The World’s Story Volume VII: Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(1.7 stars; 3 reviews)

This is the seventh 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 VII include the stories from the Nibelungen saga of the Germans, masterpieces of the Dutch Painters and the famous apple-shooting episode from Schiller's drama William Tell. - Summary by Sonia

Cast list for The shot of William Tell:
Walter: Stoofy / William Tell: ToddHW / Friesshard: Foon / Leuth: Jim Locke / Sacristan: Aaron White / Rosselmann: TJ Burns / Furst: alanmapstone / Stauffacher: Nemo / Melchthal: Eva Davis / Peasants: Sandra Schmit / Women: Monika M.C. / Harras: Frédéric Surget / Gessler: Tomas Peter / Bertha: Devorah Allen / Rudenz: Philip Watson / Narrator: Sonia

Cast list for Tell's escape:
William Tell: Jim Locke / Fisherman: Tomas Peter / Narrator: Sonia (17 hr 12 min)

Chapters

Thusnelda in the triumphal procession of Germanicus, by Karl Theodor von Piloty… 2:49 Read by Sonia
Germany Part I: In pagan times: Historical note 1:35 Read by Sonia
How the early Germans lived, by Caius Cornelius Tacitus 7:03 Read by Sonia
An appeal to Caesar (58 B.C.), by T. Rice Holmes 23:00 Read by Jim Locke
Herman, who freed the Germans from Rome (9 A.D.), by Kate Freiligrath Kroeker 5:55 Read by Sonia
Boniface and the oak of Thor (about 723), by the Right Rev. W. Pakenham Walsh 9:20 Read by Christina Close
Germany Part II: Emperors of mediaeval Germany: Historical note 2:59 Read by Kristine Bekere
How Charlemagne overcame the Saxons, by Dr. William Zimmermann 13:51 Read by Kristine Bekere
The Margrave Gero and the Vandals, by Theodor von Heyden (German artist, 1827),… 1:33 Read by Sonia
The election of Frederick Barbarossa (the red-bearded) (1152), by Cyrus Townsen… 14:43 Read by Foon
Frederick of the Red Beard and the Pope (1177), from the old chronicles 11:02 Read by Joseph Barbaccia
Frederick Barbarossa at the feet of the Pope, by Albert Maignan (France, 1844-1… 2:14 Read by Alan Mapstone
Barbarossa, by Friedrich Rückert 2:10 Read by Tomas Peter
Germany Part III: Stories of the Middle Ages: Historical note 1:40 Read by Sonia
How Siegfried won a bride for King Gunther, from the Nibelungenlied 22:20 Read by Jim Locke
Bishop Hatto and his mouse tower (about 968), by Robert Southey 5:04 Read by cathar maiden
The Lorelei, by Heinrich Heine 1:38 Read by cathar maiden
The little Faust tower of Munich, by Frantz Trautmann 23:15 Read by Jim Locke
Germany Part IV: Life in the fifteenth century: Historical note 2:53 Read by Foon
The great Hanseatic League, by Eva March Tappan 9:05 Read by Colleen McMahon
The walled cities of Germany, by Sabine Baring-Gould, with the collaboration of… 8:35 Read by Colleen McMahon
German life in the fifteenth century, by Johannes Janssen 14:11 Read by Colleen McMahon
The contest of the master-singers, by August Hagen 23:26 Read by Jim Locke
John Gutenberg, inventor of printing (middle of the sixteenth century), by Eva … 6:30 Read by Jim Locke
Germany Part V: From the Reformation to the death of Frederick the Great: Histo… 3:27 Read by Alan Mapstone
Martin Luther as a boy (about 1500), by Mrs. Elizabeth R. Charles 19:34 Read by Jim Locke
The sacking of Magdeburg (1631), by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 12:59 Read by Jim Locke
The giant regiment of Frederick William I of Prussia (between 1713 and 1740), b… 11:39 Read by Greg Giordano
The childhood of Frederick the Great (about 1720), by Thomas Carlyle 18:13 Read by Jim Locke
Frederick the Great and the First Silesian War (1740-1745), by Thomas Babington… 25:00 Read by Jim Locke
The round table of Frederick the Great at Sans Souci, by Adolf Friedrich Erdman… 2:54 Read by Foon
Germany Part VI: German authors and composers: Historical note 2:19 Read by Monika M. C.
Stories from the eighteenth century, by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 12:45 Read by Jim Locke
Morning prayers in the Bach family, by Toby Edward Rosenthal (American painter,… 2:20 Read by Tomas Peter
