Few stories of shipwreck and survival can equal that of the 16th century Spaniard Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca who, cast ashore near present day (USA) Tampa Bay, Florida, in 1528, survived eight years of hand-to-mouth existence among the Indians of the South and Southwest, and who walked on foot across the plains to the Pacific Coast, arriving in Mexico in 1536. In 1542 he published an account of his adventures, and the present reading is based on Fanny Bandelier’s English translation of that text...

RESPECTABILITY, n. The offspring of a liaison between a bald head and a bank account. BEAUTY, n. The power by which a woman charms a lover and terrifies a husband. LITIGANT, n. A person about to give up his skin for the hope of retaining his bones. If these caustic definitions catch your fancy, you'd enjoy The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce. He was a columnist with the San Francisco News Letter, a weekly paper which was a business publication aimed at the corporate sector. However, it had a column entitled Town Crier which featured satirical asides and comments in a lighter vein...

Witty, opinionated alphabetical examples of what Bierce considered poor (American) English and advice on alternatives – entertaining, thought-provoking, occasionally outdated but so interesting to see how style and taste have changed.

At the outset of the American Civil War, [the writer Ambrose] Bierce enlisted in the Union Army's 9th Indiana Infantry Regiment....In February 1862 he was commissioned First Lieutenant, and served on the staff of General William Babcock Hazen as a topographical engineer, making maps of likely battlefields. Bierce fought at the Battle of Shiloh (April 1862), a terrifying experience that became a source for several later short stories and the memoir, "What I Saw of Shiloh". In June 1864, he sustained a serious head wound at the Battle of Kennesaw Mountain, and spent the rest of the summer on furlough, returning to active duty in September. He was discharged from the army in January 1865.

Known as the Godmother of Egyptology, Amelia Ann Blanford Edwards traveled through Egypt at a time when archeology was in its infancy in that country and literally anyone with a spade or trowel could go exploring through the magnificent, untouched ruins. She was one of a group of amazing Victorian women who ignored the repressive 19th century attitudes toward female scientists and defied society to follow their passion for history. A Thousand Miles up the Nile was first published in 1877. The title refers to the approximate distance from Alexandria to the Second Cataract of the Nile river, a journey that the author undertook over the course of a year in Egypt...

Amelia B. Edwards wrote this historical travelogue in in 1873. The book describes her travels through a relatively un-visited area in the South Tyrol district of Italy. The Dolomites are a part of that most famous of mountain chains, the Alps.In this book, the Writer and her friend and companion, L., travel from Southern Italy, having over-wintered there, to visit the Dolomite district. Her chatty style, dry sense of humor, accuracy of facts, and sympathy for humanity set her works apart. The slice of Victorian British life presented is quite captivating...

American Cookery, by Amelia Simmons, was the first known cookbook written by an American, published in 1796. Until this time, the cookbooks printed and used in what became the United States were British cookbooks, so the importance of this book is obvious to American culinary history, and more generally, to the history of America. The full title of this book was: American Cookery, or the art of dressing viands, fish, poultry, and vegetables, and the best modes of making pastes, puffs, pies, tarts, puddings, custards, and preserves, and all kinds of cakes, from the imperial plum to plain cake: Adapted to this country, and all grades of life. (Description from Wikipedia)

Praised by Oscar Wilde amongst other contemporaries, Amy Levy's first novel tells the story of the four Lorimer sisters, who decide to open their own photography business after the death of their father which has left them in poverty. The novel examines the opportunities and difficulties of urban life for the "New Woman" in the late nineteenth century. Not only was Levy unusual as a female novelist in this period, but she was also from an Anglo Jewish family. - Summary by Jane Gough

“In this book you will not find the stories of all God’s saints. I have gathered a few together, just as one gathers a little posy from a garden full of roses. But the stories I have chosen to tell are those that I hope children will love best to hear.” (excerpt from In God’s Garden by Amy Steedman)

This biography of the inventor James Watt covers his early years, successes and failures, and legacy.

This autobiography of Andrew Carnegie is a very well written and interesting history of one of the most wealthy men in the United states. He was born in Scotland in 1835 and emigrated to America in 1848. Among his many accomplishments and philanthropic works, he was an author, having written, besides this autobiography, Triumphant Democracy (1886; rev. ed. 1893), The Gospel of Wealth, a collection of essays (1900), The Empire of Business (1902), and Problems of To-day (1908)]. Although this autobiography was written in 1919, it was published posthumously in 1920.

A non-fictional account of Burke and Wills’s 1860 expedition to cross the Australian continent from south to north and then return. Containing many excerpts from the diaries and accounts of the explorers, this book was published the year after the expedition met its disastrous end.(description written by trioptimum)

A Short History of Scotland is a consise introduction to the history of Scotland from Roman times to the last Jacobite rebellion, written by the author of a much longer Scottish history.

This is a series of short messages written by the South African minister, Andrew Murray. They deal with the necessity and joy of surrendering our lives completely to God.

A book on the all importance of humility, how Jesus was humble, and how we also can become humble. Murray wrote “Without humility, there can be no true abiding in God’s presence or experience of His favor and the power of His spirit. Without it there can be no abiding faith or love or joy or strength.”

