Mencken sharpens his pen and in a collection of short essays delivers acerbic opinions on issues and persons of the time. Among his targets in this volume are critics, H.G. Wells Thorstein Veblen, Arnold Bennett, William Dean Howells, Irvin S. Cobb. Mencken's critiques are delivered against a background of his own well known ethnic, racial, religious, and sectional prejudices. Not for the faint of heart, Mencken's prickly, yet unapologetic, prose reveals a window into American attitudes at the time they were written and their influences on the larger American culture. - Summary by DrPGould

Radioisotopes in Medicine is an educational booklet published in 1966 as part of the Understanding the Atom series by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Written in clear language for the general public, the booklet covers the diagnostic and therapeutic uses of radioactive isotopes like technetium 99m and iodine 131.

Water: essential for life and in much of the world, we take it for granted. In this work, Jean Thompson explains various aspects of the water cycle in simple terms, for the benefit of young readers with enquiring minds. Listeners are referred to the text for the microphotographs described.

Haven't you always wondered how to properly accept a formal dinner invitation? Perhaps you have a débutante under your wing, in which case you need to make sure her appearance in society goes perfectly, to increase her chances of a brilliant match. And what exactly would be your duties as her chaperon? These and many other questions are expertly answered by Marion Harland in this little volume. - Summary by Carolin

A severe earthquake, centered in the vacation area of West Yellowstone, Montana, shook the ground and its inhabitants and visitors on August 17, 1959, at 11.37 pm. A mountainside fell, a lake formed, roads and houses disappeared, people were trapped, people died. The author of this narrative went to the area the day after the quake, took first-hand stories of the catastrophe, researched in the following months, and wrote this account within a year of the shaking. The printed source has many informative photographs. - Summary by David Wales

Understanding Climatic Change - A Program for Action is a 1975 report by the US Committee for the Global Atmospheric Research Program. Already at this time, it was understood that a climate change was taking place, and that it was possibly happening due to human influences. The report gives an overview of past climates, a projection of future climate; it talks about state-of-the-art simulations and lays out a plan for future research and action.

Subtitled, "A Cyclopaedia of the condition and earnings of those that will work, those that cannot work, and those that will not work." "The history of a people from the lips of the people themselves .. their labour, earnings, trials and sufferings, in their own unvarnished language, and to pourtray the condition of their homes and their families by personal observation of the places ..." "My earnest hope is that the book may serve to give the rich a more intimate knowledge of the sufferings, and the frequent heroism under those sufferings, of the poor ...

John Dewey, an early 20th Century American philosopher, psychologist, educational theorist saw Social Psychology as much a physical science as Biology and Chemistry. This project encompasses Part 1 of 4 of his book Human Nature and Conduct. Dewey's uses the word "HABIT" as a specialized catch-all word to describe how a person and his/her objective environment interact. This interaction is the basis for moral judgement. Dewey writes: "All habits are demands for certain kinds of activity; and they constitute the self.” In other places he also asserts that "Habits are Will." - Summary by William Jones, Soloist

An accessible, comprehensive summary of the science and art of forestry, from its ancient roots to its 20th century techniques . This book synthesizes forestry efforts and practices from around the globe, providing the reader with unique lens into the sociocultural, historic and, of course, economic processes of nearly every world region.

This book is composed of selections from Alexander Teixeira de Mattos’ Translation of Fabre’s “Souvenirs Entomologiques,” retold for children. It's made up of first-person narratives, and using his exceptional observation skills, gives us a close-up peep into the world of insects, including bees, wasps, worms, beetles, moths, and spiders, to name a few. When Fabre first published this work, as the Preface indicates, he was criticized by some scientists in his field for writing a scientific book that was "too interesting." - Summary by Devorah Allen

Translated from Italian, it delves into the physiology of love from a scientific standpoint, in beautiful writing.

