Parallel Lives of the Noble Greeks and Romans is a series of biographies of famous men, arranged in tandem to illuminate their common moral virtues or failings. The surviving lives contain twenty-three pairs of biographies, each pair consisting of one Greek and one Roman, as well as four unpaired, single lives. Plutarch was not concerned with writing histories, as such, but in exploring the influence of character, good or bad, on the lives and destinies of famous men. The first pair of lives the Epaminondas-Scipio Africanus no longer exists, and many of the remaining lives are truncated, contain obvious lacunae and/or have been tampered with by later writers...

James P. Beckworth, born in Virginia at the dawn of our Nation, moved with his family to eastern Missouri settling a few miles below what is now St. Charles. Still young, James began his education in the character of the Indian nations where he gained first hand knowledge of the Indian tactics and at times, their brutality. At the young age of 19, he became a member of the famed company known as Ashley's hundred. Working along side some our countries most revered adventurers. Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson and of course, General Ashley himself...

From time immemorial, women have served as wives, mothers and domestic organizers. But in the nineteenth century, the lives of women were changing, allowing those with drive to serve in other capacities. In this volume, we briefly examine the lives of eleven such women, ranging from 'Our Lady of the Red Cross', Clara Barton to 'A Champion of the Cause', Anna Howard Shaw and 'The White Mother of Darkest Africa', Mary Slessor. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

William Cowper Brann earned the nickname “The Iconoclast” by fearlessly attacking established beliefs and institutions which he thought to be pompous and self-serving. He settled in the wild and wooly West Texas town of Waco in the late 1800s as a newspaper man - first as a writer and then as owner of newspaper he named “The Iconoclast”. During this period, Catholics and Protestants were duking it out over the soul of Texas and there was even further sectarian strife among Protestants. Brann wrote prolifically and aired his Politically Incorrect views with vigor and colorful language...

This short biography of Martin Luther, by Gustav Just, who taught at Bethlehem Evangelical Lutheran School, St. Louis, is a standard resource for students, young and old. The first five chapters give a swift moving, succinct overview of church history up to Luther’s time, and the final two chapters deal with the church after Luther’s death. Martin Luther is presented in a favorable, but objective light and his influence appreciated as the primary leader of the Reformation. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua was a former slave, native of West Africa. He was sold as a slave in 1845 and worked in Brazil as a captive; however, when the ship where he was enslaved crew was at the harbor in New York in 1847, he fled. He studied at the New York Central College in McGrawville for almost three years. In 1854, he moved to Canada; he narrated his autobiography to the abolitionist Samuel Downing Moore in Detroit, who published it. His narrative is the only known document about the slave trade written by a former Brazilian slave. - Summary by Leni

Charles James Fox was a prominent British Whig member of Parliament and the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger. A staunch opponent of George III, he supported the American colonists throughout the War of Independence. He was a leading parliamentary advocate of religious tolerance, individual liberty, and the anti-slavery cause. A notorious gambler and womanizer, Fox fell in love with and married Elizabeth Armistead, the former mistress of the Prince of Wales, and found happiness and tranquility in their home, St...

The Real Oscar Wilde is the third book about the Irish poet and playwright by his earliest and most prolific biographer. Since writing his earlier The Life of Oscar Wilde , Sherard had read Lord Alfred "Bosie" Douglas's Oscar Wilde and Myself and the unexpurgated manuscript of Wilde's De Profundis. - Summary by Rob Marland

Among all the numerous life stories written by Ferdinand Schmidt for the delectation and education of German youth, none surpasses that of Washington. The author has condensed his material, drawn from the most authoritative sources, in a masterly manner, and presents it in a very attractive form. He has accompanied it by moralization which is pertinent, but never becomes tedious. It is questionable, indeed, whether any story of Washington’s life written for young people excels Schmidt’s in accuracy, conciseness, and general interest...

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough , was the oldest surviving son of Sir Winston Churchill, an impoverished country gentleman. After the restoration of Charles II, John's sister, Arabella, became the mistress of the King's brother, James, Duke of York. The family fortunes were made and Churchill's military career launched. In the winter of 1677-78, Churchill married Sarah Jennings, the intimate friend of the future Queen Anne. Ruthlessly changing sides during the Glorious Revolution, he deserted his patron James and joined the army of William of Orange...

