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By: Rex Brasher (1869-1960)

Book cover Secrets of the Friendly Woods

Rex Brasher is best known for his having painted in watercolor a complete set of all the extant American birds during his lifetime. This is a collection of his writing that serves as a kind of memoir. These are set on his 150-acre farm purchased in 1911 and never developed in his lifetime beyond a simple house and an outbuilding or two. - Summary by KevinS

By: Richard Burton Deane (1848-1940)

Mounted Police Life in Canada : a record of thirty-one years' service (1916) by Richard Burton Deane Mounted Police Life in Canada : a record of thirty-one years' service (1916)

Learn more about the famous and respected Royal Canadian Mounted Police. This book is the personal recollections of one ‘Mountie’; his life, experiences and trials as an officer in a new frontier – The Canadian Northwest.

By: Richard Harding Davis (1864-1916)

Notes of a War Correspondent by Richard Harding Davis Notes of a War Correspondent

Experiences and observations of the journalist in the Cuban-Spanish War, the Greek-Turkish War, the Spanish-American War, the South African War, and the Japanese-Russian War, accompanied by "A War Correspondent’s Kit."

By: Richard Henry Dana, Jr. (1815-1882)

Book cover Two Years Before the Mast

By: Robert Falcon Scott (1868-1912)

The Journals of Robert Falcon Scott by Robert Falcon Scott The Journals of Robert Falcon Scott

Capt. Robert F. Scott's bid to be the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole is one of the most famous journeys of all time. What started as a scientific expedition turned out to be an unwilling race against a team lead by R. Admunsen to reach the Pole. The Norwegian flag already stood at the end of the trail when Scott's party reached their target. All the five men of the Scott expedition who took part in the last march to the Pole perished on their way back to safety. Robert F. Scott kept a journal throughout the journey, all the way to the tragic end, documenting all aspects of the expedition...

By: Robert James Manion (1881-1943)

Book cover Surgeon In Arms

Robert James Manion was a Canadian doctor who volunteered in the Canadian medical corps during World War I. This book is his memoir of the war. After the war he entered politics and served in several Canadian governments. The listener may note a lack of mention of the United States soldier; this is because the memoir was written before the entry of that country into the war. - Summary by David Wales

By: Robert Louis Stevenson

The Amateur Emigrant by Robert Louis Stevenson The Amateur Emigrant

In July 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland to meet his future wife in her native California. Leaving by ship from Glasgow, Scotland, he determined to travel in steerage class to see how the working classes fared. At the last minute he was convinced by friends to purchase a ticket one grade above the lowest price, for which he was later thankful after seeing the conditions in steerage, but he still lived among the ‘lower’ classes. His comments on the experience make interesting reading. His father however was so shocked at the thought of his son associating with people ‘beneath him’ that the work was not published for a number of years,

By: Rupert Brooke

Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke by Rupert Brooke Collected Poems of Rupert Brooke

Rupert Chawner Brooke (August 3, 1887 – April 23, 1915) was an English poet known for his idealistic War Sonnets written during the First World War (especially The Soldier), as well as for his poetry written outside of war, especially The Old Vicarage, Grantchester and The Great Lover. He was also known for his boyish good looks, which prompted the Irish poet William Butler Yeats to describe him as “the handsomest young man in England”.

By: Saint Therese (1873-1897)

The Story of a Soul by Saint Therese The Story of a Soul

Marie Francoise Therese Martin, affectionately known as ‘The Little Flower’, was born on January 2, 1873, in Alencon, France to Louis Martin and Zelie Guerin. She was the youngest and one of five surviving sisters of the nine Martin children. When Therese was 3, her mother died. Louis Martin moved his family to Lisieux to be closer to his late wife’s brother and his family. It was there that Therese’s sister, Pauline, entered the Carmel at Lisieux on October 2, 1882. Therese at that time also heard the Divine Call to religious life...

