David Rintoul has narrated 84 audiobooks on Listento.it by 57 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.5★ across 362 ratings. The most-rated is Munich.
The Reunion
Summary
A glamorous prep school girl goes missing after a love affair with a teacher in this irresistible thriller from France's number one best-selling novelist. Twenty-five years ago, on a campus paralyzed by a snowstorm, beautiful 19-year-old Vinca Rockwell ran away with her philosophy teacher after they began a secret affair. For Vinca, "love is everything or nothing". She is never seen again. The once inseparable Manon, Thomas and Maxime - Vinca's best friends - have not spoken since graduation. Twenty-five years earlier, under terrible circumstances, the three of them committed a murder and buried the body in the gymnasium wall, the same wall that is about to be demolished to make way for an ultramodern new building. Now, the three friends are about to meet again at their reunion. Will decades of lies unravel to reveal what really happened on that deadly winter night? Taut, suspenseful, and addictive, The Reunion will grip you until its haunting final tick.
©2019 Guillaume Musso (P)2019 Hachette Audio
The Colony
Summary
For over a century, the New Hope Island vanishing has tantalized the world. How did 150 people disappear from a lonely Hebridean island, leaving no trace and no clues? Media magnate Alexander McIntyre decides to solve the mystery, and gathers a team of experts to mount an expedition to the island. He hopes running the story as a rolling exclusive will revive the fortunes of his flagship news-stand title. He hopes to find conclusive answers to questions that have teased a curious world for decades. And he wants his own secret theory triumphantly vindicated. But all is not as it should be on the island. A 1930s cinefilm reveals something as terrifying as it is inexplicable. An Afghan war veteran, sent to secure the island before the experts arrive, witnesses a nightmare far beyond battle trauma. And as expedition members gather, they discover to their gruesome cost that there are some mysteries far safer left unsolved...
©2013 F. G. Cottam (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
Thomas Cromwell
Summary
The long-awaited biography of the genius who masterminded Henry VIII's bloody revolution in the English government, which reveals at last Cromwell's role in the downfall of Anne Boleyn.
"This a book that - and it's not often you can say this - we have been awaiting for four hundred years." (Hilary Mantel, author of Wolf Hall)
Since the 16th century we have been fascinated by Henry VIII and the man who stood beside him, guiding him, enriching him, and enduring the king's insatiable appetites and violent outbursts until Henry ordered his beheading in July 1540. After a decade of sleuthing in the royal archives, Diarmaid MacCulloch has emerged with a tantalizing new understanding of Henry's mercurial chief minister, the inscrutable and utterly compelling Thomas Cromwell.
History has not been kind to the son of a Putney brewer who became the architect of England's split with Rome. Where past biographies portrayed him as a scheming operator with blood on his hands, Hilary Mantel reimagined him as a far more sympathetic figure buffered by the whims of his master. So which was he - the villain of history or the victim of her creation? MacCulloch sifted through letters and court records for answers and found Cromwell's fingerprints on some of the most transformative decisions of Henry's turbulent reign. But he also found Cromwell the man, an administrative genius, rescuing him from myth and slander.
The real Cromwell was a deeply loving father who took his biggest risks to secure the future of his son, Gregory. He was also a man of faith and a quiet revolutionary. In the end, he could not appease or control the man whose humors were so violent and unpredictable. But he made his mark on England, setting her on the path to religious awakening and indelibly transforming the system of government of the English-speaking world.
©2018 Diarmaid MacCulloch (P)2018 Penguin Audio
The Wisdom of Life, Counsels and Maxims
Summary
'The two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom.' Arthur Schopenhauer (1788-1860) was one of the most influential philosophers of the 19th century because his humanistic, atheistic, if pessimistic views chimed with a new secularism that was emerging from a Western society dominated by religion. Despite his rather forbidding image (and a few outdated views), he is one of the most approachable German philosophers, and this is certainly evident in these two key works, The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims. This is, says his translator, T. Bailey Saunders, because his theories were based on observation and experience - 'interpreting the world as it is'. In The Wisdom of Life, Schopenhauer considers eudemonology (the science of happiness) - 'the art of ordering our lives so as to obtain the greatest possible amount of pleasure and success'. He begins by dividing 'differences in the human lot' into three: what a man is in the sense of personality; what a man has in terms of property and possessions; and how a man stands in terms of the estimation of others. In the course of the book, he expands on these divisions. In Counsels and Maxims, he develops the theme of eudemonology by advising that it is best to replace the pursuit of pleasure and happiness with a more measured approach based on the avoidance of pain and suffering. However, his views are not as negative and pessimistic as this may seem, not least because he was the first major Western philosopher to be influenced by Eastern thought, notably Buddhism, which he acknowledges. In his exposition, Schopenhauer draws on numerous sources as varied as Plato and Horace, Goethe, Shakespeare, Silesius and, of course, his own major work The World as Will and Representation (1818). Both The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims first appeared (under the collective heading of Aphorisms on the Wisdom of Life) in his collection of writings Parerga and Paralipomena (1851). Schopenhauer proved a major influence on numerous key figures, from Nietzsche, Schrödinger and Freud to Tolstoy, Wagner, Einstein, Thomas Mann and Samuel Beckett. Translation by T. Bailey Saunders (revised).
