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By: Lucy Maud Montgomery (1874-1942)

Book cover Emily Climbs

Emily Byrd Starr longs to attend Queen's Academy to earn her teaching license, but her tradition-bound relatives at New Moon refuse. She is instead offered the chance to go to Shrewsbury High School with her friends, on two conditions. The first is that she board with her disliked Aunt Ruth, but it is the second that causes Emily difficulties. Emily must not write a word during her high-school education. From the author of Anne of Green Gables, Emily Climbs carries forward the story of the lovable little heroine whom a multitude of readers met in Emily of New Moon. This story covers Emily's happy years from 14 to 17.

By: Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE)

Book cover History of Animals

Book I Grouping of animals and the parts of the human body. Book II Different parts of red-blooded animals. Book III Internal organs. Book IV Animals without blood . Books V & VI Animal reproduction. Book VII Human reproduction. Book VIII Habits . Book IX Social behavior. Book X Dealing with barrenness in women was excluded from the translation of D'Arcy Thompson for being spurious so the translation of the Clergyman Richard Cresswell is used instead. Sir D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson was a biologist, mathematician and classicist who also wrote On Growth and Form which discusses the mathematical patterns and structures formed in plants and animals.

By: Rudolf Virchow (1821-1902)

Book cover On Famine Fever and Some of the Other Cognate Forms of Typhus

Rudolf Virchow , professor of medicine and pathology at the Charité Hospital in Berlin, published more than 2000 papers and dozens of books. His investigation of the 1847-1848 typhus epidemic in Upper Silesia laid the foundations of public health in Germany. During the Revolution of 1848, Virchow helped found a journal promoting medicine as a social science. For physicians, his contributions to the understanding of the pathophysiology of disease and to the working vocabulary of medicine were fundamental, but Virchow also believed that social injustice and political oppression lay at the heart of many illnesses and that "the physician is the natural attorney of the poor."

By: Olive Schreiner (1855-1920)

Book cover Thoughts on South Africa

'Thoughts on South Africa' is a collection of Schreiner's observations of colonial South Africa in the early 19th century, mostly regarding Boer-English relations. The book was published posthumously in 1923. Prospective listeners should be aware that it reflects the place, culture and language of the time in which it was written.

By: Annie Fellows Johnston (1863-1931)

Book cover Mary Ware's Promised Land

In this latest and most delightful book Mary's desire to visit "The Locusts," the old home of the "Little Colonel," is gratified, and the environment of green fields and spreading trees and all the charm and freshness of the beautiful Kentucky country itself throughout the entire story. In the end will Mary's "Knight Come Riding"? This is the last book in the "Little Colonel Series", and the third featuring Mary Ware.

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 081

"There has always been a tendency on the part of men of brains to look with contempt on women's work in the arts." Screenwriter and novelist Anita Loos' acerbic opinion is part of "Women in Film Speak Their Minds .” Ida Tarbell's "Women as Inventors" showcases female accomplishment. Vol. 081 contains commentary on a variety of human concerns: fame ; scandal ; religion ; education ; entrepreneurship ; patriotism ; and books . Technical ingenuity is highlighted in "Pompeian Surgical Instruments" and "Submarines...

By: Harriet Lummis Smith (1866-1947)

Book cover Pollyanna's Jewels

In this fourth "Glad Book", Pollyanna returns to her public, no longer the young bride struggling with the problems of housekeeping and homemaking for her beloved Jimmie, but the proud mother of three healthy active children - her "Jewels" - who keep her hands full.

By: Margaret O. Oliphant (1828-1897)

Book cover Hester: A Story of Contemporary Life, Volume 2

Catherine Vernon has a firm hand on her family and on the family business. Her plans for her young protege Edward, whom she loves like a son, are disturbed by the arrival of Hester, a 14-year-old girl who is just as strong willed. The conflict between Catherine and Hester is resolved through their mutual love for Edward. On one level a love story, Hester is unusual for its time in its portrayal of women in business. - Summary by Anne Erickson

By: Lily Hammond (1859-1925)

Book cover In the Garden of Delight

This novel is narrated in the first person and revolves around a character named Lil and the dynamics of a colorful cast of family members. She loves nature and, especially, birds, and thus the title. The story is set in Tennessee. The writing is very much a product of its place and time. Hammond was quite socially progressive but some of the language she puts into the mouths of characters and the depiction of African Americans may be upsetting to some readers.

By: Thomas Davidson

Book cover Rousseau and Education According to Nature

In my Volume on Aristotle in this series, I tried to give an account of ancient, classical, and social Education; in the present volume I have endeavored to set forth the nature of modern, romantic, and unsocial Education. This education originates with Rousseau. With much reluctance I have been obliged to dwell, at considerable length, on the facts of his life, in order to show that his glittering structure rests, not upon any broad and firm foundation of well-generalized and well-sifted experience, but upon the private tastes and preferences of an exceptionally capricious and self-centered nature...

