"What I want to impress upon those who may read this paper is this: The Irish land question is not a mere local question; it is a universal question. It involves the great problem of the distribution of wealth, which is everywhere forcing itself upon attention. It can not be settled by measures which in their nature can have but a local application. It can only be settled by measures which in their nature will apply everywhere as readily as in Ireland."

What I have done in this book, if I have correctly solved the great problem I have sought to investigate, is, to unite the truth perceived by the school of Smith and Ricardo to the truth perceived by the schools of Proudhon and Lasalle; to show that laissez faire (in its full true meaning) opens the way to a realization of the noble dreams of socialism; to identify social law with moral law, and to disprove ideas which in the minds of many cloud grand and elevating perceptions.

Henry Handel Richardson was the pseudonym of Ethel Florence Lindesay Richardson, a writer who was born in 1870 to a reasonably well-off family which later fell on hard times. The author's family lived in various Victorian towns and from the age of 13 to 17 Richardson attended boarding school at the Presbyterian Ladies' College in Melbourne, Victoria. It's this experience that feeds directly into The Getting of Wisdom. Laura Tweedle Rambotham, the main character, is the eldest child of a country family...

Joaquin Murrieta was a famous Californio bandit, known as the "Robin Hood of El Dorado". Joaquin Murrieta was the son of worthy parents, and nothing in his early youth betokened any traits of the monster which he afterwards became. . . . In the following pages every trace of his blood-stained footsteps is closely followed. Some of the facts are furnished by contemporary witnesses; most of them by official documents. He proceeded from step to step, wading deeper and deeper into crime, until quiet citizens were almost afraid to breathe his name aloud...

Henry Stanton was appalled at the shocking lack of information given to young people about sex and reproduction in his time. He felt this was a crime that needed to be fixed and so he wrote this book explaining sex for young and old. Ignorance of basic reproductive processes he felt led to experimentation that then led to sin, crime and prostitution. While this book is definitely not written in what I would call Plain English, contains some very questionable 'facts' about masturbation and menstruation and might seem very moralistic and dogmatic to our current society, he does hold out high ideas for all in affairs of self respect, love and marriage...

A major preoccupation of Hesse in writing Siddhartha was to cure his "sickness with life" by immersing himself in Indian philosophy such as that expounded in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. The reason the second half of the book took so long to write was that Hesse "had not experienced that transcendental state of unity to which Siddhartha aspires. In an attempt to do so, Hesse lived as a virtual semi-recluse and became totally immersed in the sacred teachings of both Hindu and Buddhist scriptures...

Somewhat autobiographical, this "coming of age" novel unfolds an introspective boy's formative years in pre-World War 1 Germany, from grade school through college. Hesse likens this confusing process to a giant bird struggling to break out of its egg , to be reborn as an individuated adult with his own goals, ideas and ideals. Much importance is given to dreams and their interpretation, Fate vs individual choice, Gnosticism , opening up to one's unconsciousness, all showing the influence of Carl Jung's psychology...

Works and Days provides advice on agrarian matters and personal conduct. The Theogony explains the ancestry of the gods. The Shield of Heracles is the adventure of Heracles accepting an enemy's challenge to fight.

The Odysseys are a collection of stories about Ulysses' journey home from the war at Troy purportedly written in the 8th century BCE by Homer, a blind poet thought to have lived in the Greek colonies in Asia Minor, possibly at Smyrna. The events described are thought to have occurred centuries before being recorded by Homer, handed down orally since the twelfth century BCE, the golden era of the Greek Bronze Age when the world was populated by heroic mortals and often visited by the Gods. This verse...

Homer’s Iliad is the first great work of Western literature. Composed in twenty-four books of Greek hexameter poetry, it portrays the events of the last year of the Trojan War. Its translation into rhyming couplets by Alexander Pope is considered by some the greatest act of translation in English. Its power sweeps the reader along through an epic tale that begins with the wrath of Achilles and ends with the burial of Hector, breaker of horses. (Introduction by Steve Perkins)

"It must equally be considered a splendid performance; and for the present we have no hesitation in saying that it is by far the best representation of Homer's Iliad in the English language." - London Times, 1865"The merits of Lord Derby's translation may be summed up in one word, it is eminently attractive; it is instinct with life; it may be read with fervent interest; it is immeasurably nearer than Pope to the text of the original. Lord Derby has given a version far more closely allied to the original, and superior to any that has yet been attempted in the blank verse of our language." - Edinburgh Review, January 1865.

