A Rare Recording of Corrie ten Boom, Volume 1
by Corrie Ten Boom
read by Ann Tudor
Part 1 of the Rare Recording of... series
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (April 15, 1892 - April 15, 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker who worked with her father Casper and other family members to help, reportedly, 800 Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II by hiding them in their home. Eventually, the family was caught, and ten Boom was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, but released after ten months due to a clerical error. Later in life, ten Boom wrote, "The Hiding Place," a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she was able to find hope while imprisoned at the concentration camp. It was later made in to a movie.
A Rare Recording of Aldous Huxley, Volume 2
by Aldous Huxley
read by Aldous Huxley
Part 2 of the Rare Recording of... series
Aldous Huxley (July 26, 1894 - November 22, 1963) was an English writer and philosopher. He was best known for his novels "Brave New World" and "The Doors of Perception." This recording is from a speech he gave, "What a Piece of Work Man Is." Earlier in his career Huxley edited the Oxford Poetry magazine, wrote travel articles, film stories, and scripts. He later became interested in spiritual subjects such as parapsychology and philosophical mysticism, including universalism. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature in seven different years.
A Rare Recording of John R. Brinkley Volume 2
by John R. Brinkley
read by John R. Brinkley
Part 2 of the Rare Recording of... series
John R. Brinkley (July 8, 1885 – May 26, 1942) became nationally known as the "goat gland doctor" for his controversial medical practice that promised virility for his male patients. He was a pioneer in radio broadcasting and advertising, as he promoted his services to his large listening audience. Despite detractors and critics in the medical community thoroughly discrediting his methods, Brinkley operated clinics and hospitals in several states for two decades. When opposition from the organized medical community resulted in revocation of his radio and medical license he turned to politics, with two failed runs for the governorship of Kansas. Brinkley's rise to fame and fortune was as precipitous as his eventual fall: At the height of his career he had amassed millions of dollars; yet he died sick and nearly penniless, as a result of a number of malpractice, wrongful death and fraud suits brought against him.
A Rare Recording of Corrie ten Boom, Volume 2
by Corrie Ten Boom
read by Ian Richard Kyle Paisley
Part 2 of the Rare Recording of... series
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (April 15, 1892 - April 15, 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker who worked with her father Casper and other family members to help, reportedly, 800 Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II by hiding them in their home. Eventually, the family was caught, and ten Boom was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, but released after ten months due to a clerical error. Later in life, ten Boom wrote, "The Hiding Place," a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she was able to find hope while imprisoned at the concentration camp. It was later made in to a movie.
A Rare Recording of Corrie ten Boom, Volume 3
by Corrie Ten Boom
read by Corrie Ten Boom
Part 3 of the Rare Recording of... series
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (April 15, 1892 - April 15, 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker who worked with her father Casper and other family members to help, reportedly, 800 Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II by hiding them in their home. Eventually, the family was caught, and ten Boom was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, but released after ten months due to a clerical error. Later in life, ten Boom wrote, "The Hiding Place," a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she was able to find hope while imprisoned at the concentration camp. It was later made in to a movie. The following is part one of a speech ten Boom gave called, Authority Over Demons.
A Rare Recording of Corrie ten Boom, Volume 4
by Corrie Ten Boom
read by Corrie Ten Boom
Part 4 of the Rare Recording of... series
Cornelia Arnolda Johanna "Corrie" ten Boom (April 15, 1892 - April 15, 1983) was a Dutch watchmaker who worked with her father Casper and other family members to help, reportedly, 800 Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II by hiding them in their home. Eventually, the family was caught, and ten Boom was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp, but released after ten months due to a clerical error. Later in life, ten Boom wrote, "The Hiding Place," a biography that recounts the story of her family's efforts and how she was able to find hope while imprisoned at the concentration camp. It was later made in to a movie. The following is part two of a speech ten Boom gave called, Authority Over Demons.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Yvonne de
by Yvonne De Carlo
read by Yvonne De Carlo
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Margaret Yvonne Middleton (September 1, 1922-January 8, 2007), known professionally as Yvonne De Carlo, was a Canadian-American actress, dancer and singer. She became a Hollywood film star and sex symbol in the 1940s and 1950s, made several musical recordings, and later acted on television and stage. De Carlo won a Laurel Award for Topliner Supporting Actress for her performance in Cecil B. DeMille's “The Ten Commandments”, and later starred in the tv show, “The Munsters”, from 1964 to 1966, playing Herman Munster's wife, Lily. She was awarded two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to motion pictures and television. The following is from a 1982 television interview.
