Books: Spoken Word
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Realms of Gold
Read by Samuel West with Matthew Marsh
Naxos, 2hrs 30mins, pounds 8.99 tape, pounds 10.99 CD
WE CAN all mutter phrases from Keats's Ode to Autumn and Ode to a Nightingale, but how many of us know the context in which they were written? This imaginatively constructed selection from Keats's letters works both as a biography and a showcase for his poems, most of which he sent to friends and relations in the body of a letter. It also tells the pathetic story of his jealous passion for Fanny Brawne, and of the onset of the tuberculosis which would kill him at the age of 26. Samuel West's reading conveys both Keats's grandeur and his petulance. Includes booklet with the text of all the poems read, and markers for the CD version.
A Man in Full
Read by Peter Marinker
Isis, unabridged, c30hrs, pounds 25.99
THE GROWING popularity of spoken word in the UK is at last bringing down the cost of uncut books on tape. I'm not going to take back my recommendation earlier this year of the abridgement of Tom Wolfe's A Man in Full, but I have to say that this full-length version is magnificent listening. It tells of the parallel lives of a debt-loaded conglomerate king and an idealistic worker at the bottom of his organisation, and of how, through the unlikely inspiration of the ancient Greek Stoic Epictetus, they both transform their lives. Their stories are the framework for a vast and vivid mirror of the dubious morals - and touching dreams - of Middle America today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments