In 1915, as the "Great War" (World War 1) entered its second year Rudyard Kipling made a journalistic tour of the front, visiting French armed forces. By then he was already winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature (the first writer in English to be so honoured). He published his observations in articles in the Daily Telegraph in England, and in the New York Sun. At that stage of the war nationalistic sentiments were running high but the true cost of war was beginning to be understood "at home"...

Rufus Estes was born a slave in 1857 in Tennessee, and experienced first hand the turmoil of the Civil War. He began working in a Nashville restaurant at the age of 16, and in 1883 took up employment as a Pullman cook. In 1897, he was hired as principal chef for the private railway car of U.S. Steel magnates (the fin-de-siecle equivalent of today’s Lear Jets for corporate travel). There he served succulent fare for the rich and famous at the turn of the 20th century.

Though little is known about its author, this is considered the first vegan cookbook ever written. At the time of its composition, the Vegetarian Society and other advocates of vegetarian diets were engaged in a debate about the inclusion of dairy and eggs in one's regime. This text declares, from the title to the footnotes, that the best diet is free from all animal products. The arguments span historical, physical, ethical, aesthetic, and economic considerations and conclude with practical advice that stands the test of time. An essential text for those interested in vegetarianism and animal rights.

Doubleday chronicles the history of everyday inventions that form the foundation of technology now common through the world. While some of the inventions are no longer used, each example shows how inventors contributed to technology through perseverance, inspiration and clever observations. In each chapter, he gives a clear, understandable background of the technology.Many of the now outdated inventions may have inspired later inventions by meeting emerging demands. For example, Edison's filament bulb is now being phased out by more efficient CFL's, but Edison's contribution to indoor lighting likewise removed the need for inefficient gas-burning lamps...

Text of famous inspirational lecture and biography of Russell Conwell, a Baptist minister and Temple University Founder

This book is intended to give the reader an account of the origin and history of Hallowe’en, how it absorbed some customs belonging to other days in the year,—such as May Day, Midsummer, and Christmas. The context is illustrated by selections from ancient and modern poetry and prose, related to Hallowe’en ideas.

A survey of the myths and legends concerning lycanthropy from ancient times to the Victorian Era.

This volume is an example of Sabine Baring-Gould's extensive research into the middle ages. This volume of 12 curiosities was one of Baring-Gould's most successful publications.

This book is a collection of 17 gems of random knowledge, such as what women are made of and the philosopher's stone, written in Baring-Gould's own style.

This book is a collection of 17 gems of random knowledge, such as what women are made of and the philosopher's stone, written in Baring-Gould's own style.

Aurelius Ambrosius was a fourth century cleric who rose to become the Archbishop of Milan in 374 AD. His father was a powerful Roman general and the prefect of Gaul. His brother and sister were also consecrated as saints by the Catholic Church. As an infant, a swarm of bees settled over his face and flew away without harming the baby, but left behind a drop of honey and this was seen as a sign of his future eloquence and bees are often painted in his portraits as his symbols. Ambrosius (or Ambrose as he is referred to in English) was a highly learned man, well versed in Latin and Greek, theology and many other subjects...

Concerning Virgins (De Virginibus) is a series of letters, compiled into three “books,” St. Ambrose wrote to his sister, Manellia, These, perhaps Ambrose’s earliest writings, were written in 377 CE. Written in a rather light-handed non-technical style they appear as ethical guides to women who are contemplating entering nunneries. More importantly, they set the tone for Ambrose’s later writing on ethics. Concerning Virgins was referred to by other patristic writers including St. Jerome, St Augustine and Cassian, and are now included in the extra-biblical cannon of the early church fathers.

Rome having been stormed and sacked by the Goths under Alaric their king, the worshipers of false gods, or pagans, as we commonly call them, made an attempt to attribute this calamity to the Christian religion, and began to blaspheme the true God with even more than their wonted bitterness and acerbity. It was this which kindled my zeal for the house of God, and prompted me to undertake the defense of the city of God against the charges and misrepresentations of its assailants. This work was in my hands for several years, owing to the interruptions occasioned by many other affairs which had a prior claim on my attention, and which I could not defer...

Confessions (Latin: Confessiones) is the name of an autobiographical work, consisting of 13 books, by St. Augustine of Hippo, written between AD 397 and AD 398. Modern English translations of it are sometimes published under the title The Confessions of St. Augustine in order to distinguish the book from other books with similar titles, such as Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Confessions.

The Enchiridion, Manual, or Handbook of Augustine of Hippo is alternatively titled, “Faith, Hope, and Love”. The Enchiridion is a compact treatise on Christian piety, written in response to a request by an otherwise unknown person, named Laurentis, shortly after the death of Saint Jerome in 420. It is intended as a model for Christian instruction or catechesis. – As the title indicates, the work is organized according to the three graces necessary for the Christian worship of God: Faith, Hope and Love...