It is under a deep impression that the place and power of prayer in the Christian life is too little understood, that this book has been written. I feel sure that as long as we look on prayer chiefly as the means of maintaining our own Christian life, we shall not know fully what it is meant to be. But when we learn to regard it as the highest part of the work entrusted to us, the root and strength of all other work, we shall see that there is nothing that we so need to study and practise as the art of praying aright...

Andrew Murray describes the necessity and benefits of absolute obedience to God. He goes on to explain the way to achieve this level of obedience, which is required of all believers, and attainable through God’s provision.

If you were put on trial for being a Christian, would you be convicted? Christians have asked themselves this question, or ones like it, for millennia. In his book, The Deeper Christian Life, Andrew Murray helps us come to grips with those nagging insecurities in our Christian walk. A shallow relationship with God leads us down a road of doubt and insecurities. Can I be forgiven? How can I forgive? Murray tells us that we can go deeper in our relationship with God, and with that deeper relationship comes growing confidence and joy in the gospel. That joy springs from the knowledge of God's grace in forgiving us, and enables us to extend that grace to others in our lives.

Murray suggests that his devotional, The Lord's Table, is not meant to replace scripture, but rather to strengthen believers' appreciation of God's word. Murray's meditations provide a thoughtful guide for believers who desire to develop a deeper understanding of the Lord's Holy Supper. The devotional covers the week before, during, and after the Supper, and each entry is labeled with the day of the week so that readers can manage devotions with ease. Murray first explains how believers can prepare to receive God's blessing during the weeks before the Supper...

Andrew Murray's True Vine is a thirty-one day devotional focusing on Christ's Parable of the Vine and the Branches in John 15. The devotional for each day, though short, elaborates and expounds upon John 15, providing spiritual insight along the way. Murray repeats important themes--like abiding in Christ--throughout the different days. Noticing how they develop and grow with each successive read, countless small groups and individuals have found Murray's keen spiritual teachings fruitful. An excellent devotional, True Vine is recommended for daily spiritual nourishment.

Here is a book of devotions that will bring joy and strength. Its chapters provide vital keys to living and enjoying the Christian life. It covers important disciplines such as prayer, study, meditation and feeding on the Scriptures as a means of maintaining intimacy with God - without which our spiritual lives can all too easily become impoverished. Andrew Murray shows in this book a number of steps by which we can be wonderfully renewed in our inner life day by day.

In all the writings of the late nineteenth century minister and writer Andrew Murray, we see his passion for reality in the lives of Christian believers. In this series of addresses he explains how, in various areas of the spiritual life, one may grow in God and experience more of his power. In particular he shows the importance of Christ truly being given his rightful place in the believer’s life. There are chapters on: carnal Christians, the self life, waiting on God, entrance into rest, the...

Andy Adams worked as a cowboy on trail drives from Texas for eight years. This is an account of a drive when he was the foreman of a herd of Texas cattle being driven to Montana. Expect the same quality writing as found in other books by Adams.

The Lives of the Queens of England is a multi-volumed work attributed to Agnes Strickland, though it was mostly researched and written by her sister Elizabeth. These volumes give biographies of the queens of England from the Norman Conquest in 1066. Although by today's standards, it is not seen as a very scholarly work, the Stricklands used many sources that had not been used before.Volume one includes the biographies of Matilda of Flanders, Matilda of Scotland, Adelicia of Louvaine, Matilda of Boulogne and Eleanora of Aquitaine.(Introduction by Ann Boulais)

Consolation of Philosophy (Latin: Consolatio Philosophiae) is a philosophical work by Boethius written in about the year 524 AD. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West in medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great work that can be called Classical. Consolation of Philosophy was written during Boethius’ one year imprisonment while awaiting trial, and eventual horrific execution, for the crime of treason by Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great...

1862 Anna Leonowens accepted an offer made by the Siamese consul in Singapore, Tan Kim Ching, to teach the wives and children of Mongkut, king of Siam. The king wished to give his 39 wives and concubines and 82 children a modern Western education on scientific secular lines, which earlier missionaries’ wives had not provided. Leonowens sent her daughter Avis to school in England, and took her son Louis with her to Bangkok. She succeeded Dan Beach Bradley, an American missionary, as teacher to the Siamese court...

Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774-1824) was a German Augustinian nun who had visions about Christ's life and death. This book relates her visions regarding the Blessed Virgin Mary, from her marriage to St. Joseph to the events surrounding the birth of Christ.(Introduction by Ann Boulais)

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.

A collection of letters from Anne (MacLanahan) Grenfell, future wife of Sir Wilfred Grenfell, regarding her year of missionary service at the orphanage in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

In her autobiography, Annie Besant poignantly writes of her search for the truth of what she believed in, leaving Christianity behind to embrace Atheism, and ultimately finding her peace in Theosophy, which she became interested in after meeting Helena Blavatsky. She moved to India to better study Theosophical ideas and this is where she made her home until her death. She was a gifted orator and writer, often speaking and writing on her religious beliefs, as well as women's rights and social reform...

My Path to Atheism is a remarkable document in many ways, not least that it was written by a woman in Victorian England, not the most open free-thinking of societies, especially for women at that time. It needed a remarkable woman to write such a revolutionary and to 19th century minds, heretical document in a society where the Church had such a stronghold. Besant herself was originally married to a clergyman, but her increasingly anti-religious views and writings led to a legal separation. She went...

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!