A short introductory book about atoms, subatomic particles and new physics theories.

'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.

Frederick Adams Woods examined the biographical records and family trees of the great dynasties of Europe, judging and comparing their moral standards and intellectual aptitude to their reputation as rulers. The summarised family histories are produced after a painstaking search including portrait galleries, family lineage, comparisons of reputation, and the origin of allegations of madness and moral bankruptcy, all collated within a single volume. - Summary by Leon Harvey

William H. Councill, former slave and contemporary of Booker T. Washington was founder of Huntsville Normal School, now Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Normal, Alabama. This short volume consists of short pieces of advice to the Negro workers of his time with some statistical information at the end. Councill reflects many of the attitudes and opinions of his time.

A young scholar, recently graduated from Princeton College, travels across the United States as a member of the working class, taking any job he could find, enduring hardships and struggling to make a living. He travelled mainly on foot, designing for himself a social experiment on experiencing different class and culture structures and the reality of working conditions at the end of the 19th century. This volume continues the story that began in the first volume , and spans the region from Illinois to California - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

Volume II of Roald Amundsen's The Northwest Passage. Roald Amundsen and six hearty seafarers in the tiny sloop Gjöa are the first to make the complete passage across the top of the North American continent from the Atlantic to the Pacific. With a Supplement by First Lieutenant Godfred Hansen, Vice Commander of the expedition. - Summary by Steven Seitel

Possibly the first book concerning the protective relays and schemes used in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electric power. While the technology has changed over the last century, incredibly much of the fundamental theory remains the same. - Summary by Rick Jay

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issues are topics from Bee-Culture in Cities to Queen Raising and Breeding. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The third volume of The Golden Bough. The term Taboo is one of the very few words which the English language has borrowed from the speech of savages. This volume examines the underlying moral code of many societies, both primitive and medieval, and with modern analogies. The reader is encouraged to contemplate the contradictions, inconsistencies, and absurdities, not merely between different people of different countries and ages, but also between similar people within the same countries. Frazer presents extensive evidence that the laws of morality slowly, but subtly, are in an ever changing state. - Summary by Leon Harvey

"The Greeks were the most intellectual people of the old world. … The study of Greek literature is therefore a proper element in a liberal education. The Greek language, naturally flexible and rich in poetical words, becomes in the hands of the great writers a medium of unequalled force, clearness, and adaptability, able to express as well the highest aspirations of the poet as the subtlest shades of philosophical argument or the most abstruse technicalities. The books of Greece have passed the critical selection of the ages, and the student, unencumbered by masses of inferior material, can approach the works of acknowledged masters, the true fountain-head of European culture...

An account of the expedition [of the U.S. Army] in pursuit of the hostile Chiricahua Apaches in the spring of 1883. 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. He was mostly free of the unfortunate disdain for Native Americans common in 19th century America. He was quite admiring of many aspects of the Native American. “… Bourke had the opportunity to witness every facet of life in the Old West—the battles, wildlife, the internal squabbling among the military, the Indian Agency, settlers, and Native Americans...

“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...

Lively descriptions of the people, places, and customs that the author encounters as he attempts to retrace the steps of the early Spanish conquistadores in the Americas: Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa, Coronado.

A Pictorial Record of Personal Experiences by Day and Night in the Great Metropolis, with hundreds of thrilling anecdotes and incidents, sketches of life and character, humorous stories, touching home scenes, and tales of tender pathos, drawn from the bright and shady sides of the great under world of New York. By Mrs. Helen Campbell, City Missionary and Philanthropist; Col. Thomas W. Knox, Author and Journalist; and Supt. Thomas Byrnes, Chief of NY Police and Detectives. With highly interesting descriptions of little known phases of New York life; and an account of Detective Byrnes' thirty years' experiences and reminiscences written by himself from his private diary...

An adventurer and explorer of no mean repute, Lieutenant Frederick Schwatka leads an expedition by mule train into the forbidding Sierra Madre mountains of Mexico to one of the richest silver mining regions in the world. He offers lively descriptions of the the unfamiliar flora and fauna of this often desolate region, of the cliff and cave dwellings inhabited and abandoned, and of the social customs of the various peoples he meets. He marvels at the unmatched running prowess of the Rarámuri Indians of the Barranca del Cobre--the famous Copper Canyon of Chihuahua State. He writes always with humor that keeps the narrative light and the reader smiling.

