Utopia

By: Sir Thomas More

Narrated by: James Adams

Utopia is the name given by Sir Thomas More to an imaginary island in this political work written in 1516. Book I of Utopia, a dialogue, presents a perceptive analysis of contemporary social, economic, and moral ills in England. Book II is a narrative describing a country run according to the ideals of the English humanists, where poverty, crime, injustice, and other ills do not exist. Locating his island in the New World, More bestowed it with everything to support a perfectly organized and happy people.

The name of this fictitious place, Utopia, coined by More, passed into general usage and has been applied to all such ideal fictions, fantasies, and blueprints for the future, including works by Rabelais, Francis Bacon, Samuel Butler, and several by H. G. Wells, including his A Modern Utopia.

Public Domain (P)2008 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Simply amazing.

the narrator was really good and the book was a very nice read. it sounds very serious but the idea of a place like this seems ridiculous however its supposed to be that way.

A profound work for our times

I can’t imagine reading this book on the printed page compared to this glorious spoken version, bringing out the significance of the content and the genius of its phrasing. Thank you Audible for this indelible experience.

Dry voice

While I beleive everyone should read Utopia as a baseline of critique for modern society, this recording was Booooring. I was a philosophy major and even I was lulled to sleep. It would not hurt the work itself to be read by someone with enthusiasm. The whole point of the letter is that the man who experienced the Utopians is excited about their ways.

Just so so

Not whatever I was expecting. A narrative of this island would have been more interesting than a breifing

Stunningly provocative

Utopia, by Sir Thomas Moore (~4 hour audiobook), From the British Library: “Sir Thomas More (1477 - 1535) was the first person to write of a 'utopia', a word used to describe a perfect imaginary world. More's book imagines a complex, self-contained community set on an island, in which people share a common culture and way of life…So at the very heart of the word is a vital question: can a perfect world ever be realised? It is unclear as to whether the book is a serious projection of a better way of life, or a satire that gave More a platform from which to discuss the chaos of European politics.”

That said, the utopia Moore envisioned was not in any modern sense perfect, but there are many attractive elements to it. If nothing else, it reveals many flaws, cruelties, and absurdities of his era (some continued to this day), and is provocative in ways that remain relevant. Oddly enough, Moore’s Utopia retains slaves, death penalties, and other loathsome practices that one might think inimical to a perfect society. Am glad I picked up this valuable classic.