Ben-Hur

By: Lew Wallace

Narrated by: Lloyd James

Length: 23 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

An American classic, Ben-Hur is both a vivid historical epic and the powerful story of one man's spiritual journey from slavery to vengeance to redemption. Born the son of a Jewish nobleman, Ben-Hur is condemned to the galleys for life for accidentally dislodging a piece of tile that falls on the Roman procurator. He is betrayed by his best friend, manages to escape his imprisonment, and gains revenge and glory before the cheering multitudes in the chariot races at the Roman circus in Antioch. Later, he fulfills his true destiny at the foot of a cross on a hill in Jerusalem.

(P)2000 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic reviews

"This is a performance of sustained excellence, sustained across a range of characters and emotions, across time and geography. Male and female, young and old, the self-absorbed and the selfless, the worldly and the spiritual; all are within the compass of James' command. His reading is at once evocative, moving, and entertaining." (AudioFile)

Great Christian Read

The story has great characters villains to hate and heroes to love. Surrounding the story around Jesus Christ's Life is awesome. Fun read

Over and over

I listen to Ben-Hur every Christmas season and I love it every time. The narrator is excellent and the length is perfect for winter evenings.

Still A Great Story!

A great story when first written and still a great story to listen to. Audible offers two unabridged versions; listen to both samples and dertimine which you would rather listen to. One with a Bostonian accent and one without. I first read this story as a teenager, and now in my sixties, it still remains one of my all time favorites. If you're not in for over 20 hours of listing, get the unabridged version. It's an action adventure at 2 1/2 hours and I have found it to be a favorite of mine to fall asleep at night listing to (spurs some interesting dreams).

Wonderful - Listened twice

I was held spell bound by the narration and the story.I have actually listened twice and enjoyed it even more the second time. The slight technical glitches did not affect my enjoyment of the story. Much better than the movie!

A Great Tale That Endures Time

Innocence lost, betrayal, suffering, love, humor, redemption, revenge, forgiveness, if these be qualities that move you then here is a book for you. This is also an extremely accurate depiction of cultures, of varying ethnicities and faiths. Described in a manner that I feel authors of today could not achieve. The background is vividly portrayed as you accompany the main character along his journey from beginning to end. This books focus goes well beyond what the motion picture industry portrays.

Ben Hur Narrated by Lloyd James

Book starts out slow and dull (however, I realize laying a background). Narrator is one of the worst I've heard on audible. Could go to sleep by him.

Good Narrator, bad editing

great performance and story, but the audio editing on this recording is poor. many abrupt stops, cutting words.

boring

Love the movie. book is to boring to listen to, same with reading it also.

Beautiful & Thought-Provoking

This book is a masterpiece, a vivid blend of description and larger-than-life characters. The book's full title "Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ" should clue you into the fact that this story parallels the life of Jesus.

Ben-Hur is a handsome, intelligent, wealthy Jewish boy who is almost destroyed by the hatred of a former friend and Roman, Messala. Ben-Hur eventually escapes his life-sentence to the galleys and regains his fortune, which he uses to reap vengeance on his betrayer. However, when he learns that 'The King of the Jews' is at hand, he turns all his attention to building armies and preparing for the overthrow of Rome. When the Christ turns out not to be quite what he had expected, Ben-Hur is left with a difficult choice: wage war on Rome or follow the Prince of Peace.

I give the reader 8/10. Sound quality 10/10. Story 10/10.

(Fair Warning-- avoid this book if you don't like: descriptions, long books, historical fiction, or readers who actually laugh whenever it says 'so-and-so laughed.' Otherwise, enjoy!)

Absolutely great

This timeless tale brought to life beautifully. Not a dull moment. I loved it.