This is the first of two related Faraday projects. It is about Faraday and deals more with biographical references to Faraday, outlining the important junctures in his life. The second, On the Various Forces of Nature, consists of lectures by Faraday covering a non-mathematical survey of the fundamental forces of nature and some relationships among them. Future projects will feature the 19th century scientists upon whose shoulders Einstein stood while developing his Theory of Relativity, including Humboldt, Lorentz, Michelson, Morley, Curie and Eddington. Summary by William A Jones

A non-mathematical survey of the fundamental forces of nature and some relationships among them. This is a series of lectures aimed at young people. He starts off with the most fundamental and familiar forces of all: Gravity and Heat. Then by a progression of examples and experiments goes on to describe atomic/molecular adhesion in solids, liquids and gases, which he groups under the rubric of "Chemical Affinity". And, no collection of Faraday's theories could omit his discoveries in Electricity and Magnetism.

The author provides the listener with anecdotes from her life of her experiences with birds. She describes their habits and antics, their food favorites, their preferred nesting practices, and what can be done to encourage birds to become "neighbors". She also provides instructions on making a birdhouse.

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issues are topics from Management of Bees in Winter to Artificial Queens, and a special tribute to James T. Langstroth. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Ellen Key's 'The Woman movement' follows the development of the feminist movement striving towards a greater emancipation of women in the public sphere and overcoming the traditional perception of gendered activities. The Swedish feminist and this work combined with many more, served as a base for a lot of the 20th century feminist movements.

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

From the series, The Library of Romance, this book introduces the reader to the modern geology of the 1909, with topics that include the building and shaping of the earth, the action of weather, rivers, seas and ice on the earth, earthquakes and volcanoes, and, of course, dinosaurs and other extinct animals. - Summary by Ann Boulais

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.

This is a 1906 collection of three essays by men famously associated with The Grand Canyon: Charles A. Higgins, John Wesley Powell, and Charles F. Lummis. - Summary by david wales

This recording contains two original documents. 1) Life of James Mars, a Slave Born and Sold in Connecticut, by James Mars . James Mars was born in Connecticut in 1790 and spent the better part of his youth a slave working for various owners—once fleeing to the woods with his family to avoid being relocated to the South. At age twenty-five he became a free man and moved to Hartford, Connecticut, where he became a leader in the local African American community. His memoir is one of the more famous accounts of slave life in early New England...

Foster was a World War I veteran, world wanderer, journalist, embassy attaché, stoker on ships, miner, stowaway, bandit’s prisoner in Mexico, who wrote of Latin America and the Orient. He died an early death of pneumonia at his mother’s house in New York state. This 1924 book is a prime example of his witty travel writing and close observation. The New York Times reported that in 1919 he started travelling and for some ten years he seldom remained in one place.

This presents a summary of many of Hemholtz's areas of research. He investigated the workings of the brain in its appreciation of art and music, and also developed some of the first rigorous ideas of how our solar system formed itself. Then, he was a contributor to the new theories of Einstein's curved space-time universe, and lastly, worked with the nascent Quantum Theory. He lived one of the most productive eras of history. The intent of the series of project of which this book is the second part, is to get a double-barreled insight into the great 19th century scientists on whose shoulders Einstein stood in developing his Theory of Relativity...

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...

Among great technologic developments of the twentieth century has to be that of laser light with its myriad of applications in industry, communication, medicine and many other fields. As author Hal Hellman says in conclusion in this 1968 publication, “Indeed the most exciting probability of all is that lasers undoubtedly will change our lives in ways we cannot even conceive of now.” And, so has it been, and this treatise gives insight into the early days of the research and development of lasers. This booklet is part of the Understanding the Atom Series from the United States Atomic Energy Commission Division of Technical Information. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issue are included articles on wintering bees, foulbrood, introducing queens, hives, and reports from Vermont, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts, among other topics and correspondence. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Mark Twain illustrator Dan Beard recalled discussing McAllister’s book with Twain. “It was before Webster & Company failed that Ward McAllister’s book appeared, and when he sauntered into my studio one day, I said: ‘Mr. Clemens, have you read Ward McAllister’s book?’ ‘Yes; have you?’ he replied. ‘Indeed, I have. I have read it through several times, and intend to read it again. It is one of the most humorous books I ever read.’ ‘That’s so,’ said Mark, ‘that’s so...

