Convivio (The Banquet) is a work written by Dante Alighieri roughly between 1304 and 1307. This unfinished work of Dante consists of four trattati, or "books": a prefatory one, plus three books that each include a canzone (long lyrical poem) and a prose allegorical interpretation or commentary of the poem that goes off in multiple thematic directions. The Convivio is a kind of vernacular encyclopedia of the knowledge of Dante's time; it touches on many areas of learning, not only philosophy but also politics, linguistics, science, and history...

On August 31, 1846, twenty-nine-year-old Henry David Thoreau left his cabin on Walden Pond to undertake a railroad and steamboat journey to Bangor, Maine, from where he would venture with his Penobscot guide Joe Polis deep into the backwoods of Maine. This account of his expedition, some think, is a profounder exploration of the philosophical themes of the more famous "Walden" than is the latter book, at least revealing his fundamental perspectives in embryonic form. Of particular interest is his sympathetic and penetrating observation of the Indian nations of Maine, especially the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy.

The De Monarchia is one of the main works by Dante Alighieri. It is a treatise on secular and religious power, and more specifically on the relationship between secular authority (represented by the Holy Roman Emperor) and religious authority (represented by the Pope). The work is composed of three books, in which Dante condemns the theocratic conception of the power elaborated by the Roman Church and defends that both the Pope and the Emperor derive their power from God, and, that being so, God gave to each power in one certain area of life, which means they should not interfere with each other's power and one should not be considered above the other.

"... I have decided to write an account of a few of the many adventures and dangers that befell me while making my way, practically without a penny, from Tarboro, North Carolina, to Tucson, Arizona; and thence to the stricken city of San Francisco, Cal., and other points of interest throughout the West, including New Orleans, Dallas, Texas, Fort Worth, El Paso, Dalhart, Texas, Alamogordo, New Mexico, Juarez, Old Mexico, Bisbee, Arizona, Los Angeles, California, San Pedro, California, Searchlight, Nevada, Denver, Colorado, and more than a hundred other points of interest...

Follow the Manchester Evening News 'special correspondent' and his guide - recently back from a 'seven stretch' - as they take you on a tour through the dimly lit quarters of late 19th-century criminal Manchester.

The philosophy of Idealism, revived in eighteenth-century Europe by George Berkeley, argued against philosophical materialism by maintaining that Reality is a creation of the Mind. Despite its flourishing under the leadership of Hegel, Fichte, Schopenhauer, and Schelling, Idealism had definitely fallen into decline late in the nineteenth century and early in the twentieth. May Sinclair, the writer of many popular but philosophically provocative novels and part-time World War I ambulance corps-person, was an unlikely one to take up the torch of the old school and try to revive it yet again for the twentieth century...

This recording is the second in an ongoing series of collections highlighting foundational articles in early 20th Century American philosophy. Volume 2 focuses on the debates surrounding the emergence of the so-called 'New Realism.' Inspired by the early works of the American pragmatists, the new realists opposed idealistic and transcendental metaphysics, and advocated for various forms of empirical and scientific naturalism. Track List: 01 - The Program and Platform of the Six Realists by Edwin B...

In spite of Nicea's condemnation of Arius in 325, Arianism was far from dead. For decades after Nicea, political intrigue and personality clashes continued to confuse the doctrinal issues. Additionally, the line separating othodoxy from Arianism was blurred by a number of "semi-Arians" who agreed with the theology of orthodoxy but continued to object to the "homoousios" of the Nicene Formula. In this milieu, Athanasius of Alexandria tirelessly worked to cut through the confusion and restore unity...

Students of the works of James Allen all over the world will welcome with joy another book from his able pen. In this work we find the Prophet of Meditation in one of his deepest and yet most lucid expositions. How wonderfully he deals with fundamental principles! Here the reader will find no vague statement of generalities, for the writer enters with tender reverence into every detail of human experience. It is as though he came back to The Shining Gateway, and, standing there, he reviewed all the...

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) is universally regarded as one of the greatest authors in history. This brief biography discusses, among other things, Tolstoy's childhood, married life, contemporaries, travels, and his strongly held opinions concerning religion and class privilege. Individual chapters are devoted to War and Peace and Anna Karenina. The former, with its vivid character portrayals and great historical, political, and military insight, is considered by many to be the world's greatest novel...

This how-to book includes chapters on getting ready, mapping the garden, planting, seeds, early work, house plants, fruits, hot beds and cold frames, and small gardens. There is even a chapter "expressly for women."

This volume contains the thirteen letters of the poet Dante Alighieri translated from their original Latin, including the famous and controversial letter to his patron Cangrande della Scala. The letters provide a good deal of context for the reader of Dante regarding his political and philosophical positions. In the final letter, the authenticity of which has been hotly contested by scholars, the author dedicates the Paradiso to the Veronese Cangrande, explains his Divine Comedy's title (then just Comedy), and discusses much of the work's content.

