Listening copies of many spoken-word recordings are now available in the Hoover Archives reading room. The recordings were digitized to archival specifications by Hoover Archives audio preservation staff, who then made use copies. Much of the material was originally recorded on lacquer discs and other old formats that are increasingly difficult to play because the equipment is becoming obsolete.
Among the newly available recordings are
- J. Arthur Mouw sermons, undated. Mouw, an American missionary in Borneo from 1931 to 1950, speaks about his experiences. (Collection title: J. Arthur and Edna Mouw papers, 1931–2004.)
- Reagan-Bush radio commercial, 1984. This sixty-second spot supporting the Reagan ticket was prepared by the California Council of Black Republican Women. (Collection title: Joyce Black Dunn miscellaneous papers, 1984–1986.)
- Inteviews of Felix Mukulubundu, 1984, and W. Mwatha, 1975. These interviews are among the sound recordings relating to the rebellion in the Kwilu region of the Congo that were collected by Herbert F. Weiss. (Collection title: Etat major général records, 1959–1972.)
- Arnold Joseph Toynbee speeches, 1950. Toynbee discusses the prospects for Western civilization in these speeches at Stanford University. (Collection title: Arnold Joseph Toynbee miscellaneous papers, 1921–1950.)
- Trotsky colloquium proceedings, 1987. This colloquium concerned Leon Trotsky's residence in Mexico (1937–40), Mexican politics during the presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas, Communist and Trotskyist movements in Mexico, and the relation of Mexican intellectuals to Leon Trotsky. The proceedings are in Spanish. (Collection title: Trotsky : revelador político del México cardenista, 1937–1987, colloquium proceedings, 1987.)
- Interviews of Franz H. Michael, George Edward Taylor, and Richard Louis Walker, 1984–1992. These historians and political scientists talk about the development of area studies, particularly Chinese studies, in the United States. Ramon H. Myers, a Hoover Institution fellow, is the interviewer. (Collection titles: Franz H. Michael interview, 1984; George Edward Taylor interview, 1992; and Richard Louis Walker interview, 1992.)
- Ansis Pommers interview, 2008. Pommers, a Latvian émigré in the United States, is interviewed by David Jacobs, archival specialist at the Hoover Institution, as part of the oral history project The Latvian Emigration in California. (Collection title: Ansis Pommers papers, 1945–2008,)
To set up an appointment to listen to the recordings at the archives or purchase copies if you cannot visit, please see Audiovisual Services.