This volume is a simple narrative suited to children's understanding of the thrilling times when English Catholics suffered for the Faith in the troubled days of the sixteenth century, when Tyburn tree was a concrete fact, and when ardent love hurled the defiance, "Come rack! Come rope!" Martyrs lay and cleric are here commemorated. The Carthusians, Houghton, Lawrence, Webster; the Jesuits, Campion, Sherwin, Southwell; the secular priests, Hart, Lacey, Ingleby; the countess of Salisbury, mother of Cardinal Pole; the Chancellor of England Blessed Thomas More, Philip Earl of Arundel, and Margaret Clitherow, harborer of priests...

Booker T. Washington was one of the first nationally recognized African American leaders after the Civil War. He was born to a slave woman in Virginia, who then took him as a young boy to West Virginia after the emancipation. Booker became a leader in education heading the Tuskegee Institute for more than 30 years and working with other universities. He advocated a moderate approach to elevating the African Americans through education and business, but worked behind the scenes to change discriminatory laws and practices, and became an adviser to the White House. He authored 14 books, and many articles and speeches, including his autobiography, Up from Slavery. - Summary by Larry Wilson

A Little Book of St. Francis and His Brethren presents with superlative charm the great simplicities and eternal verities in the life of St Francis. The author EM Wilmot Buxton is already well known for valuable work in making vivid the lives God's heroes. The Little Book will be found delightful by both children and adults.

"In the year 1907, the Woman’s Home Companion commissioned me to go to Russia to write the story of the early days, courtship and marriage of her whom the world knows to-day as the 'Tsaritsa,' The following year, the same periodical sent me to Italy to write a similar account of the life of Queen Elena; and in 1910 I was once more sent abroad, this time to Spain, to learn all about Queen Victoria Eugenie....'Your task is difficult,'remarked a friend to whom I had just explained that I was writing the lives of the Empress of Russia, the Queen of Spain, and the Queen of Italy...

The Life of Cromwell is in part based on an article contributed by the author to the Dictionary of National Biography in 1888, but embodies the result of later researches, and of recently discovered documents such as the Clarke Papers. The battle plans have been specially drawn for this volume by Mr. B. V. Darbishire, and in two cases differ considerably from those generally accepted as correct. The scheme of this series does not permit a discussion of the reasons why these alterations have been made, but the evidence concerning the battles in question has been carefully examined, and any divergence from received accounts is intentional...

The story of Imperial Rome has been told frequently and impressively in our literature, and few chapters in the long chronicle of man’s deeds and failures have a more dramatic quality. The fresh aspect of this familiar story which I propose to consider is the study of the women who moulded or marred the succeeding Emperors. Woman had her part in the making, as well as the unmaking, of Rome. Long before the commencement of our era, the thought and the power of the Roman woman went out into the larger...

Col. Ingersoll begins his famous lecture on SHAKESPEARE as follows: "It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius. Take from our world what they have given, and all the niches would be empty, all the walls naked—meaning and connection would fall from words of poetry and fiction, music would go back to common air, and all the forms of subtle and enchanting Art would lose proportion and become the unmeaning waste and shattered spoil of thoughtless Chance." One of the most...

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints : with reflections for every day in the year : compiled from "Butler's Lives" and other approved sources : to which are added lives of the American saints : placed on the calendar for the United States by special petition of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore - Summary by From the book itself

Little Pictorial Lives of the Saints : with reflections for every day in the year : compiled from "Butler's Lives" and other approved sources : to which are added lives of the American saints : placed on the calendar for the United States by special petition of the Third Plenary Council of Baltimore - Summary from the book itself

In this short book Edward Ellis Morris writes a vivid account of the reigns of the first two Georges. Scarcely had the fifty-four-year-old king assumed the throne when James Stuart roused the Highlanders in the "Fifteen." Five years later the collapse of the South Sea Company convulsed Britain and her first prime minister, Robert Walpole, emerged to stabilize the country's finances. George II succeeded his father in 1727 and Morris writes that "the new King was in person short, and like many short men, proud and touchy...

Seneca the Younger’s letters to his friend, Lucilius Junior, appear to have been written with a broad audience in mind. These letters introduce major themes of Stoic philosophy and have been a source of inspiration and comfort for readers throughout the centuries. - Summary by jvanstan

A series of biographies of the wives of the doges of the Venetian Republic. - Summary by Timothy

This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise from obscurity, to its zenith of power and influence, to its eventual decay and ruin. It outlines their history in conjunction with the major events of Europe and dwells much on the artists and artworks patronized by the Medici - the impetus of the Renaissance. This first volume brings to life the Renaissance and how Florence, through the Medici, was the epicentre of the movement that spread new learning throughout Europe...

Experiences of Jethro Ripley, mainly in the Atlantic coast trade, but including an account of a whaling voyage around Cape Horn. The narrative is in the first person and is a vivid account of the seafaring life in the 1800's. Published in 1873.