Public Domain (P)2016 Ukemi Productions Ltd
The Socratic Dialogues Middle Period, Volume 2
Summary
The remarkable range of Plato's Dialogues is vividly demonstrated by these three works. It opens with Phaedrus, a highly personal discussion between Socrates (David Rintoul) and the young, love-struck Phaedrus (Gunnar Cauthery). They go for a walk outside the walls of Athens and, under a plane tree by the banks of the Ilissus, talk about love - erotic and 'Platonic'. Socrates endeavours to steer Phaedrus away from infatuation and show him that real love is based on concern for the beloved while also delivering a pointed criticism against lack of clarity in thought and expression! The subject of Cratylus is the meaning and etymology of names and words - a Dialogue unlike any other. Why is Zeus called Zeus? What is the origin of the names of Pallas Athene, Poseidon, Uranus? And how did psuche come to mean 'soul' and soma body? Attic Greek, the Greek of Plato's day, is prominent here, and care has been taken in the appropriate pronunciation for this recording. Finally, there is Parmenides, often regarded as the most challenging of all the Dialogues. Cephalus (Laurence Kennedy) repeats a discussion he heard between Socrates, Zeno and Parmenides as Socrates defends pluralist views and the theory of forms against monism. Translation by Benjamin Jowett.
Public Domain (P)2017 Ukemi Productions Ltd
The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse
Summary
From the beloved and best-selling author of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series comes a heartwarming tale of hope and friendship set amid the turmoil of World War II. Val Eliot, a young woman working on an English farm during the war, meets Mike, a US Air Force pilot stationed nearby. When Val rescues a Border Collie named Peter Woodhouse, who is being mistreated by his owner, she realizes the dog would actually be safer with Mike. And so Peter Woodhouse finds a new home on the air force base, and Val finds herself falling in love. Peter Woodhouse becomes Dog First Class, a canine mascot on the base who boldly accompanies the officers on their missions, and Val becomes Mike's fiancee. But then a disaster jeopardizes the future of them all, and Peter Woodhouse brings Ubi, a German corporal, into their orbit, sparking a friendship that comes with great risk but carries with it the richest of rewards. Infused with Alexander McCall Smith's renowned charm and warmth, The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is an uplifting story of love and the power of friendship to bring sworn enemies together.
©2018 Alexander McCall Smith (P)2018 Recorded Books
An Uncertain Place
Summary
Commissaire Adamsberg leaves Paris for a three-day conference in London. Accompanying him are Estalere, a young sergeant, and Commandant Danglard, who is terrified at the idea of travelling beneath the Channel. It is a welcome change of scenery, until a macabre and brutal case comes to the attention of their colleague Radstock from New Scotland Yard. Just outside the gates of the baroque Highgate Cemetery a pile of shoes is found. Not so strange in itself, but the shoes contain severed feet. As Scotland Yard's investigation begins, Adamsberg and his colleagues return home and are confronted with a massacre in a suburban home. Adamsberg and Danglard are drawn in to a trail of vampires and vampire-hunters that leads them all the way to Serbia, a place where the old certainties no longer apply. In Fred Vargas’s riveting new novel, Commissaire Adamsberg finds himself in the line of fire as never before.
©2011 Editions Viviane Hamy, Paris (P)2011 Random House Audio Go
Eagles in the Storm
Summary
The date is AD 15. The German chieftain Arminius has been defeated, one of the lost Roman eagles recovered and thousands of German tribesmen slain. Yet these successes aren't nearly enough for senior centurion Lucius Tullus. Not until Arminius is dead, his old legion's eagle found and the enemy tribes completely vanquished will he rest. But Arminius - devious, fearless - is burning for revenge of his own. Charismatic as ever, he raises another large tribal army, which will carry the Romans the length and breadth of the land. Soon Tullus finds himself in a cauldron of bloodshed, treachery and danger. His mission to retrieve his legion's eagle will be his most perilous yet....
