Victor Craig has narrated 5 audiobooks on Listento.it by 4 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.7★ across 5 ratings. The most-rated is The Practice of the Presence of God.
The Practice of the Presence of God
Summary
The Practice of the Presence of God is a collection of the teachings of Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection (Nicolas Herman, c. 1614 - 1691), a 17th-century Carmelite friar. The book consists of 16 short letters, a collection of spiritual maxims, four conversations written down by Father Joseph de Beaufort and a brief bio, most likely by de Beaufort. The theme of the work is the cultivation and development of an awareness of the presence of God. Lawrence's method of acquiring the presence seems to have required discipline and willpower at first, but once cultivated, it became effortless. The book became quite popular among both Catholics and Protestants, and was praised and recommended by, among others, John Wesley, Willard L Sperry, A. W. Tozer, and Hannah Whitall Smith.
Public Domain (P)2020 Woodkeep Audio
1984
Summary
George Orwell (1903-1950) was an English novelist, essayist, journalist, and critic. Considered a classic of dystopian fiction, 1984 has contributed many terms to common usage, including "Big Brother", "doublethink", "newspeak", and "thoughtcrime", while the adjective "Orwellian" has entered the English language in the context of government deception, surveillance, and misleading terminology. The narrative unfolds in an imagined future when most of the world has fallen prey to omnipresent government surveillance, propaganda, and endless war. In the novel 1984, the protagonist Winston Smith wrestles with oppression in Oceania, a state where the Party scrutinizes every human action with Big Brother. Defying a ban on individualism, Winston expresses his thoughts in a diary and pursues a relationship with his colleague, Julia. These criminal acts bring Winston to the attention of Big Brother.
©1949 George Orwell (P)2020 Woodkeep Audio
How Cosmic Forces Shape Our Destinies (1915)
Summary
Nikola Tesla (1856 - 1943) was a genius who revolutionized the way the world looks at electricity. In February 1915, Tesla published a short 12-page work titled How Cosmic Forces Shape Our Destinies in the New York American magazine, recreated as an audiobook here. As Tesla explains in this work, "everything that exists, organic or inorganic, animated or inert, is susceptible to stimulus from the outside. There is no gap between, no break of continuity, no special and distinguishing vital agent. The same law governs all matter, all the universe is alive."
Public Domain (P)2020 Woodkeep Audio
The Call of the Wild Classic Children's Book
Summary
The Call of the Wild is a novel by American author Jack London published in 1903. The story takes place in the extreme conditions of the Yukon during the 19th-century Klondike Gold Rush, where strong sled dogs were in high demand. After Buck, a domesticated dog, is snatched from a pastoral ranch in California, he is sold into a brutal life as a sled dog. The novella details Buck's struggle to adjust and survive the cruel treatment he receives from humans, other dogs, and nature. He eventually sheds the veneer of civilization altogether and instead relies on primordial instincts and the lessons he has learned to become a respected and feared leader in the wild. London lived for most of a year in the Yukon and gained from that experience material for the book. The story was serialized in the Saturday Evening Post in the summer of 1903 and released a month later in book form. The great popularity and success of the story made a reputation for London, with much of the story's appeal based on the simplicity with which he presented the themes in an almost mythical manner. As early as 1908 the story was adapted to film and has seen several more cinematic adaptations since that time. About the author: John Griffith "Jack" London (born John Griffith Chaney, January 12, 1876-November 22, 1916) was an American author, journalist, and social activist. He was a pioneer in the then-burgeoning world of commercial magazine fiction and was one of the first fiction writers to obtain worldwide celebrity and a large fortune from his fiction alone. He is best remembered as the author of The Call of the Wild and White Fang, both set in the Klondike Gold Rush, as well as the short stories "To Build a Fire", "An Odyssey of the North", and "Love of Life". He also wrote of the South Pacific in such stories as "The Pearls of Parlay" and "The Heathen" and of the San Francisco Bay area in The Sea Wolf. London was a passionate advocate of unionization, socialism, and the rights of workers and wrote several powerful works dealing with these topics such as his dystopian novel The Iron Heel, his nonfiction exposé The People of the Abyss, and The War of the Classes.
Public Domain (P)2020 Yashiki Audio
Animal Farm
Summary
The allegorical novella Animal Farm by George Orwell was first published in 1945. It is the story of farm animals that rebel against the farmer, intending to establish a society where the animals can be equal, free, and happy. With stirring slogans, they set out to create utopia. However, the rebellion is betrayed and the farm ends up in a state worse than it was before, under the dictatorship of a pig named Napoleon. When Animal Farm was first published, Stalinist Russia was its target. Today, it is quite clear that wherever and whenever freedom is suppressed, the message of George Orwell’s masterpiece is still relevant. Time magazine chose the book as one of the 100 best English-language novels from 1923 to 2005. It also features at number 31 on the Modern Library List of Best 20th-Century Novels.
©1949 George Orwell (P)2020 Woodkeep Audio