Canadian zoologist, Austin L. Rand, takes a divergence from his scholarly works on ornithology to give us 60 entertaining sketches of bird life and lore from Birds Bathing to Courtship Feeding. From the author's introduction: "In looking back over the preparation of these sketches I feel as though each evening I'd gathered up the bits and pieces left over from the day's work and fashioned them into designs for my own amusement and the edification of my family. Truly it's as though I'd used stray feathers, fallen from the bird skins I'd handled, and fitted them together into something of wider interest than the original...

This booklet is part of the "Understanding the Atom Series" published by the Division of Technical Information of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission. From an introduction of atomic theory by the ancient Greeks through the development of the fission bomb, the author covers such areas as the discovery of the nucleus, the discovery of isotopes, fission and fusion including a chronology of atomic theory to 1963, and the development of the Atomic Energy Commission.

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

This is one of the publications in the “Understanding the Atom” Series from the U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. Topics covered include an overview of the ocean, the role of nuclear energy, research project, oceanic instruments, nuclear powered vessels, desalination, and radiation preservation of seafood. - Summary by Larry Wilson

"Dead men tell no tales" was a common adage before the days of forensic science. In this book, the well-known evangelist and scientist uses Egyptology and archaeology to counter the argument in the investigation of Bible lore.. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

The progress of astronomy from age to age has been far from uniform—rather by leaps and bounds: from the earliest epoch when man's planet earth was the center about which the stupendous cosmos wheeled, for whom it was created, and for whose edification it was maintained—down to the modern age whose discoveries have ascertained that even our stellar universe, the vast region of the solar domain, is but one of the thousands of island universes that tenant the inconceivable immensities of space...

This work describes conditions and forces the black population of the South faced after freedom was brought by the Civil War. As Sinclair puts it at the outset of his book, ". . . the chief efforts of Southern leadership have been to curtail the freedom of the colored people, to minimize their liberty and reduce them as nearly as possible to the condition of chattel slaves." - Summary by Jim Locke

A charming and informative volume about the trees one might find in one's backyard and farther environs. A touch of science and a love of beauty are displayed here. - Summary by KevinS

Another in the series "Little Masterpieces of Science" edited by George Iles, Mind is a collection of articles and book chapters that provide insight into the study of the workings of the mind the nineteenth century. - Summary by J.M. Smallheer

Nine lectures on a variety of biological subjects delivered at The Marine Biological Laboratories of Wood's Holl in the summer session of 1895. - Summary by J.M. Smallheer Please note that the Tables in Lecture 9 are not included in the recording. Please refer to the text.

From 1880-1883, the author undertook an academic expedition to Australia, with the purpose of recording zoological phenomena. While there, he developed an interest in the indigenous people and, unlike contemporary studies, did not restrict himself to appearance and outward behavior, but rather looked at the social, economic and anthropological. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Puerto Rico was acquired by the United States in 1898 following the Spanish-American War. This volume was written in 1903 as Book XII in the series “The World and Its Peoples.” The series was intended for young people, but this work would be fun listening for those of any age interested in what Puerto Rico was like in the early 20th century. Intended to familiarize people in the U.S. with their new territory, topics include the island’s people, geography, climate, flora, fauna, and schools. There is also some coverage of Puerto Rican history and the new government established under U.S. rule.

It should go without saying that a nation's resources of intellectual talent are among the most precious it will ever have. The study of the lives of gifted children initiated by Professor Lewis M. Terman, began in 1921, and has become the longest running longitudinal study in the field of psychology. Published over 5 volumes, the study is of historical significance to the field of educational science as well as psychology, for providing an insight into the nature of intelligence and achievement, but also challenging stereotypes of the personality of the gifted...