This is a collection of short scientific articles on the study of volcanoes and related seismic activity published in Knowledge, A Monthly Record of Science between 1884-1917 - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

Eminent British botanist Agnes Arber provides an authoritative history of printed Herbals -- books widely used in early modern Europe to catalogue the uses of different kinds of plants. While Herbals often reflected pre-scientific and magical beliefs about the properties of plants, Arber's work reveals that they were also critical to the early development of botany and medicine as empirical sciences. A classic in the history of science. - Summary by Josh Leach

The 1873 edition of the autobiography of the founding genius of the "Greatest Show on Earth," P.T. Barnum. It details his life and business struggles up to the year 1872. Not only a showman and a museum operator, but an antislavery politician, Connecticut state legislator, Mayor of Bridgeport, Connecticut, and temperance lecturer, Barnum lays aside some of the gilding to provide his thoughts on his career, economics, how to make money, and other issues of the day. - Summary by DrPGould

Some men write their lives to save themselves from ennui, careless of the amount they inflict on their readers. Others write their personal history, lest some kind friend should survive them, and, in showing off his own talent, unwittingly show them up. Others, again, write their own life from a different motive—from fear that the vampires of literature might make it their prey. I have frequently had applications to write my life, both from my countrymen and from foreigners. Some caterers for the public offered to pay me for it...

Asa Gray was a highly-regarded botanist at Harvard University and a friend and collaborator of Charles Darwin. As a Christian, Gray was concerned with the disconnect developing through the nineteenth century between the growing understanding of the natural world and the traditional worldview assumed by orthodox Christianity. This book presents two lectures he gave to theology students at Yale College in which he argues that a disconnect is not inevitable, but that a Christian perspective can and should incorporate current understanding of the world provided by natural science. - Summary by BarryGanong

Botanical Piracy! A French botanist plots to steal red dye cochineal insects from Spanish Mexico and transplant them and their cacti hosts to the French Caribbean. The year is 1776. Nicolas-Joseph Thiéry de Menonville is a fast talker and a quick thinker. Botanist and physician by training, he insinuates his way from Port-au-Prince, first to Havana and then to the Mexican mainland on the ruse that he is searching for a botanical cure for gout. In Vera Cruz, however, his passport is confiscated, and the Viceroy orders him to leave Mexico on the first available ship...

On the Parts of Animals by Aristotle . The first book asks whether animals were designed or came into existence by chance. The remaining three books focus on particular examples of various animals and the functions of their organs. The translator William Ogle, who was both a medical doctor and classicist, presented Charles Darwin with a copy of this translation.

History and customs of the Irish and Ireland. A word of warning to the listener: The Wild Irishman contains the biased, uncomplimentary opinions of Englishman, Thomas Crosland. Remember this was written in the late 1800's and published in 1905. Crosland was hyper critical of Irishmen and women at a time when American cities often posted signs, "No Irish Need Apply." If you are Irish, as am I, try to not be overly offended or simply walk away. - Summary by John Brandon

Prior to the emergence of paleontology and comparative anatomy as scientific disciplines at the end of the 18th century, it was generally known that there were species of animals that had disappeared completely. The term "extinction" originally applied to the extinguishing of fires or erasing of one's debt. It was not until 1784 that the term extinction was used to denote the complete eradication of a species of living being. In 1901, Frederic A. Lucas penned an overview of vertebrate animals whose only evidence of being remained in fossil records. The book focuses primarily on vertebrate animals, from fish to mammals. - Summary by Jeffery Smith

Selections from the "Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany" by Hester Lynch Piozzi who, during her first marriage to Henry Thrale, was the hostess and friend of many of her famous contemporaries including Dr Johnson and Fanny Burney. The vivid and personal "Observations and Reflections" was first published in 1789. - Summary by barbara2

Full title is "The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, being a description of their sentiments and folklore, superstitions, symbolism, mysticism, use in medicine, protection, prevention, religion, and divination, crystal gazing, birthstones, lucky stones, and talismans, astral, zodiacal, and planetary." Just about everything you ever wanted to know about precious stones, aside from their formation, acquisition, and chemical composition. - Summary by TriciaG

A history of timekeeping from the stone age through to American mass production, covering timepieces from the sundial and water clock through the key inventions driving advances in the accuracy of clocks and watches in both Europe and America. The book was conceived and sponsored by the Ingersoll Family as a celebration of their then 25 years of watchmaking. - Summary by Chris Cartwright

Francis Galton, credited with the discovery of identification by fingerprinting, also took a long term interest in the study of biometrics. In this book, many different faculties, both observable and measurable are discussed in length and methods of collecting data suggested. In addition, casual observations from personal memoirs, and drawing similar cases from other reputable sources are also compared. A wide variety of topics are mentioned, including differences in appearance within family members, to subtle habits and emotional responses comparing humans and animals are mentioned in a series of chapter length essays. - Summary by Leon Harvey

One of the earlier works on brain science, relating what was then known or conjectured about the connection between the physical brain and the individual personality, including the ability of speech and language. As this is an early work , some of the information related is, of course, outdated; but much of it is still relevant today.

"In the following Letters I have endeavoured to exhibit in their true light the singular natural phenomena of which old superstition and modern charlatanism in turn availed themselves—to indicate their laws, and to develop their theory." In 14 letters, British physiologist Herbert Mayo is giving the reader an overview of popular superstitions of previous times, like vampirism, somnambulism or even ghost sightings, and exposing how in previous times they were treated with fear, ignorance and intolerance, often leading to crime, while he endeavours to give rational explanations for the phenomena with the goal to find treatments and cures for the afflicted. - Summary by Sonia

Are you interested in learning about climate change and its current and future effects on the United States? The Fourth National Climate Assessment – Volume II is a 2018 report written in non-technical language by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, a panel of independent experts, as mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. This report focuses on the human welfare, societal, and environmental elements of climate change and variability in the U.S., with particular attention paid to observed and projected risks and impacts...

John Kenlon became a New York City firefighter in 1887, and was appointed Fire Chief in 1911. In 1913, he wrote this authoritative book surveying the history of fire-fighting from ancient Rome to 20th-century New York. The first part of the book explores the evolution of fire-fighting techniques in various countries and the development of equipment and organization, and describes several famous historical fires and how they were fought. The remainder of the book discusses in greater detail some particular types of fires confronting an urban fire department in 1913, such as hotel, theater, factory, hospital, and school fires, sea port fires, and skyscraper fires...

In 1827 Thomas Southwood-Smith published The Use of the Dead to the Living, a pamphlet which argued that the current system of burial in the United Kingdom was a wasteful use of bodies that could otherwise be used for dissection by the medical profession. "If, by any appropriation of the dead, I can promote the happiness of the living, then it is my duty to conquer the reluctance I may feel to such a disposition of the dead, however well-founded or strong that reluctance may be". Southwood-Smith's lobbying helped lead to the 1832 Anatomy Act, the legislation which allowed the state to seize unclaimed corpses from workhouses and sell them to surgical schools...

This is a short booklet on science fact commissioned by the U. S. Energy Research and Development Administration . It tells the story of the origins of nuclear physics in terms understandable to an audience with minimal technical background. What were the steps through history - the discoveries that built upon one another - from alchemy to chemistry, physics, astronomy, mathematics, and quantum mechanics, that led to our understanding and harnessing nuclear energy? Asimov was a great writer of both science fact and fiction who wrote or edited more than 500 books, published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.

In this memoir, Meriel Buchanan links the history of Russia to powerful, lingering memories of her years living there. She was the daughter of the man who turned out to be the last British ambassador to Imperial Russia. As a young adult, in her role as the ambassador’s daughter, she had regular access to the court of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, providing her with unusual experiences and impressions. She describes first hand the sights, sounds, and some of the activities she remembers from this elevated and sheltered vantage point. The family left Russia in 1918, and the author’s memories are filled with nostalgia and longing for the Russia she experienced. - Summary by Jan M.

The Natural History of Pliny the Elder is one of the largest single works to have survived from the Roman Empire. The full work consists of 37 books, covering more than 20.000 topics ranging from astronomy and mathematics to botany and precious stones. The book became a model for later encyclopaedias and gives a fascinating overview of the state of scientific knowledge almost 2000 years ago. This version of the Natural History has been adapted for a younger audience. This first volume contains Book I and Book II out of a total of 9 books.