A Rare Recording of Evel Knievel
by Evel Knievel
read by Evel Knievel
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Robert Craig Knievel (October 17, 1938 - November 30, 2007), known as Evel Knievel, was an American stunt performer and entertainer, born in Butte, Montana. Throughout his career, he attempted more than 75 ramp-to-ramp motorcycle jumps. Knievel's most famous stunts include a 1967 jump over the fountains at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, which infamously resulted in severe injuries, and a September 8, 1974, attempt to jump across the Snake River Canyon in Idaho using a rocket-powered cycle called the Skycycle X-2. The jump failed after the parachute deployed prematurely, but Knievel survived with minor injuries. The following recordings are from interviews in 1970, 1972, 1974, and in 1975 after Knievel jumped 14 Greyhound buses.
A Rare Recording of Baseball Great Lou Gehrig, Including His "Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth"
by Lou Gehrig
read by Lou Gehrig
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Henry Louis Gehrig (June 19, 1903 to June 2, 1941), born in New York City, was an American baseball player who played 17 seasons for the New York Yankees (1923-1939). Gehrig was renowned for his prowess as a hitter and for his durability, which earned him the nickname the "Iron Horse," and he is regarded as one of the greatest baseball players of all time. Gehrig was an All-Star seven consecutive times, a Triple Crown winner once, an American League Most Valuable Player twice and a member of six World Series championship teams. He had a career .340 batting average, hit 493 home runs, and had 1,995 RBIs. He is also one of 19 players to hit four home runs in a single game. In 1939, Gehrig was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame and was the first MLB player to have his uniform number retired by a team, when his number 4 was retired by the Yankees. The following recording is a radio interview from August 1939 after Gehrig had retired from baseball due to his illness, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neuromuscular illness which, since then, is often referred to as "Lou Gehrig's disease."
A Rare Recording of Poet John Ciardi
by John Ciardi
read by John Ciardi
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
John Anthony Ciardi (June 24, 1916 - March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, Ciardi pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, and recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. The following recording is from a speech Ciardi gave in 1965.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Greer Garson
by Greer Garson
read by Greer Garson
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (September 29, 1904 - April 6, 1996) was a British and American actress and singer. She was a major star at MGM who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the homefront and was listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's Top 10 box office draws from 1942 to 1946. The fourth most-nominated woman for the Best Actress Oscar, Garson received seven Academy Award nominations, including a record-tying (with Bette Davis) five consecutive nominations (1941-1945) in the best actress category, winning for her performance in the title role as the British housewife in the 1942 film Mrs. Miniver.
A Rare Recording of Poet John Ciardi Reading His Own Writing
by John Ciardi
read by John Ciardi
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
John Anthony Ciardi (June 24, 1916 - March 30, 1986) was an American poet, translator, and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet, Ciardi pursued etymology, contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor, directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont, and recorded commentaries for National Public Radio. In 1959, Ciardi published a book on how to read, write, and teach poetry, How Does a Poem Mean?, which has proven to be among the most-used books of its kind. In the following recordings, Ciardi reads "And They Lived Happily Ever After For Awhile," "To Judith, I," "Happiness," and "The Lamb."
A Rare Recording of William Morris Meredith Jr. Reading His Own Poems
by William Morris Meredith Jr.
read by William Morris Meredith Jr.