Handel, the master of Oratorio (1685-1759), by L. B. Urbino 11:06 Read by Alan Mapstone
The unwritten overture of Mozart (1756-1791), by Heribert Rau 17:36 Read by ToddHW
A visit to Beethoven (1770-1827), by Richard Wagner 23:45 Read by Jim Locke
Germany Part VII: Two wars with France: Historical note 2:30 Read by April6090
The oath at the grave of Frederick the Great (1806), by Louisa Mühlbach (Klara … 10:38 Read by Greg Giordano
Why the philosopher's letter was not mailed (1806), by Louisa Mühlbach (Klara M… 9:58 Read by April6090
The Queen of Prussia's ride (1806), by A. L. A. Smith 2:38 Read by cathar maiden
William of Prussia proclaimed German Emperor at Versailles, by Anton von Werner… 2:33 Read by Alan Mapstone
The troubles of a correspondent in the Franco-Prussian War (1870), from "All th… 18:33 Read by Jim Locke
German wounded in the Gallery of Mirrors, Versailles, by Victor Bachereau-Rever… 3:15 Read by Alan Mapstone
The watch on the Rhine, by Max Schneckenburger 3:17 Read by Alan Mapstone
Germany Part VIII: Modern Germany: Historical note 1:54 Read by cathar maiden
Bismarck in the Reichstag and at home (about 1880), by George Makepeace Towle 19:54 Read by Jim Locke
Student life at the German universities (about 1900), by Mrs. Alfred Sidgwick 10:40 Read by Jim Locke
A day with the German Emperor (1898), by Maurice Leudet 12:25 Read by ChadH94
The German Fatherland, by Ernst Moritz Arndt 3:38 Read by Alan Mapstone
The Netherlands Part I: From the Roman conquest to the Reformation: Historical … 2:39 Read by Kristine Bekere
Besieging a Roman camp (54 B.C.), by T. Rice Holmes 14:31 Read by Kristine Bekere
The rebellion of Civilis (69 A.D.), by Caius Cornelius Tacitus 7:53 Read by Kristine Bekere
How Count William of Holland was made a knight (1247), from the old chronicles 5:54 Read by Jim Locke
How Philip van Artevelde was made Governor of Ghent (1386), by Sir John Froissa… 8:44 Read by Kirstin De Falco
The childhood of Charles V: a reading by Erasmus, by Eduard Jean Conrad Hamman … 3:03 Read by Foon
The Netherlands Part II: How Holland won her freedom: Historical note 3:22 Read by Alan Mapstone
The ''beggars'' of Holland (1566), by John Lothrop Motley 19:28 Read by April6090
The siege of Leyden (1574), by John Lothrop Motley 22:15 Read by Philip Watson
The assassination of William the Silent (1584), by John Lothrop Motley 19:46 Read by Kirstin De Falco
Sir Philip Sidney and the glass of water (1586), by John Lothrop Motley 5:06 Read by Tomas Peter
How a turf-boat captured the city of Breda (1590), by G. T. Hoare 9:24 Read by Foon
The Netherlands Part III: The period of commercial greatness: Historical note 2:48 Read by Foon
How a mud-hole became a garden, by William Elliot Griffis 17:11 Read by Jim Locke
When the pilgrim fathers went to Holland (1608), by William Bradford 16:18 Read by Ruth P.
The surrender of Breda, by Diego Rodriguez de Silva Velasquez (Spanish painter,… 2:29 Read by Alan Mapstone
The escape of Hugo de Groot (1621), by Frederick Spencer Bird 18:08 Read by Foon
The return of Spinoza (about 1653), by Israel Zangwill 10:26 Read by Jim Locke
The rival tulip-growers (1672), by Alexandre Dumas 18:21 Read by ToddHW
When William III of England came home to his fatherland (1691), by Thomas Babin… 15:29 Read by Jim Locke
The Netherlands Part IV: Little stories of Netherland artists: Historical note 2:03 Read by Foon
King Philip presenting Rubens to Velasquez, by Leon y Escosura (Spanish artist,… 2:03 Read by Tomas Peter
Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640), by Theodore Child 5:51 Read by Nella
Anton Vandyck (1599-1641), by Clara Erskine Clement 8:58 Read by Foon
Rembrandt's ''The Night Watch'', by Théophile Gautier 8:57 Read by Jim Locke
The Night Watch, by Rembrandt van Ryn (born at Leyden, 1607. Died in 1669), pai… 2:24 Read by Foon
Rembrandt in his studio, by Jean Léon Gérôme (French artist, 1824-1904), painti… 2:18 Read by cathar maiden
