The BBC produces amazing radio play adaptions of classic books. They can capture not only the plot but general themes and emotions of the original literary works, and in a reasonable amount of time (this adaption was 4 hours). It is accomplished through the quality of the written adaptation, acting and sound effects, bringing new life and dimension, not unlike a good film of a book. My prior reading of Jack London, The Call of the Wild, left me underwhelmed, so I tried this modern adaptation of another book and it was fantastic. The character of the ruthless captain was fully believable and realized, and the plot took unexpected interesting turns. It's not the same as the original and I may read it someday, but like Disney, King Arthur, Robin Hood and many other examples, it's fun finding new versions of old classics. ( )