The fourth and concluding volume of this history of Victorian Britain opens with the brutal repression in 1865 of a rebellion by ex-slaves in Jamaica. Then in 1867, the Conservative Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, takes his celebrated "leap in the dark" with the passage of the most comprehensive expansion of manhood suffrage in British history. The Fenian movement agitates unsuccessfully for Irish independence. British trade unions win the right to organize. William Ewart Gladstone launches his great reform ministry by abolishing in Ireland the hated Anglican establishment and follows with a flood of bills reforming education, the British army, and poor relief...

Philip Melanchthon is best known as the theologian of the Protestant Reformation, systematizing and defending much of Martin Luther’s works and creating an educational system based on them. He was instrumental in the writing of the Augsburg Confession, the most influential document of the Reformation. Melanchthon and Luther, of different temperaments, did not always agree but respected each other and became a formidable spearhead for the Reformation. Karl Ledderhose here provides a comprehensive biography of Melanchthon including his principle ideas and activities, so it also serves as a history of many important aspects of the Reformation. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The Lives of the Queens of England is a multi-volumed work attributed to Agnes Strickland, though it was mostly researched and written by her sister Elisabeth. These volumes give biographies of the queens of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066. Although by today's standards, it is not seen as a very scholarly work, the Stricklands used many sources that had not been used before. Volume nine includes the biography of Mary Beatrice of Modena, through 1701.

Col. Ingersoll begins his popular lecture series on famous persons as follows: "It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius. Take from our world what they have given, and all the niches would be empty, all the walls naked—meaning and connection would fall from words of poetry and fiction, music would go back to common air, and all the forms of subtle and enchanting Art would lose proportion and become the unmeaning waste and shattered spoil of thoughtless Chance." One...

Jane Addams, Susan B. Anthony, Clara Barton, Frances Burnett, Julia Howe, Hellen Keller, and Harriet Beecher Stowe are some of the influencial women in our history whose lives and accomplishments are covered in this little book. "When They Were Girls contains the stories of a group of American women, each one of whom occupies a very important place in her particular field. The stories of these women have been written many times before. We feel, however, that in this book you possibly may find that their stories have been written in a little different way...

Col. Ingersoll begins his lectures on famous people as follows: [i]"It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius. Take from our world what they have given, and all the niches would be empty, all the walls naked—meaning and connection would fall from words of poetry and fiction, music would go back to common air, and all the forms of subtle and enchanting Art would lose proportion and become the unmeaning waste and shattered spoil of thoughtless Chance."[/i] One of the...

Sentenced to house arrest for forty-two days owing to his participation in a duel, Xavier de Maistre was inspired to write a travel memoir about the greatest journey a man can take. It is a journey which costs nothing, one which is equally well-suited to the "miserly or prodigal, rich or poor, young or old" -- even the idlest man will enjoy this "pleasure jaunt which will cost him neither time nor money." Come then: join Maistre in a journey round his room. - Summary by Steven Watson

This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise from obscurity, to its zenith of power and influence, to its eventual decay and ruin. It outlines their history in conjunction with the major events of Europe and dwells much on the artists and artworks patronized by the Medici - the impetus of the Renaissance. This second volume begins in 1537 and highlights Catherine, the last of the elder branch, then follows the younger branch to the eventual extinction of the family in 1743. - Summary by TriciaG

Jerry McAuley was a missionary and founder of the Water Street Mission , the first rescue mission in the United States. This book is a collection of his writings regarding his waywardness, his conversion and his missional work in New York both at the Water Street Mission and later at the Cremorne Mission.

Margaret Sanger, an advocate for birth control rights, chronicles the story of her struggles, including her times in jail and in exile, in order to legalize birth control options for women. She details the uphill battles of not only convincing lawmakers, but of doctors as well. Her relentless pursuit is told against the backdrop of courtrooms, her personal life, and her travels across the globe, giving a glimpse into the world during and post-WW I. This riveting account is a must read for those interested in a key moment in woman’s history and reform.

Holland 's provides us with an engaging history of the Unification of Italy by exploring the lives of some of its most important figures: Alfieri, Manzoni, Gioberti, Manin, Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

The early nineteenth century was a period of great discovery and advancements in science. Here we have a snapshot of some of those whose names have gone down in history, such as Brunel, Congreve, Davy, Telford and Jenner, along with some of those who made less of an indelible mark, but who were, nonetheless, pioneers of their time. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

In concluding an earlier volume on the mistresses of the western Roman Empire I observed that, as the gallery of fair and frail ladies closed, we stood at the door of “the long, quaint gallery of the Byzantine Empresses.” It seemed natural and desirable to pass on to this more interesting and less familiar series of the mistresses of the eastern Roman Empire, and the present volume will therefore tell the story of the Empresses, or Queens, as they preferred to be called, who occupied the throne set up by Constantine in New Rome, or ancient Byzantium.