Engaging history of American Lit from the 1600's up through the late 1890's. The author, who was a professor at Knox College, really put a lot into this, combining national history with his love for literature.

A biography of Jesse James as told by his son, Jesse James, Jr. We are treated to inside tales of Jesse's childhood and home life; what drove him to become a Confederate guerrilla during the Civil War; his life after the war and how he became a wanted man. Since it was written by his son, it is a little biased and we are not told anything about any crimes Jesse and his gang committed. Some of the stories of Jesse's war adventures are a little hard to believe, but a good read nonetheless.

This is a short introduction to Franz Schubert’s life and works. “…to give the casual radio listener a slight idea of Schubert’s inundating fecundity and inspiration. Like Bach, like Haydn, like Mozart, Schubert’s capacity for creative labor staggers the imagination… Volumes would not exhaust the wonder of his myriad creations. If this tiny book serves to heighten even a little the reader’s interest in such songs, symphonies, piano or chamber works of Schubert as come to his attention over the air it will have achieved the most that can be asked of it.” This book was published by The Philharmonic Symphony Society of New York.

Recognizing the importance of establishing for history an authentic text of the Trial of major German WWII war criminals, the International Military Tribunal, consisting of members from Great Britain, the USA, Russia, and France, directed the publication of the Record of the Trial. This volume contains basic, official, pre-trial documents together with the Tribunal’s judgment and sentence of the defendants.

John Woolman was born at Northampton, N. J., in 1720, and died at York, England, in 1772. He was the child of Quaker parents, and from his youth was a zealous member of the Society of Friends. His “Journal,” published in 1774, describes his way of life and the spirit in which he did his work; but his humility prevents him from making clear the importance of the part he played in the movement against slaveholding among the Quakers. In 1742, Woolman, then a young clerk in the employment of a storekeeper in New Jersey, was asked to make out a bill of sale for a negro woman; and the scruples which then occurred to him were the beginning of a life-long activity against the traffic...

Mary Frances is a little girl whose Aunt Maria intends to teach her to knit and crochet, but she's very strict and demanding. It's a good thing the Knitting People are around to help Mary Frances out! This book includes real patterns which can be knit and crocheted for dolls and children.

It is the Christmas season once again and things are, well, boring for the adults at Penlyon Castle. "...if somehow or other I had a pack of children belonging to me, I would keep Christmas with the best — keep it as it ought to be kept." says Sir John. His good friend Mr. Danby has the perfect solution - to hire some children to spend Christmas! Thus, the arrival of Lassie, Laddie, and little Moppet - Christmas and Sir John may never be the same again. Proof Listener - hallejk

This is another commentary by Matthew Henry, well known for his commentaries on the Bible, this one is on Genesis, the first book of the Bible. - Summary by fiddlesticks

Silent film star, Mae Marsh, recounts her life as an actress in this publication, what she deems as being the answer to thousands of letters written to her over the years inquiring about what it takes to be a screen actor. As she states in the introduction, "So much ambition, so many questions!" - Summary by Amanda Friday

The journal of British naturalist Bruce Frederick Cummings, spanning from his early childhood through to his early death from complications stemming from multiple sclerosis. The diary combines beautiful, lyrical passages concerning the natural world with more introspective ruminations reminiscent of Kafka. Although successful and scandalous upon their publication in 1919, interest in the diaries has faded along with public interest in naturalism and diary writing more generally. However, Cummings' work is very modern is its forthright confessional tone and contains some deeply moving pieces of writing not easily forgotten. - Summary by Adam Whybray

In January 1909 a friend of the Scientific American paid the sum of 500$ which was to be awarded as a prize for the best popular explanation of the Fourth Dimension. The object being to set forth in an essay not longer than 2500 words the meaning of the term so that the lay reader could understand it. 245 essays were submitted, the 500$ prize was awarded to Lieut.-Col. Graham Denby Fitch, Corps of Engineers, USA, and the essay was published in the Scientific American of July 3rd 1909. Despite the character of the subject, extraordinary interest was manifested in the contest...

This book was written about 150 years ahead of its time. It tells the story of Emmeline Mobwray who grows up in a dysfunctional family and has to find herself against all odds. Orphaned at a young age, she has to stay alone in a remote castle under the care of a kind housekeeper. But when the kind housekeeper dies, the family starts to take interest in her- to mixed results. Her cousin becomes obsessed with her, much to the displeasure of his wealthy and arrogant parents. Thus, Emmeline is forced to run away from the only home she knew in order to escape his attentions...