Saint Catherine of Genoa (Caterina Fieschi Adorno, born Genoa 1447 – 15 September 1510) is an Italian Roman Catholic saint and mystic, admired for her work among the sick and the poor. She was a member of the noble Fieschi family, and spent most of her life and her means serving the sick, especially during the plague which ravaged Genoa in 1497 and 1501. She died in that city in 1510.In 1551, 41 years after her death, a book about her life and teaching was published, entitled Libro de la vita mirabile et dottrina santa de la Beata Caterinetta de Genoa...

Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop of Geneva from 1602, was a renowned spiritual director who produced two classic guidebooks for earthly wayfarers on their spiritual journey to God: Introduction a la vie devote (Introduction to the Devout Life, 1609) and Traite' de l'amour de Dieu (Treatise on the Love of God, or Of the Love of God, 1616). In the Introduction to the Devout Life, Francis shows how anyone, whatever his or her calling or station in life, can strive for and achieve a life a piety and devotion to God...

Francis de Sales (1567-1622) was a French priest and later bishop of Geneva who was revered as a master of spiritual direction and fondly remembered for his keen insights into the personal spiritual struggles of men and women of all faiths. His Introduction to the Devout Life, which he wrote especially for laypersons, and his Treatise on the Love of God remain fundamental reading for all earthly pilgrims who seek personal moral improvement and strive for spiritual perfection.Pere Huguet has gathered together in this one volume some of the more poignant insights and suggestions contained in the writings of Saint Francis de Sales and organized them under more than eighty chapters...

A defense of the Christian faith delivered by St. Justin Martyr to the Roman Senate in the second century AD

St. Patrick’s Breastplate – This prayer is attributed to St. Patrick and his diciples. It is written with some celtic pagan elements, but is definitely a Christian prayer asking God for protection through daily life. A Letter to the Soldiers of Coroticus – Patrick writes this letter to excommunicate the soldiers of Coroticus’ army who pillaged villages in Ireland and forced many Christian converts into slavery. Confession – A short autobiography by St. Patrick who tells of being abducted...

Marie Francoise Therese Martin, affectionately known as ‘The Little Flower’, was born on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France to Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin. She was the youngest and one of five surviving sisters of the nine Martin children. When Therese was 3, her mother died. Louis Martin moved his family to Lisieux to be closer to his late wife’s brother and his family. It was there that Therese’s sister, Pauline, entered the Carmel at Lisieux on October 2, 1882. Therese at that time also heard the Divine Call to religious life...

More than nine hundred years after it was first written, this unfinished work of a scholar saint still has the power to move our minds and hearts and set us thinking on the really important questions of life. Summa Theologica or simply the Summa as it is known, was written some time between 1265-74. It is a work that has had a profound and enduring influence on Western thought and literature. Designed to provide answers to Catholic theologians about the teachings of the Church, Thomas Aquinas' book instead goes far beyond its stated purpose...

Samuel “Sam” Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was a noted Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. He is known today for his memoir Company Aytch: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show, often heralded as one of the best primary sources about the common soldier's Civil War experience....Sam’s writing style is quite engaging and skillfully captures the pride, misery, glory, and horror experienced by the common foot soldier. Watkins is often featured and quoted in Ken Burns’ 1990 documentary titled The Civil War. (Introduction from Wikipedia)

Intended for children 11 to 14 years old, The Story of the Middle Ages relates a little known period of history in an interesting and entertaining way. The author terms the Middle Ages as that period in the history of Europe between the fifth and fifteenth centuries. Its beginning is marked by the decline and fall of the mighty Roman Empire and its end is generally thought to be the dawn of the Renaissance or the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages are also divided by historians into the Early, High and Late Middle Ages...

The intention of this work is to provide a sketch of the History of the Church in the first six centuries of its existence, resting throughout on original authorities, and also giving references to the principal modern works which have dealt specially with its several portions. It is hoped that it may be found to supply a convenient summary for those who can give but little time to the study, and also to serve as a guide for those who desire to make themselves acquainted with the principal documents from which the History is drawn.

An open life, an open hand, open upward, is the pipe line of communication between the heart of God and this poor befooled old world. Our prayer is God’s opportunity to get into the world that would shut Him out. (From the first chapter)

So far as I can find out, I have no theory about Jesus to make these talks fit into. I have tried to find out for myself what the old Book of God tells about Him. And here I am trying to tell to others, as simply as I can, what I found. It was by the tedious, twisting path of doubt that I climbed the hill of truth up to some of its summits of certainty. I am free to confess that I am ignorant of the subject treated here save for the statements of that Book, and for the assent within my own spirit to these statements, which has greatly deepened the impression they made, and make...

