The Ancient Phonograph

A groundbreaking exploration of voice in literature, oratory, and song

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 bl...