By: Sidford Frederick Hamp (1855-1919)

Book cover Coco Bolo: King of the Floating Island

Sisters Margaret and Frances wait for their younger brother Edward to go for a nap before embarking on the adventure of trying to stand on the heads of their shadows. Daddy sees them and encourages them to chase further adventures of childhood, little suspecting where they will take them. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: Alexander Berkman (1870-1936)

Book cover Bolshevik Myth

The Bolshevik Myth is a book by Alexander Berkman who with his partner Emma Goldman was deported from the USA under the 1918 Anarchist Exclusion Act and shipped to the young Soviet Russia. He describes his experiences in Bolshevik Russia from 1920 to 1922, where he saw the aftermath of the Russian Revolution of 1917. Written in the form of a diary, The Bolshevik Myth describes how Berkman's initial enthusiasm for the revolution faded as he became disillusioned with the Bolsheviks and their suppression of all political dissent...

By: Elizabeth Enright (1907-1968)

Book cover Return to Gone-Away

When Portia Blake and her family came back to Gone-Away Lake, it was to move into an old house locked up tightly for nearly half a century. Next to discovering Gone-Away the summer before, nothing so exciting had ever happened to Portia and her cousin Julian. Then began an enchanted summer of exploration and discovery, as the old house slowly revealed its surprises and its treasures. This is the sequel to the book, Gone-Away Lake, by Elizabeth Enright.

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 082

"Is sin a necessary stage in the development of humanity, or a yawning chasm in the very structure of the universe?” Theologian J. Gresham Machen's exploration of "eternal ideas" is joined, in vol. 082, by readings in philosophy and psychology by Immanuel Kant, Henri Bergson, and Samuel Johnson. Insights from forestry, geography, astronomy, and zoology expand the view . Human resiliency, inventiveness and heroism are exemplified in A Heroine of the Black Hole; The Great Yorkshire Llama; The Terry Touch Alphabet; The Man O'War's 'Er 'Usband'; and a biography of pioneering physician Elizabeth Blackwell...

By: Laura Rountree Smith (1876-1924)

Book cover Gingerbread Boy and Joyful Jingle Play Stories

Short funny stories for children that not only are fun to read and listen to, but have neat rhymes in each story. So if you like a bit of poetry thrown in amid the prose, these are for you. - Summary by Phil Chenevert

By: John Gregory Bourke (1846-1896)

Book cover Medicine-Men Of The Apache

“Herewith I have the honor to submit a paper upon the paraphernalia of the medicine-men of the Apache and other tribes. Analogues have been pointed out, wherever possible, especially in the case of the hoddentin and the izze-kloth, which have never to my knowledge previously received treatment.” . Bourke was a Medal of Honor awardee in the American Civil War whose subsequent Army career included several campaigns in the Indian wars of the mid to late 19th century in the American West. He wrote prolifically...

By: Jon Shimabukuro

Book cover Worker Classification: Employee Status Under the National Labor Relations Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the ABC Test

A brief summary of the standards for classifying workers as either employees or independent contractors under various federal labor laws and common-law tests.

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 083

“Oh, mother, I would like to know everything.” “You can never know everything, my child, but you can learn many things from books.” According to children's book author James Baldwin , book reading was the key to success in life . Several vol. 083 selections tackle the thorny questions of how to foster open-mindedness, creativity, and compassion in the child and adult: : How Five Notable Women Were Educated; Winter Talk; and the Fantastic Imagination). Even Rural Free Mail delivery, new in 1900, is seen as effecting a “social revolution...

By: Winifred Stephens Whale (1870-1944)

Book cover Women of the French Revolution

One aspect of this subject of revolutionary women, their connection with the secret societies of the day I have purposely ignored. It is obscure and highly controversial. Unfortunately, though these societies have been much, written about, and especially of late, it has often been in a partisan spirit. This book will constantly deal with parties, but I trust not in the spirit of a partisan. Of the three methods of treating this subject, the strictly chronological method, the biographical, and a classification according to the play of ideas and the modes and fields of action, I have chosen the last...

By: Frederick Adam Wright (1869-1946)

Book cover Greek Athletics

The history of Greek athletics as it pertains to the Olympics. Describes various activities such as boxing, wrestling, etc. and accounts from witnesses, the Iliad, etc. as they pertain to famous Greeks and events. He discusses Greek views of physical appearance and fitness as they pertain to the games and society and also how and why individual city-states chose to participate in the Olympics.