By: Sam R. Watkins (1839-1901)

'Co. Aytch,' Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show by Sam R. Watkins 'Co. Aytch,' Maury Grays, First Tennessee Regiment or, A Side Show of the Big Show

Samuel “Sam” Rush Watkins (June 26, 1839 – July 20, 1901) was a noted Confederate soldier during the American Civil War. He is known today for his memoir Company Aytch: Or, a Side Show of the Big Show, often heralded as one of the best primary sources about the common soldier's Civil War experience....Sam’s writing style is quite engaging and skillfully captures the pride, misery, glory, and horror experienced by the common foot soldier. Watkins is often featured and quoted in Ken Burns’ 1990 documentary titled The Civil War. (Introduction from Wikipedia)

By: Samuel Hopkins Hadley (1842-1906)

Book cover Down In Water Street

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

By: Samuel Johnson (1709-1784)

Book cover Prayers and Meditations

The prayers and meditations of Samuel Johnson, published posthumously by George Strahan to whom Johnson had entrusted the manuscripts. Johnson had been writing these down for over forty years. They often show him at his most repentant, melancholy and fragile -- and the book was controversial because of it -- but they also show the goodness, sense and strength which has always characterised this great man. - Summary by Steven Watson

By: Samuel Pepys (1633-1703)

Book cover Diary of Samuel Pepys 1661

Samuel Pepys was the first Secretary to the Admiralty during the reign of Charles II, instrumental in developing the Royal Navy and witness to some of the most significant events of the Restoration period, including the Great Fire of London. His famous diary, which covers a period of some ten years, throws a frank and intimate light on a fascinating period, through the lens of a vigorous, intelligent and refreshingly candid and extrovert personality. This volume covers the second year of the diary.

Book cover Diary of Samuel Pepys 1662

Samuel Pepys was the first Secretary to the Admiralty during the reign of Charles II, instrumental in developing the Royal Navy and witness to some of the most significant events of the Restoration period, including the Great Fire of London. His famous diary, which covers a period of some ten years, throws a frank and intimate light on a fascinating period, through the lens of a vigorous, intelligent and refreshingly candid and extrovert personality. This volume covers the third year of the diary.

By: Samuel Rogers (1763-1855)

Book cover Reminiscences and Table-Talk of Samuel Rogers - Banker, Poet and Patron of the Arts (1763-1855)

Samuel Rogers was a renowned conversationalist who associated with the most distinguished persons of his time. This volume contains fascinating source material for the social and literary history of Great Britain over the span of his long life. - Summary by barbara2

By: Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923)

Book cover Memories of My Life

Sarah Bernhardt was a popular French actress who starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She was one of the first actresses to make the transition to The Silver Screen. She was renowned for her beauty. Here we have her autobiography presented in English. It is also available in French in our catalog. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth (1829-1887)

Living on Half a Dime a Day by Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth Living on Half a Dime a Day

How to live on 5 cents a day! How to survive financial ruin without losing your house! How to keep to a bare bones budget and still have money left over to buy books! Tough questions! They were tough questions even in the 1870’s, when Sarah Elizabeth Harper Monmouth penned her quirky memoir, the subtitle of which was “How a Lady, Having Lost a Sufficient Income from Government Bonds by Misplaced Confidence, Reduced to a Little Homestead Whose Entire Income is But .00 per Annum, Resolved to Hold It, Incurring no Debts and Live Within it...

By: Sarah Emma Edmonds (1841-1898)

Book cover Nurse and Spy in the Union Army

The “Nurse and Spy” is simply a record of events which have transpired in the experience and under the observation of one who has been on the field and participated in numerous battles—among which are the first and second Bull Run, Williamsburg, Fair Oaks, the Seven days in front of Richmond, Antietam, and Fredericksburg—serving in the capacity of “Spy” and as “Field Nurse” for over two years.While in the “Secret Service” as a “Spy,” which is one of the most hazardous positions in the army—she penetrated the enemy’s lines, in various disguises, no less than eleven times; always with complete success and without detection...

By: Sarah Morgan Dawson (1842-1909)

A Confederate Girl's Diary by Sarah Morgan Dawson A Confederate Girl's Diary

Sarah Morgan Dawson was a young woman of 20 living in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, when she began this diary. The American Civil War was raging. Though at first the conflict seemed far away, it would eventually be brought home to her in very personal terms. Her family's loyalties were divided. Sarah's father, though he disapproved of secession, declared for the South when Louisiana left the Union. Her eldest brother, who became the family patriarch when his father died in 1861, was for the Union, though he refused to take up arms against his fellow Southerners...

By: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930)

Book cover Through the Magic Door

I care not how humble your bookshelf may be, nor how lowly the room which it adorns. Close the door of that room behind you, shut off with it all the cares of the outer world, plunge back into the soothing company of the great dead, and then you are through the magic portal into that fair land whither worry and vexation can follow you no more. You have left all that is vulgar and all that is sordid behind you. There stand your noble, silent comrades, waiting in their ranks. Pass your eye down their files...

