The author of this work was the daughter of the British ambassador to Russia. She was in St. Petersburg from before World War I to after the Bolshevik Revolution, leaving in January 1918. Rather than a dry retelling of the history of this period, the author gives a more personal view of the events, as she lived through them. - Summary by TriciaG

"The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could be expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source; descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, ascertained with accuracy the Geography, of that interesting communication across the continent; learned the character of the country, its commerce and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their brave companions, have, by this arduous service, deserved well of their country...

A Hero of Our Time is indeed a portrait, but not of one man. It is a portrait built up of all our generation's vices in full bloom. You will again tell me that a human being cannot be so wicked, and I will reply that if you can believe in the existence of all the villains of tragedy and romance, why wouldn't believe that there was a Pechorin? If you could admire far more terrifying and repulsive types, why aren't you more merciful to this character, even if it is fictitious? Isn't it because there's more truth in it than you might wish?

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 – 1948) was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He was the pioneer of satyagraha — resistance to tyranny through mass civil disobedience. This philosophy was firmly founded upon ahimsa, or total nonviolence, and led India to independence and inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonly known around the world as Mahatma Gandhi and in India also as Bapu. He is officially honoured in India as the Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, is commemorated there as Gandhi Jayanti, a national holiday.

Moncure Daniel Conway was an American abolitionist, Unitarian, clergyman and author. This second volume of his autobiography covers the years from the US Civil War to roughly 1904.

The Guide for the Perplexed by Mūsá ibn Maymūn is regarded as one of the most important works of Medieval Jewish thought. The book attempted to harmonize the philosophy of Aristotle with the Rabbinical teachings, but was regarded by many at the time as antithetical to Jewish theology, despite its earnest arguments in vindication of the ways of God. - Summary by Daniel Davison

The nineteenth century was marked by intense colonization by countries like Britain, France, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands. Initially, the pioneering efforts were made by men who battled unfamiliar terrain to create territories that they marked out as their own, while their wives, mothers, sisters and daughters kept the home and hearth in their native land. However, with travel becoming more common and family life assuming more importance, the women too began to travel to the four corners of the earth...

While claiming to be historical papers on the causes of the United States Civil War, the author indulges in some Slavery Apologetics. An interesting view from a southern lady on what caused the war and why the south was the underdog.

Written in the aftermath of Word War I, Viscountess Snowden recounts her travels in post war Europe in, as she describes it, "an attempt to do what one person might do, or at least attempt, to restore good feeling between the nations and the normal course of life as quickly as possible." An outspoken pacifist, socialist, and feminist who nonetheless strongly denounced the Bolsheviks, Snowden was a controversial and polarizing figure. whose views and observations offer a unique perspective on Europe in the '20s. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

This little book opens on the eve of the French Revolution. The government is crippled by financial mismanagement, ruled by a King who, in the author's words, is "devoid of both ability and energy," and resented by a tax-oppressed peasantry and a rising middle class. The Revolution escapes the control of its instigators and France is plunged into the Terror and international war. Enter Napoleon, a man with "an enormous capacity for work," who can "get to the root of a matter and master technicalities with great swiftness," but whose "vulgar desire for recognition...

A short history of Ukrainian national aspirations, written by one of the most prominent Ukrainian historians. Published in the early months of World War I. - Summary by Kazbek

A biography of Samuel de Champlain, French explorer, founder of Quebec, and father of New France. (

Nat Love was born a slave, emancipated into abject poverty, grew up riding the range as a cowboy and spent his maturity riding the rails as a Pullman Porter. For me, the most amazing thing about him is that despite the circumstances of his life, which included being owned like a farm animal solely because of the color of his skin and spending later decades living and working as an equal with white coworkers, he was an unrepentant racist! Convinced that the only good Indian was a dead one, and that...

A beautiful woman who is punished for the mortal sin of loving a man other than her husband, a cowardly lover, a vengeful husband, a rebellious illegitimate child and the oppressive and patriarchal morality of 17th century Puritanism in Boston. Together these form an unforgettable and thought-provoking glimpse of how much social attitudes have changed over the centuries. Nathaniel Hawthorne was the creator of such beloved works as Twice-Told Tales, A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls, The House of the Seven Gables and spine-chilling tales like Roger Malvin's Burial...

The summer of 1967 again brought racial disorders to American cities, and with them shock, fear and bewilderment to the nation. The worst came during a two-week period in July, first in Newark and then in Detroit. Each set off a chain reaction in neighboring communities. On July 28, 1967, the President of the United States [Lyndon B. Johnson] established this Commission and directed us to answer three basic questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again? This is our basic conclusion: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal...