Non-fiction
Showing 101–140 of 140 results
Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 077
Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. President Theodore Roosevelt, in a 1903 speech, declared that “The future welfare of our nation depends upon the way in which we can combine…decency and strength,” and opined that being “loose and foul of tongue” was incompatible with good citizenship. Personal and public morality, ethical and religious questions figure in several vol. 077 recordings: (Negro Slavery in Wisconsin, Russo-Japanese Agreement Concerning Korea, Government by the Brewers, My Cases of Old Sermons, The Dilemma of Determinism, How Religion May be an Embodiment of Reason, The Epistle to Diognetus; Tetzel’s Theses on Indulgences, and two selections on Kierkegaard). Serious students of literature will relish Literary History of the Arabs. Nature and travel enthusiasts will be informed by The Bittern in the Norfolk Broads, Montenegro: The Smallest Capital in Europe, Ten Types of Clouds, and Controlling Japanese Beetles. Finally, for pure pleasure, indulge in The Candy Box! (Summary by Sue Anderson)
Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 079
“It was about the month of May…that I received information …that two photographs of fairies had been taken in the North of England under circumstances which seemed to put fraud out of the question.” (Arthur Conan Doyle 1920). Differing foundational beliefs and the varied ways men and women seek truth, whether through science, faith, philosophic speculation or political involvement, are highlighted in the selections for vol 079: The Cottingley Fairies; Scientific Ghosts; Matter and Memory; A Village Discussion; The Early Narratives of Genesis; The Connection Between Church and State; The Prince; Miss Morrison’s First Visit to the Petit Trianon; The Scientific Work of Miss N.M. Stevens; Homicide; Religion and Philosophy in Germany; The Public Bath Movement; The Right to Work; and Rivers of the Nameless Dead. People and places are the subject of The Pinehurst Tea Gardens; Sights and Tastes in Tripoli; and William Coppin and Marine Salvage. For respite, there are essays featuring nature and solitude: In the Christmas Woods and A Lazy Morning. Finally, cats win out, when governor Adlai Stevenson vetoes a legislative proposal banning roaming felines in Illinois. Summary by Sue Anderson
Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 080
Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. “Not one of us actually thinks for himself, or in any orderly and scientific manner. The pressure of environment, of mass ideas, of the socialized intelligence… is too enormous to be withstood.” (H. L. Mencken, 1919) The individual and society were central to several vol. 080 reads: The Genealogy of Etiquette; A Lounge on the Lawn; Alexander Pushkin; Princess Zizianoff; The Hanseatic League; and The Limits of Atheism. Science and the inventive mind were covered in “On the Science of Experiments; Coffey’s Science of Logic; Medicine and It’s Subjects; How a Fast Train is Run; and The Telephone. Travel and customs were explored in Rupert Brooke & Skyros; Lundy Island; and An Unfamiliar Naples. Nature studies included Wildflowers of the Farm; Birds in the Calendar; Trees in Landscape Painting, and A Tame Rook. Finally, a dog’s life received favorable comparison with our own in The Superior Animal. Summary by Sue Anderson The authorship of Lundy Island, originally ascribed to Anonymous has been determined through genealogical research to be Amelia Ann Heaven, a member of the family which owned the island from 1834 to 1918. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundy Roger Bacon’s On the Science of Experiments was translated by Andrew George Little (1863-1945)
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 (Save the Redwoods; We Are Going to be Inspected; Along the Florida Coast; The Red Fox; and The World as Known to the Ancients). 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. James Hazen Hyde’s Costume Ball showcases hubris. On a lighter note, are Robert Benchley’s Bicycling the New Craze, and Call for Mr. Kenworthy; and Oscar Wilde’s An American Invasion. Summary by Sue Anderson
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: (The Equality of Inertial and Gravitational Mass; The Machine That Thinks; Rocks For Homes; Ottawa Illinois Radiation Area; Florence Nightingale to Her Nurses; Cincinnati’s “Old Cunny; and Buck v. Bell). This Troubled World, a 1938 essay by Eleanor Roosevelt, is joined by others with a sociological focus: (The Graves of the Fallen; The American Indian in the Great War (1921); A Letter to a Hindu: The Subjection of India (1908); and Not Revolution, but Evolution). Rational thought is explored in both philosophic and religious contexts (Ascending Forms and Powers; The Four Gospels from a Lawyer’s Standpoint). Foibles and quibbles get their due (Mr. Flannery Finds Himself; On Being Bored). The collection is then rounded out with a history of Danzig and letters relating to the Hamilton-Burr duel. Summary by Sue Anderson
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 (1912). 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. Political history receives scrutiny in Some Materials and a Possibility; The House Famine; Cracow; The Dutch East India Company; and Across Africa by Air and Rail. The art of Japanning illuminates an ancient craft. Literature, by Irvin Cobb, is welcome humor. And for hungry souls, there are recipes for ice cream and for Army chow! Summary by Sue Anderson.