Col. Ingersoll begins his lectures on famous people as follows: "It is hard to overstate the debt we owe to the men and women of genius. Take from our world what they have given, and all the niches would be empty, all the walls naked—meaning and connection would fall from words of poetry and fiction, music would go back to common air, and all the forms of subtle and enchanting Art would lose proportion and become the unmeaning waste and shattered spoil of thoughtless Chance." One of the most famous...

Written by the Superintendent of the Jerry McAuley Water Street Mission, "Down in Water Street" is intended to share some of the experiences the writer had during his sixteen years of service to the Mission. Hadley's intent was to show "how some success has been achieved, and also mention some of our defeats; for we found long years ago that we often learn more in defeat than in victory." - Summary by Kristin Hand with a quote from the Preface

St. Hilarion was an anchorite who lived most of his life in the desert after the example of St. Anthony the Great . He is considered to be the founder of Palestinian monasticism and venerated as a saint by the Orthodox and Roman Catholic Church. He was born in Gaza to pagan parents. After successfully studying rhetoric in Alexandria, he converted to Christianity. After which, he shunned the pleasures of his day, the theatre, circus and arena, and spent his time going to church. Upon hearing of St. Antony and his way of life he purposed to become a monk, first spending time in Egypt and then returning to Gaza. - Summary summarized from Wikipedia

The legacy of Booker T. Washington has inspired leaders for racial equality for over a century. He rose from a slave family to be adviser to presidents. As an educator founded the Tuskegee Institute and championed higher education to those who were denied such based on race. Booker T. Washington gives us this autobiography of his life and work. - Summary by Larry Wilson

A.M. Hills, theologian and preacher in the Wesleyan holiness tradition, gives us a detailed biography of Charles G. Finney, one of the most influential revivalists of the nineteenth century. Charles G. Finney was a key figure in initiating the Second Great Awakening in the United States. His preaching was passionate an powerful and his very presence would often bring conviction on those around him. Although his background was Baptist and Presbyterian, he vigorously promoted the doctrine of entire sanctification and the infilling of the Holy Spirit. Finney also left his mark on education as president of Oberlin College in Ohio. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The Ordeal of Mark Twain analyzes the literary progression of Samuel L. Clemens and attributes shortcomings to Clemens' mother and wife. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says, Brooks' work "was a psychological study attempting to show that Twain had crippled himself emotionally and curtailed his genius by repressing his natural artistic bent for the sake of his Calvinist upbringing." Also, Brooks says, his literary spirit was sidelined as "...Mark Twain was inducted into the Gilded Age, launched, in defiance of that instinct which only for a few years was to allow him inner peace, upon the vast welter of a society blind like himself, like him committed to the pursuit of worldly success...

Short biographical essays of twelve persons central to European culture. - Summary by KevinS

Saint Gerard Majella was an Italian lay brother of the Redemptorists. His only ambition was to be like Jesus Christ in his sufferings and humiliations. St. Alphonsus considered him a miracle of obedience. Although weak in body, he did the work of three, and his great charity earned for him the title of Father of the Poor. He was a model of every virtue, and so drawn to Our Lord in the tabernacle that he had to do violence to himself to keep away. An angel in purity, he was accused of a shameful crime; but he bore the calumny with such patience that St...

A biography of a woman who advocated for the humane treatment of people with mental illness. As a young woman travelling overseas, Dorothea Dix met with people who were interested in reforming how the mentally ill were treated. Returning to America, she pushed for changes and proper care for these individuals, meeting with strong resistance. Her work ultimately resulted in social reform and the creation of asylums. Dorothea Dix was a tireless crusader and instrumental in important social reforms in the United States and the world. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

This is a collection of 135 brief biographies by St. Jerome of his forebears and contemporaries. It is often cited as a primary source of information on ancient Christian authors and their writings. The biographies start with the apostles and end with Jerome himself. They also include respected non-Christians such as Josephus, and Philo of Alexandria. In general, this work provides a quick overview of all the respected writers in the early centuries and their writings, which would be of interest to Christians. - Summary by ancientchristian