The Netherlands Part V: The Netherlands in recent years: Historical note 2:45 Read by Foon
The American Revolution in Holland, by Hendrik Willem van Loon 20:12 Read by Philip Watson
Contrary land, by Mary Mapes Dodge 15:12 Read by Foon
The festival of Saint Nicholas, by Mary Mapes Dodge 19:06 Read by Foon
In and out of a cab in Amsterdam, by F. Hopkinson Smith 13:10 Read by April6090
The beloved Queen Wilhelmina (born in 1880), by William Elliot Griffis 12:31 Read by Foon
Switzerland Part I: In earliest times: Historical note 1:47 Read by Scotty Smith
The siege of the Lake-Dwellers, by Sir Arthur Helps 6:48 Read by Scotty Smith
The flight of the Helvetians (58 B.C.), by Eva March Tappan 7:52 Read by Jim Locke
The Devil's Bridge over the Reuss, by H. A. Guerber 7:09 Read by Tomas Peter
Switzerland Part II: How the Swiss gained their freedom: Historical note 2:22 Read by April6090
The meeting at the Rütli (1307), by Heinrich Zschokke 6:19 Read by Rob Marland
The shot of William Tell (1307), by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 22:32 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Tell's escape (1307), by Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller 4:28 Read by LibriVox Volunteers
Song of the Battle of Morgarten (1315), by Felicia Dorothea Hemans 5:01 Read by cathar maiden
The death of Winkelried (1386), by Walter Thornbury 5:43 Read by rumpledpoetry
Switzerland Part III: Stories from Swiss history: Historical note 2:37 Read by April6090
The Baron of Raron and the ''Mazze'' (fifteenth century), by J. Wilson 3:30 Read by Jim Locke
Peace or war ? (1474), by Sir Walter Scott 24:27 Read by Jim Locke
How the Swiss met Charles the Bold of Burgundy (1476) by Heinrich Zschokke 9:01 Read by Jim Locke
The milk porridge incident: a story of the Reformation, by Clarence Rook 4:54 Read by Jim Locke
The prison of Chillon, by Jacob Abbott 12:03 Read by Scotty Smith
The lion at Luzern, by Boyd Winchester 4:19 Read by Sonia
Switzerland Part IV: Stories of Alpine adventure: Historical note 2:56 Read by April6090
Swept down by an avalanche, by Heinrich Zschokke 9:44 Read by Devorah Allen
The slide of Alpnach, by L. A. Gilbert 8:35 Read by Availle
The first ascent of the Matterhorn, by Edward Whymper 12:05 Read by April6090
Tobogganing on a glacier, by John Addington Symonds 10:17 Read by Jim Locke
Switzerland Part V: Life in the mountains: Historical note 1:57 Read by Monika M. C.
Our borrowed scientists, by W. D. McCrackan 6:05 Read by Sonia
The tiny farms of Switzerland, by Boyd Winchester 6:17 Read by Devorah Allen
How Switzerland defends herself, by Clarence Rook 13:51 Read by Availle
How the Swiss built the greatest tunnel in the world, by Francis Fox 8:38 Read by Sonia

Reviews


(4 stars)

I found this book’s stories and anecdotes quite interesting and informative. Once I became familiar with the disparate volunteer readers and their idiosyncrasies, like slow startup and then fluidity, different audio levels, etc. I looked forward to the book’s episodes. (Having passed books around to readers and also read on long car trips in my youth, I was trained to listen to the book, not the reader. I often listened again to episodes of this book to be able to remember the stories. A gold mine of anecdotes about the formation and histories of Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Having traveled that region in my earlier life, I wish I’d known these anecdotes before traveling there. While listening to this book, I kept Google Earth handy in my iPhone to be able to geographically place the anecdotes on a map and pause the audio to explore castles, cities, mountains, and lakes. The series is a gem that will likely never be turned into a commercial audiobook series with a more professional presentation. I’m grateful to the amateur volunteers and LibriVox for making it available.

Another great piece of work utterly destroyed by a female reader


(0.5 stars)