This collection of useful information on "Common Things" is put in the interesting form of "Why and Because," and comprehends a familiar explanation of many subjects which occupy a large space in the philosophy of Nature, relating to air, animals, atmosphere, caloric, chemistry, ventilation, materia medica, meteorology, acoustics, electricity, light, zoölogy, etc. - Summary by Anonymous

Sesame and Lilies proposes and answers the questions, how, what and why to read in the context of how and why to live. About earlier and later editions of the book containing the first two lectures alone, Ruskin wrote: "...chiefly written for young people belonging to the upper or undistressed, middle classes; who may be supposed to have choice of the objects and command of the industries of their life... if read in connection with “Unto This Last” it contains the chief truths I have endeavored through all of my past life to display… and am chiefly thankful to have learned and taught...

The Grey House is grey in color and is home to the Grey family. In this, the first of the Grey House books, we are introduced to the three Grey sisters, Oswyth, 17, Roberta, 16 and 14 year old Prudence, their sensible and down-to-earth mother and dreamer of a father, an inventor with his head in the clouds. As we grow to know and love the family, their neighbors and relatives, a menacing cloud appears and the girls must rally to save the father they love from his own obstinacy and their home from disaster. Will it all end in tragedy or will they save the day? - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The Plain Writing Act of 2010 is intended to make it easy for the public to understand government documents. The SEC, like other federal agencies, must write documents in plain writing, defined under the Act as writing that is "clear, concise, well-organized, and follows other best practices appropriate to the subject or field or audience." Starting in October 2011, the Act requires us to write new and substantially revised documents in plain language using the Federal Plain Language Guidelines...

Mildred Keith has a good life in Lansdale, Ohio - family, friends and school keep her happy and busy. But when her parents announce they're all moving to Indiana, Mildred's faith is tested beyond anything she could have imagined. Through good times and bad, follow Mildred and her family as they learn to rely on the Lord for strength in every circumstance! This project was proof-listened by Adele de Pignerolles and Linette Geisel. - Summary by Rachel

Only 15-years-old, Eleanor Vane is very happy with her lot: educated in an expensive finishing school in Paris, the apple of her father's eye, and disposed to be kind. Of course there are things missing: she does not remember her mother who died when she was young. But at least she has her father... Until he unexpectedly dies. Now Eleanor is at the mercy of her half-siblings who were never in touch with her, and the rest of the world who would consider her an orphaned beggar. Sent to work as a lady's companion to an old friend of her late father's, Eleanor might, just might, be able to win a respectable place in society...

One of the first volumes dedicated to systematized medical treatment of soldiers in modern warfare, including a chapter on specific care for airmen, by British doctors who served on the front lines of WWI. Graphic descriptions of war wounds are not for the weak of heart. - Summary by BellonaTimes

"The Royal Society is a Fellowship of many of the world's most eminent scientists and is the oldest scientific academy in continuous existence." . As scientists have explored the world around them, observed and tried to explain natural phenomena, they have been invited to present papers to the Royal Society. Edmond Halley was an eminent member of the society and gathered together some of the most interesting papers of his day. Today, we may see errors in the logic or calculations, based on current knowledge, but these papers are unedited and as presented at the time and show how scientific knowledge was expanding in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries...

"Mr Hinton tries to explain the theory of the fourth dimension so that the ordinary reasoning mind can get a grasp of what metaphysical mathematicians mean by it. If he is not altogether successful, it is not from want of clearness on his part, but because the whole theory comes as such an absolute shock to all one's preconceived ideas" - The Bristol Times . This book was published in 1912. The author is attempting to communicate a very complex interweaving of philosophy and mathematics, and it is often difficult to follow his train of thought...

The Charter of the United Nations signed at San Francisco on 26 June 1945 is the constituent treaty of the United Nations. It is as well one of the constitutional texts of the International Court of Justice which was brought into being by the Charter. This recording contains: UN Charter Statute of the International Criminal Court Millennium Declarations

In 1981, Columbia became the first spacecraft of its type to fly in Earth orbit and successfully completed 27 missions over more than two decades. During the STS-107 mission, Columbia and its crew traveled more than six million miles in 16 days. The Orbiterʼs destruction, just 16 minutes before scheduled touchdown, shows that space flight is still far from routine. It involves a substantial element of risk, which must be recognized, but never accepted with resignation. The seven Columbia astronauts believed that the risk was worth the reward...

Born in London's poverty-stricken and heavily Jewish East End, the Lipcott boys create their own successes in life and love. The brothers' commitment to improving the lives of working class people leads them to concoct The Scheme to help both the residents of their former neighbourhood and the Jewish people as a whole. The author stresses the responsibility of middle class Jews toward the Jewish poor. Consequently, this 1900 story has its preachy moments as well as some essentialised speculations about Jewish history and character...

Maggie is an orphan who depends on the charity of the farmer she lives with. She tries to be cheerful and helpful to everyone where she is. However, Maggie dreams of being a queen. But how can a poor orphan ever become anything other than what she is?

Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt was a Prussian geographer, naturalist, explorer, and influential proponent of romantic philosophy. Many consider him to be the last of the great polymaths. After his death in 1859, the scientific world began to divide into separate disciplines, each with its own knowledgeable but narrowly defined experts. Humboldt’s mind encompassed all that was then known of nature in one great whole. He could well be considered the father of modern ecology and earth studies...

Researchers in the United States have performed thousands of human radiation experiments to determine the effects of atomic radiation and radioactive contamination on the human body. Most of these tests were performed, funded, or supervised by the United States military, Atomic Energy Commission, or various other U.S. federal government agencies. The experiments included a wide array of studies, involving things like feeding radioactive food to mentally disabled children, deliberately releasing radioactive chemicals over U...

A number of most agreeable Inquirendoes upon Life & Letters, interspersed with Short Stories & Skits, the whole most Diverting to the Reader. SHANDYGAFF: a very refreshing drink, being a mixture of bitter ale or beer and ginger-beer, commonly drunk by the lower classes in England, and by strolling tinkers, low church parsons, newspaper men, journalists, and prizefighters. Said to have been invented by Henry VIII as a solace for his matrimonial difficulties. It is believed that a continual bibbing of shandygaff saps the will, the nerves, the resolution, and the finer faculties, but there are those who will abide no other tipple...

"Mankind is constantly astonished by reports of mishaps and disasters of manifold character, when there is seldom room for astonishment. A large proportion of the calamities reported from day to day are directly due to the haste, greed, and heedlessness of man himself, and need no comment. But there is a large class of disasters, due solely to meteorological or geological conditions, which surpass all others in magnitude and appalling destruction. In such cases men insist on prating about “mysterious visitations,” as though these occurrences were subject to the dominion of no law. To an examination of such is this book devoted." From the preface.

The Teacup Club is formed when Dorothy decides to found an intellectual club of her own - to teach her fiance a lesson! The club’s discussion topics includes Theosophy, Politics and Women in Legislature. The club’s unofficial topics include Emily’s new dress, man-flu and the great mystery of the missing chafing-dish. A witty drama and a comedy of manners, secrets and politics . - Summary by Elizabby Cast List: Cast Narrator: Beth Thomas Evelyn: Jennifer Fournier Emily: Leanne Yau Dorothy: KHand Frances: Beth Thomas Elise: Lydia Marion: Vicki Hibbins Catharine: Michele Eaton Edited by: Michele Eaton and linny Proof listeners: Michele Eaton, Beth Thomas

After a difficult childhood, Lydia Raymond, a lower middle class girl, decides to explore her own individuality and climbs the social ladder. Yet, like everything in life, this has a price. This book tells about her childhood, her quest to find herself, and her relationship with her daughter, Jane. This is a fairytale turned upside down. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Seemingly down-on-his-luck Australian sheep rancher and orchard grower kindly teaches his loving family the value of money through 'plain living'. Fellow fans of Jon Cleary's "The Sundowners", set a generation later, may enjoy this. - Summary by Matt Pierard

Chapters XV through XIX of "Our New Selection" "The wheat was in, and Dad decided to take a trip to Brisbane. For seven or eight years he had been thinking of that trip, but something or other always came to prevent his going. According to Dad himself, the farm would suffer if he went away for a month; there would be no one to look after it, no one to manage. According to us there would be no one to look on while the cows were being milked; no one to stand in the paddock all day while the hay was...

The Mentor Association was established to increase interest and knowledge among the public in the areas of art, literature, science, nature, history and travel. The association published a magazine twice monthly, each dealing with a different topic and often written by a recognized authority of the day. They were easy to read, visually appealing and affordable. This collection includes selections from issues dating from 1913-1919. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Mahatma Gandhi, known today as a fascinating political leader and pacifist, also considered himself "something of an authority on matters of Health and Disease as well. Very few of us perhaps are aware that he is the author of quite an original little Health-book in Gujarati. [...] His views are of course radically different from the ordinary views that find expression in the pages of such books; in many cases, indeed, his doctrines must be pronounced revolutionary, and will doubtless be regarded by a certain class of readers as wholly impracticable...

In this charming girl's book we meet again the four chums of Dandelion Cottage. Their friendship knit closer than ever by their summer at playing house, the girls enlarge their activity by mothering a pretty little Indian baby. "Those who have read Dandelion Cottage will need no urge to follow further. . . . A lovable group of four children, happily not perfect, but full of girlish plans and pranks and a delightful sense of humor." - Summary from the book

In the twenty-first century sleeping sickness is still a life-threatening disease of adults and children and a hazard to tourists in East African game parks.The protozoan parasite is transmitted by the tsetse fly, a buzzing insect with reddish eyes and a large biting proboscis. In 1912, when this short monograph was written, physicians of the British Empire understood that trans-continental expeditions manned by infected African porters, had set off an epidemic of sleeping sickness that had claimed half a million lives...

Nineteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include wives, widows, and women scorned--the "Baby Doe Tabor" scandal, the trials of literary marriages, and colonial women; history--Wounded Knee, the Underground Railroad, Edward Bellamy's "nationalism," and English railroads; inspiring places--the Alhambra and Squaw Rock; invention--the marine chronometer; and essays on the Constitution, the natural equality of men, old age, the consolation of reading, and on the fantastic imagination...

Detective-Mystery stories based on real cases solved by government agents. Created initially in 1865, the U.S. Secret Service continued to expand over the years, particularly following the assassination of President McKinley in 1901. The episodes in this compilation are comprised of authentic stories, dramatized, while remaining true to the actual incidences. - Summary by Roger Melin

These riveting accounts by Jacob A. Riis are from the late 19th century, when lower Manhattan was teeming with struggling, near-starving immigrants crammed into wretched fire-prone tenements. Riis writes compassionately of these people who were nevertheless incredibly resilient and ever aspiring to a better life; of children, lovers, parents, policemen and firemen; of moments of joy, holidays, tragedies, and much more. –Lee Smalley “Since I wrote ‘How the Other Half Lives’ I have been asked many times upon what basis of experience, of fact, I built that account of life in New York tenements...

From Volume 12 of the Dresden Edition of The Works of Robert G. Ingersoll, entitled Miscellany, this audio book delivers the final chapters, 21 stirring tributes delivered by Colonel Ingersoll at the funerals or grave sides of, or published, of persons he greatly admired. Included are George Jacob Holyoake, Benjamin W. Parker, Ebon C. Ingersoll, Rev. Alexander Clark, John G. Mills, Elizur Wright, Mrs. Ida Whiting Knowles, Henry Ward Beecher, Roscoe Conkling, Richard H. Whiting, Courtlandt Palmer, Mrs. Mary H. Fiske, Horace Seaver, Lawrence Barrett, Walt Whitman, Philo D. Beckwith, Aton Seidl, Dr. Thomas Seton Robertson, Thomas Corwin, Isaac H. Bailey, and Harrison G. Fiske.

The author of Frankenstein returns with her take on an Austen novel. The mother is proud, the father has many vices, yet the aristocratic name must be kept. Even more so when lord Lodore dies. His wife and daughter find themselves without protection. This novel is conserned with gender equality, education and social justice. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Eighteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include ancient Greek thinkers--Parmenides, Demosthenes, Euclid; William Lloyd Garrison and the National Anti-Slavery Convention; 19th and 20th century philosophers, sociologists, theologians and essayists--Bertrand Russell, Walter Rauschenbusch, Kierkegaard, N.F.S. Brundtvig, Frederik Sibbern, Hans Lassen Martensen, Oscar Wilde; science and invention--sunspots, paper making, aviation; and the shipwreck adventures of Alexander Selkirk, the real Robinson Crusoe...

This book is a collection of short stories from India. - Summary by sid

How much more futile is it to attempt on the minuscule scale of the following tiny, if rambling, pamphlet to touch upon even a thousandth of those achievements and unremitting conflicts which entered into the texture of this master’s agitated and inharmonious life! Actually, it aims to do no more than contribute a mite toward a larger interest in the writings and the great mass of insufficiently discovered compositions of a Romanticist whose labors are still surprisingly unrecognized art works of the future.

Physician William Marcet treated numerous cases of acute alcoholism and chronic alcoholism. He suggests gastrointestinal disease, gout and rheumatism are diseases associated with chronic alcoholism and might either be the cause or the result. Many of his patients complaining of gout, rheumatism, giddiness, sleeplessness, sore stomach, ringing in the ears, flashing specks of light, etc were in fact suffering from chronic alcoholism from recent drinking or days long gone and did not know it. He also discusses cases of nervous conditions that he treated with Oxide of Zinc, saying that the patient benefited by increased sleep and that there were no evil results...

A series of letters on the early occupation of the colony, the Aborigines, etc addressed by Victorian pioneers to his Excellency Charles Joseph La Trobe Esq. , Lieutenant-Governor of the Colony of Victoria in response to a circular letter sent by him to a number of early settlers dated 29th July 1853. - It cannot be claimed for these papers that they are infallible records of our early history at every point. , The last section ends with lists of Aboriginal words and phrases as were collected by a lady...

This little book, first published in 1948, is part of the Chicago Natural History Popular History series that explains difficult subjects in ways and terms we all can understand. It was published at a time in Anthropology when exciting things like carbon dating were first being used and refined. "Prehistory means the time before written history began. Actually, more than 99 per cent of man’s story is prehistory. Man is at least half a million years old, but he did not begin to write history until about 5,000 years ago...

"This Convention represents the fourth updated version of the Geneva Convention on the wounded and sick following those adopted in 1864, 1906 and 1929. It contains 64 articles. These provide protection for the wounded and sick, but also for medical and religious personnel, medical units and medical transports. The Convention also recognizes the distinctive emblems. It has two annexes containing a draft agreement relating to hospital zones and a model identity card for medical and religious personnel." - Summary by International Committee of the Red Cross Please note, this recording DOESN'T include the 3 protocols.

