The History of the Standard Oil Company is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries. The History of the Standard Oil Company was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911.

Naturalis Historia (Latin for "Natural History") is an encyclopedia published circa AD 77-79 by Pliny the Elder. It is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman empire to the modern day and purports to cover the entire field of ancient knowledge, based on the best authorities available to Pliny. The work became a model for all later encyclopedias in terms of the breadth of subject matter examined, the need to reference original authors, and a comprehensive index list of the contents...

This book, written in the mid 19th century and illustrated by Charles H. Bennett, provides an entertaining introduction to topics in science for children. In each chapter, the author uses a popular myth or fairy tale to lay the groundwork for an equally fascinating "fairy tale of science" full of interesting facts and real life examples.

This book is written to Christians who profess to believe the Bible as God's revelation, but whose "lives are filled with discomfort and unrest." Smith aims to show that the Bible's claim that God is the "the God of all comfort" is not an over-advertisement or misunderstanding, but that it is possible to avail ourselves of the doubts and heavy anxieties that plague so many Christians.By explaining God's part and man's part, Smith aims to show her readers that it is possible to overcome feelings of defeat and despair and find rest and peace in Christ...

National Geographic Magazine Volume 1 Number 1 published in 1889. Topics of articles are:Announcement by the National Geographic SocietyIntroductory Address by the PresidentGeographic Methods in Geologic InvestigationClassification of Geographic Forms by GenesisThe Great Storm of March 11 to 14, 1888The Great Storm off the Atlantic Coast of the United States, March 11th to 14th, 1888The Survey of the CoastThe Survey and Map of Massachusetts

Parva Naturalia [the "short treatises on nature" (a conventional Latin title first used by Giles of Rome)] is a collection of books by Aristotle, which discuss natural phenomena involving the body and the soul. The books are as follows:I - On Sensation and the SensibleII - On Memory and RecollectionIII - On Sleeping and WakingIV - On DreamsV - On Prophecy in SleepVI - On Longevity and Shortness of LifeVII - On Youth and Old Age, Life and Death VIII - On Respiration

The seven follies of science; a popular account of the most famous scientific impossibilities and the attempts which have been made to solve them to which is added a small budget of interesting paradoxes, illusions, and marvels.

After a number of deaths in his close family, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle turned to spiritualism in hope of finding proof of the afterlife. Being open in this way, he wanted to believe that spirits and other supernatural being including fairies were real. Because of this he believed the photographs of fairies taken by the Cottingley girls were proof of the existence of such beings. In this book he presents his stance on the issue. Eventually it was proven that the photographs were indeed a hoax.

These essays, based on Hawthorne’s stay in England from 1853 to 1857 as American Consul in Liverpool, were first published in the form of a series of travel articles for The Atlantic Monthly.In these writings, he displays his humor, his empathetic nature, his pride in his country, and sometimes his sharp judgment of others. He shares with us the difficulties of being a consul in the 1850’s, takes us on a tour with him through rural England and Scotland, shows us the splendors of London, and the horrors of the poverty that so many suffered. (Introduction by Margaret)

The Plain Speaker: Opinions on Books, Men, and Things is a posthumous collection of essays by William Hazlitt, organized by his grandson, William Carew Hazlitt. The book contains some of Hazlitt's more famous essays that hadn't been previously published in book format.

This book presents a method of developing and strengthening the faculties of the mind, through the awakened will, by a simple, scientific process possible to any person of ordinary intelligence

Go through the year, day by day, with the wit and wisdom of G.K. Chesterton! Compiled from the writings of 'G.K.C', both in verse and in prose, each day of the year is provided with a generally short quotation from one of his many works. Also includes a section apart for the moveable feasts.

Henry Scougal was born in Scotland in 1650. The son of the Bishop of Aberdeen, he flourished under rigorous teaching to become Professor of Philosophy at King's College, Aberdeen. In 1672, Scougal was ordained minister in Auchterless and, after a year, returned to King's College as Professor of Divinity. He continued in this office until his death in 1678.The Life of God in the Soul of Man is, in reality, a letter of doctrine and encouragement to a friend wavering in the faith, and was never intended for publication...

Andrew Murray's True Vine is a thirty-one day devotional focusing on Christ's Parable of the Vine and the Branches in John 15. The devotional for each day, though short, elaborates and expounds upon John 15, providing spiritual insight along the way. Murray repeats important themes--like abiding in Christ--throughout the different days. Noticing how they develop and grow with each successive read, countless small groups and individuals have found Murray's keen spiritual teachings fruitful. An excellent devotional, True Vine is recommended for daily spiritual nourishment.

Hiram Chase is a well liked Reverend in a small ministry in Utica. When his mental and physical health deteriorates, he is taken to Utica lunatic asylum. After his stay in the asylum, Hiram documents his experiences and those of other patients in the asylum. He describes his daily routine and the negative experiences he had, along with praising certain individuals whom he met during his "Two Years and Four Months in a Lunatic Asylum".

An account of World War I and the experience of filming it by an early cinematographer (and, after the war, successful director) who was there.

