Typhoon is a short novel by Joseph Conrad, begun in 1899 and published in Pall Mall Magazine in 1902. It is a classic sea yarn that describes how Captain Macwhirr sails the Siamese steamer Nan-Shan into a typhoon. Other characters include the young Jukes and Solomon, the head engineer. The novel classically evokes the sea-faring life at the turn of the century. While Macwhirr is emotionally estranged from his family and crew, and though he refuses to consider an alternate course to skirt the typhoon, his indomitable will in the face of a superior natural force elicits grudging admiration. (Summary from Wikipedia)
6 episodes
A stranger from the North Woods has just arrived in the Green Forest causing a great stir among the woodland creatures who live there. They quickly discover that this odd fellow with the barbed spikes in his fur is the loyal and brave Prickly Porky the Porcupine. Not long after Prickly Porky arrives, a bit of early morning fun leads to a forest mystery that draws friends and foes alike into the investigation of an unknown headless, tailless, whirling creature seen only at sunrise on the hill by Prickly Porky's home. The Adventures of Prickly Porky includes popular characters from children's author Thornton W. Burgess' other "Bedtime Story-Books" including Unc' Billy Possum, Peter & Mrs. Peter Rabbit, Buster Bear, Granny & Reddy Fox, Sammy Jay and many more. (Summary by Jill Engle)
23 episodes
Dawson published over thirty books, the one best remembered today probably being the animal adventure story Finn the Wolfhound (1908)…. His own dog Tynagh and her son Gareth, who was described as the largest and finest specimen of his breed to date, served as the models for Tara and Finn in Finn the Wolfhound (1908). This is probably Dawson’s best-remembered and certainly his most frequently reprinted work: Finn, a champion Irish Wolfhound, is taken from England to Australia where he undergoes a series of adventures, being exhibited as a wild animal in a circus and escaping to live in the outback before eventually finding his old master and saving his life. - Summary by Wikipedia and david wales
33 episodes
A collection of Nursery Rhymes retold by the author and others. - Summary by David Lawrence
*Additional Proof-listening by Christine Lehman.
30 episodes
John Clare was an English poet, the son of a farm labourer, who came to be known for his celebratory representations of the English countryside and his lamentation of its disruption. His poetry underwent a major re-evaluation in the late 20th century, and he is now often considered to be among the most important 19th-century poets. His biographer Jonathan Bate states that Clare was "the greatest labouring-class poet that England has ever produced. No one has ever written more powerfully of nature, of a rural childhood, and of the alienated and unstable self". - Summary by Wikipedia
11 episodes
"Her death is not only a great loss to those who knew and loved her: it is a great loss to Canadian literature and to the Canadian nation. I must think that she will hold a memorable place among poets in virtue of her descent and also in virtue of the work she has left behind, small as the quantity of that work is. I believe that Canada will, in future times, cherish her memory more and more, for of all Canadian poets she was the most distinctly a daughter of the soil, inasmuch as she inherited the blood of the great primeval race now so rapidly vanishing, and of the greater race that has supplanted it." (Theodore Watts-Dunton, from the Introduction to Flint and Feather)
10 episodes
This charming collection of short stories features a bumblebee called Buster, his (extensive) family, and a great number of other animals who he meets after they move home to a new meadow. - Summary by Rosslyn Carlyle
23 episodes
A hero is an individual of unusual gifts and achievements. Whether it be man or animal, this definition applies; and it is the histories of such that appeal to the imagination and to the hearts of those who hear them.In this volume every one of the stories, though more or less composite, is founded on the actual life of a veritable animal hero. The most composite is the White Reindeer. This story I wrote by Utrovand in Norway during the summer of 1900, while the Reindeer herds grazed in sight on the near uplands.The Lynx is founded on some of my own early experiences in the backwoods.
It is less than ten years since the 'Jack Warhorse' won his hero-crown. Thousands of "Kaskadoans" will remember him, and by the name Warhorse his coursing exploits are recorded in several daily papers.The least composite is Arnaux. It is so nearly historical that several who knew the bird have supplied additional items of information.The nest of the destroying Peregrines, with its owners and their young, is now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural History of New York. The Museum authorities inform me that Pigeon badges with the following numbers were found in the nest: 9970-S, 1696, U. 63, 77, J. F. 52, Ex. 705, 6-1894, C 20900. Perhaps some Pigeon-lover may learn from these lines the fate of one or other wonderful flier that has long been recorded "never returned." - Summary by the Note to the Reader
16 episodes
A fight in the Midwest leaves the dog's owner dead. He searches for a new friend and encounters Trading Jeff. Jeff is a traveling peddler. Beware, though, because life as a peddler isn't easy (and it's definitely not safe!) Join us for the adventures of Jeff and his dog in this delightful children's book. Summary by Adele de Pignerolles.