"The Life of Jesse Harding Pomeroy: The Most Remarkable Case in the History of Crime or Criminal Law" by E. Luscomb Haskell was published in Boston, Massachusetts in 1892 by the Harvard Law School Library, and is part of "The Making of the Modern Law, Legal Treatises, 1800-1926" series. Remarkable insight into the life of Pomeroy prior to, during, and following the crimes for which he was sentenced to life imprisonment at the tender age of 14, this is an excellent complement to Pomeroy's "autobiography" which was published immediately following his trial in 1874...

This book continues Sentimental Tommy, also in the catalogue. Tommy grows up and marries Grizel. But life is not only roses and rainbows. This book has all the elements of a good love story, but it is also a book about growing up and finding out your distinct voice in the world. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Here are thirteen biographical sketches of physicians penned by one of the founders of modern medicine, William Osler, published in 1908. "Sir William Osler, one of the best-loved and most influential teachers of his time, was born in Canada in 1849…. Wherever he worked his gifted and unique personality was a center of inspiration… one would like to see his honorable place as a man of letters more generally understood. His generous wisdom and infectious enthusiasm are delightfully expressed in his collected writings…...

Betsy Thoughtless is about an intelligent and strong-willed woman who marries under pressure from the society in which she lives. Betsy learns that sometimes giving way to the role of women within a marriage can at times be fulfilling. This is the fourth and final volume in this series. Does she get her man you will have to listen and find out.

Two diaries from Middle St. John’s, Berkeley, South Carolina, February – May, 1865. Journals kept by Miss Susan R. Jervey and Miss Charlotte St. Julien Ravenel, at Northampton and Poooshee Plantations, and reminiscences of Mrs. Henagan. With two contemporary reports from Federal officials. Published by the St. John’s Hunting Club, Middle St. Johns, Berkeley, South Carolina, 1921. - Summary by Book title and david wales

In the previous book in this series, Lloyd was the maid of honor, but now it will be the Little Colonel's turn to be the bride. But who will be the groom? Will it be one of our old friends from previous books such as Malcolm MacIntyre, Rob Moore, Alex Shelby, Phil Tremont, or Jack Ware . . .or perhaps a new Knight that comes riding!

The Constitution is the charter of government and the supreme law of the United States of America. It was signed by delegates to the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on September 17, 1787. The first 10 amendments, known as the Bill of Rights, were ratified together in 1791. Amendments 11 through 27 were ratified separately from 1795 through 1992.

This book is a popular science book written in the late 1600s. It is written as a series of conversations between a gallant philosopher and a countess, while walking in her garden and gazing at the stars. The philosopher explains the heliocentric model of the solar system and also muses on the possibility of extraterrestrial life. While it explains the heliocentric model, unlike other astronomy works of the time, it did not attract the attention of the Church.

"Policy and Passion, a Novel of Australian Life" tells the story about a father and daughter, torn between the policy of the country in which they live and the passions both have. The father, Thomas, is a rising politician until his love for a married woman changes the game while the daughter, Honora, falls in love with an English nobleman. But this is not only a love story. This novel tells about the early days of Australia, and tells the story of a whole community. It receives scholarly attention as a work about colonialism. - Summary by Stav Nisser

Polly Pepper loves to tell stories, but there just isn't enough room in the other books to include her stories! So, since "the author has received from mothers and other persons interested in the Pepper Family, so many requests for the Stories told by Polly Pepper ... this initial volume of Polly’s earlier stories has been prepared in obedience to these requests" . So curl up at Polly's feet, in front of the warm fire, and enjoy the Stories Polly Pepper Told to the Five Little Peppers in the Little Brown House! - Summary by Rachel

This book is often described as an instruction manual on the subject of rat-catching. It does indeed contain a good deal about rats, ferrets and dogs, but it is much more than that. Barkley fills the book with humour, sharp observation, and his sheer joy of living in the countryside. The framework of the book is indeed a course by fictional rat-catcher Bob Joy, who suggests that rat-catching might be a suitable alternative career for boys at Eton, Harrow and the other major English public schools...

The purpose of this book is to give to its readers a living knowledge of some of the wonders of the country and continent in which they live. Upon a personally conducted tour they are taken by the author through the most characteristic parts of the North American continent. They travel through the United States, British America, Mexico, and Central America, studying the most interesting features of life and work among the people of each country, learning how they are governed, and what they do in order to live. Much information is also given concerning the natural resources and the physical features of the countries visited.