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
William Morris Meredith Jr. (January 9, 1919 - May 30, 2007), born in New York City, was an American poet and educator. He was Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1978 to 1980, and the recipient of the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. In the following recordings Mederdith reads his poems "The Wreck of the Thresher," "Parents From The Cheer," "The Illiterate," and "Crossing Over."
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Dorothy Dandridge
by Dorothy Dandridge
read by Dorothy Dandridge
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 to September 8, 1965) was an American actress and singer. She was the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Carmen Jones (1954). Dandridge had also performed as a vocalist in venues such as the Cotton Club and the Apollo Theater. During her early career, she performed as a part of the Wonder Children, later the Dandridge Sisters, and appeared in a succession of films. In 1959, Dandridge was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Porgy and Bess. The following recordings are from a television interview in 1954, Dandridge's presentation of the Film Editing Oscar at the 1955 Academy Awards, and a speech at a freedom rally at Wrigley Field on May 26, 1963.
A Rare Recording of Allen Ginsburg Reading His Poem "America"
by Allen Ginsburg
read by Allen Ginsburg
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Irwin Allen Ginsberg (June 3, 1926 - April 5, 1997), born in Newark NJ, was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with Lucien Carr, William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, and hostility to bureaucracy. "America" is a poem by Ginsberg written in 1956.
A Rare Recording of George Marshall Discussing the Marshall Plan
by George Marshall
read by George Marshall
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 - October 16, 1959) rose to become Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army during World War II under Presidents FDR and Truman, later serving as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense under Truman. As Secretary of State, Marshall advocated for a U.S. economic and political commitment to post-war European recovery, including the Marshall Plan that bore his name. In recognition of this work, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953, the only Army general ever to receive the honor.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Gene Tierney
by Gene Tierney
read by Gene Tierney
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Gene Eliza Tierney (November 19, 1920 - November 6, 1991), born in New York City, was an American stage and film actress. Acclaimed for her great beauty, Tierney was a prominent leading lady during the Golden Age of Hollywood. She starred in Otto Preminger's Laura (1944), a film noir classic, and in John M. Stahl's Leave Her to Heaven (1945), which earned Tierney a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Darryl F. Zanuck, co-founder of 20th Century Fox, said Tierney was "unquestionably, the most beautiful woman in movie history." The following recording is from a 1979 television interview.
A Rare Recording of a British Woman's Account of a 1954 UFO Sighting
by Jessie Roestenberg
read by Jessie Roestenberg
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
At around 4:45 pm on October 21, 1954, British woman Jessie Roestenberg claimed to have seen a flying saucer of aluminum color, hovering over her remote cottage near Staffordshire, UK, with two Nordic-looking figures sitting in the craft. Roestenberg, who was inside her house with her 2-year-old daughter while her two young sons were playing outside in the garden, suddenly heard a loud sound like an aircraft crash. When she stepped outside, her terrified sons shouted: "Mommy, Mommy, there's a flying saucer" pointing toward a round UFO hovering above them. The following recording is from a tv report of Roestenberg's account.
A Rare Recording of Film Icons Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall
by Humphrey Bogart
read by Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Humphrey DeForest Bogart (December 25, 1899 - January 14, 1957), nicknamed Bogie, was an American actor. His performances in classic Hollywood cinema films like The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The Caine Mutiny, made him an American cultural icon. In 1999, the American Film Institute selected Bogart as the greatest male star of classic American cinema. Lauren Bacall, born Betty Joan Perske (September 16, 1924 - August 12, 2014), was one of the greatest female stars of classic Hollywood cinema and an award-winning Broadway stage actress. She was known for her alluring, sultry presence and her distinctive, husky voice. In the following September 1954 recording, Bogart and then-wife Bacall are interviewed at their Los Angeles, CA by Edward R. Murrow.
A Rare Recording of Virologist Jonas Salk
by Jonas Salk
read by Jonas Salk
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Jonas Edward Salk (October 28, 1914 - June 23, 1995), born in New York City, was an American virologist and medical researcher. A graduate of City College of New York and New York University School of Medicine, in 1947, Salk accepted a professorship at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where he undertook a project to determine the number of different types of poliovirus and, eventually, develop a vaccine against polio. This recording is from a 1974 tv interview.
