Another in the series "Little Masterpieces of Science" edited by George Iles, Mind is a collection of articles and book chapters that provide insight into the study of the workings of the mind the nineteenth century. - Summary by J.M. Smallheer

Nine lectures on a variety of biological subjects delivered at The Marine Biological Laboratories of Wood's Holl in the summer session of 1895. - Summary by J.M. Smallheer Please note that the Tables in Lecture 9 are not included in the recording. Please refer to the text.

From 1880-1883, the author undertook an academic expedition to Australia, with the purpose of recording zoological phenomena. While there, he developed an interest in the indigenous people and, unlike contemporary studies, did not restrict himself to appearance and outward behavior, but rather looked at the social, economic and anthropological. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. This volume was written in 1903 as Book XII in the series “The World and Its Peoples.” The series was intended for young people, but this work would be fun listening for those of any age interested in what Puerto Rico was like in the early 20th century. Intended to familiarize people in the U.S. with their new territory, topics include the island’s people, geography, climate, flora, fauna, and schools. There is also some coverage of Puerto Rican history and the new government established under U.S. rule.

It should go without saying that a nation's resources of intellectual talent are among the most precious it will ever have. The study of the lives of gifted children initiated by Professor Lewis M. Terman, began in 1921, and has become the longest running longitudinal study in the field of psychology. Published over 5 volumes, the study is of historical significance to the field of educational science as well as psychology, for providing an insight into the nature of intelligence and achievement, but also challenging stereotypes of the personality of the gifted...

This is a book in the "Understanding the Atom Series".from the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The authors explore general cell theory, radioisotopes as "biologic detectives," the basics of DNA and RNA in cell structure, protein synthesis and the role of radioisotopes in research. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The subject of this little book [1923] is of general interest to people who are acquainted with things Chinese. The dragon has played a large part in Chinese thought through four thousand and more years…. The author is peculiarly fitted to undertake this piece of work. He was born in China and speaks the Chinese language as a native. Thus, he has had the first-hand knowledge and the language to help him in his study. He has been studying on the subject of the dragon for fourteen years. In this time, he has traveled over more than one half the number of provinces of China…...

"THE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLD - A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of Nature" This title sums up the wonderful line up in this book. Short pieces about the strange and often bewildering things that occur in our world, from the insect that is born pregnant, to the fearsome poison arrow frog and about 170 others. If you like odd facts and weird plants and animals, this collection will delight you. So pick something interesting and enjoy reading it. The author is one of the world’s best-known and most respected science writers...

The ABC of Relativity clearly and engagingly explains Einstein's Theory of Relativity to the layperson. It is considered to be a significant contribution to the popularization of science. Its author, Bertrand Russell, was an acclaimed British mathematician, philosopher and logician. Please note that in a few of the chapters, diagrams are included which clarify the author's discourse. The listener may wish to consult a published text to refer to these diagrams.

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issues are topics including Foul Brood and Its Propagation, Wintering Bees in the Cellar, Mailing Queen-Bees Long Distances, and a biography of Franklin Wilcox. - Summary by Larry Wilson

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

Movement of Animals begins with a discussion of the physics of motion and asks whether God, the Unmoved Mover, exists outside of our Universe. Progression of Animals asks why animals have the parts they do and to what end these parts are possessed. - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

Sir John Murray, considered to be the father of modern oceanography, discusses the variations in the depths of oceans, and the methods and instruments used to measure such depths. He discusses many properties of oceanic waters including salinity, compressibility, pressure, colour, viscosity, and the presence of dissolved gases. The author addresses changes in density of water and its impact on the motion of water while describing ocean currents. He gives details of a variety of marine organisms based on the ocean depths at which they are found...

Generation of Animals ; Latin: De Generatione Animalium) Book 1: Sexual Parts, Semen & Sexual Generation Book 2: Sexes, Embryo Development & Sterility Book 3: Birds, Fish, Cephalopods, Insects, Bees & Testacea Book 4: Causes of Sex, Heredity & Teratology Book 5: Distinction between Necessity and the Final Cause Charles Darwin wrote: "Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle." - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

This is a book in the "Understanding the Atom Series" from the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The authors discuss topics of The Machinery of Inheritance, Mutations, Radiation, Dose and Consequences. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The Skies and the Earth is another in the series Little Masterpieces of Science edited by George Iles and published in 1902. It includes essays on the Sun, Astronomy, Geological Change on Earth, Rivers, the Sea and Earthquakes and Volcanoes by eminent scientists of the 19th Century. - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

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

American journalist H.L. Mencken’s Notes On Democracy was originally published in 1926, yet is still relevant almost 100 years later. Mencken has proposed some succinct and satirical definitions of democracy, such as, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” And, “Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey house.” One predictable result of democracy, Mencken explains, is that the professional politician, who’s objective is always the job, and not the principle, is in a constant struggle for office and its rewards...

American naturalist, Winthrop Packard, takes us on a journey among the wild woods and ponds alerting us to their many inhabitants. He points out the birds, hornets, muskrat and mink and their habitat, particularly during the New England winter, with free-flowing narrative that is both informative and entertaining, sometimes dramatic and sometimes poetic. - Summary by Larry Wilson

From the series, The Library of Romance, this book introduces the reader to the modern concepts of electricity. The author discusses how man came to know about electricity, and how it powers the world of 1910.