Book cover Arthur Conan Doyle’s Memories and Adventures

Arthur Conan Doyle first published his memories of his many various adventures around the world and his relationships with such famous figures of the age including Oscar Wilde, Empress Eugenie and Prime Minister Arthur Balfour to name a few, in The Strand Magazine between October 1923 and July 1924. This memoir was later formed into a book and published in September 1924.

By: Sir Percy Fitzpatrick (1862-1931)

Jock of the Bushveld by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick Jock of the Bushveld

Jock of the Bushveld is a true story by South African author Sir Percy Fitzpatrick when he worked as a storeman, prospector's assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport-rider. The book tells of Fitzpatrick's travels with his dog, Jock, during the 1880s. Jock was saved by Fitzpatrick from being drowned in a bucket for being the runt of the litter. Jock was very loyal towards Percy, and brave. Jock was an English Staffordshire Bull Terrier.

By: Sir Wilfred Grenfell (1865-1940)

Adrift on an Ice-Pan by Sir Wilfred Grenfell Adrift on an Ice-Pan

This autobiographical work describes the author’s harrowing experience caught on a small drifting piece of ice, while crossing a frozen bay by dog team on the Northern Peninsula of Newfoundland.

By: Snorri Sturleson (1178-1241)

Book cover Heimskringla: The Stories of the Kings of Norway, Called The Round World

Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings' sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet and historian Snorri Sturluson ca. 1230. The name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts . Heimskringla is a collection of sagas about the Norwegian kings, beginning with the saga of the legendary Swedish dynasty of the Ynglings, followed by accounts of historical Norwegian rulers from Harald Fairhair of the 9th century up to the death of the pretender Eystein Meyla in 1177...

By: Solomon Northup (1808 - c. 1864-18)

Book cover Twelve Years a Slave

Twelve Years a Slave is the memoir of a freeborn African American from New York who is kidnapped and sold into slavery. After being held for twelve years on a Louisiana plantation, he is eventually freed and reunited with his family.

By: Sophie Lyons (1848-1924)

Book cover Why Crime Does Not Pay

The publishers believe that a picture of a life sketched by a master hand-somebody who stands in the world of crime as Edison does in his field or Morgan and Rockefeller do in theirs-could not fail to be impressive and valuable and prove the oft repeated statement that crime does not pay. Such a person is Sophie Lyons, the most remarkable and the greatest criminal of modern times. This extraordinary woman is herself a striking evidence that crime does not pay and that the same energy and brains exerted in honest endeavor win enduring wealth and respectability.

By: Susanna Moodie (1803-1885)

Life in the Clearings by Susanna Moodie Life in the Clearings

If you've read Margaret Atwood's Alias Grace, the historical fiction novel that describes a gruesome double murder in Canada in 1843, you would be interested to know the sources that were used by Atwood during her research. Life in the Clearings by Susanna Moodie was one such reference book in which the author, Susanna Moodie recounts her meeting with the infamous murderess Grace Marks, a young house help who was convicted to life imprisonment for her role in the slaying of her employers. Susanna Moodie was an Englishwoman born in Suffolk...

Book cover Roughing It in the Bush

'Roughing It In the Bush' is Susanna Moodie's account of how she coped with the harshness of life in the woods of Upper Canada, as an Englishwoman homesteading abroad. Her narrative was constructed partly as a response to the glowing falsehoods European land-agents were circulating about life in the New World. Her chronicle is frank and humorous, and was a popular sensation at the time of its publication in 1852.

By: Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography by Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt: An Autobiography

In his vital, illustrative and dynamic autobiography, Theodore Roosevelt let us into the life that formed one of the greatest and outspoken presidents in American history. Not only are we privy to the formation of his political ideals, but also to his love of the frontier and the great outdoors.

Through the Brazilian Wilderness by Theodore Roosevelt Through the Brazilian Wilderness

Roosevelt’s popular book Through the Brazilian Wilderness describes his expedition into the Brazilian jungle in 1913 as a member of the Roosevelt-Rondon Scientific Expedition co-named after its leader, Brazilian explorer Cândido Rondon. The book describes all of the scientific discovery, scenic tropical vistas and exotic flora, fauna and wild life experienced on the expedition. One goal of the expedition was to find the headwaters of the Rio da Duvida, the River of Doubt, and trace it north to the Madeira and thence to the Amazon River...

Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses of Theodore Roosevelt, The by Theodore Roosevelt Strenuous Life: Essays and Addresses of Theodore Roosevelt, The

This book is a collection of Theodore Roosevelt’s published commentaries and public addresses on the general theme of the requirements for individual and collective success in the personal, civic, political, and social arenas. (Introduction by Bob Neufeld)

Book cover Rough Riders

Theodore Roosevelt's personal account of The Rough Riders, the name affectionately bestowed on the 1st United States Volunteer Cavalry, one of three such regiments raised in 1898 for the Spanish-American War and the only one to see action. Roosevelt, serving first as Lt. Colonel and 2nd in command, gives a rousing depiction of the men and horses, equipment, talent, their trip to Cuba, battle strategies, losses, injuries and victories. He says: "In all the world there could be no better material for soldiers than that afforded by these grim hunters of the mountains, these wild rough riders of the plains ...

By: Thomas Babington Macaulay (1800-1859)

Book cover Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay

An review essay of "Diary and Letters of Madame D'Arblay". The Edinburgh Review, January, 1843. Reprinted in vol. iii of Macaulay's Critical and Historical Essays. "Hundreds of remarkable persons had passed in review before her....The account which she has given of the King's [George III] illness contains much excellent narrative and description, and will, we think, be as much valued by the historians of a future age as any equal portion of Pepys's or Evelyn's Diaries..." Her novels were "the precursors" of those of Jane Austen. - Summary by barbara2

By: Thomas Carr Howe (1904-1994)

Book cover Salt Mines and Castles: The Discovery and Restitution of Looted European Art

"From May 1945 until February 1946, I served as a Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Officer in Germany. During the first four months of this assignment, I was engaged in field work which included the recovery of looted works of art from such out-of-the-way places as a monastery in Czechoslovakia, a salt mine in Austria, and a castle in Bavaria. Later, as Deputy Chief of the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives Section, Office of Military Government, U. S. Zone, I participated in the restitution of recovered art treasures to the countries of rightful ownership...

By: Thomas Dallam (c 1570-)

Book cover Dallam's Travels with an Organ to the Grand Signieur, 1599-1600

Queen Elizabeth the First of England, the Grand Turk at Constantinople, and an organ builder named Thomas Dallam—quite a trio. In 1599, Elizabeth commanded master organ builder Dallam to construct and deliver to the Grand Signieur , as a present intended to garner trade and political advantages for England, a fantastic mechanical organ. Dallam’s wonder stood 16 feet high and was topped by a silver holly bush filled with blackbirds and thrushes that sung and shook their wings. Dallam kept a diary during his visit to Turkey, which included a sneak look through a grate at the Grand Turk’s concubines in the harem...

By: Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859)

Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas de Quincey Confessions of an English Opium-Eater

“Thou hast the keys of Paradise, O just, subtle, and mighty Opium!” Though apparently presenting the reader with a collage of poignant memories, temporal digressions and random anecdotes, the Confessions is a work of immense sophistication and certainly one of the most impressive and influential of all autobiographies. The work is of great appeal to the contemporary reader, displaying a nervous (postmodern?) self-awareness, a spiralling obsession with the enigmas of its own composition and significance...

By: Thomas Frost (1821-1908)

In Kent with Charles Dickens by Thomas Frost In Kent with Charles Dickens

By his own admission, Thomas Frost found it hard to make a living from his writing, and no doubt he used the name of Dickens in the title of this book to boost sales. Frost tells a good tale, and the book is not only of interest to enthusiasts of Dickens and the county of Kent.He includes some of Dickens’ own descriptions of locations, as well as regaling us with anecdotes about towns and villages which he visits, including an account of the last armed rising on British soil – the Battle of Bossenden Wood...

By: Thomas Hughes (1822-1896)

Tom Brown's School Days by Thomas Hughes Tom Brown's School Days

Tom Brown’s Schooldays is a novel by Thomas Hughes first published in 1857. The story is set at Rugby School, a public school for boys, in the 1830s. Hughes attended Rugby School from 1834 to 1842. The novel was originally published as being “by an Old Boy of Rugby”, and much of it is based on the author’s experiences. Tom Brown is largely based on the author’s brother, George Hughes; and George Arthur, another of the book’s main characters, is based on Arthur Penrhyn Stanley. The fictional Tom’s life also resembles the author’s in that the culminating event of his school career was a cricket match...

By: Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826)

Book cover Memoir, Correspondence and Miscellanies, Volume I

This is the first volume of Thomas Jefferson's public and private writings edited and compiled by his oldest grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph and published three years after the president's death. There are a total of four volumes in Randolph's set. Summary by Joel Kindrick.

By: Thomas Petrie (1831-1910)

Book cover Tom Petrie's reminiscences of early Queensland (dating from 1837). Recorded by his daughter.