A Rare Recording of EE Cummings Reading His Own Poetry
by E. E. Cummings
read by E. E. Cummings
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Edward Estlin Cummings (October 14, 1894 - September 3, 1962), commonly known as e e cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright. During World War I, he worked as an ambulance driver and was imprisoned in an internment camp, which provided the basis for his 1922 novel The Enormous Room. The following year he published his first collection of poetry. Cummings wrote approximately 2,900 poems and is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century. He is associated with modernist free-form poetry, and much of his work uses idiosyncratic syntax and lower-case spellings for poetic expression. In the following recordings, Cummings reads his poems "somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond" (1931), "next to of course god america i" (1926), "anyone lived in a pretty how town" (1940), "Buffalo Bill's (1920), "in Just-" (1920), i carry your heart with me(i carry it in)" (1952). The final audio clip is from a 1955 Cummings speech, "A Poet's Advice to Students."
A Rare Recording of Lawrence Ferlinghetti Reading His Own Poems
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
read by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Lawrence Monsanto Ferlinghetti (March 24, 1919 - February 22, 2021), born in Yonkers, NY, was an American poet, painter, social activist, and co-founder of City Lights Booksellers & Publishers. An author of poetry, translations, fiction, theatre, art criticism, and film narration, Ferlinghetti was best known for his second collection of poems, A Coney Island of the Mind (1958), which has been translated into nine languages and sold over a million copies. The following recording includes Ferlinghetti reading the poems, Baseball Canto, Travels in America Deserta, See It Was Like This When, and Underwear.
A Rare Recording of Robert Wadlow: The Tallest Person in Recorded History
by Robert Wadlow
read by Robert Wadlow
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Robert Pershing Wadlow (February 22, 1918 to July 15, 1940), also known as the Alton Giant, and the Giant of Illinois, was born and raised in Alton, Illinois. He is the tallest person in recorded history for whom there is irrefutable evidence. Wadlow's height was 8 ft 11.1 in (2.72 m) while his weight reached 439 lbs (199 kg) at his death at age 22. His great size and his continued growth in adulthood were due to hypertrophy of his pituitary gland, which results in an abnormally high level of human growth hormone (HGH). The following audio recordings are from a 1937 New York radio interview, a 1937 Ripley's Believe It or Not radio interview, and outtakes from 1930 film footage of Wadlow as a 12 year-old.
A Rare Recording of Gertrude Stein Reading Her Own Writing
by Gertrude Stein
read by Gertrude Stein
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 to July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris in 1903, and made France her home for the remainder of her life. She hosted a Paris salon, where the leading figures of modernism in literature and art, such as Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Ezra Pound, Sherwood Anderson and Henri Matisse, would meet. The following three recordings are from Stein's novel, The Making of Americans (1925), and her poems, How She Bowed to her Brother (1931) and If I Told Him - A Completed Portrait of Picasso (1923)
A Rare Recording of Anne Sexton Reading Her Poem "Wanting to Die"
by Anne Sexton
read by Anne Sexton
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Anne Sexton, born Anne Gray Harvey, (November 9, 1928 - October 4, 1974) was an American poet known for her highly personal, confessional verse. She won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1967 for her book Live or Die. Her poetry details her long battle with bipolar disorder, suicidal tendencies, and intimate details from her private life, including relationships with her husband and children, whom she physically and sexually assaulted.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Rita Hayworth
by Rita Hayworth
read by Rita Hayworth
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino, (October 17, 1918 - May 14, 1987) was an American actress who appeared in 61 films over 37 years achieving fame in the 1940s as one of the top stars of the Golden Age of Hollywood. Dubbed "The Love Goddess" by the Hollywood press, Hayworth is best known for her performance in the 1946 film noir Gilda as the femme fatale opposite Glenn Ford in her first major dramatic role. The following is from a 1972 interview at the San Francisco National Film Festival.
