A highly accessible introductory history of the development of scientific thought, method, and application from the first practical concepts of time and space to the development of the first successful heavier-than-air flying machine and the discovery of radioactivity . - Summary by Steven Seitel

This biography of Johannes Kepler begins with an account of what the world of astronomy was like before his time, then proceeds to a look at his early years. Two chapters deal with his working relationship with Tycho Brahe. These are followed by a look at Kepler's laws and his last years.

In this book, Walter W. Bryant traces the history of astronomy through the ages. We start at the very beginning, where astronomy was an occupation of priests, move with the help of the Arabs through the middle ages to the discovery of the heliocentric system by Copernicus, Brahe, Kepler, and Galileo. A discussion of Newton and his laws follows as well as a description of the biographies and works of successors like Halley, Herschel, and Bessel. The second half of the book deals with recent discoveries with respect to our solar system and the comets, meteors, and stars beyond.

Mark Twain illustrator Dan Beard recalled discussing McAllister’s book with Twain. “It was before Webster & Company failed that Ward McAllister’s book appeared, and when he sauntered into my studio one day, I said: ‘Mr. Clemens, have you read Ward McAllister’s book?’ ‘Yes; have you?’ he replied. ‘Indeed, I have. I have read it through several times, and intend to read it again. It is one of the most humorous books I ever read.’ ‘That’s so,’ said Mark, ‘that’s so...

Do remember reading a panic-mongering news story a while back about genetically engineered “Frankengrass” “escaping” from the golf course where it had been planted? That news story was foreshadowed decades previously in the form of prophetic fiction wherein a pushy salesman, a cash-strapped scientist, and a clump of crabgrass accidentally merge forces with apocalyptic consequences. A triple-genre combo of science fiction, horror, and satire, Greener Than You Think is a forgotten classic that resonates beautifully with modern times. This is a faithful reading of a 1947 first edition text.

A great civilization’s fate lay in Dick Barrow’s hands as he led his courageous fellow engineers into a strange and unknown land. None of them knew what lay ahead–what dangers awaited them–or what rewards. But they did not hesitate because the first question asked them had been: “Are you a brave man?”

Apart from "Rip Van Winkle" and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" - the pieces which made both Irving and The Sketch Book famous - other tales include "Roscoe", "The Broken Heart", "The Art of Book-making", "A Royal Poet", "The Spectre Bridegroom", "Westminster Abbey", "Little Britain", and "John Bull". His stories were highly influenced by German folktales, with "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" being inspired by a folktale recorded by Karl Musaus. Stories range from the maudlin (such as "The Wife" and...

Possibly the first book concerning the protective relays and schemes used in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. While the technology has changed over the last century, incredibly much of the fundamental theory remains the same. - Summary by Rick Jay

Much of this guide for young women is still valuable today. Despite mentions of tight lacing and other out of date matters, it contains many timeless principles. (Bria Snow)

This work describes conditions and forces the black population of the South faced after freedom was brought by the Civil War. As Sinclair puts it at the outset of his book, ". . . the chief efforts of Southern leadership have been to curtail the freedom of the colored people, to minimize their liberty and reduce them as nearly as possible to the condition of chattel slaves." - Summary by Jim Locke

William Booth was the founding General of the Salvation Army in late nineteenth century England. Finding his salvation as a teenager, he went on to become one of the most controversial and, ultimately, well-loved and respected social reformers of his day. Published in 1890 amidst the turmoil of the death of his beloved wife, Catherine, “In Darkest England” was hailed as a revolutionary approach to coping with the social ills facing Great Britain at the time. Although 130 years old, this revolutionary book of Victorian England still has much to say of note today. - Summary by Tom Hirsch

A bit of pseudo-science that will baffle, confuse, and amaze! Until the Space Age, there was little every-day, self-evident proof that the earth was a globe, and plenty of people believed in a flat Earth. Here are 100 short arguments for a flat Earth. Some of them can be proven wrong fairly easily; others confound; and others are stated so confusingly that they MUST be true! - Summary by TriciaG “‘One Hundred Proofs that the Earth is Not a Globe,’ by William Carpenter, is published by the...

Sailing adventure with storms, icebergs, shipwrecks, treasure, and the reawakening of a pirate frozen in suspended animation for nearly fifty years

Hawai'i: land of wonder and beauty and a culture rich in history and mythology. Dr. Westervelt settled in Hawai'i as a young man and collected stories and myths from his adopted home. Here we have a collection dedicated to the largest city, Honolulu. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was a pioneering American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very formalized and she did not attend nursing school, she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973. Volume 1 ends during the years just after the end of the Civil War.

Clarissa Harlowe Barton was a pioneering American nurse who founded the American Red Cross. She was a hospital nurse in the American Civil War, a teacher, and a patent clerk. Since nursing education was not then very formalized and she did not attend nursing school, she provided self-taught nursing care. Barton is noteworthy for doing humanitarian work and civil rights advocacy at a time before women had the right to vote. She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1973.Volume 2...

William H. Councill, former slave and contemporary of Booker T. Washington was founder of Huntsville Normal School, now Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Normal, Alabama. This short volume consists of short pieces of advice to the Negro workers of his time with some statistical information at the end. Councill reflects many of the attitudes and opinions of his time.