Homeric Hymns are thirty-three poems each paying homage to a certain Greek god. Only a few of the poems are more than 250 lines while the rest are about a dozen lines each. They are written in Homeric style and traditionally attributed to Homer but their true provenance is unknown. The Epigrams are a series of fragments on disparate topics including sailors, children and potters and are similarly attributed to Homer although it appears Hesiod and others wrote some of them. Finally, Battle of Frogs and Mice is a light-weight parody -- literally, at one-fiftieth the number of lines -- of Homer's famous battle of Greeks and Trojans epic, Illiad.

Horace Walpole, 4th earl of Orford, was a cultivated participant in, and observer of, the social and political life of Georgian England. His charming and witty letters are valuable pictures of the age. "A man so blessed that he could unfold every gift, every foible, whose long life spreads like a great lake reflecting houses and friends and wars and snuff boxes and revolutions and lap dogs, the great and the little, all intermingled, and behind them a stretch of the serene blue sky." Virginia Woolf.

The Castle of Otranto is regarded as the first Gothic novel, a genre appealing to a taste for terror and set in a remote past when prodigies and magic can be imagined to have existed, with violent contrasts between purity and ungoverned passions. The author represents the tale as having been translated from a black letter Italian volume of the 15th century but describing much earlier events. This fictional antiquity and the depiction of mysterious wonders, dark subterranean passages, fearsome apparitions, marvelous coincidences, and especially a savage threat to spotless innocence are all typical of this genre, which does not assure a reader of a happy ending.

Ida Laura Pfeiffer was an Austrian traveler and travel book author, one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into several languages. "The Woman's Journey Around the World, from Vienna to Brazil, Chili, Tahiti, China, Hindostan, Persia, and Asia Minor" is the travel diary of the first of her two trips "around the world", following her successful trips to the Holy Land and to Iceland.

Paris in 1792 is no longer what it was in 1789. In 1789, the old French society was still brilliant. The past endured beside the present. Neither names nor escutcheons, neither liveries nor places at court, had been suppressed. The aristocracy and the Revolution lived face to face. In 1792, the scene has changed."France was now on the verge of the Reign of Terror (la Terreur), the violent years following the Revolution, and this book chronicles the terrible period of French history which culminated in the proclamation: "Royalty is abolished in France...

One of the many Little Blue Books published to make learning available to all. These were short, informative, and inexpensive books that discussed many topics, including biographies, literature, essays, and more. This volume discusses Brazilian literature in an historical context. - Summary by KevinS

Isabel Anderson has written a most interesting travelogue of Hawaii and The Philippines. Actually it is more of a history lesson. Anyone with any interest whatsoever in the South Pacific will find this book very interesting indeed, to note all that has changed since Mrs. Anderson had traveled there.

A very impassioned piece from the first World War, introducing a volunteer civilian anti-spy organization to root out enemy spies from the USA. It appears that this organization never reached the level the author urges; however, other organizations such as the American Protective League did. "Greatest Publication Since the Civil War! Spy Proof America means only one thing - a short, quick, decisive victory - and with honor, too! Every City Is Mobilizing - Join Now The Voluntary Secret Service - V. S. S." (Introduction by TriciaG & from publication)

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...