By: Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915)

Book cover Aurora Floyd Volume 2

Aurora Floyd is the spoiled, impetuous, but kind hearted daughter of Archibald Floyd, a wealthy banker and his wife, an actress who died shortly after Aurora's birth. As a teenager she is sent away to finishing school in Paris. This is volume two of the story which tells of Aurora's life with her husband John Mellish. This is a story of love, murder and the search for justice. - Summary by Michele Eaton

By: François Norbert Blanchet (1795-1883)

Book cover Historical Sketches of the Catholic Church in Oregon, During the Past Forty Years

This book is a first-hand account of the experiences of Fr. Norbert Blanchet and his fellow missionaries to Oregon in the 1830’s and 1840’s. The original duo, Fr. Blanchet and Fr. Demers, had incredible adventures traveling across Canada by canoe, horseback, and river raft to arrive at the Hudson’s Bay Company Fort at Vancouver, Washington. From there, they energetically and joyfully established churches in the Willamette valley, along the Columbia River, and into present day Washington state and British Columbia...

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 084

Ghosts everywhere, and of any colour," was the promise of Spectropia, a book of "surprising spectral illusions" published in 1863. Optical illusions were among the twenty vol. 084 topics, chosen by their readers, which were concerned with science, technology, and medicine, including the societal implications of decision making in these fields: . This Troubled World, a 1938 essay by Eleanor Roosevelt, is joined by others with a sociological focus: ; A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India ; and Not Revolution, but Evolution)...

By: William Graham Sumner (1840-1910)

Book cover Forgotten Man and Other Essays

Sumner's popular essays were to give him a wider audience to distribute his anti-imperialism, his advocacy of free markets and the gold standard. He also had a long term influence over modern American conservatism. This is the final collection of his essays and is edited by Albert Galloway Keller. It concludes with The Forgotten Man where Sumner argued that, in his day, politics was being subverted by those proposing a "measure of relief for the evils which have caught public attention.

By: Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910)

Book cover Pioneer Work in Opening the Medical Profession to Women

A fascinating account of the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. She writes of her struggles in being accepted to a medical school . She details her experiences while in the process of obtaining her degree, and her work both with patients and administratively, helping to found medical schools and hospitals for women. Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

By: Origen of Alexandria (184-253)

Book cover Against Celsus Book 4

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners...

By: Frank G. Carpenter (1855-1924)

Book cover Alps, the Danube and the Near East

Journeying through many countries including Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Switzerland and Greece, the author gives an in-depth account of many aspects of the culture of the times and the people of the regions.

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 085

"A regard for decency, even at the cost of success, is but the regard for one's own dignity" was novelist Joseph Conrad's take on fame, a quote from the preface to his autobiography A Personal Record . Other lives chosen by readers to examine in vol. 085 include the Borgias; the Cynocephali; Hermann von Helmholtz; Edgar Allan Poe; John Burroughs; a pre-Revolutionary War magnate named Browne, who built a mansion on the ridge of a hill; women as a social class; and an 1821 rabies victim named Thomas, who exhibited hydrophobia...

By: Francis Wellman (1854-1942)

Book cover Art of Cross-Examination

A classic text on cross-examination of witnesses, including many examples of techniques used in celebrated cases by such notable attorneys as Abraham Lincoln and future Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo. Wellman sprinkles the text liberally with background facts and explanations of the cases and just plain gossip about the participants. Useful listening for anyone who occasionally feels the need to dig a bit deeper for the truth in any conversation. - Summary by Joanne Turner

By: Marion Ames Taggart (1866-1945)

Book cover Miss Lochinvar

At breakfast, Mr. Graham drops the bombshell that his niece -- Joan, Jane or Janet, he's not sure which, will be arriving from the west to live with his large family. The news is met with mixed emotions - horror from his wife, resentment from the eldest two daughters and amusement from the eldest son. What will this stranger be like? How will she fit in with her cousins? - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: Edward Carpenter (1844-1929)

Book cover Love's Coming-of-Age: A Series of Papers on the Relations of the Sexes

"The little god of Love is generally represented as a child; and rightly, perhaps, considering the erratic character of his ways among the human race. There are signs, however, of a new order in the relations of the Sexes; and the following papers are, among other things, an attempt to indicate the inner laws which, rather than the outer, may guide Love when—some day—he shall have come to his full estate." - Summary by Edward Carpenter

By: George M. Sternberg (1838-1915)

Book cover Infection and Immunity

Infection and Immunity with Special Reference to the Prevention of Infectious Diseases presents a subject that is as relevant today as it was in 1903. This book was written for readers without a medical background, and includes general information on infectious disease, as well as specific diseases prevalent at the time. To quote the author, who served as the U.S. Army Surgeon General from 1893-1902, "The general statement may be made that all infectious disease are preventable disease, and at the present time it is possible to indicate the necessary measures of prevention for nearly all of these diseases...

By: Frederic Taber Cooper (1864-1937)

Book cover Some American Storytellers

Frederic Taber Cooper, who was an editor and author, provides a superb insight into the works of some of the most popular authors of the turn of the century decade. Excerpt: The subjects of the essays included in this volume differ widely in aim and in accomplishment; but all of them possess, to a considerable extent, the gift that makes them next of kin to the minstrel and troubadour, to the ancient fabulist, and to the forgotten spinner of the world s first nursery tales, the gift of holding the attention by the spell of the spoken word. - Summary by Celine Major

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 086

"The democracy of the future will sicken of a chronic and mortal boredom," was Aldous Huxley's prophecy for the United States in 1923. You won't be bored listening to these 20 recordings, selected by their readers, with topics ranging from Leacock's humorous Manual of Education to Unamuno's Tragic Sense of Life. There's an artist's diary ; an after-dinner speech ; reflections on Beauty by John Burroughs; Willa Cather and Christopher Morley on writing; and Leibniz on the Origin of Things. Political topics include the Power of Third Parties; the House of Commons; the 1904 South Dakota Land Lottery; and an NAACP anti-lynching poster...

By: Thomas Beames (1815-1864)

Book cover Rookeries of London

Rev. Thomas Beames was a preacher at St. James, Westminster in London. He compiled his own eye-witness accounts of the most notorious of the slum areas, the Rookeries. In this essay, he passionately discusses the effects of poverty and the mistreatment of the poor and working classes. Much of what he says is still valid today; for example, in discussing over-population and emigration, he mentions the mis-use of land in Britain: "... large tracts of land, such as in Derbyshire, seem only valuable as grouse preserves...

By: Archibald Geikie (1835-1924)

Book cover Scottish Reminiscences

Archibald Geikie was a geologist in Scotland by profession, and a writer. While most of his writings were professional, this is a more personal book telling some of the history of Scotland, Archibald's memories, experiences and recollections there as well as stories he was told by people he met. He has a good sense of humour which shines through. - Summary by Jmbau13

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 087

"Certitude is not the test of certainty." This pithy phrase is from Jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr's essay on Natural Law, one of twenty nonfiction pieces chosen by their readers for inclusion in volume 087. Selections from Pascal, Josiah Royce, and C.S. Peirce also delve philosophical themes. Builders, warriors, artists, and activists, the many faces of mankind, are illuminated in selections on Ferdinand De Lesseps, Stanislaus Koniecpolski, Jan Karol Chodkiewicz, Mark Twain, Charlie Chaplin, Frederic Edwin Church, the 14th century citizens of Liège, who vanquished Sir Radus' castle, and Simon Pokagon's The Red Man's Rebuke...

By: W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)

Book cover John Brown

This is a moving and deeply felt biography of abolitionist John Brown, which defends its subject against the popular notion of him as a delusional fanatic. The author, W.E.B. DuBois, was a renowned author, scholar, sociologist, socialist, and civil rights activist, and one of the founders of the N.A.A.C.P.. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

By: Various

Book cover Health, Disease, and Everything in Between

This collection is a mix of poems from several authors, all of which talk about health and disease from both the patient and the doctor's perspectives. - Summary by Maryam Arabi

By: Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757-1804)

Book cover Federalist Papers (version 2)

“The Federalist Papers” are a collection of 85 linked essays that explain the construction of the U.S. government and why it was built that way. The Papers are regarded as the best pipeline into understanding the U.S. Constitution and the founding principles of the government it would establish. I have endeavored here to present these essays, not as articles in a newspaper, but as you might have experienced them if you had sat in a comfortable tavern with a tankard in hand, and listened while these ardent men ranged in front of a friendly fireplace as they attempted to convince you of their arguments...

By: Harry Houdini (1874-1926)

Book cover Magician Among the Spirits

Houdini, an escape artist and illusionist, became interested later in his life in debunking spiritualists, disbelieving anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers. This was during an era where paranormal phenomena, especially seances, were extremely popular. Although skeptical of their claims, he longed to find a credible source to communicate with family members he had lost. This book chronicles his travels and the many people he spoke with and his observations of their 'powers' and along the way also reveals many of the tricks they employed to deceive their paying customers. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

By: John M. Douglass

Book cover Indians in Wisconsin's History

Pre-European arrival history of Wisconsin's Native American tribes, with discussions of their way of life, crafts, clothing, shelter, hunting, fishing and farming. Their activity and battles during French, British and U.S. rule of the territory. Extermination and forced removal of tribes to agencies and reservations. Numbers of survivors from original tribes and plight of those remaining in the 20th century. Popular Science Handbook No. 6, published by the Milwaukee Public Museum in 1954. Summary by Verla Viera

By: Henry Mayhew (1812-1887)

Book cover London Labour and the London Poor Volume IV

Subtitled A Cyclopaedia of the condition and earnings of those that will work, those that cannot work, and those that will not work. This volume: Those that will not work, comprising prostitutes, swindlers, thieves, beggars. Henry Mayhew was a social researcher and journalist who compiled a four volume work in minute detail on the lives of the poor in London, of which this is the fourth volume, published in 1862, and co-written with Bracebridge Hemyng, John Binny and Andrew Halliday. Notes: 1...