One of the earlier works on brain science, relating what was then known or conjectured about the connection between the physical brain and the individual personality, including the ability of speech and language. As this is an early work , some of the information related is, of course, outdated; but much of it is still relevant today.

Geology is a science of such rapid growth that no apology is expected when from time to time a new text-book is added to those already in the field. The present work, however, is the outcome of the need of a text-book of very simple outline, in which causes and their consequences should be knit together as closely as possible,—a need long felt by the author in his teaching, and perhaps by other teachers also. The author has ventured, therefore, to depart from the common usage which subdivides...

This book is an attempt to correct and develop the theory proposed tentatively in the little work Malaria. Put briefly, this theory is as follows. In the struggle for existence man has competed, not only with his fellow-men, but also with wild animals and disease- parasites. The fight against beasts was decided long before the historic period, but parasites have always been, and still are, formidable opponents. Whole tribes have been wiped out by plague, kala-azar and measles; and even when the disease-parasite does not win such a decisive victory, it often weakens a nation so much that the latter falls an easy victim to its healthier neighbours...

This short book has the objective of showing how important it is to stamp out malaria as soon as possible. Unlike a plague that suddenly takes it victims and leaves its survivors, malaria is a debilitating infection. It seizes all, fit and unfit alike, gradually lessening the general vitality until, in some cases, it has exterminated the people among whom it has become endemic. Extensive evidence has been compiled and summarised from consultation with medical authorities, antique literature, and historical sources to show how this insidious disease has undermined the integrity of a pair of ancient empires, and ultimately became a factor in their downfall. - Summary by Leon Harvey

In 1877, two gentlemen, Messrs Tonnison and Berreggnog, head into Ireland to spend a week fishing in the village of Kraighten. While there, they discover in the ruins of a very curious house a diary of the man who had once owned it. Its torn pages seem to hint at an evil beyond anything that existed on this side of the curtains of impossibility. This is a classic novel that worked to slowly bridge the gap between the British fantastic and supernatural authors of the later 19th century and modern horror fiction. Classic American horror writer H. P. Lovecraft lists this and other works by Hodgson among his greatest influences.

Late nineteenth-century naturalist William J. Long invites us in to the secret worlds of the woodland animals. Containing Long's own animal observations along with stories related to him by other humans who inhabit the woods, these stories give us an insight into the behavior of wild animals as they go about their lives in their own secret places deep in the forests of eastern North America. Although Long was accused in his day of anthropomorphizing the animals he wrote about, readers who are familiar with any of the animals he writes of will have glimpses of recognition at behaviors they have seen for themselves and explore the deeper meanings these actions have in that animal's life...

The unique merit of this nature student rests in his fascinating style of writing, which invariably interests young and old; for without this element his pioneer work in the realm of nature would now be familiar only to scientists, introducing people everywhere into the wonderland of nature hitherto entirely closed to all. This is another chapter in the shy, wild life of the fields and woods. Little Toohkees, the wood mouse that dies of fright in the author’s hand; the mother otter, Keeonekh,...

How to describe this book? In a word – savage. For those regular Le Queux mystery listeners, this book is a step in a different direction by the author. The book starts out like most Le Queux. Our hero, Richard Scarsmere, befriends an individual (Omar) at an English boarding school who turns out to be an African prince from a kingdom called Mo. Omar receives a visit from one of his mother’s trusted advisers. His mother, the Great White Queen, seeks him to return home immediately. Omar convinces Scarsmere to return to Africa with him since there is little opportunity awaiting him in London. What follows is a tale of deceit, treachery, barbarity, and mystery.

In this early nineteenth-century classic, William Paley assesses how our understanding of nature reflects characteristics of its creator. First published in 1802, the book went through more than twenty editions, remains in print, and is still a reference point in the ongoing conversation about evolution or creation as the better explanation for the appearance of order and design in our universe. - Summary by Barry Ganong

The Elements of Botany is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. It is a succinct little textbook that presents a solid introduction to plant science.

The Elements of Entomology is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. It is a succinct little textbook from 1845 presents an introduction to entomology. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Elements of Mammalogy is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1845 presents an introduction to mammalogy. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of mammal biology. The classification of mammals has changed considerably since this time. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

The Elements of Ornithology is one of seven in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1845 presents an introduction to ornithology. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of bird biology and classification. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences.

Elements of Geology is one in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1846 presents an introduction to geology. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of the subject as well as interesting look into the period. Please note that some of the information has changed considerably since this time. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences. - Summary by Amy Gramour

The Elements of Anatomy and Physiology is one in a Series of First Books of Natural History Prepared for the Use of Schools and Colleges. This succinct little textbook from 1852 presents an introduction to the workings of the human body. The information, albeit not current, is still interesting and of use as a general overview of the subject as well as interesting look into the period. Please note that some of the information may have changed considerably since this time. The author was a surgeon in the U.S. Navy and president of the Academy of Natural Sciences. - Summary by A. Gramour

The American bison (Bison bison), also commonly known as the American buffalo, is a North American species of bison that once roamed the grasslands of North America in massive herds, became nearly extinct by a combination of commercial hunting and slaughter in the 19th century and introduction of bovine diseases from domestic cattle. William T. Hornaday’s advocacy is credited with preserving the American bison from extinction. This book, originally published in 1887, gives Mr. Hornaday's evidence of the Bison's impending extinction. (Adapted from Wikipedia by Ann Boulais)