Showing results by narrator "Alastair Cameron" in All Categories

In Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle delves into the question of what is best for mankind and humans as individuals. His conclusion is that happiness is the best possible human condition, though he is not referencing the emotion of happiness. Instead, Aristotle concludes that true happiness comes as a way of life in which the individual contributes to the good of his community, as well as his mind.

The Ambassadors is the story of early 20th century American Puritanism and how such attitudes restrict the joy of living a full life. When Lewis Strether's widowed fiancé, Mrs. Newsome, sends him to Paris to convince her wayward son, Chad, to return to Massachusetts and take his place in the family business, life gets complicated.

The Jewish rebellion against Rome was a significant turning point in Jewish history. Although Josephus is known for his divided loyalties in the rebellion, his account is the most detailed record available of the Jewish life and revolt under Roman rule. Born in Jerusalem to a father of priestly descent and a mother who claimed royal ancestry, Josephus was a first-century Romano-Jewish scholar, hagiographer, and historian.

Seven Pillars of Wisdom is the autobiographical account of T. E. Lawrence's role in the Arab Revolt against the Turkish Empire. The book is mostly set in the deserts of Arabia with a great deal of time spent marching through them with camels and the telling of the events through Lawrence's eyes.

Israel and Palestine: The Complete History seeks to explain the overall story of Israeli and Palestinian tensions and divisions in the region. Indeed, without properly understanding the full history of the area, it is impossible to understand the current situation. In this book, author Ian Carroll takes the listener back to the very beginning of the conflict some 4,000 years ago, then moves through the major events of the Middle Ages and 20th century, and brings us right up to the present day, documenting the significant events that have happened along the way.

Young Prince Mishkin is that rare thing - a "completely beautiful human being". He is honest, humble, generous, and selfless, but unfortunately these traits mean he is often mistaken for an idiot. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, after being away at a Swiss sanatorium for the treatment of epilepsy, Prince Mishkin is taken under the wing of the wife of General Yepanchin, who arranges for him to live with the family of her money-obsessed friend Ganya.

Written in two parts, Triplanetary introduces the concept of two warring alien races: the Arisians and the Eddorians, whose battles on Earth are unknown to the human race, and in fact the humans are unaware that the Arisians have been secretly and selectively breeding the humans to use as weapons for these battles. From the time of Rome to World War II, the author takes the listener on a lightning-fast journey through Earth's history as the warzone for aliens.

Written over 100 years ago, The Antichrist by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is a thought-provoking piece of literature in which Nietzsche urges the listener to be honest and critical in regards to previously accepted thoughts of modern Christianity. He suggests that the current basis for what is right and wrong, happiness and sadness, and other essential concepts is completely backward. Instead, every end result can be measured based on what Nietzsche calls the "will to power".

Ralph Waldo Emerson was a leader in the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He is best known for his political philosophy and ideological thoughts on the moral worth of the individual and his work greatly influenced many of the great thinkers of his time, including Henry David Thoreau.

The Book of Mormon is a volume of holy scriptures comparable to the Bible. It is a record of God’s dealings with ancient inhabitants of the Americas and contains the fullness of the everlasting gospel. The Book of Mormon was translated by Joseph Smith and contains texts sacred to the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints.

Devils, by Fyodor Dostoevsky, is a classic political satire exploring the effects of imported European ideologies such as atheism and nihilism on Christian Russia. Based on the true-life political murder of Ivan Ivanov by the revolutionary Sergey Nechayev, Dostoevsky wrote this tale of society scandals, doomed marriages and fatally misguided idealism after returning from exile in Siberia.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (an English historian) is a six-volume collection that examines the fate of one of the most renowned civilizations in history, the Roman Empire. In this masterpiece, Gibbon covers the time periods from the second century A.D. to the 15th century, and takes a look at the history of early Christianity along with the Roman State church, the history of Europe and the Middle East along with the rise of Islam, and the events that lead to the collapse of the Roman Empire among many other historical events.

Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers have long been considered to be some of the most important works in political science ever written. The Federalist Papers establishes a method of constitutional government that was the building block for the type of government the United States has operated under for over 200 years.

The Pursuit of God is a deeply spiritual book that focuses on forming a relationship with God through Christianity. In the first chapter, Tozer suggests that in order to know God, one must strip down to the bare necessities and focus entirely on the pursuit. Although putting God first can be difficult, Tozer asserts that doing so will effectively bring God into one's life.

Titus Livy's only known surviving work is a monumental history of Rome that was originally written in Latin. It is estimated that Livy's The History of Rome was written between 27 and 9 BC and covers the legends of Aeneas, the fall of Troy, the city's founding in 753 BC, and Livy's account ends with the reign of Emperor Augustus. The History of Rome is a must-have for anyone interested in ancient history and the Roman era. With colorful detail and intriguing insight, Titus brings to life some of the most turbulent times in human history.

Written from his death bed, The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant are written by the most well-known Civil War General himself, Ulysses S. Grant. In a review of his life as a private citizen, as well as a general, Grant lets the listener know what a heroic figure he really was. Like so many men before him, Grant describes being pressured into a certain way of life by his father. He never aspired for a military career, but his father insisted on West Point Academy for his schooling.

The Brothers Karamazov is a tale of a complicated and broken family headed by a father, Fyodor Karamazov, who becomes entangled with his three sons, whom he neglected, after both mothers died.

When it comes to classic literature, Histories by Herodotus is one of the masterpieces. In this classic, Herodotus tells of how a group of Greek states banded together to defeat the mighty Persian Empire. Throughout the story, Herodotus includes colorful descriptions of Egypt, as well as tales of lake dwellers in Europe and even a dog that can heal the ill and ants that dig gold from the earth.

Thus Spoke Zarathustra is the fictional account of the travels and teaching of the prophet Zarathustra. One of the more controversial aspects of Nietzsche's work is that he puts forth the idea of human evolution and the transformation of modern humans from their ape-like ancestors. Nietzsche inserts a number of controversial ideas into his fictional account of Zarathustra, including some reoccurring themes such as the superman, a self-mastered individual.

The Age of Reason is formed of two parts. The first, written in 1793 in France during the revolution, is a criticism of not just the Christian church, although it is primarily focused on Christian theology, but as a rejection of all forms of organized religion, including Judaism and Islam. However, Paine's position is not one of atheism, and he begins the book with a declaration of faith in one god.