A Rare Recording of Adult Film Actress Marilyn Chambers
by Marilyn Chambers
read by Marilyn Chambers
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Marilyn Ann Taylor (April 22, 1952 to April 12, 2009), raised in Westport, CT, known professionally as Marilyn Chambers, was an American pornographic actress, dancer, model, actress, singer, and vice-presidential candidate. She was known for her 1972 hardcore film debut, Behind the Green Door, and her 1980 film Insatiable. She is ranked as one of the top porn stars of all-time. Although she was primarily known for her adult film work, she made a successful transition to mainstream projects and has been called "porn's most famous crossover." The following recordings are from 1977 and 1981 television interviews.
A Rare Recording of Gloria Steinem Discussing Her Work With the CIA
by Gloria Steinem
read by Gloria Steinem
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Gloria Marie Steinem (born March 25, 1934, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American journalist, social-political activist, and former CIA operative. Steinem emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s-bolstered by a 1969 article Steinem wrote, "After Black Power, Women's Liberation." In 1972, Steinem co-founded Ms. Magazine, aided by her CIA connections, according to the Redstockings feminist organization. The following recording is from 1967.
A Rare Recording of US Senator Frank Church, Chairman of the Church Committee
by US Senator Frank Church
read by US Senator Frank Church
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Frank Forrester Church III (July 25, 1924 to April 7, 1984) was an American Democrat politician and lawyer. Church served as a U.S. Senator from Idaho from 1957 to 1981, and gained national prominence as chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities, from 1975 through 1976, commonly known as the Church Committee, which conducted extensive hearings investigating extra-legal FBI and CIA intelligence-gathering and covert operations. The following recording is from a speech Church gave to the Women's Democratic League in 1975.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Fay Wray
by Fay Wray
read by Fay Wray
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Vina Fay Wray (September 15, 1907 - August 8, 2004) was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films and has been dubbed one of the early "scream queens." The following recording is from a tv interview in the 1980s.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Ingrid Bergman
by Ingrid Bergman
read by Ingrid Bergman
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Ingrid Bergman (August 29, 1915 - August 29, 1982) was a Swedish actress often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cinematic history, having won four Golden Globe Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and 3 Academy Awards. Bergman won Best Actress Oscars for Gaslight in 1944 and Anastasia in 1956, and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for 1974's Murder On The Orient Express. The following recording is from a 1973 television interview.
A Rare Recording of Dan Smoot on the US Constitution
by Dan Smoot
read by Dan Smoot
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Dan Smoot (October 5, 1913 to July 24, 2003), born in East Prairie, MO, was an FBI agent turned conservative political commentator. From 1956 to 1971, he published The Dan Smoot Report, which was a weekly newsletter and radio program. Smoot wrote four books, including The Invisible Government (1962), concerning early members of the Council on Foreign Relations. In the following recording, Smoot discusses the US Constitution and its limited grant of powers.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Charlie Chaplin
by Charlie Chaplin
read by Charlie Chaplin
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (April 16, 1889 to December 25, 1977), born in London, was an English actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered one of the film industry's most important figures. His career spanned more than 75 years, from childhood in the Victorian era until a year before his death in 1977. The following three recordings are from a speech at the Variety Club in 1952, discussing the re-release of his film The Circus in 1969, and from the 1972 Academy Awards ceremony when Chaplin received an Honorary Oscar.
A Rare Recording of FA Hayek on Socialism
by F. A. Hayek
read by F. A. Hayek
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
The following two audio clips are from Friedrich August von Hayek (May 8, 1899 - March 23, 1992), who was an Austrian-British economist and political philosopher. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and how prices communicate information. His seminal work, "The Road to Serfdom," has been republished many times over the eight decades since its original publication.