Fairies, Evil Step Mothers, Enchanted Forests, Golden Geese, Poor Little Children, Fairy Godmothers, Magic wells, and oh, so many many more of the things that make those well loved stories thrilling to tell and listen to are in this little book. And there are a few that you may never have heard of before. just to spice things up a bit. Some are short and some are long but all have a big helping of magic and wonder. Do you like stories like this? well, here you are! - Summary by phil chenevert

Grimms' Fairy Tales, originally known as the Children's and Household Tales, is a German collection of fairy tales or folk lore by the Grimm brothers or "Brothers Grimm", Jacob and Wilhelm, first published on 20 December 1812. - Summary by Cliff Stone

Do you like fairy tales and stories about all sorts of animals and people? Here are a wide variety of stories that go from warm and fuzzy to wild and scary to suit any mood. Many of these are familiar to us and we look forward to hear them again, but many are also unfamiliar tales that will treat your ears and brain to something new but equally wonderful. All collected by the famous brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm. - Summary by philchenevert

The stories we have read and loved but retold in words of one syllable to make it easier for young readers or those where English is a second language. Some you will know and love, others you may never have heard of but all are worth reading and listening to. Hansel and Grethel, The Wolf and the Six Little Kids; 3 tales about elves; Snow White and Rose Red; King Roughbeard; The Frog Prince; Cinderella; Little Red Cap (little Red Riding Hood) and The Goose Girl are only a few of these delightful tales.

The fifth volume and the first of two in the fourth part of Frazer's seminal work on the evolution of belief deals with the semi mythological legends of the Mediterranean and the eastern civilizations. Many analogies are traced between the worship of Osiris and the worship of the dead, especially of dead kings. The conclusion to which these analogies appear to the point is that under the mythical pall of the glorified Osiris, the god who died and rose again from the dead, there once lay the body of a dead man...

The third volume of The Golden Bough. The term Taboo is one of the very few words which the English language has borrowed from the speech of savages. This volume examines the underlying moral code of many societies, both primitive and medieval, and with modern analogies. The reader is encouraged to contemplate the contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities, not merely between different people of different countries and ages, but also between similar people within the same countries. Frazer presents extensive evidence that the laws of morality slowly, but subtly, are in an ever changing state. - Summary by Leon Harvey

The first volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. Topics covered include extensive discussion on the belief in sympathetic and contagious magic, magical influence on the environment, magicians and kings, magicians as priests, the origin of incarnate living gods, and a lengthy essay on the origin on the king of the wood at the lake of Nemi.

The fourth volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. With this third part of The Golden Bough we take up the question, why had the King of the Wood at Nemi regularly to perish by the hand of his successor? Topics investigated include the practice and intention of human sacrifice, the mortality of gods, the regular killing of divine kings and spirits, and the superstitions surrounding the succession of the soul. - Summary by Leon Harvey

The second volume in Frazer's seminal 12 volume set on anthropology and traditional systems of belief. The superstition and magical purpose of kings is further discussed alongside the worship of trees, vegetation, fire, and the sacred marriages, and the mystical bond between people and trees. - Summary by Leon Harvey

The sixth volume in the Golden Bough. Frazer continues into the second part of the compilation of analogies dealing with the recurring theme of the dying god. the worship of the dead, and dead kings. Extensive evidence is presented from the history of Egypt and what had been learned from archaeology in North Africa and the Mediterranean. The Egyptian calendar and festivals, the identify and personality of Osiris, and the relationship of the mother goddess, are discussed in length. - Summary by Leon Harvey

It cannot but seem a paradox to say that the Thirteenth was the greatest of centuries. To most people the idea will appear at once so preposterous that they may not even care to consider it. A certain number, of course, will have their curiosity piqued by the thought that anyone should evolve so curious a notion. Either of these attitudes of mind will yield at once to a more properly receptive mood if it is recalled that the Thirteenth is the century of the Gothic cathedrals, of the foundation of the university, of the signing of Magna Charta, and of the origin of representative government with something like constitutional guarantees throughout the west of Europe...

David Hume justly takes rank as the most distinguished member of that brilliant circle of literary men whose names gave such a lustre to the second half of the eighteenth century in Scotland. His speculations were the most profound, and, with the possible exception of Adam Smith in a particular department, his influence was the widest and most deeply felt, of any. But even his warmest friends could scarcely have predicted the influence he was destined to exercise, or the important results that were to spring from his thoughts...