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 088

"With opinions, possession is more than nine points of the law. It is next to impossible to dislodge them." Woodrow Wilson's Study of Administration examines public opinion's role in politics. It is one of 20 nonfiction readings chosen by the readers. Other faceted topics in volume 088 include culinary taste the existence of the supernatural ; slavery ; peace and war and culture . Rounding out the volume are a survey of Martinique, and a medical treatise on the Organs of the Human Voice.

By: Kay Lyttleton

Book cover Jean Craig, Graduate Nurse

As Jean Craig finished her training and prepared for graduation, illness struck—first in her own family, and later in epidemics that swept the village of Elmhurst. It was with a deep feeling of satisfaction that Jean was able to give trained and efficient aid at the hospital. It was with equal satisfaction that she watched romance blossom between Dr. Benson, the fresh young intern, and Eileen Gordon, the new Supervisor of Nurses, and discovered that her sister Kit was practically engaged. But the joy of the family reached a new peak when Doris, the youngest daughter, won a music scholarship...

By: Mary Finley Leonard (1862-1948)

Book cover Candle and the Cat

"To the memory of TROLLEY, This little story is dedicated." When young Caro goes to stay with her Aunt and Grandfather, the seminary president, she learns to not be afraid of the dark and to "be a candle" by "sharing her light" with the help of Trolley the cat. In doing so, she is able to help others, including a reclusive invalid, renew their old friendships. - Summary by JHedrick

By: W. K. Tweedie (1803-1863)

Book cover Joseph and his Brethren

"The story of Joseph is at once so simple that childhood is arrested and rivetted by it, and so profound that sages may deepen their wisdom by meditating on the truths which it embodies. An attempt is here made to point out some of the more important lessons which the narrative teaches,—to manifest the wisdom and the watchfulness of Providence,—and show how God on high exercises his prerogative of educing good from what we are often tempted to regard as only and hopelessly evil. While man displays...

By: Hugh Tempest Sheringham (1879-1930)

Book cover Angler's Hours

One of the classic British books about angling. The author’s love was fly fishing—“…while there are trout, life is worth living…” but he was no snob. An Angler’s Hours includes several chapters about coarse fishing as well as a surprising account of the Japanese tenkara method as used in England. Sheringham's style is similar to that of the much-loved B.B. with a dash of P.G. Wodehouse. He doesn’t bore us with technical details but writes of the simple joys of angling—"a man who gazes at the wares in a tackle-shop on a sunny day in April has certainly a fishing expedition in prospect”—not forgetting the pleasure of a nice pot of tea at the end of the day...

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 089

"From vocalists you may learn much, but do not believe all that they say." Robert Schumann's Advice to Young Musicians is replete with good counsel. How, what, and from whom we learn is thematic to many of these 20 nonfiction selections, chosen by their readers. We learn from the lives of valorous persons ; from literature ; from journalists, activists, and the opinionated , and from nature . Summary by Sue Anderson

By: Pierre Loti (1850-1923)

Book cover Lives of Two Cats

An English translation of Pierre Loti's charming 19th century memoir of his cats. - Summary by S Caulkins

By: Meredith Nicholson (1866-1947)

Book cover Broken Barriers

Life abruptly changes for young socialite, Grace Durland., when her father goes bankrupt and she is forced to earn a living. Thrust into a new life, she meets -- and falls in love with -- a married man. She faces condemnation from friends and family alike, and although Ward Trenton reciprocates her feelings, his wife refuses him a divorce. Once again, fate intervenes in the form of a serious accident. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

By: Edna W. Underwood (1873-1961)

Book cover Letters from a Prairie Garden

The "Letters from a Prairie Garden," are genuine letters and not fiction. They went through the mail. An explanatory word about their origin may not be amiss. Some years ago a famous artist came to a certain mid-western city on business connected with his profession. He had an acquaintance who lived in the hotel where the writer lived at that time and with whom he talked over the phone. The writer frequently happened to be talking at the same time, and the wires crossing, he heard me laugh repeatedly, and he nicknamed me "the woman who laughs...

By: Walter Higgins

Book cover Father Thames

Originally published in 1922, this work details the history and importance of one of Great Britain's grandest rivers, the River Thames. It includes information on the river's geography and its role in the founding of London. This is a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in the history of the river. The River Thames takes its name from the Middle English Temese, which is derived from the Celtic name for river. Originating at the Thames Head in Gloucestershire, it is the longest river in England, flowing a total length of 236 miles, out through the Thames Estuary and in to the North Sea...

