The Ancient Phonograph

Long before the invention of the phonograph, the written word was unrivaled as a medium of the human voice. In The Ancient Phonograph , Shane Butler takes us back to an age, long before Edison, when writing itself was still relatively new. He meticulously reconstructs a series of Greek and Roman soundscapes ranging from Aristotle to Augustine. Here the real voices of tragic actors, ambitious orators, and singing emperors blend with the imagined voices of lovesick nymphs, tormented heroes, and an