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...

The Chemical Constituents of Piper Methysticum or The Chemical Constituents of the Active Principle of The Ava Root is the text of a Master’s Degree thesis presented in June 1915 by Alice A. Ball. Ms. Ball was the first woman and African American to receive a Master’s Degree from the University of Hawaii. Her thesis includes some history of the use of the ava root in the South Pacific islands along with the isolation and analysis of the extracts of the kava root and some preliminary observations of its effects when administered to animals. - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Prichard’s Researches into the Physical History of Man has been called the most important pre-Darwinian anthropological work in English of the nineteenth century. He is considered by many to be the "Father of Anthropology". The central conclusion of the work is the unity of the human species, which has been acted upon by causes that have since divided it into permanent varieties or races. In his Preface, he writes: "In the course of this essay I have maintained the opinion that all mankind constitute but one race or proceed from a single family"...

This book contains many brief tales from history of commoners pretending to be kings and kings pretending to be commoners. Learn the fate of a Dutch merchant who wanted a kiss from the disguised Peter the Great's wife. Learn how a farmer's daughter born in 1750 in England gained attention and fame in many lands, and why her death was disbelieved. Learn about early vampires and ghosts. Find out the answers to these and other stories within this book.

The present series of legends have all been collected by myself from the Blacks, as were the previous ones. But in this instance, I had much help given to me by friends, who either told or sent me scraps of legends they themselves had seen or heard. On receiving any such I immediately made inquiries amongst the Blacks, and I was often enabled to complete the scraps, gaining through their hints a whole legend.

"M. Nordmann has presented Einstein’s principle in words which lift the average reader over many of the difficulties he must encounter in trying to take it in. Remembering Goethe’s maxim that he who would accomplish anything must limit himself, he has not aimed at covering the full field to which Einstein’s teaching is directed. But he succeeds in making many abstruse things intelligible to the layman." - Summary by from the Preface by Viscount Haldane Giving significant credit to Henri...

Meteorology by Aristotle Translated by Erwin Wentworth Webster before he fell in action in 1917. Book I: The Celestial Sphere, Stars & Precipitation Book II: Seas, Winds & Earthquakes Book III: Halos, Rainbows & Mock Suns Book IV: The Elements & Secondary Qualities On the Universe is attributed to Aristotle but may have been written by Posidonius the Stoic or someone well acquainted with his work. Two candidates for the Alexander addressed in the text are Alexander the Great and Tiberius Claudius Alexander, nephew of Philo Judaeus and Procurator of Judaea, and in A...

As it would be impossible to treat, in the compass of a few hundred pages, all the great engineering feats of modern times without reducing individual accounts to uninteresting brevity, the author has preferred, where selection is possible, to take typical instances of engineering practice, and, by the aid of comparatively detailed descriptions, to place the reader in a position to appreciate them and similar undertakings. - Summary by Adapted from the Preface

Elizabeth Banks was an American journalist who, at about age 23, moved to London. While trying to break into English journalism and to keep the wolf from the door, she struck upon the idea of hiring out as a housemaid in some London household and writing about her experiences. Subsequently, she became a street sweeper, flower-seller, and a laundress. On the flip side, she advertised as an heiress and demonstrated how easy it was for a wealthy American to "buy a pedigree" and entry into the higher social circles...

American naturalist, Winthrop Packard, takes us on a wandering journey into the woods alerting us to the many inhabitants and their habitat. He points out the birds, squirrels, woodchucks, and the variety of trees to be found particularly during the New England autumn, with free flowing narrative that is both informative and entertaining, sometimes dramatic and sometimes poetic - Summary by Larry Wilson

An Introduction to the History and Civilization of Greece from the Coming of the Greeks to the Conquest of Corinth by Rome in 146 B.C. The spirit of a nation is expressed and its history is recorded in three ways: in its political history, in its literature and in its art. The aim of this book has been to use such parts of the political history of the Greeks, of their literature and of their art as seem to have been the outward and visible signs of the spirit that inspired them. - Summary from...

This U.S. National Park Service historical handbook from 1962 introduces the reader to the history, geography, and archaeology of the Aztec Ruins and surrounding area. It explores what has been learned about the early people who settled there and discusses what the ruins were like at the time of publication. - Summary by Verla Viera

In November, 1897, I submitted to the American Academy of Political and Social Science a plan for the study of Negro problems. This work is an essay along the lines there laid down, and is thus part of larger design of observation and research into the history and social conditions of the transplanted Africans. W.E.B. Du Bois At the end of this work are appendices, mainly additional statistics and not included here--the most noteworthy of them being Appendix B, a list of legislation regarding the Philadelphia Negro during this period.

It is not the author's purpose in the present volume to give any instruction in the practice of photography. There are many works dealing with the practical side of the subject. His object is to tell the romantic story of the discovery of this wonderful art, and the steps by which its range has been extended until it can achieve results which only a few years ago would have been thought impossible. A glance at the list of chapters will show what a wide field photography now covers, and what service it renders to man, both in his everyday life and in his most subtle scientific researches. - Summary by The Author

This paper is an attempt to give the most accurate facts obtainable bearing upon the question of colored domestic service in Philadelphia.