00:55:14) Chapter 05
(01:08:34) Chapter 06
(01:18:45) Chapter 07
(01:29:17) Chapter 08
(01:48:43) Chapter 09
(02:04:35) Chapter 10
(02:20:23) Chapter 11
(02:36:37) Chapter 12
(02:54:34) Chapter 13
(03:13:53) Chapter 14
(03:26:40) Chapter 15
(03:37:15) Chapter 16
(03:53:15) Chapter 17
(04:06:22) Chapter 18
(04:17:36) Chapter 19
(04:31:00) Chapter 20
(04:41:26) Chapter 21
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Little Miss Grasshopper by Johanna Spyri audiobook.
Genre: family
Rita Feland has earned her nickname, Little Miss Grasshopper, the moment she starts bouncing with excitement. From their comfortable home in Dresden, the Feland family sets out for a long-awaited summer holiday in Switzerland, climbing toward the high country of the Gemmi Pass where sharp peaks, deep valleys, and clear air promise freedom and discovery. In a quiet mountain cottage, new acquaintances appear and the days fill with walks, stories, and the thrilling sense that the world is larger than Rita ever imagined. But Rita's bright curiosity and impulsive courage can carry her farther than anyone expects. When an innocent adventure turns suddenly frightening, the peaceful trip becomes a test of nerve and devotion as family members and strangers alike are drawn into a tense search through rugged terrain and an approaching night. Tender, suspenseful, and grounded in the beauty of the Alps, Johanna Spyri's tale explores the bonds between parents and children, the limits of youthful independence, and the steadying power of love and faith when fear closes in.
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Chapters (Approximate)
(00:00:00) Chapter 01
(00:05:50) Chapter 02
(00:13:23) Chapter 03
(00:22:54) Chapter 04
(00:32:50) Chapter 05
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The Boise Survey by Jesse Brundage Sears audiobook.
Genre: history
Commissioned by the Boise Independent School District and carried out over an intensive two-week field study, The Boise Survey is Jesse Brundage Sears' clear-eyed investigation into how a growing Western city runs its public schools - and how it could run them better. Drawing on visits, records, and observations gathered by Sears and his survey staff, the report walks listeners through the machinery of a city school system: how the district is organized and administered, how teachers are selected and supported, what the curriculum asks of students, and how effectively instruction is working in practice. Along the way, the survey traces student progress and achievement, considers individual differences among children, and examines the often-overlooked backbone of schooling - buildings, grounds, educational records, and the financing that keeps everything operating. Specific sections focus on the high school and on educational and vocational guidance, showing how policy decisions shape real classroom outcomes. Written to be understood not only by specialists but by ordinary citizens, this book blends data with pointed conclusions and practical recommendations, capturing a pivotal moment in early 20th-century American education reform.
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Chapters (Approximate)
(00:00:00) Chapter 00
(00:04:36) Chapter 01
(00:30:15) Chapter 02
(01:01:46) Chapter 03
(01:35:30) Chapter 04
(02:05:35) Chapter 05
(02:58:56) Chapter 06
(03:14:18) Chapter 07
(03:51:42) Chapter 08
(04:33:03) Chapter 09
(05:20:44) Chapter 10
(05:58:54) Chapter 11
(06:23:36) Chapter 12
(06:52:06) Chapter 13
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Three Men on the Bummel by Jerome K. Jerome audiobook.
Genre: comedy
In Three Men on the Bummel, Jerome K. Jerome reunites the good-natured trio first seen in Three Men in a Boat - the quick-witted narrator J., the unflappable George, and the magnificently chaotic Harris - as they flee the strain of modern city life for a holiday on the continent. Their grand plan is simple: a cycling tour through Germany, with fresh air, picturesque towns, and the freedom of the open road. Reality, of course, has other ideas. From baffling timetables and bewildering rules to stubborn bicycles, unfamiliar customs, and the small indignities of travel, the friends lurch from one comic complication to the next, meeting an assortment of locals and fellow tourists along the way. Woven through the mishaps is Jerome's sharp, affectionate satire on work, progress, national habits, and the restless urge to turn leisure into another kind of labor. Part travelogue, part character comedy, and part reflection on how people try - and fail - to truly relax, this is a witty, warm escapade powered by observation and misadventure.
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Chapters (Approximate)
(00:00:00) Chapter 01
(00:26:34) Chapter 02
(00:52:01) Chapter 03
(01:18:52) Chapter 04
(01:53:10) Chapter 05
(02:24:03) Chapter 06
(02:54:40) Chapter 07
(03:16:52) Chapter 08
(03:47:21) Chapter 09
(04:20:52) Chapter 10
(04:45:56) Chapter 11
(05:14:41) Chapter 12
(05:41:56) Chapter 13
(06:12:35) Chapter 14
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The People of the Abyss by Jack London audiobook.
Genre: history
In 1902, celebrated American writer Jack London crosses the Atlantic and disappears into the slums of Londons East End, determined to see what polite society refuses to notice. With little money, plain clothes, and a borrowed accent, he moves among the homeless and the working poor, sleeping in casual wards, queuing for a scrap of bread, and searching for day labor that vanishes as quickly as it appears. What begins as an experiment in observation becomes a relentless tour of overcrowded lodging houses, hunger, sickness, and the bureaucratic machinery meant to manage misery rather than end it. London introduces the reader to men and women ground down by low wages and bad luck, and he records their routines with a reporters eye and a reformers anger. The book is both immersion journalism and moral indictment, asking how a modern empire can tolerate such deprivation in its own capital. Tense, immediate, and often unsettling, The People of the Abyss invites listeners to confront the human cost of poverty, and to question the stories societies tell themselves about merit, blame, and survival.
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Chapters (Approximate)
(00:00:00) Chapter 01
(00:20:07) Chapter 02
(00:28:05) Chapter 03
(00:34:58) Chapter 04
(00:50:47) Chapter 05
(01:02:18) Chapter 06
(01:14:47) Chapter 07
(01:25:23) Chapter 08
(01:47:38) Chapter 09
(02:14:16) Chapter 10
(02:22:38) Chapter 11
(02:43:45) Chapter 12
(03:09:05) Chapter 13
(03:18:45) Chapter 14
(03:33:37) Chapter 15
(03:41:02) Chapter 16
(03:50:26) Chapter 17
(04:02:20) Chapter 18
(04:13:53) Chapter 19
(04:39:28) Chapter 20
(04:57:19) Chapter 21
(05:15:51) Chapter 22
(05:29:49) Chapter 23
(05:41:24) Chapter 24
(05:48:07) Chapter 25
(06:02:40) Chapter 26
(06:16:34) Chapter 27
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