12 episodes
Robert Chambers was a contemporary of Lovecraft, and this book consists of "weird supernatural tales" in a somewhat similar manner, except that the emphasis is on humor rather than horror. The narrator works for the newly opened Bronx Zoo in New York. He describes his adventures trying to obtain various rare specimens for the zoo's collection, animals that range from the merely extinct to the considerably more unusual. Along the way, he invariably finds a beautiful woman to fall in love with. (Summary by Peter Eastman)
26 episodes
Cawein's poetry allied his love of nature with a devotion to earlier English and European literature, mythology, and classical allusion. - Summary by Wikipedia
10 episodes
Kipling was one of the most popular writers in the United Kingdom, in both prose and verse, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In 1907, at the age of 42, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first English-language writer to receive the prize and its youngest recipient to date. He was also sounded out for the British Poet Laureateship and on several occasions for a knighthood, both of which he declined. - Summary by Wikipedia
13 episodes
This 1905 collection is of the author’s short animal stories, some previously published in magazines. - Summary by David Wales
7 episodes
Action and adventure short stories of men and animals in the wild. - Summary by David Wales
14 episodes
This 1915 novella was published as the First World War raged. "Belgium lies bleeding. Across her level, lush meadows the harsh-shod hosts of war have marched. Beside her peaceful waters the sons of God have spilled each other’s blood. Beneath her noble trees have raged the fires of human hate. Her king and his brave warriors have fought to save that which was their own and, driven back, have left their smiling land to suffer the desolation which has ever been the conqueror’s boast. Her ancient cities smoke. The inspired craftsmanship of an elder day has been destroyed forever. Belgium lies moaning. Across the winter sea we have heard the wailing of men and women among their ruined homes—honest townsfolk, simple Walloon and Flemish peasants, who had borne no malice and had done no wrong. And amid the cries of anguish and despair there have come to me the weeping of a little girl named Lisa and the voice of a faithful dog whining for his master."
- Summary by Author's Introduction and David Wales
8 episodes
This 1916 book is a collection of sixteen of the author's dog stories previously published in magazines. ( David Wales)
16 episodes
Arthur Scott Bailey, a native of the state of Vermont, wrote over forty children's books using a variety of animals, birds and even insects to entertain. The Tale of Rusty Wren is one of 16 stories of his Tuck-Me-In Tales series. - Summary by Larry Wilson
23 episodes
Old Granny Fox and grandson Reddy Fox must use all their cunning to hunt up enough food to survive the long winter. Food in the Green Meadow is scarce but Farmer Brown's hens are locked up tight and protected by Bowser the Hound, so Granny takes a conceited Reddy hunting and teaches him some surprising new tricks to lure in their dinner. Old Granny and Reddy Fox encounter danger and adventure in their quests to keep their bellies full, including a close encounter with Farmer Brown's boy, a clever plot to steal Bowser's food, and an unforeseen thief who might outsmart this sneaky pair. Note: The chapter numbering unfortunately misses #15. The whole book, however, is here for your listening pleasure. Summary by Jill Engle
10 episodes
This collection of stories about dogs and the people they own was published in 1918. The story proceeds leisurely with much information about different breeds of dogs. The author obviously likes both boys and dogs. ( David Wales)
19 episodes
To My Buddies
Of the U. S. Army—some three million in number;
Of the 90th Division more specifically, and
Particularly to the 315th Engineers, to which
Regiment I was “attached for rations,”
Being a Liability of Company “E,”
This little Volume is Dedicated. - Summary by Author
7 episodes
Most of the stories in this collection attempt to present one or another of those problems of life or nature to which, as it appears to many of us, there is no adequate solution within sight. Others are the almost literal transcript of dreams which seemed to me to have a coherency, completeness, and symbolic significance sufficiently marked to justify me in setting them down. The rest are scenes from that simple life of Canadian backwoods and tide-country with which my earlier years made me familiar. - Summary by CHARLES G D ROBERTS
15 episodes
"Birds and Nature" was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds, animals and other natural subjects with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." - Summary by J. M. Smallheer
24 episodes
Narrator, prywaty nauczyciel z Małowieży, przygarnia wilcze szczenię, potomka rzekomego wilkołaka, starając się go wychować w towarzystwie swoich psów. Takim obrotem sprawy jednak nie są zachwyceni miejscowi, a i w samym wychowanku wkrótce zaczyna brać górę natura przodków. (Piotr Nater)
Jako malarz zwierząt zajmuje Adolf Dygasiński w naszej beletrystyce współczesnej miejsce naczelne. Nikt mu dotąd w tym kierunku nie dorównał. (z przedmowy)
6 episodes
Tarzan's amazing ability to establish kinship with some of the most dangerous animals in the jungle serves him well in this exciting story of his adventures with the Golden Lion, Jad-bal-ja, when the great and lordly animal becomes his ally and protector.
Tarzan learns from the High Priestess, La, of a country north of Opar which is held in dread by the Oparians. It is peopled by a strange race of gorilla-men with the intelligence of humans and the strength of gorillas. From time to time they attack Opar, carrying off prisoners for use as slaves in the jewel-studded Temple where they worship a great black-maned lion.