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 (Thomas Cole); an after-dinner speech (Mark Twain); 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. The 1918 Influenza Epidemic mirrors today’s Covid quarantine and mask requirements; while virtual adventure beckons in K?nigstein Fortress; an Equatorial Chinese Wedding; Nellie Bly; and An Humane Skeleton of Extraordinary Size. Finally, acts of heroism are celebrated in A Pioneer Girl and in Poland’s Tadeusz Ko?ciuszko. (Summary by Sue Anderson)
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 Li?ge, who vanquished Sir Radus’ castle, and Simon Pokagon’s The Red Man’s Rebuke. Major moments in U.S. history are visited in the Civil War Battle of Chickamauga and the Great Chicago Fire. An oft forgotten player in history, the mule, is not neglected, nor are the small turning points along the road of life, epitomized by a New England farm auction. For those in search of humor, there is The Senator’s Offer and The Proper Way to Sit. Armchair travelers can visit The Old Town of Edinburgh. And, for the weary, there is a monograph On Being Tired. Summary by Sue Anderson
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 (Stewed Eels) the existence of the supernatural (Mayo v. Satan; Previsionary Dream); slavery (The Constitution and the Slave; A Scrap of Curious History); peace and war (Bumping into the Bolshevists; Russians as I Knew Them; Bogdan Chmielnicki; Armistice; International Peace) and culture (Who Thinks Abstractly; Apollo or Dionysus; Landscape Painting; the College Glee Club; Tagore’s Reminiscences; and Frances Burnett). Rounding out the volume are a survey of Martinique, and a medical treatise on the Organs of the Human Voice. (Summary by Sue Anderson)
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 (Sim?n Bol?var; Jos? de San Mart?n; Booker T. Washington; Ishi, the last Yana Indian); from literature (Political Naturalism in England; Editorial Prejudice Against the Occult; Barbara Frietchie); from journalists, activists, and the opinionated (America and the English Tradition; Interned by the Bolshevists; The Cholera; Chimney Sweeping; Diet & Hygiene; Progress in Dairy Farming; Concerning Tobacco; Beer & Cider), and from nature (Duck Hawks of Taughannock; Sponges & Sponge Fisheries; The Grand Canyon; and Social Wasps Polistes). Summary by Sue Anderson
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. Francois Xavier, and The Declaration of Independence.” For nature lovers, there are Birds as Flying Machines and Weather Prophets in Furs and Feathers. Scenic sites and history feature in Caerhays, Cornwall; and Caerhays Castle Excursion; while old-time glass making methods are explained in Clay Melting Pots. Summary by Sue Anderson
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 (Racial Geography, Airmail Pilots, The Skeleton in the Closet, On Noise, Progressive Party Platform, Impeachment of President Andrew Johnson, Haroun Al-Raschid, Plea for Atheism, Cry of the Children, Address to Medical Students, The Brotherhood of the Kingdom, Fallacy of Success, and Carranza’s Tragic Flight). Broadening the gaze are selections on science, poetry, myth, art, and imaginative writing (Evolution of the Stars, Solar Myths, Landscape Painting, Robert Burns, and Algeron Blackwood). Summary by Sue Anderson
The 9/11 Commission Report
9/11 Commission Report, formally titled Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, is the official report of the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks. It was prepared by the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (informally sometimes known as the “9/11 Commission” or the “Kean/Zelikow Commission”) at the request of the President of the United States and Congress. The commission convened on November 26, 2002 (441 days after the attack) and their final report was issued on July 22, 2004.
The A to Zed Collection Vol. 001
A collection of pieces, both fiction and non-fiction, that have as its subject a word beginning with a specific letter of the English alphabet. Subjects can range from coffee to tea, animals to vampires, law to emotions.
