The Education of Henry Adams records the struggle of Bostonian Henry Adams (1838-1918), in early old age, to come to terms with the dawning 20th century, so different from the world of his youth. It is also a sharp critique of 19th century educational theory and practice. In 1907, Adams began privately circulating copies of a limited edition printed at his own expense. Commercial publication had to await its author's 1918 death, whereupon it won the 1919 Pulitzer Prize. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

A sketch of the lives of some of America's early Statesmen: George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, Andrew Jackson, Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, Charles Sumner, Ulysses S. Grant, and James A. Garfield.

Moncure Daniel Conway was an American abolitionist, Unitarian, clergyman and author. This second volume of his autobiography covers the years from the US Civil War to roughly 1904.

The Lives of the Queens of England is a multi-volumed work attributed to Agnes Strickland, though it was mostly researched and written by her sister Elizabeth. These volumes give biographies of the queens of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066. Although by today's standards, it is not seen as a very scholarly work, the Stricklands used many sources that had not been used before.Volume 4 includes the biographies of Elizabeth of York, Katherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymore, Anne of Cleves, and Katherine Howard.

Explorer Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911, as recounted in his book Inca Lands, now released on Librivox at http://librivox.org/inca-lands-by-hiram-bingham/. In 1917, he became an aviator and organized the United States Schools of Military Aeronautics at eight universities to provide ground school training for aviation cadets, and then in Issoudun, France, Bingham commanded the primary Air Service flying school. He became a supporter of the Air Service in their post-war quest for independence from the Army and supported that effort, in part, with the publication of this book of his wartime experiences published in 1920 by Yale University Press.

An intriguing look at well known women in history from BC 500 to the mid 1800's. Each chapter is a brief overview of one woman's life. An interesting read.

Who was John Milton? The author of Paradise Lost you say? Well, certainly, but he was also a man, going about his daily life like any of us in 17th century England, (except that he was a genius of course). Take time to read about a day in his life and learn more about him and his likes, dislikes, background and proclivities. Also, the same with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Walt Witman, Lord Byron, Keats and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Each of them a man or woman of their times, living each day like us, but seeing shades and hues of life that we can only experience through their exquisite poetry...

Samuel H. M. Byers was an American poet, diplomat, and soldier in the Civil War. "In war some persons seek adventures; others have them in spite of themselves. It happened that the writer of this book belonged to a regiment that seemed to be always in the midst of great experiences. It was, in fact, one of the few regiments that absolutely fought themselves out of existence. It was mustered in a thousand strong; it lost seven hundred and seventy-seven men by death, wounds, and disease. The fragment that was left over was transferred to a cavalry command...

Gabriel Gregorio Fernando José María García y Moreno y Morán de Buitrón (1821–1875) was an Ecuadorian politician who twice served as President of Ecuador (1859-1865 and 1869-1875) and was assassinated during his second term, after being elected to a third term. He is noted for his conservatism, Catholic religious perspective and rivalry with liberal strongman Eloy Alfaro. Under his administration, Ecuador became a leader in science and higher education within Latin America. In addition to...

A collection of brief biographies and the text from scripture that was significant in the life of each. It is biography and devotional Bible study expertly woven together to produce interesting and inspirational stories.

That one who is not a recognized authority or an expert in literature should attempt the solution of a problem which has so far baffled specialists must doubtless appear to many as a glaring act of over- boldness; whilst to pretend to have actually solved this most momentous of literary puzzles will seem to some like sheer hallucination. What I have to propose, however, is not an accidental discovery, but one resulting from a systematic search. And it is to the nature of the method, combined with a happy inspiration and a fortunate chance, that the results here described were reached...

“Being the Familiar Correspondence of Vincent Van Gogh ... [Van Gogh's] art was appreciated during his life only by a very few and it is but within recent years that it has found admirers who in many cases have been most ardently enthusiastic. Of the following letters, some were addressed to his brother and the remainder to his friend E. Bernard.

”This book, the rather unpremeditated production of several months’ work, is by a man who is not a novelist and who is therefore entirely unfitted to write about women who are novelists.” The author is a literary reporter and from that perspective he offers a short biographical sketch “of all the living American women novelists whose writing, by the customary standards, is artistically fine . . . [or] whose writing has attained a wide popularity.” This book was published in 1918.

Joan of Arc is a folk heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. Claiming divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the coronation of Charles VII of France. Captured by her enemies, she was sold to the English and put on trial for charges of "insubordination and heterodoxy". She was burned at the stake for heresy when she was 19 years old. Twenty-five years after her execution, an inquisitorial court examined the trial, pronounced her innocent, and declared her a martyr...

This Autobiography of Goethe has a lengthy introduction and short biography of Goethe's life by Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and was translated by John Oxenford (1812-1877) in 1848, which was a year of revolutions in Europe. Johann Goethe was a literary celebrity by the age of 25 and was ennobled by the Duke of Saxe-Weimar, Carl August in 1782 after first taking up residence there in November of 1775 following the success of his first novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther (available on Librivox). He lived in Germany from 1749-1832...

A biography and critique of Van Dyck in The Masterpieces in Colour series. The Plates of the paintings are fully described and the artistic periods in his life's work are given as well as his place in history.