A Rare Recording of Tennis Professional Dr. Renée Richards
by Renée Richards
read by Renée Richards
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Renée Richards, formerly Richard Raskind, (born August 19, 1934) is an American ophthalmologist and former tennis player who played professionally as a woman from 1977 to 1981, when she retired at age 47. Richards became known worldwide, following male-to-female medical transition, when she fought to compete as a woman at the 1976 US Open. Richards played her first professional event as a female at the U.S. Open the following year, and was ranked as high as 20th in the world in February 1979. Her greatest successes on the court came as a doubles finalist, with Betty Ann Grubb Stuart, at the 1977 US Open, and a semifinalist in mixed doubles, with Ilie Năstase, at the US Open. In 1979, she defeated Nancy Richey for the 35-and-over singles title at the US Open. Richards posted wins over Hana Mandlíková, Sylvia Hanika, Virginia Ruzici, and Pam Shriver. She later coached Martina Navratilova to two Wimbledon titles. The following arecordings are from interviews in 1976, 1977 and 1980.
A Rare Recording of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Fourth Inaugural Address
by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
read by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882 - April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. The longest-serving U.S. president, he is the only president to have served more than two terms. His initial two terms were centered on combating the Great Depression, while his third and fourth saw him shift his focus to America's involvement in World War II. The following recording is from his fourth inaugural address delivered on January 20, 1945.
A Rare Recording of James Joyce Reading From His Novel, Finnegan's Wake
by James Joyce
read by James Joyce
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
James Augusta Joyce (February 2, 1882 to January 13, 1941), born in Dublin, was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of the twentieth century. The following recording was made in 1929 by C.K. Odgen in the studio of the Orthological Society in Cambridge during which Joyce read from his novel, "Finnegans Wake."
A Rare Recording of Otto Frank, Father of Anne Frank
by Otto Frank
read by Otto Frank
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Otto Heinrich Frank (May 12, 1889 - August 19, 1980) was a German businessman, and the father of Anne Frank. He edited and published the first edition of her diary in 1947 (subsequently known in English as The Diary of a Young Girl) and advised on its later theatrical and cinematic adaptations. In the 1950s and the 1960s, he established European charities in his daughter's name and founded the trust which preserved his family's wartime hiding place, the Anne Frank House, in Amsterdam. The following first two audio clips are in English; the third is in Dutch.
A Rare Recording of Mary Oliver Reading Her Own Poetry
by Mary Oliver
read by Mary Oliver
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Mary Jane Oliver (September 10, 1935 - January 17, 2019), from Maple Heights, OH, was an American poet who won the Pulitzer Prize in 1984 and the National Book Award in 1992. She found inspiration for her work in nature and had a lifelong habit of solitary walks in the wild. Her poetry is characterized by wonderment at the natural environment, vivid imagery, and unadorned language. In 2007, she was declared the best-selling poet in the United States.
A Rare Recording of Carl Sagan Testifying Before Congress on Climate Change
by Carl Sagan
read by Carl Sagan
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Carl Edward Sagan (November 9, 1934 to December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer, planetary scientist and science communicator. His best known scientific contribution is his research on the possibility of extraterrestrial life, including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by exposure to light. He published more than 600 scientific papers and articles, and was author, co-author or editor of more than 20 books, including the bestseller, The Dragons of Eden. The following recording is Sagan's 1985 testimony before the US Congress on climate change.
A Rare Recording of Ludwig von Mises - Volume 2
by Ludwig Von Mises
read by Ludwig Von Mises
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (September 29, 1881 - October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism and the power of consumers. He is best known for his work on human behavior studies comparing communism and capitalism.