The Advance of Science in the Last Half-Century
Thomas H. Huxley, an English biologist and essayist, was an advocate of the theory of evolution and a self-proclaimed agnostic. A talented writer, his essays helped to popularize science in the 19th century, and he is credited with the quote, “Try to learn something about everything and everything about something.” In The Advance of Science in the Last Half Century, he presents a summary of the major developments in Physics, Chemistry and Biology during the period 1839-1889 and their impact on society, within the historical context of philosophical thought and scientific inquiry going back to Aristotle. Huxley?s clear and readable prose makes this subject equally enjoyable for both the student of scientific history and the casual listener alike. (Summary by J. M. Smallheer)
The Adventures of a Grain of Dust
This charming book for children is full of interesting facts about all sorts of plants, insects, birds and animals and how they all help to enrich the soil for farmers – each in its own special way. Join our narrator, The Grain of Dust on a fascinating journey around the planet to meet them. “I don’t want you to think that I’m boasting, but I do believe I’m one of the greatest travellers that ever was; and if anybody, living or dead, has ever gone through with more than I have I’d like to hear about it. Not that I’ve personally been in all the places or taken part in all the things I tell in this book?I don’t mean to say that?but I do ask you to remember how long it is possible for a grain of dust to last, and how many other far-travelled and much-adventured dust grains it must meet and mix with in the course of its life. …Finally, if what we call flesh and blood can think and talk, why not a grain of dust? In fact, what is flesh and blood but dust come back to life? Says the poet?and the poets know: ‘The very dust that blows along the street Once whispered to its love that life is sweet.’ You see it’s as likely a thing as could happen?this whole story.” Summary by J. M. Smallheer with quotes from the Preface of the book
The Age of Reason
The Age of Reason: Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology, a deistic treatise written by eighteenth-century British radical and American revolutionary Thomas Paine, critiques institutionalized religion and challenges the inerrancy of the Bible. Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in America, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. British audiences, however, fearing increased political radicalism as a result of the French revolution, received it with more hostility. The Age of Reason presents common deistic arguments; for example, it highlights the corruption of the Christian Church and criticizes its efforts to acquire political power. Paine advocates reason in the place of revelation, leading him to reject miracles and to view the Bible as an ordinary piece of literature rather than as a divinely-inspired text. Yet, The Age of Reason is not atheistic: it promotes natural religion and argues for a creator-God. (Summary by Wikipedia)
The Age of Reason (version 2)
The Age of Reason; Being an Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology is a pamphlet, written by a British and American revolutionary Thomas Paine. The Age of Reason challenges institutionalized religion and challenges the legitimacy of the Bible, the central sacred text of Christianity. Published in three parts in 1794, 1795, and 1807, it was a bestseller in the United States, where it caused a short-lived deistic revival. Part 1 was written sometime in 1793, and attacks the concepts of divine revelation and inspiration. He urged his readers to employ reason over revelation. Part 2 was written either during or shortly after his confinement in a French prison in 1794. In Part 2, Paine attacks the reliability of the Bible and points out numerous absurdities and contradictions. Part 3 was written in the United States sometime around 1800 but he delayed publication until 1807 for fears of violent backlash. Part 3 is an examination and rejection of the claims of prophecies concerning Jesus Christ. Although these arguments were commonly known amongst the educated elite, Paine wrote in simple and irreverent prose that was easily accessible to a mass audience. Paine argued against religion as it is revealed in the Bible, but he argued just as strongly for a Deistic religion and a Creator of Reason. This LibriVox recording of The Age of Reason is taken from Richard Carlile?s anthology of Paine?s writings, published in 1818. Carlile charged one shilling and sixpence for the work, and the first run of 1,000 copies sold out in a month. He immediately published a second edition of 3,000 copies. In 1819, Carlile was found guilty of blasphemy and seditious libel and sentenced to three years in Dorchester Gaol with a fine of ?1,500. The prosecutions surrounding the printing of The Age of Reason in Britain continued for thirty years after its initial release and encompassed numerous publishers as well as over a hundred booksellers. (Summary by JoeD and Wikipedia)
The Alhambra: A Series Of Tales And Sketches Of The Moors And Spaniards
