The World’s Story Volume II: India, Persia, Mesopotamia and Palestine


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This is the second volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century.

Topics in Part II include India, Siam, Afghanistan, Persia, Mesopotamia and Palestine. - Summary by Sonia

Cast list for Sakoontala, or the lost ring:

King: Tomas Peter
First Attendant: Eva Davis
Second Attendant: TJ Burns
Child: lorda
Sakoontala: Monika M.C.
Matali: DrPGould
Kasyapa: ToddHW
Aditi: Sandra Schmit
Pupil: Nemo
Narrator: Sonia

Chapters

Select a chapter to play

The pastimes of an Assyrian King, Painting, Frontispiece 2:25 Read by Sonia
India Part I: The coming of the Aryans: historical note 1:57 Read by Sonia
Hymn to Indra and Soma, from the Rig-Veda 2:27 Read by Sonia
The people whom the Aryans found in India, by Sir William Wilson Hunter 10:40 Read by Sonia
Savitri's choice, from the Mahabharata, rewritten by Elizabeth A. Reed 28:56 Read by Availle
India Part II: Buddha and his teachings: historical note 1:40 Read by Monika M. C.
The life of Buddha, by Sir William Wilson Hunter 9:50 Read by Monika M. C.
Stories of Buddha, by Sir Edwin Arnold 20:51 Read by Monika M. C.
Karma: a story of Buddhist ethics, by Paul Carus 31:48 Read by April6090
India Part III: A group of folklore stories: historical note 1:14 Read by April6090
Right and might, by Katherine Neville Fleeson 3:43 Read by Nemo
The man in the Moon, by Katherine Neville Fleeson 2:50 Read by Nemo
The legend of the rice, by Katherine Neville Fleeson 1:32 Read by DrPGould
The lord Krishna and the lapwing's nest, by Margaret E. Noble 1:29 Read by RajVO
The peacock and the tortoise, by John Christian 2:48 Read by Tomas Peter
Let's see on which side the camel sits, by John Christian 1:13 Read by April6090
The washerman and the donkey, by John Christian 4:19 Read by RajVO
The seven weavers and the field of flax, by John Christian 1:26 Read by RajVO
Some Indian proverbs 0:58 Read by DrPGould
India Part IV: India in days of yore: historical note 1:38 Read by RajVO
Alexander the Great in India, by Plutarch 15:14 Read by Kevin Stewart
Interior of the temple of Vimala Sah, Photograph p. 90 3:03 Read by RajVO
The rock edicts of Asoka, by Vincent A. Smith 12:55 Read by Availle
Poems by King Bhartrihari 1:27 Read by DrPGould
Sakoontala, or the lost ring, by Kalidasa 19:46 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
India Part V: The Mogul conquest: historical note 2:23 Read by RajVO
Prince with attendants in a garden, Indian painting p. 114 3:03 Read by RajVO
The peacock throne of the great mogul, Shah Jehan, by Jean Baptiste Tavernier 6:30 Read by Jim Locke
The Taj Mahal, the most beautiful tomb in the World, by Bayard Taylor 16:32 Read by ToddHW
On the march with Aurungzebe, by François Bernier 27:51 Read by Jim Locke
Women of the palace at play, Indian painting p. 142 2:33 Read by Nemo
The decline of the Mogul empire, by Thomas Babington Macaulay 9:09 Read by Kevin Stewart
India Part VI: India becomes a British province: historical note 3:06 Read by Sonia
How Robert Clive defended Arcot, by Thomas Babington Macaulay 11:23 Read by Jim Locke
The black hole of Calcutta, by Thomas Babington Macaulay 9:22 Read by Kevin Stewart
The impeachment of Warren Hastings, by Thomas Babington Macaulay 14:10 Read by Jim Locke
Indian customs and manners in 1840, by Hon. Mountstuart Elphinestone 22:22 Read by Jim Locke
The relief of Lucknow, by Robert Traill Spence Lowell 4:53 Read by Alan Mapstone
Jessie's Dream, painting p. 180 1:44 Read by Jim Locke
When Queen Victoria became empress of India, by Field-Marshal Lord Roberts 13:46 Read by Jim Locke
India Part VII: The India of to-day: historical note 1:52 Read by Jim Locke
What is caste ?, by Sir William Wilson Hunter 5:36 Read by Jim Locke
The amusements of an eastern king, by a member of the household of Nussir-u-deen, late king of Oude 8:59 Read by Jim Locke
An idol car with stone wheels, photograph p. 200 2:41 Read by Jim Locke
How the Mohammedans keep the festival of the Mohurrim, by a member of the household of Nussir-u-deen, late king of Oude 28:49 Read by Jim Locke
Sunday in the British army in India, by Rev. Arthur Male 15:24 Read by Jim Locke
Camp life in India, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams 17:10 Read by Jim Locke
The towers of silence, by Sir Monier Monier-Williams 19:05 Read by Jim Locke
The last voyage, painting p. 245 2:04 Read by Jim Locke
Fables by Ramakrishna, a Brahman saint of to-day 6:26 Read by Jim Locke
The coronation Durbar of 1911, by John Finnemore 19:51 Read by Jim Locke
Siam: historical note 1:40 Read by Jim Locke
The reception of a white elephant, by Mrs. A. H. Leonowens 11:57 Read by Jim Locke