By: A. A. Milne (1882-1956)

Book cover Winnie-the-Pooh (Version 2)

A charming collection of 10 relaxing tales, come along into the Forest as Winnie-the-Pooh tries to get some honey, the search is on for Eeyore's tail, some new visitors arrive in the form of Kanga and Baby Roo and an 'Expotition' is held to discover the North Pole! A classic for over 95 years and one that everyone young and old will surely adore.

By: Helen Clarke (1860-1926)

Book cover Guide to Mythology

My aim in this book on Mythology for young readers has been to give them solid knowledge on the subject, as far as it is advisable to go with immature minds, based upon the most recent investigations of scholars, and to select the myths used in illustration of the plan, with a view to giving them interesting stories to read, which will, almost unconsciously to themselves, lay a firm foundation for the fascinating study of Comparative Mythology, should they wish to go more deeply into it in the future...

By: Richmal Crompton (1890-1969)

Book cover Still - William

More humorous adventures by the world’s most misunderstood English boy. - Summary by david wales

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 090

In his autobiographical essay "The Intellectuals and the Boston Mob," Booker T. Washington wrote: "It is not argument, nor criticism, nor hatred, but work in constructive effort, that gets hold of men and binds them together in a way to make them rally to the support of a common cause." Individual and group dynamics are at the core of most of the reader-chosen nonfiction pieces in Vol. 090. (Rugby School; Questions of Divorce; The Sage of Vienna, Popular Folk Poetry, The Use and Abuse of Church Bells, Superstition and Crime, Social Control, The Importance of Marking Historic Spots, The Pirates Who's Who, Catherine Tegahkouita, the Iroquois Mission of Sault St...

By: Charlotte Maria Tucker (A. L. O. E.) (1821-1893)

Book cover Story Of A Needle

A story told, through the viewpoint of a sewing needle, about family life and siblings. The narration from the needle tells how he was made and witnesses the relationships within the family. The needle also makes friends with a thimble and some scissors. - Summary by Susan Russell

By: Ethel Rose Peyser (1887-1961)

Book cover Cheating the Junk-Pile — The Purchase and Maintenance of Household Equipments

This book of advice about the purchase and care of household appliances is intended to cheat the junk-pile by inspiring the buyer to get the utmost advantage out of every purchase thru wise buying and proper care of equipment after it is acquired. The book explains what the householder needs to know about the practical home use of electricity, about such modern appliances as electric washing machines and vacuum cleaners., about electric, gas, and oil stoves, heating and ventilation, kitchen furnishings, water supply, lighting, fire prevention, etc. - Summary by Book review digest, 1923

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 091

"Pneumatic tubes, instead of store wagons, will deliver packages and bundles." Store purchases by tube was one of John Watkins Jr's predictions for What May Happen in the Next Hundred Years, written in 1900. Man and womankind's achievements, and their failures, are central to many of the reader chosen nonfiction pieces in vol. 091 . Broadening the gaze are selections on science, poetry, myth, art, and imaginative writing . Summary by Sue Anderson

By: Aristotle (384 BCE-322 BCE)

Book cover Generation of Animals

Generation of Animals ; Latin: De Generatione Animalium) Book 1: Sexual Parts, Semen & Sexual Generation Book 2: Sexes, Embryo Development & Sterility Book 3: Birds, Fish, Cephalopods, Insects, Bees & Testacea Book 4: Causes of Sex, Heredity & Teratology Book 5: Distinction between Necessity and the Final Cause Charles Darwin wrote: "Linnaeus and Cuvier have been my two gods, though in very different ways, but they were mere schoolboys to old Aristotle." - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

By: Clarence Darrow (1857-1938)

Book cover Clarence Darrow, Selected Works: 1893-1917

This is a collection of 8 works by Clarence Darrow written between 1893 and 1917. Clarence Darrow was most noted in his time as an enormously successful defense attorney. Consider that he was the defense attorney at the Scopes Monkey Trial and at the "trial of the century", the Bobby Franks murder trial. He, like Robert G. Ingersoll, William Cowper Brann , William Jennings Bryan , Daniel Webster, etc. was also known as a world-class orator. These collected 8 works include speeches, essays, and public debates. The man had a silver tongue... sharpened to a rapier's edge!

By: Gildas

Book cover On the Ruin of Britain

Gildas was a well-informed and definitely opinionated 6th century commentator on the topic of the era of the Roman occupation of Britain beginning in AD 43, the subsequent desertion of Britain by the legions in AD 410, and then invasions by the Scots, Picts and Saxons. Gildas was critical of his fellow Britons, accusing them of unwarranted rebellion against the beneficial rule of Roman law, and of then pusillanimously calling upon Rome to help them defend against the invading Picts and Scots from the north...