©2017 Ben Kane (P)2017 Random House Audiobooks
In the Darkness
Summary
Eva is walking by the river one afternoon when a body floats to the surface of the icy water. She tells her daughter to wait patiently while she calls the police, but when she reaches the phone box Eva dials another number altogether. The dead man, Egil, has been missing for months, and it doesn't take long for Inspector Sejer and his team to establish that he was the victim of a very violent killer. But the trail has gone cold. It's as puzzling as another unsolved case on Sejer's desk: the murder of a prostitute who was found dead just before Egil went missing. While Sejer is trying to piece together the fragments of a seemingly impossible case, Eva gets a phone call late one night. A stranger speaks and then swiftly hangs up. Eva looks out into the darkness and listens. All is quiet. Gripping and thought-provoking, In the Darkness is Karin Fossum's first novel featuring the iconic Inspector Sejer. The prizewinning series has been published around the world to great acclaim.
©2012 Karin Fossum (P)2012 Random House AudioGo
In Praise of Shadows
Summary
"Were it not for shadows there would be no beauty." In Praise of Shadows is an eloquent tribute to the austere beauty of traditional Japanese aesthetics. Through architecture, ceramics, theatre, food, women, and even toilets, Tanizaki explains the essence of shadows and darkness, and how they are able to augment beauty. He laments the heavy electric lighting of the West and its introduction to Japan, and shows how the artificial, bright, and polished aesthetic of the West contrasts unfavorably with the moody and natural light of the East. Dreamy, melancholic, and mysterious, In Praise of Shadows is a haunting insight into a forgotten world. The popular translation by Thomas J. Harper and Edward G. Seidensticker is essential listening for anyone interested in Japan and Japanese culture. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©1977 Leete’s Island Books, Inc. (P)2017 Naxos AudioBooks
Trump
Summary
Real estate titan, best-selling author, and TV impresario Donald J. Trump reveals the secrets of his success. Over the years, everyone has urged Trump to write on this subject, but it wasn't until NBC and executive producer Mark Burnett asked him to star in The Apprentice that he realized just how hungry people are to learn how great personal wealth is created and first-class businesses are run. In Trump: How To Get Rich, Trump tells all, about the lessons learned from The Apprentice, his real estate empire, his position as head of the 20,000-member Trump Organization, and his most important role, as a father who has successfully taught his children the value of money and hard work. With his characteristic brass and smarts, Trump offers insights on how to: Invest wisely Impress the boss and get a raise Manage a business efficiently Hire, motivate, and fire employees Negotiate anything Maintain the quality of your brand Think big and live large Plus, The Donald tells all on the art of the hair!
©2004 Donald J. Trump (P)2004 Simon & Schuster, Inc. Sound Ideas is an imprint of Simon & Schuster Audio Division, Simon & Schuster, Inc.
The Secret of Crickley Hall
Summary
There is an old, empty house in Devil's Cleave, a deep gorge that leads from the high moors down to the harbour village of Hollow Bay. The house is Crickley Hall and it's large and grim, somehow foreboding. It's rumoured to be haunted. It's thought to hold a secret. Despite some reservations, the Caleighs move in, searching for respite in this beautiful part of North Devon, seeking peace and perhaps to come to terms with what's happened to them as a family. But all is not well with the house. They hear unaccountable noises. A cellar door they shut every night is always open again in the morning. They see things that cannot be real. The house is the last place the Caleighs should have come to, for the terror that unfolds is beyond belief. Soon they will discover the secret horror of Crickley Hall....
©2006 James Herbert (P)2014 Audible, Inc.
The Rats
Summary
Book One in Herbert's classic "rats" series. The terror begins. London is struck by an invasion. Women, children, old and young, none are safe from the deadly menace. The attacks are swift and sure, escape is impossible. A state of emergency is declared. Evacuation seems the only solution in the face of a growing panic and mounting death toll. War is declared on the public enemy number one. The Rats! James Herbert was one of Britain's greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages. Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975. His first novel, The Rats, was an instant bestseller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction. Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall. Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.
©1974 James Herbert (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Kidnapped
Summary
When the naive David Balfour sets out on his quest for a long-lost relative, a terrifying chain of events is set in motion. He is plunged into a world of infamy and violence from which there seems no escape - until, that is, he meets the enigmatic and valiant Highlander, Alan Breck.... Kidnapped is a captivating novel set around Scottish events of the 18th century, most notably the Appin murder, the case of a highlander who was wrongly implicated in the shooting of a government official.