Accompanied by the faithful Jad-bal-ja, Tarzan invades the dread country in an attempt to win freedom for the hundreds of people held in slavery there... - Summary by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Proof-listeners: softstepgd and Mark Nelson
21 episodes
Murray (1840-1904) was a sometime clergyman, journalist, and purveyor of the outdoor life. His books did much to popularize the virtues of outdoor experience, especially in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York. Here are stories, some humorous some serious, of the out-of-doors, of love between man and woman, man and horse, man and dog, teacher and acolyte, of wisdom and foolishness. This recording is a selection of his short stories from "The Busted Ex-Texan And Other Stories" (1889), "How Deacon Tubman And Parson Whitney Kept New Years And Other Stories" (1888) and "A Ride With A Mad Horse In A Freight-Car" (1898). - Summary by david wales
8 episodes
Seine Bekanntheit verdankt Naturwissenschaftler David Friedrich Weinland seinem Jugendroman 'Rulaman', der das Leben in der 'Steinzeit' und die damit verbundenen Gefahren durch Flora und Fauna beschreibt. Weinland verwendet dabei Namen und Bezeichnungen, die er anderen Sprachen entlehnte. So heißt der Stamm Rulamans Aimats. Dieser Ausdruck ist wie viele andere dem lappländischen entnommen da Weinland davon ausging die Lappen hätten die Urbevölkerung Europas gestellt und seien später durch das Eindringen der Kelten und weiteren Völkern an den Rand gedrängt worden.
Das Hörbuch entspricht der sechsten Auflage der Printausgabe von 1906 ohne Vorwörter und ohne Anhang mit den Begriffserklärungen. Meist werden die Bedeutungen aus dem Text selbst deutlich. Bei Interesse kann hier kostenlos und frei zugänglich das Buch in einer moderneren überarbeiteten Fassung nachgelesen werden und im Anhang die Begriffserklärungen eingesehen werden:
bitte hier klicken.
- Summary by Bernd Ungerer
32 episodes
A collection of folk stories and fairy tales from Southern Nigeria gathered by Elphinstone Dayrell, deputy commissioner of the region when the book was published. - Summary by Elsie Selwyn
41 episodes
This 1922 adventure story for youth and dog lovers will delight anyone with just a little suspension of disbelief. Sentimental and anthropomorphic, it’s still a good read/listen for those who would appreciate how a devoted dog saved his physician master’s life during World War I. Clarence Hawkes, crippled and blind, was a prolific, popular writer, well-known for his nature stories in the twentieth century. - Summary by David Wales
5 episodes
A collection of stories exploring the psychological and paranormal, some stories bordering on the macabre. - Summary by Luke Castle
17 episodes
This is an adventure story about a horse in the wild west. (Summary by Rocky Taylor)
15 episodes
The short, simple lines of these delicate poems resemble song lyrics, emphasizing the concrete but hinting at transcendent realities, although a few deal with abstractions directly. Many voices are heard: of children (once possibly a fetus), animals, parents, and narrators.
The two companion volumes deal with the inevitable passage from the child’s wonder and delight in the creation to the adult’s understanding of it. This transition is fraught with dangers and can result in unhealthy attitudes. Blake has little good to say about human institutions dedicated to education, but sometimes lucky children do hit upon wholesome means of passing from innocence into experience.
Interconnections between poems are vital to interpretation: not only sequential poems like "Little Boy Lost" and "Little Boy Found" but also counterparts with the same name in each volume, such as those entitled "Nurse's Song."
Other interconnections can be discovered only by examining the total work, including the drawings. For, like all of Blake's works, these little poems are composite works of art, the words being supplemented and qualified by pictorial art as in today's graphic novels. For example, "Nurse's Song" and "The Fly" in Songs of Experience are illustrated with drawings whose similarity in general form emphasizes their sharp contrast in significance, one presenting a repressive, controlling approach to education and the other a kindly, supportive approach. There are also many small figures and repeated vegetative forms that fill the corners and spaces between the lines or decorate the titles, and each of these bears upon the interpretation of the work.
Yet, although the poetry is not to be mistaken for the complete work, it can be appreciated for itself alone. - Summary by Thomas A. Copeland
2 episodes
Manfred Kyber zeigt in den hier vorgetragenen Geschichten eine 'menschliche' Sicht auf bestimmtes tierisches Verhalten, bzw. tierisches Verhalten, welches sich auch leicht auf den Menschen übertragen lässt. Dabei halfen ihm Beobachtungsmethoden und Erkenntnisse aus seinem Studium der Psychologie und Naturphilosophie, ergänzt durch das Interesse an der anthroposophischen Bewegung von Rudolf Steiner.
Schon in diesen Geschichten lässt sich sein späteres Engagement für den Tierschutz, und vor allem gegen Tierversuche, erkennen. - Summary by lorda
20 episodes
Birds, Illustrated by Color Photography was a monthly publication of the Nature Study Publishing Company of Chicago. It includes short poems, anecdotes and factual descriptions of birds with accompanying color plates. The magazine was published from 1897-1907 under the various titles, "Birds," "Birds and all Nature," "Nature and Art" and "Birds and Nature." Later issues were expanded to include animals, plants, etc. Summary by J. M. Smallheer
20 episodes