This two volume work is the autobiography of Lord Cochrane, a naval captain of the Napoleonic period. His adventures are seminal to the development of naval fiction as a genre. Marryat sailed with Cochrane, while later writers borrowed incidents from this biography for their fictions. Most notable among these is Patrick O'Brian, three of whose novels have clear parallels to incidents in the life of Cochrane. This first volume covers Cochrane's earlier life, during which he is most active militarily. (Introduction by Timothy Ferguson)

Richard Sibbes was a Puritan pastor and theologian in the 17th century. His best known work, The Bruised Reed, is based on a Scripture verse from Matt. 12:20: "A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." Sibbes uses this text to respond to the despondent thoughts and fears that many Christians have. He draws a picture of Christ's gentleness and mercy for the Christians who feel themselves small and weak. The Bruised Reed is full of an amazing amount of soul-comfort...

An in-depth view and early history of the Mohawk Valley in upper New York state, covering the time period of 1609-1780. This historical piece covers that part of the Mohawk Valley between Schenectady and Rome, NY.The narrator hopes that the listener understands that a best effort has been made in pronunciation of many names within this work; particularly those of the Mohawks, Iriquois, Huron, and Mohicans; as well as the French and Dutch.

A handbook of Egyptian archaeology, issued by the British Museum, considered suitable for British tourists travelling to Egypt in the 19th Century. (Introduction by Timothy Ferguson)

The Outline of Science was written specifically with the man-on-the-street in mind as the target audience. Covering scientific subjects ranging from astronomy to biology to elementary physics in clear, concise and easily understood prose, this popular science work is largely as relevant today as when first published in 1922.In this third volume (of four), we learn about psychic science, the characteristics and interrelations of living creatures, as well as Botany, Biology, and Chemistry. Some chapters are devoted to the new applied sciences of electricity, telegraphy, and flying.

William Wells Brown was born a slave, near Lexington, Kentucky. His mother, Elizabeth, was a slave; his father was a white man who never acknowledged his paternity. Brown escaped slavery at about the age of 20. For many years he worked as a steam boatman and as a conductor for the Underground Railroad in Buffalo, New York. In 1843, he became a lecturer for the Western New York Anti-Slavery Society, and was a contemporary of Frederick Douglass.Brown went to Europe in 1849 to encourage British support for the anti-slavery movement in the United States...

This nonfiction collection of sketches, by "members of the New York press," takes the reader on a tour of 1866 New York City after dark, with stops along the way to vividly depict scenes ranging from the splendid to the squalid - but focusing largely on the latter!

Elizabeth Cady Stanton was one of the premier movers in the original women’s rights movement, along with Susan B. Anthony, her best friend for over 50 years. While Elizabeth initially stayed home with her husband and many babies and wrote the speeches, Susan went on the road to bring the message of the women’s rights movement to an often hostile public. When black men were given the vote in 1870, Susan and Elizabeth led the women’s rights establishment of the time to withhold support for a bill that would extend to black men the rights still denied for women of all colors...

This is the inspiring story of Saint Anthony of Padua (1195-1231). The son of a wealthy Portuguese family, he was initially ordained a priest of the Canons Regular of Saint Augustine. In 1221, he took up the habit of a poor Franciscan friar and devoted his life to fervently preaching the Word of God. His extensive knowledge of Sacred Scripture and keen insights into its profound spiritual meaning astonished his hearers. To confirm the efficacy of his words, God gave him the gifts of prophecy and of performing miracles, the most memorable of which he worked in Padua in northern Italy, where he resided for many years...

Recollections of Life in Ohio is the autobiography of William Cooper Howells (1807-1894), father of the American novelist William Dean Howells. The Howells were Welsh woolen mill owners. William Cooper's father brought the family to America in 1808--at a time when Great Britain actually forbid skilled workmen from emigrating, thus putting the father's practical knowledge of mill machinery in great demand. Small scale industries--paper and woolen mills, flour mills, and distilleries were sprouting apace with farms in the newly opened lands of Ohio, where the Howells settled in 1813...

Lecture delivered before the International Congress of Mathematicians at Paris in 1900 and subsequently published in the Bulletin of the American Mathematical Society Vol. 8 (1902), 479-481.

A collection of 12 true stories of young children during the time leading up to their First Holy Communion. Written by a Sister of Notre Dame, this is the companion volume to "True Stories For First Communicants"

Written by the former skeptic, poet, and scholar, Thomas Cooper, The Bridge of History Over the Gulf of Time admirably sets forth a winsome defense of Christianity. Written as the substance of fourteen years of lectures, at the request of his hearers, Cooper leads his reader across the bridge of history, through the centuries, tracing Christianity. At last, he addresses "Leben Jesu" by Dr. David Friedrich Strauss, discusses the historicity of the four Gospels, and offers some concluding evidences for the truth of Christianity. (Introduction by tzieger)

Peter Kropotkin was a Russian anarcho-communist and scientist. This is his autobiography, and he writes not only about his own life, but also about 19th century Russian society and politics. He was born into the nobility and had a military education, but he gradually abandoned the values of his social class and became an anti-authoritarian socialist, opposed to both the rule of the Tsars and to the seizing of power by the authoritarian Bolsheviks. He was also interested in literature, biology, economics and geographical exploration. This second and last volume of his memoirs covers his time in St Petersburg, his time in prison, and his journeys in Western Europe. (

These are Alice Lady Lovat's meditations on the treatise "Del Aprecio y Estima de la Divina Gracia," written by the prolific Roman Catholic theologian and mystic Juan Eusebio Nieremberg, S.J. (1595-1658). Nieremberg's treatise was published in 1638 in Madrid, where he taught Sacred Scripture at the Jesuit Colegio Imperial. Abbot Oswald Hunter-Blair, O.S.B. wrote the preface for Lovat's book, which bears an imprimatur. (Introduction by dave7)