This is a collection of essays, verbal sketches, and stories by Washington Irving. Irving lived at the Alhambra Palace while writing some of the material for his book. In 1828, Washington Irving traveled from Madrid, where he had been staying, to Granada, Spain. At first sight, he described it as “a most picturesque and beautiful city, situated in one of the loveliest landscapes that I have ever seen.” He immediately asked the then-governor of the historic Alhambra Palace as well as the archbishop of Granada for access to the palace, which was granted because of Irving’s celebrity status. Aided by a 35-year old guide named Mateo Ximenes, Irving was inspired by his experience to write Tales of the Alhambra. Throughout his trip, he filled his notebooks and journals with descriptions and observations though he did not believe his writing would ever do it justice. He wrote, “How unworthy is my scribbling of the place.” A commemorative plaque in Spanish at the Alhambra reads, “Washington Irving wrote his Tales of Alhambra in these rooms in 1829”. The book was instrumental in reintroducing the Alhambra to Western audiences. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)
The 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. (Summary by Betty B)
The Amateur Emigrant
In July 1879, Robert Louis Stevenson left Scotland to meet his future wife in her native California. Leaving by ship from Glasgow, Scotland, he determined to travel in steerage class to see how the working classes fared. At the last minute he was convinced by friends to purchase a ticket one grade above the lowest price, for which he was later thankful after seeing the conditions in steerage, but he still lived among the ‘lower’ classes. His comments on the experience make interesting reading. His father however was so shocked at the thought of his son associating with people ‘beneath him’ that the work was not published for a number of years, (Summary by annise)
The American Crisis aka “The Crisis”
A 13 pamphlet series by 18th century Enlightenment philosopher/author Thomas Paine, published between 1776 to 1783 during and immediately following the American Revolution, gathered into one volume in 1882 by Moncure D. Conway. Each essay, plus 2 inserts, bolstered the morale of the American colonists to fight hard for their independence, appealed to the English to support the colonist’s cause, clarified the issues at stake, and denounced any type of negotiated peace. Replete with quotable quotes, the first pamphlet, Crisis I, begins with the now-familiar words “THESE are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman.” Paine, an Englishman living in the colonies, signed his pamphlets anonymously as “Common Sense.” ( Michele Fry)
The Book of Divine Consolation of the Blessed Angela of Foligno
The Blessed Angela of Foligno, T.O.S.F., (c. 1248 ? 4 January 1309) was a Christian author, Franciscan tertiary and mystic. She was noted not only for her spiritual writings, but also for founding a religious community which refused to accept becoming an enclosed religious order that it might continue her vision of caring for those in need. The Divine Consolation is divided into three treatises. In the first, Blessed Angela talks about her conversion. The second is her teachings. And in the third treatise, she shares her visions of Consolation, the Passion of Christ, the Sacrament of the Altar, and of the Blessed Virgin Mary. (Summary by Wikipedia and Ann Boulais)
The Book of Famous Sieges
History is dominated by war, battles, and sieges. Our history books are full of these. But history books usually don’t explain sieges in such an accessible and at times entertaining way as Tudor Jenks manages in this 1909 volume. The text and explanations are directed at children, but interested adults will profit from them in the same way. – Summary by Carolin
The Book of Life
Faith and reason, love and virtue, morality and mortality! In these two short volumes the famous novelist, essayist, and playwright, Upton Sinclair, confided his most prized worldly wisdom for generations to come. His kind and witty personal advice both provokes and enlightens page by page. (Summary by Rom Maczka)
The Book of Tea
The Book of Tea was written by Okakura Kakuzo in the early 20th century. It was first published in 1906, and has since been republished many times. – In the book, Kakuzo introduces the term Teaism and how Tea has affected nearly every aspect of Japanese culture, thought, and life. The book is noted to be accessible to Western audiences because though Kakuzo was born and raised Japanese, he was trained from a young age to speak English; and would speak it all his life, becoming proficient at communicating his thoughts in the Western Mind. In his book he elucidates such topics as Zen and Taoism, but also the secular aspects of Tea and Japanese life. The book emphasizes how Teaism taught the Japanese many things; most importantly, simplicity. Kakuzo argues that this tea-induced simplicity affected art and architecture, and he was a long-time student of the visual arts. He ends the book with a chapter on Tea Masters, and spends some time talking about Sen no Rikyu and his contribution to the Japanese Tea Ceremony. (Summary from Wikipedia)
The Book of Tea (Version 2)
The Book of Tea is as much about philosophy, religion and art as it is about a drink made with dried leaves in boiling water. It traces the development of tea into teaism. The author?s first paragraph summarizes the whole book: ?Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism–Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts of everyday existence. It inculcates purity and harmony, the mystery of mutual charity, the romanticism of the social order. It is essentially a worship of the Imperfect, as it is a tender attempt to accomplish something possible in this impossible thing we know as life.? The author shows that the philosophy of Teaism, which was developed from Japanese Zen Buddhist teachings, actually has deeper roots in Chinese Confucianism and Taoism as well. After its publication in 1906 The Book of Tea provided a window into Japanese culture, and furthered a better understanding and appreciation of the philosophy behind minimalism in Japanese art, architecture, design and living. (Summary by CliveCatterall)