The edition of the book published in 1921 explored extensively the reasons why Mormons were not accepted ("are" at the time of publication) into the Masonic Lodges.

The published dictionary was a huge book: with pages nearly 1½ feet tall and 20 inches wide, it contained 42,773 words; it also sold for the huge price of £4/10s. ($400?). It would be years before “Johnson’s Dictionary”, as it came to be known, would ever turn a profit; authors’ royalities being unknown at that time, Johnson, once his contract to deliver the book was fulfilled, received no further monies connected to the book. Johnson, once again a freelance writer, albeit now a famous one, faced a grim hand-to-mouth existence; however, in July 1762 the twenty-four year old King George III granted Johnson an annual pension of £300...

George Stephenson did not invent the steam engine, that was due to Newcomen and later to James Watt. He did not invent the steam locomotive, that was due to a number of people including Cugnot, Trevithick and others. He did not invent the Railway. Railways or tramways had been in use for two hundred years before Stephenson.The reason why Stephenson was known as ‘The father of the steam locomotive’ was that he took a primitive, unreliable and wholly uneconomic device and turning it into an efficient...

Saint Teresa of Ávila, also called Saint Teresa of Jesus, baptized as Teresa Sánchez de Cepeda y Ahumada, (March 28, 1515, at Gotarrendura (Ávila), Old Castile, Spain – October 4, 1582, at Alba de Tormes, Salamanca, Spain) was a prominent Spanish mystic, Carmelite nun, and writer of the Counter Reformation. She was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered to be, along with John of the Cross, a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. In 1970 she was named a Doctor of the Church by Pope Paul VI.

Conceptions of Divine Love was written in 1577. St. Teresa wrote this with the idea of explaining certain words found in the Book of Canticles. When her confessor read the title of her work, he ordered her to immediately burn it, which, of course, she did. But one of her nuns had copied the first seven chapters, which was then published in 1612. Here, Father John Dalton has translated only four of those chapters in 1852.

El Camino de Perfección (trans.: The Way of Perfection) is a method for making progress in the contemplative life written by St. Teresa of Ávila for the sisters of her reformed convent of the Carmelite Order (Discalced). St. Teresa was a major figure of the Catholic Reformation in 16th Century Spain.

Sara Cone Bryant was an educator and storyteller who wrote several books on the importance of oral storytelling to children, and stories to tell children. This volume expounds on her theories and practices of telling stories to children, and provides several examples. Her conversational writing style makes this work as relevant for parents and teachers as it was 90 years ago.

Mr. Clark and Donald spend a year out west to the Crescent Ranch in Idaho learning about raising sheep.

Between these pages you will find only the good, old-fashioned, every-day cat. No Angora or thoroughbred has been entered here, unless it be "Hansie," who is little more than mentioned. These are true incidents and true lives, with the exception of the one chapter, "The Mission of the Cat." The reader will pardon the intrusion of Victor, the dog. I have added him as the cook adds her trace of spice, but feeling also that he is entirely in place, being an ardent cat-lover himself.

How to live on 5 cents a day! How to survive financial ruin without losing your house! How to keep to a bare bones budget and still have money left over to buy books! Tough questions! They were tough questions even in the 1870’s, when Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth penned her quirky memoir, the subtitle of which was “How a Lady, Having Lost a Sufficient Income from Government Bonds by Misplaced Confidence, Reduced to a Little Homestead Whose Entire Income is But .00 per Annum, Resolved to Hold It, Incurring no Debts and Live Within it...

This book is a collection of short biographies of notable women, including Harriet Beecher Stowe, Louisa May Alcott, Florence Nightingale, and many others.

These characters have been chosen from various countries and from varied professions, that the youth who read this book may see that poverty is no barrier to success. It usually develops ambition, and nerves people to action. Life at best has much of struggle, and we need to be cheered and stimulated by the careers of those who have overcome obstacles.If Lincoln and Garfield, both farmer-boys, could come to the Presidency, then there is a chance for other farmer-boys. If Ezra Cornell, a mechanic, could become the president of great telegraph companies, and leave millions to a university, then other mechanics can come to fame...

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.

Sarah Morgan Dawson was a young woman of 20 living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when she began this diary. The American Civil War was raging. Though at first the conflict seemed far away, it would eventually be brought home to her in very personal terms. Her family's loyalties were divided. Sarah's father, though he disapproved of secession, declared for the South when Louisiana left the Union. Her eldest brother, who became the family patriarch when his father died in 1861, was for the Union, though he refused to take up arms against his fellow Southerners...