In November 1889, the New York World announced that it was sending its reporter Nellie Bly around the world, in a bid to beat Phileas Fogg's fictitious 80-day journey in Jules Verne's novel Around the World in Eighty Days. Catching wind of this publicity stunt, John Brisben Walker, who had just purchased the three-year-old and still-fledging Cosmopolitan, decided to dispatch Bisland on her own journey.] Six hours after being recruited, Bisland departed westward from New York. Meanwhile, Bly left on a steamer headed to Europe, both on the same day—November 14, 1889...

In 1912, $25,000 was stolen during a bank transfer in New York City in broad daylight. In what may appear astonishing in today's world, the transfer occurred in a New York City taxicab. This factual account brings true crime of the early twentieth century to life. The various methods used by the detectives and police in their attempts to solve the mystery behind the robbery, and hopefully bring the thieves to justice, makes for great reading, particularly when one considers the fact that the accounts occurred over a century ago, and are quite authentic...

A selection of eight short works, chapters, or poems about Christmas. - Summary by david wales

This book doesn't advise against marriage but just offers advice on the errors some people can make who make the wrong choice when entering into so long a contract. - Summary by Michele Eaton

Eighteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include philosophy and thought -- Plato, Aristotle, Leonhard Euler, Henri Amiel, and the French Rights of Man; adventure and mystery -- the ascent of Aconcagua and the mystery ship Mary Celeste; science -- a new comet and lichen dyes; portraits of the seasons by Lucy Maud Montgomery: biographies of Charles Dickens and Clara and Robert Schuman; a history of the Transcendental utopia Fruitlands by Louisa May Alcott, and an essay on reading by Isaac Disraeli. summary by Sue Anderson

Mary Edwards Walker was a physician and surgeon who served in the Civil War. An abolitionist, prohibitionist, and cross-dressing leader of the women's dress reform movement, she published this lively sex manual in 1878. It is a curious blend of useful information and Victorian sexual mythology, at once puritanical and explicit.

This collection of three publications details Edward Jenner's investigations into the connection between smallpox and coxpox, and the creation of the smallpox vaccine, the world's first vaccine. - Summary by Jordan

Internet Archive, which hosts our audio books, is in the midst of their annual fund-raising. They have also begun a drive to provide a mirror site in Canada to ensure IA's availability to all users. The IA is a vast library with millions of public domain books, audio, film, radio, and other media. They also maintain an open library of copyrighted books one can 'check out' by becoming a member with a virtual library card. This collection is devoted to the concept of why we need a public library, the title taken from an essay by Chalmers Hadley, which will be the first entry in this audio book...

A 1973 U.S. government publication describing the history and physical characteristics of this Arizona national monument within the boundaries of the Navajo Nation. - Summary by david wales

Louis Pasteur famously said, "In the fields of observation chance favors only the prepared mind." Pasteur brought to the study of chemistry, microbiology, and applied immunology, a mind open, innovative, and insightful. Born of peasant stock in the French Jura, he worked with dogged determination all his life and often in the face of strenuous opposition. Through an unbroken succession of rigorously designed and meticulously performed experiments, Pasteur developed veterinary vaccines and halted grievous losses in the French wine, silk, and dairy industries...

Orphaned Mabel struggles to raise her sisters by working as a sewing girl for long hours and low wages. She meets her challenges with a calm steady faith while her younger sister chafes against the injustice of their lot in life. She is determined to uncover the mystery she thinks is lurking behind their misfortune. This book will appeal to those who love intimate family dramas, light mysteries, scathing social commentaries, or sewing machines!

After the Civil War, Harriet and her husband Charles bought an Orange Plantation in Mandarin, on the upper east coast of Florida, where they lived during the winter months. Over the years they expanded their cottage to accommodate many guests . They opened schools to educate and churches to care for the recently freed negros pouring into Florida seeking refuge and opportunity. These charming essays, each describing a largely undeveloped rural land, became one of the first travel guides written about Florida and stimulated the first boom of tourism and residential development to that area...

One soft summer evening, when Woodville was crowned with the glory and beauty of the joyous season, three strangers presented themselves before the Grant family, and asked for counsel and assistance. The party consisted of two boys and a girl, and they belonged to that people which the traditions of the past have made the "despised race;" but the girl was whiter and fairer than many a proud belle who would have scorned her in any other capacity than that of a servant; and one of the boys was very nearly white, while the other was as black as ebony undefiled...

Written by a fictitious first-person narrator, this book puts a humorous spin on encounters with several famous people of the time. "I set forth from my office in London upon my pilgrimage to the shrines of the world's illustrious. Readers everywhere are interested in the home life of men who have made themselves factors in art, science, letters, and history, and to these people I was commissioned to go." -- Summary by TriciaG and from the book.

Written when the United States extended only to the Mississippi River, by one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, this short work explores the physical, social, and mental effects of distilled liquors; the classes of people prone to intoxication by them; suggested drinks to use instead of them; and remedies for intoxication and for their habitual use. He takes a medical view of alcoholism, exploring the physical causes rather than blaming moral failure as the cause. Alcoholic drinks that are not distilled are viewed as wholesome drinks, and opium is suggested for pain as being without bad effects or addictive qualities.