The Book of the Bush
“While the world was young, nations could be founded peaceably. There was plenty of unoccupied country, and when two neighbouring patriarchs found their flocks were becoming too numerous for the pasture, one said to the other: “Let there be no quarrel, I pray, between thee and me; the whole earth is between us, and the land is watered as the garden of Paradise. If thou wilt go to the east, I will go to the west; or if thou wilt go to the west, I will go to the east.” So they parted in peace. (Excerpt)
The Book of the National Parks
Robert Sterling Yard was an American writer, journalist, and wilderness activist. Born in Haverstraw, New York, Yard graduated from Princeton University and spent the first twenty years of his career in the editing and publishing business. In 1915, he was recruited by his friend Stephen Mather to help publicize the need for an independent national park agency. Their numerous publications were part of a movement that resulted in legislative support for a National Park Service (NPS) in 1916. Yard worked to promote the national parks as well as educate Americans about their use. Creating high standards based on aesthetic ideals for park selection, he also opposed commercialism and industrialization of what he called “America’s masterpieces”. In 1935, he became one of the eight founding members of The Wilderness Society and acted as its first president from 1937 until his death eight years later. Yard is now considered an important figure in the modern wilderness movement. In the preface to this book, published in 1919, he writes, “In offering the American public a carefully studied outline of its national park system, I have two principal objects. The one is to describe and differentiate the national parks in a manner which will enable the reader to appreciate their importance, scope, meaning, beauty, manifold uses and enormous value to individual and nation. The other is to use these parks, in which Nature is writing in large plain lines the story of America’s making, as examples illustrating the several kinds of scenery, and what each kind means in terms of world building; in other words, to translate the practical findings of science into unscientific phrase for the reader’s increased profit and pleasure, not only in his national parks but in all other scenic places great and small.” (summary from Wikipedia)
The Consolation of Philosophy
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. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome and was brought down by treachery. It was from this experience he was inspired to write a philosophical book from prison reflecting on how a lord’s favor could change so quickly and why friends would turn against him. It has been described as ?by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen.? The Consolation of Philosophy stands, by its note of fatalism and its affinities with the Christian doctrine of humility, midway between the heathen philosophy of Seneca the Younger and the later Christian philosophy of consolation represented by Thomas Aquinas. The book is heavily influenced by Plato and his dialogues (as was Boethius himself). (Summary from Wikipedia)
The Constitution of the United States of America, 1787
This 1787 document defines the rights and responsibilities of federal government of the United States of America.
The Critique of Practical Reason
The Critique of Practical Reason (Kritik der praktischen Vernunft) is the second of Immanuel Kant’s three critiques, first published in 1788. It follows on from his Critique of Pure Reason and deals with his moral philosophy. The second Critique exercised a decisive influence over the subsequent development of the field of ethics and moral philosophy, becoming the principle reference point for ethical systems that focus on the rightness or wrongness of actions themselves, as opposed to the rightness or wrongness of the consequences of those actions. Subsequently termed ?deontological ethics?, Kant?s ethical system also laid the groundwork of moral absolutism, the belief that there are absolute standards against which moral questions can be judged, and that certain actions are right or wrong, devoid of the context of the act. (Summary by Wikipedia and Ticktockman)
The Critique of Pure Reason
The Critique of Pure Reason, first published in 1781 with a second edition in 1787, has been called the most influential and important philosophical text of the modern age. Kant saw the Critique of Pure Reason as an attempt to bridge the gap between rationalism (there are significant ways in which our concepts and knowledge are gained independently of sense experience) and empiricism (sense experience is the ultimate source of all our concepts and knowledge) and, in particular, to counter the radical empiricism of David Hume (our beliefs are purely the result of accumulated habits, developed in response to accumulated sense experiences). Using the methods of science, Kant demonstrates that though each mind may, indeed, create its own universe, those universes are guided by certain common laws, which are rationally discernible. (Summary by Ticktockman)
The Facts of Reconstruction