This is a book in the "Understanding the Atom Series".from the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The authors explore general cell theory, radioisotopes as "biologic detectives," the basics of DNA and RNA in cell structure, protein synthesis and the role of radioisotopes in research. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The subject of this little book [1923] is of general interest to people who are acquainted with things Chinese. The dragon has played a large part in Chinese thought through four thousand and more years…. The author is peculiarly fitted to undertake this piece of work. He was born in China and speaks the Chinese language as a native. Thus, he has had the first-hand knowledge and the language to help him in his study. He has been studying on the subject of the dragon for fourteen years. In this time, he has traveled over more than one half the number of provinces of China…...

"THE STRANGEST THINGS IN THE WORLD - A Book About Extraordinary Manifestations of Nature" This title sums up the wonderful line up in this book. Short pieces about the strange and often bewildering things that occur in our world, from the insect that is born pregnant, to the fearsome poison arrow frog and about 170 others. If you like odd facts and weird plants and animals, this collection will delight you. So pick something interesting and enjoy reading it. The author is one of the world’s best-known and most respected science writers...

The ABC of Relativity clearly and engagingly explains Einstein's Theory of Relativity to the layperson. It is considered to be a significant contribution to the popularization of science. Its author, Bertrand Russell, was an acclaimed British mathematician, philosopher and logician. Please note that in a few of the chapters, diagrams are included which clarify the author's discourse. The listener may wish to consult a published text to refer to these diagrams.

The American Bee Journal is the “oldest bee paper in America established in 1861 devoted to scientific bee-culture and the production and sale of pure honey. Published every Wednesday, by Thomas G. Newman, Editor and Proprietor” In this issues are topics including Foul Brood and Its Propagation, Wintering Bees in the Cellar, Mailing Queen-Bees Long Distances, and a biography of Franklin Wilcox. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Hawai'i: land of wonder and beauty and a culture rich in history and mythology. Dr. Westervelt settled in Hawai'i as a young man and collected stories and myths from his adopted home. Here we have a collection dedicated to the largest city, Honolulu. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Movement of Animals begins with a discussion of the physics of motion and asks whether God, the Unmoved Mover, exists outside of our Universe. Progression of Animals asks why animals have the parts they do and to what end these parts are possessed. - Summary by Geoffrey Edwards

Sir John Murray, considered to be the father of modern oceanography, discusses the variations in the depths of oceans, and the methods and instruments used to measure such depths. He discusses many properties of oceanic waters including salinity, compressibility, pressure, colour, viscosity, and the presence of dissolved gases. The author addresses changes in density of water and its impact on the motion of water while describing ocean currents. He gives details of a variety of marine organisms based on the ocean depths at which they are found...

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

This is a book in the "Understanding the Atom Series" from the Division of Technical Information, U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. The authors discuss topics of The Machinery of Inheritance, Mutations, Radiation, Dose and Consequences. - Summary by Larry Wilson

The Skies and the Earth is another in the series Little Masterpieces of Science edited by George Iles and published in 1902. It includes essays on the Sun, Astronomy, Geological Change on Earth, Rivers, the Sea and Earthquakes and Volcanoes by eminent scientists of the 19th Century. - Summary by J. M. Smallheer

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

American journalist H.L. Mencken’s Notes On Democracy was originally published in 1926, yet is still relevant almost 100 years later. Mencken has proposed some succinct and satirical definitions of democracy, such as, “Democracy is the theory that the common people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.” And, “Democracy is the art and science of running the circus from the monkey house.” One predictable result of democracy, Mencken explains, is that the professional politician, who’s objective is always the job, and not the principle, is in a constant struggle for office and its rewards...

American naturalist, Winthrop Packard, takes us on a journey among the wild woods and ponds alerting us to their many inhabitants. He points out the birds, hornets, muskrat and mink and their habitat, particularly during the New England winter, with free-flowing narrative that is both informative and entertaining, sometimes dramatic and sometimes poetic. - Summary by Larry Wilson

From the series, The Library of Romance, this book introduces the reader to the modern concepts of electricity. The author discusses how man came to know about electricity, and how it powers the world of 1910.

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...