Album Notes

All the stories are read by Benjamin Kurzweil without background music or sound effects and giving a very personal storytelling experience
The MP3-CD audiobook, "Mankind, Kind man - and other short stories" includes unabridged 2008 translations of classic tales by Hans Christian Andersen, "The Ugly Duckling". All stories are read by Benjamin Kurzweil. Suitable for persons of 12 years and over with no upper age limit. Duration: 131 min.
The short stories on the CD "Mankind, Kind man - and other short stories" are written by Benjamin Kurzweil and some are by Hans Christian Andersen; unabridged version translated from the original Danish in 2008.
The stories are recorded in professional recording studios in London, UK. Both the MP3-CD and the digital download version are compatible with all MP3-players. DRM free: plays on all MP3 players, including iPod!

REVIEWS
Printed in The JC July 17, 2009.

"Children love to be read a fairy tale. And most adults love to read them to the kids. But when you have lost your voice, or inclination, there is Benjamin Kurzweil. His CD, Kurzweil Stories (£6.99 on Amazon) features the Danish storyteller interspersing his own tales with those of his more famous compatriot, Hans Christian Anderson. Kurzweil comes off surprisingly well in the comparison but they may not appeal to very young children."
Reviewed by Angela Kiverstein, www.thejc.com, London.

REVIEWS
Addendum, added on Friday May 15, 2009, re: Benjamin Kurzweil's version.
http://blogs.voices.com/voxdaily/2009/01/cher_narrates_the_ugly_duckling.html

"Shortly after listening to Cher's work, I happened to receive a CD from Danish voice talent Benjamin Kurzweil narrating his literal interpretation from the Danish manuscript of The Ugly Duckling and was able to gain more insight into Andersen's tale.
I found Benjamin Kurzweil's version of The Ugly Duckling very enchanting. Possibly this is because of his accent and also the depth of his voice and how Benjamin chose to colour the words. Another aspect that was evident to me was how well Benjamin had researched this story and how intimately familiar with it he was."
Co-founder Stephanie Ciccarelli, Voices.com, Canada

You might be surprised when I say that there is no unabridged up-to-date Hans Christian Andersen translation on the English market, recorded on CD or MP3 digital download. The only exception I know of is Tiina Nunnally's unabridged, proper bona fide, Andersen translations read by Kate Reading and Richard Matthews recorded by Penguin Audio (2004).
Most, if not all recorded Hans Christian Andersen translations in English, are abridged, and on top of that, they are based on either poor translations or not even translations, but fabricated "translations" pretending they are true translations from the original Danish.
But at KurzweilStories the intention is to give you the authentic Andersen. That's what makes KurzweilStories so unique.

LISTENING RECOMMENDED
The stories are meant to be heard, not read. It would be like reading the words of a song without listening to them being sung.

Welcome to KurzweilStories

Enjoy!