Books published by publisher CAEDMON

The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's portrait of the Jazz Age in all its decadence and excess, is, as editor Maxwell Perkins praised it in 1924, "a wonder." It remains one of the most widely read, translated, admired, imitated and studied twentieth-century works of American fiction. This deceptively simple work, Fitzgerald's best known, was hailed by critics as capturing the spirit of the generation. In Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald embodies some of America's strongest obsessions: wealth, power, greed, and the promise of new beginnings. The recording includes a selection of letters written by Fitzgerald to his editor, Maxwell Perkins, his agent, Harold Ober, and friends and associates, including Willa Cather, H.L. Mencken, John Peale Bishop and Gertrude Stein. Performed by Tim Robbins

“A deeply soulful novel that comprehends love and cruelty, and separates the big people from the small of heart, without ever losing sympathy for those unfortunates who don’t know how to live properly.” —Zadie SmithOne of the most important and enduring books of the twentieth century, Their Eyes Were Watching God brings to life a Southern love story with the wit and pathos found only in the writing of Zora Neale Hurston. Out of print for almost thirty years—due largely to initial audiences’ rejection of its strong black female protagonist—Hurston’s classic has since its 1978 reissue become perhaps the most widely read and highly acclaimed novel in the canon of African-American literature. The audio is performed by the legendary Ruby Dee.

Bigger Thomas' violent acts gave him a sense of freedom and identitySet in the 1930's, the portrayal of poverty and feelings of helplessness experienced by people in the inner city is as meaningful today as when it was written.Native Son is the story of Bigger Thomas, a black youth whose tragic life was drawn from Richard Wright's own experiences and memories of the Chicago ghetto. Although segregated, Wright held that the noisy crowded physical aspect of the urban environment, with its stimulating sense of power, fulfillment, and possible achievement brought forth a more obstreperous reaction than in the South. Vivid, unforgettable and heartbreaking, Wright's masterpiece forces us to witness the inhumanity of our society.The power and compassion of James Earl Jones' performance of Native Son sears this classic work into our memories forever.Richard Wright (1908-1960) left Memphis at 19 to live in Chicago where he became a writer. He grew to be considered not only the leading black author in the United States, but also a major heir of the naturalistic tradition. Wright spent his last years in Paris, where he died in 1960. James Earl Jones is one of this country's greatest artistic resources, as his acclaimed performances on stage, screen and television have proved. He has starred in such films as Dr. Strangelove, The Great White Hope, The Man, Cry the Beloved Country, and A Family Thing, and on Broadway in Othello and Fences, for which he won the Tony Award.