Tom Petrie , explorer and grazier, arrived in the then convict settlement of Moreton Bay in 1837. His reminiscences of what was to become the colony of Queensland were recorded by his daughter, Constance, in 1904. The book includes a fascinating record the life and customs of the aboriginal population, whose dialect he spoke and in whose activities he was invited to participate. An Australian classic and an important source for researchers of early Aboriginal / White settler conflict. - Summary by barbara2

By: Thomas Stevens (1854-1935)

Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 1 by Thomas Stevens Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 1

Thomas Stevens was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle, a large-wheeled Ordinary. His journey started in April 1884 in San Francisco from where he cycled to Boston to take a steamer to England. Crossing England, France, Central Europe and Asia Minor before he was turned back at the borders of Afghanistan. He returned part of the way to take a ship to Karachi, from where he crossed India. Another steam ship brought him from Calcutta to Hong Kong, and from Shanghai he set over to Japan, finally ending his journey after actually cycling 13...

Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 2 by Thomas Stevens Around the World on a Bicycle, Vol. 2

Thomas Stevens was the first person to circle the globe by bicycle, a large-wheeled Ordinary. His journey started in April 1884 in San Francisco from where he cycled to Boston to take a steamer to England. Crossing England, France, Central Europe and Asia Minor before he was turned back at the borders of Afghanistan. He returned part of the way to take a ship to Karachi, from where he crossed India. Another steam ship brought him from Calcutta to Hong Kong, and from Shanghai he set over to Japan, finally ending his journey after actually cycling 13...

By: Thornton Chase

In Galilee by Thornton Chase In Galilee

Thornton Chase (1847 – 1912) is commonly recognized as the first convert to the Bahá’í Faith of Occidental background. During his life he organized many Bahá’í activities in Chicago and Los Angeles and was considered a prominent Bahá’í. In 1907 Chase was able to go on pilgrimage. Though Chase was able to be with `Abdu’l Bahá in Akka for only three days, the experience transformed him. `Abdu’l Bahá, highly impressed by Chase’s qualities, conferred on him the title Thábit, “steadfast...

By: Tickner Edwardes (1865-1944)

Book cover With The Royal Army Medical Corps in Egypt

Throughout the First World War, members of the Royal Army Medical Corps provided constant support for British and Allied military troops whether they were fighting on the frontline or engaged in other operations within all areas of the conflict. With the Great War continuing unabated and the battlefront extending through Europe into the Middle East and beyond, a rapid increase in military medical support facilities and infrastructure was urgently implemented to handle the ever increasing number of wounded, maimed and sick troops evacuated from the combat zone that needed to receive urgent medical and life-saving care...

By: Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885)

Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant by Ulysses S. Grant Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant

"In preparing these volumes for the public, I have entered upon the task with the sincere desire to avoid doing injustice to any one, whether on the National or Confederate side, other than the unavoidable injustice of not making mention often where special mention is due. There must be many errors of omission in this work, because the subject is too large to be treated of in two volumes in such way as to do justice to all the officers and men engaged. There were thousands of instances, during the rebellion, of individual, company, regimental and brigade deeds of heroism which deserve special mention and are not here alluded to...

Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His Youngest Sister by Ulysses S. Grant Letters of Ulysses S. Grant to His Father and His Youngest Sister

Among the national leaders whose names will always hold an honorable place in American history is Ulysses S. Grant, the simple-hearted man and capable soldier, to whose patriotism, courage, persistence, and skill was so largely due the successful termination of the war between the States, the contest which assured the foundations of the Republic. We are interested not only in learning what this man did, but in coming to know, as far as may be practicable, what manner of man he was. It is all-important in a study of development of character to have placed within reach the utterances of the man himself...

By: Various

My First Book by Various My First Book

This is not a children’s book, as may be supposed from the title, but a collection of essays first published in The Idler magazine, in which over twenty well-known writers describe with characteristic style and humour their experiences in producing their first book… and getting it published. The book is profusely illustrated, not only with portraits of the authors, but also with scenes and illustrations from the books discussed. Authors include Jerome K. Jerome, R. L. Stevenson, Bret Harte, Rider Haggard, Rudyard Kipling, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Mary Braddon...

National Geographic Magazine Vol. 01 No. 1. by Various National Geographic Magazine Vol. 01 No. 1.