After the American Civil War, John R. Lynch, who had been a slave in Mississippi, began his political career in 1869 by first becoming Justice of the Peace, and then Mississippi State Representative. He was only 26 when he was elected to the US Congress in 1873. There, he continued to be an activist, introducing many bills and arguing on their behalf. Perhaps his greatest effort was in the long debate supporting the Civil Rights Act of 1875 to ban discrimination in public accommodations. In 1884 Lynch was the first African American nominated after a moving speech by Theodore Roosevelt to the position of Temporary Chairman of the Republican National Convention in Chicago, Illinois. During the Spanish-American War of 1898, he was appointed Treasury Auditor and then Paymaster under the Republicans. In 1901, he began serving with the Regular Army with tours of duty in the United States, Cuba, and the Philippines. Lynch retired from the Army in 1911, then married Cora Williams. They moved to Chicago, where he practiced law. He also became involved in real estate. After his death in Chicago 1939 at the age of 92, he was buried with military honors in Arlington National Cemetery. He was entitled to this as a Congressman and veteran. After the turn of the century, Lynch wrote a book, The Facts of Reconstruction, and several articles criticizing the then-dominant Dunning School historiography. Dunning and followers had emphasized the views of former slave owners and routinely downplayed any positive contributions of African Americans during Reconstruction, as well as suggesting they could not manage any political power. Lynch argued that blacks had made substantial contributions during the period. Since he participated directly in Reconstruction-era governments, Lynch’s book is considered a primary source in study of the period. (Introduction by Guero and Wikipedia.)
The Fairy Tales of Science
This book, written in the mid 19th century and illustrated by Charles H. Bennett, provides an entertaining introduction to topics in science for children. In each chapter, the author uses a popular myth or fairy tale to lay the groundwork for an equally fascinating “fairy tale of science” full of interesting facts and real life examples. (Summary by J. M. Smallheer)
The Faith of Our Fathers
The Faith of Our Fathers: A Plain Exposition and Vindication of the Church Founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ is a book published in 1876 by archbishop James Gibbons, which became a best-selling conversion manual in the United States, and by 1980 was in its 111th printing. (From the preface) ?The object of this little volume is to present in a plain and practical form an exposition and vindication of the principal tenets of the Catholic Church. It was thought sufficient to devote but a brief space to such Catholic doctrines and practices as are happily admitted by Protestants, while those that are controverted by them are more elaborately elucidated… …As his chief aim has been to bring home the truths of the Catholic faith to our separated brethren, who generally accept the Scripture as the only source of authority in religious matters, he has endeavored to fortify his statements by abundant reference to the sacred text. He has thought proper, however, to add frequent quotations from the early Fathers, whose testimony, at least as witnesses of the faith of their times, must be accepted even by those who call in question their personal authority.? (Summary from Wikipedia with quotes from the preface of this volume.)
The Feast of St. Friend
In The Feast of St. Friend, a Christmas book, Arnold Bennett shares his views on Christmas as the season of goodwill. As always, Bennett’s writing includes some thought-provoking ideas liberally spiced with his wry sense of humour, and as always too, you can barely believe it was written so long ago. This was published exactly 100 years ago, in 1911. (Introduction by Ruth Golding)
The Mentor 1
The Mentor Association was established to increase interest and knowledge among the public in the areas of art, literature, science, nature, history and travel. The association published a magazine twice monthly, each dealing with a different topic and often written by a recognized authority of the day. They were easy to read, visually appealing and affordable. This collection includes selections from issues dating from 1913-1919. – Summary by Lynne Thompson
The Mentor 2
The Mentor Association was established to increase interest and knowledge among the public in the areas of art, literature, science, nature, history and travel. The association published a magazine twice monthly, each dealing with a different topic and often written by a recognized authority of the day. They were easy to read, visually appealing and affordable. This collection includes selections from issues dating from 1913-1919. – Summary by Lynne Thompson
The Scrap Book (volume 1) Sampler
18 works — two non-fic articles & one short fiction or poetry each — from issues March, April, May, June, July, & August 1906 of The Scrap Book, Volume 1, edited by Frank Munsey. As he states in the editorial of the April 1906 issue (Vol 1, Iss 2) this was a sort of supplement to the editor’s popular monthly, Munsey’s Magazine http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munsey’s_Magazine. The Scrap Book is very like an American version of Punch with many short, often humorous articles interspersed with at least one short story, some poetry, and several longer non-fic pieces. The Scrap Book ran up to 1912.(Summary by BellonaTimes)