The Book of Virtues, Volume I

By: William J. Bennett

Narrated by: William Bennett, Elayne Bennett

Length: 5 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's Summary

A special audio presentation of the magnificent number-one New York Times best-seller, featuring William J. Bennett, Elayne Bennett, Charlton Heston, Dana Ivey, Joe Morton, Tonya Pinkins, Faith Prince, Tom Selleck, Harriet Walter, Fritz Weaver, and Michael York.

This is an audio program for the whole family.

Responsibility. Courage. Compassion. Loyalty. Honesty. Friendship. Persistence. Hard Work. Self-Discipline. Faith. Everyone recognizes these traits as essentials of good character. In order for our children to develop such traits, we have to offer them examples of good and bad, right and wrong. And the best place to find them is in great works of literature and in exemplary stories from history.

In this special presentation, William J. Bennett presents a selection from his best-selling anthology of stories that has inspired and instructed audiences of all ages from coast to coast. From the Bible to fables to Greek myths, from ancient philosophy to American history to unforgettable words of our nation's leaders, here are the timeless works that will help children understand and develop character - and help adults teach them.

A rich mine of moral literacy and a reliable moral reference point, these stories will help anchor our children and ourselves in our culture, our history, and our traditions.

©1993 William J. Bennett (P)1993 Simon and Schuseter Inc.

Worthy lessons to be taught and stories to be pondered.

This collection of stories and poems along with shared insights into their significance to positive character building is wonderful. It causes one to contemplate and compare their own actions, thoughts and sense of what is right and good; and hopefully one can learn from the examples shared through characters and verse.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Absolutely outstanding

This is the best audiobook I've ever listened to. William Bennett comments to adults in between the selections. Those are outstanding. Those are aimed primarily at children, but as I listened to them, I felt they were picked out just for me, here in my middle-age. I found great comfort in them.

There are more narrators than listed above, and they're all outstanding. Sorry to use the same adjective over and over, but it just applies.

3 of 4 people found this review helpful

Book of the ages

Wonderful compilation of faith essays and fantastic additional material in the audio book.

I saw William Bennett on the show Life, Liberty, and Levin and he commented about being approached by publishers to issue a revised version of Book of Virtues to reflect today's "values". Mr. Bennett stated he refused because he wasn't going to give in to today's twisted view of "values". I hope Mr. Bennett keeps his word and leaves Book of Virtues as is. This was a great read for me when it was first published and the audio version is another gem that I can listen to over and over.

Not what I expected ... boring

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I got this for my kids, ages 9 and 7. They are short stories that are rather boring for a kid. Listening to Charlston Heston read the Ten Commandments is not the type of story I was hoping my kids would be inspired by. While the readings are good, it simply did not hold the interesest of my kids.

1 of 6 people found this review helpful