Classic Essays

Colum McCann, a writer of fierce originality and haunting lyricism, turns to the troubles in Northern Ireland and reveals the reverberations of political tragedy in the most intimate lives of men and women, parents and children.

Granna is ex-primary school teacher and grandmother Anna Gammond, who has been telling stories to countless numbers of children in her own warm distinctive style for more than 40 years. Here she brings her personal touch to Beauty & The Beast as well as two other classic stories, The Emperor's New Clothes and Three Billy Goats Gruff.

"Nothing more strangely indicates an enormous and silent evil of modern society than the extraordinary use which is made nowadays of the word orthodox. In former days the heretic was proud of not being a heretic. It was the kingdoms of the world and the police and the judges who were heretics. He was orthodox. He had no pride in having rebelled against them; they had rebelled against him. The armies with their cruel security, the kings with their cold faces, the decorous processes of State, the reasonable processes of law - all these like sheep had gone astray...."

Stephan Paryla-Raky versteht es meisterhaft, Kuhs geradezu "magische Prophetie" und heutige Aktualität aufleben und den satirischen Funken auf das Publikum überspringen zu lassen.

Mariano José de Larra y Sánchez de Castro nació el 24 de marzo de 1809 en Madrid. A partir de 1812 residió en Burdeos, ciudad en la que recaló tras el exilio de su padre, una persona de ideología liberal que había trabajado como médico del ejército francés durante la Guerra de la Independencia. En el año 1818 Larra regresó a España tras una amnistía. Comenzó a estudiar Medicina y Derecho, que abandonó para dedicarse a la literatura y al periodismo. También ejerció de crítico literario bajo el seudónimo de Fígaro en "La Revista Española".

Endspurt der großen Europareise: Nach einigen Tagen in Genf folgen Turin, Mailand, Venedig und Rom, inklusive unzähliger Abenteuer, Abschweifungen, Irrungen und Wirrungen...

These passages from the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson on religion and spiritual philosophy reveal a metaphysical thought that is quintessentially American and universally relevant to the spiritual needs of today's world. It is seldom that an American philosopher is found among the gurus, mystics, and masters present in the spiritual milieu. Emerson combined the spiritual intuition of the East with the philosophical acumen of the West.

Mark Twain's marvelous short work relating how to tell a story - an American story that is humorous, not comic as the British or witty as the French. The work also includes four marvelous but little-known essays: "The Wounded Soldier", "The Golden Arm", "Mental Telegraphy", and "The Invalid's Story". Canadian listeners will particularly enjoy "Mental Telegraphy", set in Quebec.

Über viele Jahre hat Lichtenberg ab 1764 in Schreibheften in aphoristischer Form unzählige Gedankensplitter notiert...

Toward the end of the Hundred Years War between France and England, as Merlin predicted, a great warrior emerged, uniting a beleaguered nation and leading it to improbable victories. It was said this warrior was a messenger of God. And it may have been, for a country was saved and a kingdom restored. This great leader of men, this messenger who united a nation, was a 17-year-old maiden named Joan.

As the saying goes, truth is stranger than fiction. But the saying doesn't go far enough, because truth is much stranger (and more entertaining) than any of us could possibly imagine. And the proof is right here.For almost 20 years, Chuck Shepherd, John J. Kohut, and Roland Sweet have been combing the nation's newspapers for true stories of bizarre human behavior.

Rolf Boysen liest Heinrich von Kleist. In seinem Essay "Über die allmähliche Verfertigung der Gedanken beim Reden" gibt Kleist den Rat, Probleme durch das "Darüber reden" mit anderen Menschen zu lösen. Allein schon das Formulieren bringt uns einer Lösung näher, denn "die Idee kommt beim Sprechen". In der Novelle "Das Erdbeben in Chili" droht den Liebenden Jeronimo und Josephe die Hinrichtung, als ein Erdbeben ihnen unverhofft zur Freiheit verhilft.

Dieses Hörbuch enthält folgende Fragmente: "Versuch einer kleinen praktischen Kinderlogik" von Karl Philipp Moritz, "Pflicht und Vergnügen" von Karl Philipp Moritz, "Die Zeitbremse nie wieder gesehen" von Kurt Tucholsky, "Stille sprechen" von Stefan Grossmann und "Unmusikalität" von Franz Werfel.

Dante Alighieri ist bis heute weithin bekannt als der Autor der "Göttlichen Komödie", eines der größten und einflussreichsten Werke der Literatur. Weitaus weniger bekannt sind die Werke, die er zuvor verfasst hatte. Eines davon ist "Das Neue Leben", verfasst zwischen 1292 und 1295. Vieles an diesem Werk ist außergewöhnlich. So schrieb Dante es nicht in Latein, damals der Sprache der Wissenschaft, sondern in seinem toskanischen Dialekt, dem heutigen Italienisch. Bemerkenswert ist auch die Form, in der er schrieb.

Wade into the tragic history of the Cagots, a group of Europeans who lived in Northern Spain and Western France who faced untold persecution. The horrors they faced seemed to be based in no real reasoning whatsoever, and Elizabeth Gaskell works to untangle the whys and hows of their hardships.

Wir verdanken die vorliegende Aufnahme der Tatsache, dass O.W. Fischer selbst wohl der beste Interpret seiner eigenen Werke ist...

Anton Kuh war ein bedeutender Schriftsteller obwohl er sehr wenig Gedrucktes hinterlassen hat. Nur den kleinen Geistern fällt das Schreiben leicht...

Cuando despertó se sentía mejor de lo que se había sentido en muchas semanas: simplemente no se sentía enfermo. Se apoyó un momento en el marco de la puerta que separaba su dormitorio y el baño hasta que estuvo seguro de que no se había mareado. Ni siquiera un poco, ni siquiera cuando se puso a buscar una zapatilla debajo de la cama.

A beautiful essay by Charles Dickens that reflects on the real meaning of Christmas, and the joy, the love, and the remembrances of those gone and those yet to come. Filled with warm understanding and a real appreciation of the meaning of the season, this is a delightful addition to everyone's Christmas queue.

The styles and rhythms of English can vary fully as much as in poetry. Therefore to compliment The Anthology Of English Poetry, The Anthology Of English Prose aims to enchant with the best of English prose, and to illustrate the ways in which each great writer has bent the language to his will. The recordings were made in the 1950s by members of the University of Cambridge and directed by George Rylands.