National Geographic Magazine Volume 1 Number 1 published in 1889. Topics of articles are:Announcement by the National Geographic SocietyIntroductory Address by the PresidentGeographic Methods in Geologic InvestigationClassification of Geographic Forms by GenesisThe Great Storm of March 11 to 14, 1888The Great Storm off the Atlantic Coast of the United States, March 11th to 14th, 1888The Survey of the CoastThe Survey and Map of Massachusetts

National Geographic Magazine Vol. 01 No. 2 by Various National Geographic Magazine Vol. 01 No. 2

National Geographic Magazine Volume 1 Number 2 published in 1889. Topics of articles are:Africa, its Past and Future Reports on:Geography of the LandGeography of the SeaGeography of the AirGeography of Life

Book cover Curiosities of Street Literature

This is a collection of broadsides from London. Broadsides are short, popular publications, a precursor to today's tabloid journalism. The collection contains sensationalist and sometimes comical stories about criminal conduct, love, the Royal Family, politics, as well as gallows' literature. Gallow's literature were often sold at the execution. As a collection these broadsides are a reminder of how important the printer was at this time -- it is surely no coincidence that the printers are printed at the end of every broadside, while the authors remain anonymous. - Summary by kathrinee

Book cover Civil War Women, North And South

This recording comprises two narratives. One is by Cora Mitchel who in 1861 was a girl in her mid-teens. Her Unionist family escaped the Confederacy from their home in south Georgia to Rhode Island. This is her story written about 1916. The second narrative is by Charlotte St. Julien Ravenel of South Carolina, a contemporary journal written in the closing months of the civil war in 1865. - Summary by David Wales

By: Venture Smith (1729-1805)

Book cover Life and Adventures of Venture

Venture Smith (1729–1805) was an African captured as a child and transported to the American colonies to be sold as a slave. As an adult, he purchased his freedom and that of his family. His history was documented when he gave a narrative of his life to a schoolteacher, who wrote it down and published it under the title A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa: But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself. (Introduction by Wikipedia)

By: W. Somerset Maugham (1874-1965)

Book cover Bishop's Apron

"Canon Spratte saw himself as he thought others might see him: mediocre, pompous, self-assertive, verbose." Maugham could have added ambitious, hypocritical, and vain. In this engrossing social satire, Theodore Spratte, a cleric, motivated by an obsessive desire to be elevated to bishop, embellishes his family history and intrudes upon his son's and daughter's courtships. A reviewer in 1906 wrote, "The whole book is an admirable blend of cynical gaiety and broadly farcical comedy; it is the smartest and most genuinely humorous novel that the season has yet given us." -- Lee Smalley

By: Walt Whitman

Specimen Days by Walt Whitman Specimen Days

Specimen Days is essentially the great American poet Walt Whitman’s scrap book. It documents most of his life’s adventures, espeically his experience serving as a nurse during the Civil War and travelling around America.

The Wound Dresser by Walt Whitman The Wound Dresser

The Wound Dresser is a series of letters written from the hospitals in Washington by Walt Whitman during the War of the Rebellion to The New York Times, the Brooklyn Eagle and his mother, edited by Richard Maurice Burke, M.D., one of Whitman's literary executors.

Book cover Life and Adventures of Jack Engle: An AutoBiography

This story ran as a serial in 1852 in the New York Sunday Dispatch, and for more than 160 years was buried in obscurity, unknown to the world as novel written by Walt Whitman. Zachary Turpin, a graduate student specializing in Whitman's works, had seen in his notes a sketch of a novel including the characters Covert, Wigglesworth, Smytthe and Jack Engle, but no work including these characters had ever been found. After poring over endless pages of newspapers of the era however, Turpin found this advertisement for an upcoming serial: “A RICH REVELATION...

By: Walter Bates (1760-1842)

Book cover Henry More Smith: The Mysterious Stranger

Sometime in the month of July, 1812, nearly a hundred years ago now, a well dressed, smooth spoken man, less than thirty years of age, made his appearance at Windsor, Nova Scotia. The story as told in subsequent pages by Sheriff Bates is unique in criminal annals and is worthy of careful perusal. - Summary Adapted from the Preface

By: Ward Hill Lamon (1828-1893)

Book cover Recollections of Abraham Lincoln 1847-1865

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

By: Ward Muir (1878-1927)

Observations of an Orderly by Ward Muir Observations of an Orderly

Ward Muir brings us into the heart of an English war hospital, describing scenes of cleanliness, triumph, order and sadness. Through the eyes of the orderly we get to see the processes that kept the wards running, and relive some tales from within the hospital walls.

By: Washington Irving (1783-1859)

The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent. by Washington Irving The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.

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...


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