Public Domain (P)2016 Naxos AudioBooks
The Fourth Protocol
Summary
Plan Aurora, hatched in a remote dacha in the forest outside Moscow and initiated with relentless brilliance and skill, is a plan within a plan that, in its spine-chilling ingenuity, breaches the ultra-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a jigsaw of devastation. MI5 investigator John Preston, working against the most urgent of deadlines, leads an operation to prevent the act of murderous destruction aimed at tumbling Britain into revolution...
©1984 Frederick Forsyth (P)2014 Audible Inc.
Domain
Summary
Book Three in Herbert’s classic ‘rats’ series. The final countdown. The long-dreaded nuclear conflict. The city torn apart, shattered, its people destroyed or mutilated beyond hope. For just a few, survival is possible only beneath the wrecked streets - if there is time to avoid the slow-descending poisonous ashes. But below, the rats, demonic offspring of irradiated forebears, are waiting. They know that Man is weakened, become frail. Man has become their prey. James Herbert was one of Britain’s greatest popular novelists and our #1 best-selling writer of chiller fiction. Widely imitated and hugely influential, he wrote 23 novels which have collectively sold over 54 million copies worldwide and been translated into 34 languages. Born in London in the forties, James Herbert was art director of an advertising agency before turning to writing fiction in 1975. His first novel, The Rats, was an instant bestseller and is now recognised as a classic of popular contemporary fiction. Herbert went on to publish a new top ten best-seller every year until 1988. He wrote six more bestselling novels in the 1990s and three more since: Once, Nobody True and The Secret of Crickley Hall. Herbert died in March 2013 at the age of 69.
©1984 James Herbert (P)2013 Audible Ltd
Pied Piper
Summary
John Howard is determined to brighten up his old age by taking a fishing trip to France, but during his stay the Nazis invade. Howard must try to escape back to England with the two small children of some friends who are forced to stay behind in order to help the Allied war effort. As the conflict grows closer, the roads become impassable and Howard also comes across five more children who need his help. He ends up leading this motley group of youngsters through the French countryside, constantly beset by danger yet heroically protecting his charges. Pied Piper has twice been adapted for feature film, with Peter O’Toole playing Howard in the 1990 version and Monty Woolley in the 1942 version.
Public Domain (P)2012 Audible Ltd
The Socratic Dialogues: Middle Period, Volume 3
Summary
The Republic is perhaps the single most important, the most studied and the most quoted text of all of Plato's Socratic Dialogues. Through the medium of Socrates, Plato outlines his view and ideas concerning the ideal working of the city-state. Socrates narrates a conversation that took place the previous day with Cephalus, Glaucon, Thrasymachus and others. The dialogue is organised into 10 books and covers a broad range of topics, including the ideal community, the ideal rulers of the community - philosophers and the philosopher king - and various forms of government, including timocracy, oligarchy, democracy and tyranny. Part of the Ukemi recording of the complete Socratic Dialogues by Plato, it uses the classic translation by Benjamin Jowett and is read with authority by David Rintoul.
Public Domain (P)2018 Ukemi Productions Ltd
The Socratic Dialogues: Late Period, Volume 1
Summary
These five very different Socratic Dialogues date from Plato's later period, when he was revisiting his early thoughts and conclusions and showing a willingness for revision. In Timaeus (mainly a monologue read by David Timson in the title role), Plato considers cosmology in terms of the nature and structure of the universe, the ever-changing physical world and the unchanging eternal world. And he proposes a demiurge as a benevolent creator God. Though unfinished, Critias (read by Peter Kenny) is a fascinating document in which Plato tells the story of the strong island empire of Atlantis and reports of a more ideal Athens in the past. In Sophist, Plato questions the nature of the sophist and how he differs from a statesman or a philosopher. In Statesman, Plato questions his earlier projection as the philosopher king as the ideal ruler (The Republic) and considers the importance of other issues such as political awareness. In Philebus, Plato's spotlight falls on hedonism, the life of pleasure - and the balance offered by wisdom and intelligence. Translation by Benjamin Jowett.
Public Domain (P)2018 Ukemi Productions Ltd
Ring of Bright Water
Summary
'Ring of Bright Water' represents Gavin Maxwell's account of his life at Camusfearna, a remote cottage in the western Highlands, and in particular the two otters, Mijbil and Edal, who became his constant and much-loved companions.
©1960 Gavin Maxwell (P)2014 Audible, Inc.