By: William Henry Samuel Jones (1876-1963)

Book cover Malaria: A Neglected Factor in the History of Greece and Rome

This short book has the objective of showing how important it is to stamp out malaria as soon as possible. Unlike a plague that suddenly takes it victims and leaves its survivors, malaria is a debilitating infection. It seizes all, fit and unfit alike, gradually lessening the general vitality until, in some cases, it has exterminated the people among whom it has become endemic. Extensive evidence has been compiled and summarised from consultation with medical authorities, antique literature, and historical sources to show how this insidious disease has undermined the integrity of a pair of ancient empires, and ultimately became a factor in their downfall. - Summary by Leon Harvey

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 092

Calling men the "Bawling Brotherhood," Sarah Grand penned a lively essay on The New Aspect of the Woman Question in 1894. Stenography and the Typewriter, and Home Hints were other women centric selections from the 20 reader-chosen nonfiction pieces in volume 092. Social and political history figured in many readings: The Birthplace of American Independence ; Roman Remains in Great Britain; the Spanish American War; Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade ; State of the Union Address ; Disunion Sentiment ; and Monument to General Sheridan...

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: Francis J. Finn, S.J. (1859-1928)

Book cover Ada Merton

The conversion of an indifferent father and mother, through the death of an only child, is well told in another story by Fr Finn, S.J. entitled Ada Merton.

By: Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891)

Book cover Secret Doctrine.Volume I. Cosmogenesis.Part II. The Evolution Of Symbolism.

In this work of comparative religion, ontology and epistemology, Mme. Blavatsky presents science as a belief system of as much value as others in contributing to human knowledge of the seven secret keys to understanding through mathematics and intuition. A comparative study of ancient texts and their commentators over more than three thousand years.

By: George Reginald Marriner (1879-1910)

Book cover KEA: a New Zealand problem

The kea is the world's only alpine parrot, and is endemic to the South Island of New Zealand. Although this large parrot is beloved of modern-day New Zealanders for its cheeky intelligence and mischievous behaviour , it has not always been so loved, and is currently classified as an endangered species. Its decline began in the 19th century, with the arrival of European settlers, their sheep, and the payment of rich rewards to bounty hunters for kea beaks. Written in 1907, The Kea: a New Zealand...

By: William Brooke O'Shaughnessy (1809-1889)

Book cover On the Preparations of the Indian Hemp

The author investigated the uses of cannabis resin as an anticonvulsant and relaxant in cases of tetanus, cholera, and infantile convulsions. He and others also carried out animal studies on its use, and noted its low toxicity. He recommended that British doctors assessed the drug's use in such cases.

By: David Walker (1796-1830)

Book cover Walker's Appeal

The Appeal grabbed readers’ attention in as dramatic a manner as Walker could have possibly imagined. In her book, Maria W. Stewart and the Roots of Black Political Thought, Kirsten Waters writes about how the pamphlet itself was viewed as dangerous by pro-slavery forces, while Walker actively worked to get his text in the hands of Black readers. He did not direct his writing to White audiences, and in the third edition added a special message to Black readers, saying that: It is expected that...

By: William Henry Samuel Jones (1876-1963)

Book cover Malaria in Greek History

This book is an attempt to correct and develop the theory proposed tentatively in the little work Malaria. Put briefly, this theory is as follows. In the struggle for existence man has competed, not only with his fellow-men, but also with wild animals and disease- parasites. The fight against beasts was decided long before the historic period, but parasites have always been, and still are, formidable opponents. Whole tribes have been wiped out by plague, kala-azar and measles; and even when the disease-parasite does not win such a decisive victory, it often weakens a nation so much that the latter falls an easy victim to its healthier neighbours...

By: Richmal Crompton (1890-1969)

Book cover William -- The Fourth

The world’s most confident, most chaos-creating eleven year old boy is at it again in these fourteen glorious and funny 1924 short stories. - Summary by David Wales

By: K. Langloh Parker (1856-1940)

Book cover More Australian Legendary Tales

The present series of legends have all been collected by myself from the Blacks, as were the previous ones. But in this instance, I had much help given to me by friends, who either told or sent me scraps of legends they themselves had seen or heard. On receiving any such I immediately made inquiries amongst the Blacks, and I was often enabled to complete the scraps, gaining through their hints a whole legend.

By: Philander Misaurus

Book cover Honour of the Gout

This droll and 'enflammatory' pamphelet doth be a grondebreaking worke of musing upon a great aflicktion of Man, upon the better nature of that aflicktion, and upon the vain and mischievous cheats who affeckt to cure it. The gauntlet here so-toss'd by Philander Misaurus was later pick'd up by surgeon John Marten in his rejoinder, titled by the name–"The Dishonour of the Gout". Which seeketh to shew all minds swayed by Philander's prettie words that—indubitably—Gout is misfortune. - Summary by Alasdair

By: Pearl Buck (1892-1973)

Book cover Mother

Life is difficult for The Mother, with a household of husband and children, when her crone of a mother-in-law comes to live with them. It is a life of drudgery and toil. But a mother will do anything to protect her children, despite the pain and suffering she may endure, when, without warning, her restless husband abandons her. The shame, the toil, the love... all demonstrate the resilience of a woman in the face of adversity. It has been described as one of the best works of fiction of the 20th century, This is in the Public Domain in the United States. - Summary by Lynne T.