A Rare Recording of William Butler Yeats Reading His Poetry
by W. B. Yeats
read by W. B. Yeats
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
The following are the live recordings of William Butler Yeats reading and discussing the inspiration behind three of his most famous poems, "The Lake Island of Innisfree," "The Fiddler of Dooney," and "Song of the Old Mother." Yeats made these three recordings in 1932, 1934, and on October 28, 1937 when he was 72. "The Lake Island of Innisfree" is a twelve-line poem comprising three quatrains, written in 1888 and first published in the National Observer in 1890. The poem is featured in Irish passports. "The Fiddler of Dooney" was first published in 1892. The word "Dooney" refers to Dooney Rock, a small hill overlooking Lough Gill near Sligo. The central theme of poem is the celebration of life and the joy that comes from living it to the fullest. "Song of the Old Mother" first appeared in The Wind Among the Reeds anthology, published in 1899. Written in first person, the poem echoes Yeats' fascination with the Irish peasantry, explaining the difficult chores and struggles of an aged, unfortunate woman.
A Rare Recording of Ludwig von Mises - Volume 1
by Ludwig Von Mises
read by Ludwig Von Mises
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Ludwig Heinrich Edler von Mises (September 29, 1881 - October 10, 1973) was an Austrian-American Austrian School economist, historian, logician, and sociologist. Mises wrote and lectured extensively on the societal contributions of classical liberalism and the power of consumers. He is best known for his work on human behavior studies comparing communism and capitalism.
A Rare Recording of Bobby Seale, Founder of the Black Panther Party
by Bobby Seale
read by Bobby Seale
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an African American revolutionary, political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Marxist-Leninist and black power political organization the Black Panther Party (originally called the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense) with fellow activist Huey P. Newton to monitor police activities and challenge police brutality in black communities, first in Oakland, California, and later in cities throughout the United States. Seale was also one of the "Chicago Eight" defendants, charged by the US government with conspiracy charges related to anti-Vietnam War protests in Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, later called the "Chicago seven" when Seale's case was severed from the other defendants. After which, the government declined to retry Seale on the conspiracy charges, and he was never convicted in the case.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Myrna Loy
by Myrna Loy
read by Myrna Loy
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Myrna Loy, born Myrna Adele Williams in Helena, MT, (August 2, 1905 - December 14, 1993) was an American film, television and stage actress. Trained as a dancer, Loy devoted herself fully to acting following a few minor roles in silent films. Originally typecast for exotic roles, Loy's career prospects improved greatly following her portrayal of Nora Charles in The Thin Man (1934) and helped elevate her reputation as a versatile actress. Although Loy was never nominated for an Academy Award, in 1991 she received an Honorary Academy Award in recognition of her life's work.
A Rare Recording of Miep Gies, Protector of Anne Frank
by Miep Gies
read by Miep Gies
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Hermine "Miep" Gies (February 15, 1909 - January 11, 2010) was one of the Dutch citizens who hid Anne Frank, her family (Otto, Margot, Edith) and four other Dutch Jews (Fritz Pfeffer, Hermann van Pels, Auguste van Pels, Peter van Pels) from the Nazis in an annex above Otto Frank's business premises during World War II.
A Rare Recording of President Truman's 1945 Radio Address on the Potsdam Conference and Bombing of H
by President Harry S. Truman
read by President Harry S. Truman
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884 - December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as vice president from January to April 1945 under FDR and as a US senator from Missouri from 1935 to January 1945. Assuming the presidency after FDR's death, Truman implemented the Marshall Plan to rebuild the economy of Western Europe and established both the Truman Doctrine and NATO to contain the expansion of Soviet communism. The following recording is an August 9th 1945 radio address President Harry S. Truman gave on the results of the Potsdam Conference and the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan.
A Rare Recording of Film Icon Susan Hayward
by Susan Hayward
read by Susan Hayward
Part of the Rare Recording of... series
Susan Hayward, born Edythe Marrenner (June 30, 1917 - March 14, 1975) was a fashion model and Oscar-winning American actress. By the late 1940s, Hayward achieved recognition for her dramatic abilities with the first of five Academy Award Best Actress nominations for her performance as an alcoholic in Smash-Up, the Story of a Woman (1947). Hayward's success continued through the 1950s as she received nominations for My Foolish Heart (1949), With a Song in My Heart (1952), and I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955), winning the Academy Award for her portrayal of death row inmate in I Want to Live! (1958).