“Oh my!”-Herbert O. Morrison, WLS News, ChicagoThursday, 6 May, 1937: It is early evening at a remote airport in central New Jersey. It’s starting to rain again. Suddenly, much to the surprise of the dozens of spectators gathered below, a gigantic diesel powered balloon blows up as it tries to land after crossing the ocean from Germany. In less time than it takes to read this summary, this proud machine, the quintessence of aerostatic technology, is re-forged forever into a twisted, smoking metaphor...

In this book the children are taken by the author upon a personally conducted tour through the most characteristic parts of the South American continent. The book will, it is believed, aid in putting flesh and blood on the bones of the geographies, and will give a living interest to geographical study.

The Mentor Association was established to increase interest and knowledge among the public in the areas of art, literature, science, nature, history and travel. The association published a magazine twice monthly, each dealing with a different topic and often written by a recognized authority of the day. They were easy to read, visually appealing and affordable. This collection includes selections from issues dating from 1913-1919. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

François Fénelon became a priest in 1675, Archbishop of Paris in 1679, was spiritual advisor to Madame Guyon, and was appointed tutor to Louis, Duke of Burgundy by Louis XIV in 1689. He wrote Dialogues of the Dead, and The Lives of the Ancient Philosophers as well as The Adventures of Telemachus expressly for his instruction. Fenelon wrote against the Jansenists and in favor of the Jesuits. He is also known for his Christian Perfection: Devotional Reflections on the Christian Life and Treatise on the Education of Girls.. - Summary by Wikipedia

Susanna Holcombe, a very sensitive and free spirited young lady, tries to fit in to society. But it is very hard for a Victorian woman to carve her own path, and she is almost forced to marry colonel Dymond. This book tells about her trials and tribulations. Can she find her place at last? Perfect for fans of Mary Elizabeth Braddon and Anthony Trollope, and those who want a Jane Austen novel with a twist. Anne Isabella Thackeray Ritchie was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray, author of Vanity Fair. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

Fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include philosophy and thought--Phtah-Hotep, Petrarch, Diderot, Bertrand Russell, and the Weymouth New Testament; adventure and travel--a survival story by Mark Twain and a woman's sojourn in Saltillo, Mexico; immigration and war--Benjamin Franklin on the assimilation of German speakers, Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, the League of Nations, and an essay on potatoes and war; geology--on the origins of chalk; a critique of one-act plays, a biography of H...

Before "Peter Pan" came "The Little Minister", J.M. Barrie's first published novel. This is not a children's book, but reflections on life in a remote village in Scotland. The story opens with the minister and his mother moving into the village of Thrums, where the minister must earn the respect of the villagers, threading his way through class differences, politics and suspicion of the travelling gypsies. But what would happen if the newly respectable minister of Thrums fell in love with a gypsy woman? And how will her secret impact upon them all?

This 1915 publication collects letters written by a driver for the American ambulance service. The incidents they relate occurred before the entrance of the United States into World War I as a combatant. “These letters, according to ordinary ethics in such matters, should not, perhaps, be published. They were merely intended as tributes of friendship and remembrance. Casually written — in pencil often — at moments between duties, with no thought of their being destined to any further purpose than that distance and absence might count a little less through the pictures they would give of a day's work far away.” - Summary by Book Preface and David Wales

The Royal Irish Constabulary was the armed police force of the United Kingdom in Ireland from the early nineteenth century until 1922. About seventy-five percent of the RIC were Roman Catholic and about twenty-five percent were of various Protestant denominations, the Catholics mainly constables and the Protestants officers. In consequence of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the RIC was disbanded in 1922 and was replaced by the Garda Síochána in the Irish Free State and the Royal Ulster Constabulary in Northern Ireland...

The title of this 1961 Smithsonian Institution bulletin says it all. “In 18th-century America, the pleasant practice of taking tea at home was an established social custom with a recognized code of manners and distinctive furnishings. Pride was taken in a correct and fashionable tea table whose equipage included much more than teapot, cups, and saucers. It was usually the duty of the mistress to make and pour the tea; and it was the duty of the guests to be adept at handling a teacup and saucer and to provide social ‘chitchat...

A darling story of little Charlie and his adventures with cats and kittens and how he became many things. Also how the kitten Topsy, unhappy with being a kitten and having his face washed, tries different life styles with different animals but finally makes the right choice. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

Marcia Copley, an American Heiress, comes to Rome. Typically for the period, she may want to attract an aristocrat. He brings the title, she brings the money to support it. Her adventures in Rome are different than she anticipated. Rich and poor live side by side, and the author does her best to describe both walks of life vividly and truthfully. Jean Webster is the author of Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy. This particular novel would also please fans of Henry James and George Gissing. - Summary by Stav Nisser.