Joseph Wright, commonly called "Wright of Derby", was an English landscape and portrait painter. In this book, something of an academic study of Joseph Wright, the author is trying to restore his name's fame. We catch glimpses from the painter's personal and professional life, his character and conduct, mainly through letters of correspondence.Prefaced by Cosmo Monkhouse. - Summary by Rapunzelina

In 1916, the Cambridge historian, F.J. Foakes-Jackson braved the wartime Atlantic to deliver the Lowell Lectures in Boston. In these wide-ranging and engaging talks, the author describes British life between 1750-1850. There are John Wesley's horseback peregrinations over thousands of miles of English countryside. Next, Foakes-Jackson introduces the mordant rural poet, George Crabbe, who began life as a surgeon apothecary and ended up as a parish rector who made house calls. He gives us a female convict, assorted Cambridge University dons, Regency fops and rakes, and Victorian slices of life from Dickens and Thackeray...

As one of the first two bishops of the Methodist church in America and one of the most well-known circuit riders during the spread of Methodism, Francis Asbury kept a journal of his travels and activities. His journal begins with his prayerful decision to come to America in 1771 and continues to December of 1815, a few months before his death. In the meantime, we travel with Rev. Asbury across the ocean, over mountains, through rivers, and up and down the whole length of the fledgling United States of America. - Summary by Devorah Allen

Up from Slavery is the autobiography of American educator Booker T. Washington, describing his personal path up from the position of a slave child during the Civil War to his work at founding schools to help children from black or other disadvantaged groups learn skills that would give them the chance to work to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.

This Mark Twain Memoir by Elizabeth Wallace paints an idyllic portrait of his time in Bermuda, not long before his death in 1910. Wallace and Twain met in Bermuda in 1908, became fast friends, and shared time together on the island and regular correspondence until 6 weeks before Twain's death. According to one academician, "Wallace’s deep affection for Twain is evident in her writings, so she also may have wished to burnish his legacy. As a result, Happy Island is a popular treatment in a breezy, occasionally sentimental style. It portrays Twain as a fun and caring friend but only hints at weightier matters." - Summary by John Greenman

This biography of Franklin was written for young people, but can be enjoyed by anyone. The author Robin McKown, is known for her young adult historical fiction and historical biographies. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

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.

The Desert Fathers were early Christian hermits, ascetics, and monks who mainly lived in the Scetes desert of Egypt. The most famous was St. Anthony the Great, who moved to the desert in 270 AD and became known as both the father and founder of desert monasticism. By the time Anthony died in AD 356, thousands of monks and nuns had been drawn to Anthony's example of living in the harsh conditions of the inner desert, praying the psalms, meditating on scripture, eating rarely, and working with their hands making baskets or mats. This work is a collection of stories from the lives of these early monks and nuns. - Summary by ancientchristian

Abraham Lincoln came to the presidency under a heavy shroud of uncertainty, not only about his threatened life but, of course, the very existence of the United States, which was already falling apart. Ward Hill Lamon was, in effect, his first Secret Service agent, his security guard and this biography, heavily edited by his daughter, Dorothy Lamon sets down for posterity many details surrounding Lincoln's near-fatal journey to his inauguration, how he dealt with day to day presidential decisions and a wide range of interpersonal relationships with the visionaries, schemers and power brokers surrounding him. - Summary by John Greenman

This third collection of the correspondence of Oscar Wilde includes the letters Wilde wrote from prison. It begins with notes of thanks to the friends who stood by him after his arrest, and ends with discussions of his plans for after his release. De Profundis, the long letter Wilde wrote to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, is represented by the expurgated 1913 edition as well as suppressed portions that were later published elsewhere. The letters are sourced from auction catalogues, biographies, and other texts in the public domain...

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.

This shorter book on Erasmus might be considered a companion to Huizinga's most famous work, The Waning of the Middle Ages. While in his magnum opus he presented a study of the forms of life and thought in France and the Netherlands in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, in this one the subject is the central intellectual figure of the next generation after the period which Huizinga called the waning, or rather the autumn, of the Middle Ages. It was first published in 1924, and so belongs to the same period of the author. Erasmus was, as it appears from many of pages, a man for whom Huizinga had a very special sympathy. - Summary by Leni

A radical is a person who holds extreme or unconventional convictions and who advocates fundamental political, economic, or social reforms. In this volume, the Scottish philosopher, John MacCunn, presents the life and thought of Jeremy Bentham, John Stuart Mill, Richard Cobden, Thomas Carlyle, Giuseppe Mazzini, and Thomas Hill Green-- six radical thinkers whose influence produced fundamental and progressive change in 19th century society. - Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.