By: Various

Book cover Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 093

"Flirting is more serious than talking nonsense and not so serious as making love" was journalist Eliza Lynn Linton's take on relations between the sexes in 1883. Other reader-chosen nonfiction selections in volume 093 see women as witches , as cooks , as medical pioneers , and as waffling adolescents . Political, religious, and cultural conflict are illustrated in questions regarding slavery in the Virginia colony, the Papal Bulls of 1493, the battle of Grampian Hills, a biography of Giordano Bruno, and a white soldier's impressions of a Zuni Indian dance...

By: Walter Geer (1857-1937)

Book cover Napoleon and Josephine 'The Rise of the Empire'

FOREWORD: "In the popular estimation the Empress Josephine is crowned with a halo of goodness which makes the task of her biographer one of peculiar difficulty. The aversion which many feel towards Napoleon is not a little due to what they conceive to be the cruelty with which he treated the woman who for fourteen years was the companion of his glory. The writer of this book holds no brief either for the prosecution or the defence. He wants to draw a portrait - not to pronounce a judgment: his object is to depict Josephine as she was, and he leaves the reader to decide as to her goodness." Walter Geer

By: Edward Delafield (1794-1875)

Book cover Inaugural Dissertation on Pulmonary Consumption

At a time when diseases termed "consumption" were among the leading cause of death in the county, physicians such as Edward Delafield began to publish observations, research, and studies on the topic. The hope of such works was to share gained knowledge with all physicians with faith that causes and treatments would be found to stop these devastating maladies. This is one such work. - Summary by afutterer

By: George Ogilvy Preshaw (1839-1890)

Book cover Banking Under Difficulties

An account of life on the Goldfields of Victoria, New South Wales, and New Zealand by a Bank Official. At the present time—1888—it may appear almost impossible to many that a bank agency should have been in a tent; that bankers should have, often on foot, gone long distances to purchase gold from small storekeepers, the said gold often being carried by them on their backs, till the security of some rough bush shanty had been reached; that instead of cedar counters, massive ledgers, impregnable...

By: Charles MacLaurin (1872-1925)

Book cover Post Mortem: Essays, Historical And Medical

This 1922 collection of extensive essays comprises well written biographies of a few famous folk. The life narratives include analyses of medical and/or psychological elements in each person’s life. Biographies include Anne Boleyn, Jeanne D’Arc, The Empress Theodora, The Emperor Charles V, Don John Of Austria, Cervantes, Don Quixote , Philip II, Mr. and Mrs. Pepys, Edward Gibbon, Jean Paul Marat, Napoleon I, and Benvenuto Cellini. It concludes with an extended meditation on death. “But there...

By: William Blackstone (1723-1780)

Book cover Commentaries on the Laws of England. Book 2: Of the Rights of Things.

The Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone, are a prominent and authoritative 18th century dissertation on the common law of England which not only pertains to that country, but is also at the foundation of the American legal system. They were widely read and a huge influence on America's Founding Fathers and, to this day, are occasionally quoted in U.S. Supreme Court decisions when expounding upon principals of universal and enduring human justice. The commentaries were divided into four books: On the Rights of Persons, On the Rights of Things, Of Private Wrongs, and Of Public Wrongs...

By: Sidney Licht (1907-1979)

Book cover Music in Medicine

In spite of a spirited rebirth of the movement towards the establishment of a system of healing based on music, there are many valuable uses of music in medicine which might suffer a like fate unless a critical analysis of the worth of music as a therapeutic agent is effected before Musical Therapy reaches the dubious distinction of classification as a healing cult. This book has been written with a view to preserving for medicine that which is good for patients, and in an attempt to aid musicians under medical guidance in using music to help the sick.

By: Harold Bindloss (1866-1945)

Book cover Sunshine and Snow

A harrowing and dramatic story of four siblings from Scotland who are poor, and orphaned. The eldest brother, Arthur, is guardian to his two brother's and one sister.) After the bank in Scotland fails, Arthur decides as family head, they will go to Canada to answer an ad to claim free farm land. Arthur is a former soldier, smart, honest, and a tremendously hard worker; his younger brothers are still in school, and Charley, Leaving their sister behind temporarily, they board a steamer for Canada, but they have no idea of the hardships and life threatening battles that await in the untamed land...


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