Born into the influential Welsh Salusbury family and married to the rich brewer Henry Thrale, Hester Piozzi was associated to the most illustrious figures of London society in her time, among others the famous Samuel Johnson, to whose biography her diaries added valuable details. After surviving Mr. Thrale and her second husband Gabriel Mario Piozzi, at the age of 80, she fell in love with William Augustus Conway, to whom she wrote these letters.

Robert Sherard was Oscar Wilde's friend of 20 years and first biographer. The Story of an Unhappy Friendship was the first of his four biographies of the Irish playwright and wit.

Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania is a series of essays written by the Pennsylvania lawyer and legislator John Dickinson (1732–1808) and published under the name "A Farmer" from 1767 to 1768. The twelve letters were widely read and reprinted throughout the thirteen colonies and were important in uniting the colonists against the Townshend Acts. (Wikipedia)

"Some delights of the ancient town of Stratford-upon-Avon and the country round about, together with a sketch of the life of Mr. William Shakespeare, in which many things both new and entertaining are to be found...and wherein certain fanatics are handsomely confuted." "Certain fanatics" refers to insistent doubters of Shakespeare's authorship of the great literary works attributed to him. The quoted statement appears before the Preface. The book, which was published in 1913, charmingly describes the area's structures, history, and lore. ~ Lee Smalley

Brady was a journalist, historian, adventure writer, and Episcopal priest. As a priest he spent some time on the American frontier as a missionary. “…the experiences are personal and actually occurred as they are set down, to the best of my recollection…. Only one story was ‘made up’ for the occasion, and that combines several actual incidents. I hope that this book may serve to interest those who read it in the life of the average missionary on the Western frontier – a life of mingled work and pleasure, joy and pathos, hardship and fun...

A biographical encomium delivered on the occasion of Roosevelt's death. Theodore "T.R." Roosevelt, Jr. (1858 – 1919) was an American author, naturalist, explorer, historian, and politician who served as the 26th President of the United States. He was a leader of the Republican Party (the "GOP") and founder of the Progressive Party. He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...

There are 10 divisions in this title. This project is a recording of book 6. There is a number of interesting anecdotes on the lives of Antisthenes, Diogenes of Sinope, Monimus, Onesicritus, Crates of Thebes, Metrocles, Hipparchia, Menippus and Menedemus. Their school of thought is known an Cynicism. Most of the text in this book is devoted to the anecdotes concerning Diogenes's life and sayings. Even Alexander envied his life saying that if he had not been Alexander, he should have liked to be Diogenes.

Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada (28 March 1515 – 4 October 1582), was a prominent Spanish mystic, Roman Catholic saint, Carmelite nun, an author of the Counter Reformation and theologian of contemplative life through mental prayer. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be a founder of the Discalced Carmelites along with John of the Cross.In 1622, forty years after her death, she was canonized by Pope Gregory XV and on 27 September 1970, was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI...

The title and subtitle pretty much say it all. Twenty biographical sketches of people you would not want your son or daughter to marry.

Rodin has pronounced Rilke's essay the supreme interpretation of his work. (From the translators’ Preface) Auguste Rodin, 1840-1917, was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past. He was schooled traditionally, took a craftsman-like approach to his work, and desired academic recognition, although he was never accepted into Paris's foremost school of art. Sculpturally, Rodin possessed a unique ability to model a complex, turbulent, deeply pocketed surface in clay...

The Lives of the Queens of England is a multi-volumed work attributed to Agnes Strickland, though it was mostly researched and written by her sister Elisabeth. These volumes give biographies of the queens of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066. Although by today's standards, it is not seen as a very scholarly work, the Stricklands used many sources that had not been used before.Volume six includes the biography of Elizabeth I through the year 1586.(Introduction by Ann Boulais)

Jerry McAuley gives a testimony of his transformation from one of the wickedest men to ever live to being saved and a life of helping others do the same.

Frederick Douglass published his highly acclaimed third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, in 1881 and revised it in 1892. The emancipation of American slaves during and following the American Civil War enabled him to relate in this volume more details of his life as a slave and his escape from slavery than he could in his two previous autobiographies, which would have put him and his family in danger. It is the only Douglass autobiography to discuss his life during and after the...

I met the ex-pickpocket and burglar whose autobiography follows soon after his release from a third term in the penitentiary. For several weeks I was not particularly interested in him. He was full of a desire to publish in the newspapers an exposé of conditions obtaining in two of our state institutions, his motive seeming partly revenge and partly a very genuine feeling that he had come in contact with a systematic crime against humanity. But as I continued to see more of him, and learned much...

This is the final book in a six volume set of the "My Bookhouse" books. This final title in the series leaves off the format of the previous volumes and is geared towards the parent or teacher. The major part of the books deals with short biographies of the authors whose works appeared in the previous five volumes. Then follow several interesting sections, some of which include: the History of Mother Goose, The World's Great Epics, and How to Judge Stories for Children. For the several indexes included in the second half of the book, including a historical index, a geographical index and others, please see the online text linked below.

Born in Manchester in 1893, Harold Laski was a leading figure in the left-wing of British socialism in the first half of the 20th century. An executive member of the Fabian Society and member of the Socialist League faction of the Labour Party, he was party chairman in 1945-6. As a professor at the London School of Economics he influenced a number of prominent politicians of the post-war years, including leaders of the independence movements of Asia and Africa, and Ralph Milliband, father of the current Labour Party leader, Ed Milliband...