The white elephant, by Heinrich Heine 4:27 Read by Jim Locke
Afghanistan: historical note 1:35 Read by Jim Locke
"The hill of bones", by Rev. Arthur Male 14:24 Read by April6090
Persia Part I: The mighty empire: historical note 2:07 Read by Jim Locke
Sohrab's last contest, by Matthew Arnold 16:23 Read by Jim Locke
When Cyrus the Great was a boy, by Xenophon 13:24 Read by DrPGould
Croesus showing Solon his treasures, painting p. 302 1:50 Read by Tomas Peter
How Cyrus the Great won the land of gold, by Jacob Abbott 46:17 Read by Jim Locke
The seven sleepers of Ephesus, in the land of Lydia, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 6:46 Read by Jim Locke
King Darius and the flying Scythians, by Herodotus; retold by Alfred J. Church 22:39 Read by Jim Locke
How Xerxes set out to conquer Greece, by Herodotus 27:38 Read by DrPGould
Persia Part II: Days of decline: historical note 1:39 Read by Chris Fields
The last king of Persia, by Plutarch 25:16 Read by Farnood
The family of Darius at the feet of Alexander the Great, painting p. 368 1:54 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Dara, by James Russell Lowell 4:40 Read by Tomas Peter
The building of the bridge of Tus, by Elizabeth A. Reed 11:14 Read by Farnood
Little stories from Sadi, a Persian author of the Twelfth Century 4:42 Read by DrPGould
Persia Part III: Stories of modern Persia: historical note 1:20 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Poe's tales at the Persian court, by Wilfrid Sparroy 13:07 Read by Tomas Peter
The prince who lost his book, by Wilfrid Sparroy 8:36 Read by Kevin Stewart
The food of the royal tutor, by Wilfrid Sparroy 8:41 Read by Kevin Stewart
A Persian wedding, by Charles James Wills 18:57 Read by Farnood
The Persian bazaars, by Eustache de Lorey and Douglas Sladen 15:31 Read by Farnood
New Year's calls and gifts, by Samuel G. Wilson 26:56 Read by April6090
Persia Part IV: How things are done in Persia: historical note 0:52 Read by J. M. Smallheer
How the Persians build a house, by S. G. W. Benjamin 3:23 Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
The audience chamber of the shah, by S. G. W. Benjamin 2:48 Read by yaelh
How to make calls, by S. G. W. Benjamin 6:24 Read by yaelh
Making a present to an official, by S. G. W. Benjamin 2:23 Read by yaelh
Getting a glass of milk, by S. G. W. Benjamin 1:22 Read by April6090
How a Persian Mohammedan says his prayers, by Rev. S. G. Wilson 5:01 Read by TJ Burns
Mesopotamia Part I: The kingdoms of Chaldaea and Assyria: historical note 1:50 Read by DrPGould
The Chaldaeans and their wars, by Diodorus the Sicilian 7:33 Read by DrPGould
How the Chaldaeans wrote books, by G. Maspero 7:57 Read by Sonia
The tower of Babel, by Sir David Lyndsay 2:44 Read by Devorah Allen
The lion hunt, Assyrian bas-relief p. 474 2:01 Read by J. M. Smallheer
How the Assyrians and Babylonians lived, by A. H. Sayce 14:39 Read by DrPGould
The destruction of Sennacherib, by Lord Byron 3:05 Read by Nemo
Mesopotamia Part II: Babylon the magnificent: historical note 2:26 Read by TJ Burns
How Semiramis built Babylon, by Diodorus the Sicilian 10:34 Read by cathar maiden
The make-believe elephants of Semiramis, by Diodorus the Sicilian 12:41 Read by April6090
Daniel the fearless, from the Old Testament 11:08 Read by Ellen Murphy
Belshazzar, by Heinrich Heine 2:47 Read by cathar maiden
The fall of Babylon, by Jacob Abbott 30:37 Read by realisticspeakers
Palestine Part I: In Old Testament times: historical note 1:20 Read by J. M. Smallheer
The journey to the promised land 30:10 Read by Talie Hass
The shepherd boy who became king 23:51 Read by Talie Hass
The story of King Solomon 18:36 Read by Farnood
Stories from the Talmud 13:26 Read by yaelh
The destruction of Jerusalem, by Flavius Josephus, simplified by William Shepard 7:11 Read by Devorah Allen
Jeremiah at the fall of Jerusalem, painting p. 582 2:00 Read by Larry Wilson
Palestine Part II: A Roman province: historical note 1:10 Read by Larry Wilson
On the morning of Christ's nativity, by John Milton 11:35 Read by Larry Wilson
The burning of the temple, by Flavius Josephus, simplified by William Shepard 11:30 Read by Devorah Allen
Palestine Part III: The crusades: historical note 1:26 Read by Sonia
''God willeth it !'', by François Pierre Guillaume Guizot 10:32 Read by Sonia
The crusaders before Jerusalem, painting p. 610 1:52 Read by Sonia
The tearing down of England's flag, by Sir Walter Scott 14:21 Read by DrPGould
The children's crusade, by Eva March Tappan 5:07 Read by April6090
The children's crusade, by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow 1:38 Read by Tomas Peter
St. Louis as a prisoner, by Joseph François Michaud 12:49 Read by Sonia