The Varieties of Religious Experience

By: William James

Narrated by: Lee Winfield

Length: 18 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

This landmark work by William James remains one of the most insightful books on psychology and spirituality. James considers the feelings, actions, and experiences of individuals, insofar as they understand themselves to be in a relationship with the divine. It examines the religion of everyday life and has nothing to do with doctrine or dogma.

Dealing objectively with a wide spectrum of observed and personally related religious experiences, James quotes from the autobiographical writings of famous authors, theologians, and mystics from many traditions including Whitman, Luther, Voltaire, Emerson, and Tolstoy. As a comprehensive survey, the work contributes to the understanding of consciousness, psychological processes, thought, and emotion.

Chapter titles include "Religion & Neurology", "The Reality of the Unseen", "The Religion of Healthy-Mindedness", "The Sick Soul", "The Divided Self", and "The Process of Unification, Conversion, Saintliness, Mysticism and Philosophy". Also serving as a plea for religious tolerance, the book has some particularly captivating sections, like those on the religion of healthy-mindedness, the sick soul, and mysticism.

Public Domain (P)2020 Museum Audiobooks

Great narration! Best narrator than any other version I've heard by far!

Such in depth discussion is balanced well with the narrator. I've listened to other versions and this narration out performs all others- he manages to emphasize the correct points without sounding confused or tripping over words.

I enjoyed especially the "down to earth" accent. He made a potentially an insufferable author relatable.

The Narration Disappointed

Unfortunately, the narrator mispronounced words pervasively and distractingly.

The idea of using different accents to represent different voices in the book’s many self-reported case studies was good. But some of these accents, as delivered by this narrator, seemed faltering and artificial.

In particular, the accent used to represent James himself made him seem obnoxious and conceited. Yes, he was a professor writing in a formal tone in a prestigious lecture series delivered over a century ago. But it’s pretty clear from his actual words that he was also an open-minded learner, trying to understand the mysteries of the psyche with delicacy and discernment. It was a disservice to portray him as pompous and self-absorbed.

Content: excellent. Narration: poor

This books content is essential in at least beginning to understand religious experience. Unbiased and insightful. However the narrator speaks as a radio host the ENTIRE time and this is most distracting, sometimes discouraging to even continue.

Terrible Narration

The narrator does a disservice to this important book. It should not be on audible…waste of money

That's not how you pronounce "annals"

The book is good, the narrator has a nice voice but doesn't understand what he is saying. This is very distracting, I'd prefer an unprofessional voice actor with subject knowledge.