John Woodhouse Audubon , son of the famous painter John James Audubon and an artist in his own right, joined Col. Henry Webb's California Company expedition in 1849. From New Orleans the expedition sailed to the Rio Grande; it headed west overland through northern Mexico and through Arizona to San Diego, California. Cholera and outlaws decimated the group. Many of them turned back, including the leader. Audubon assumed command of those remaining and they pushed on to California, although he was forced to abandon his paints and canvases in the desert…...

This history begins when Pizarro and Almagro, Valdivia and Benalcazar, led their desperadoes across the Isthmus to the conquest, massacre, and enslavement of the prosperous and civilised millions who inhabited the Pacific coast of South America. It ends with the United States opening a way through that same Isthmus for the ships, the trade, the capital of all the world; with American engineers laying railroad iron on the imperial highway of the Incas; with British bondholders forgiving stricken Peru's national debt; with their debtor bravely facing the fact of bankruptcy, and turning over to them all its railways.

The Wars of the Roses, 1377-1471, were a series of English civil wars fought for the control of the throne of England between two rival cadet branches of the House of Plantagenet, Lancaster and York. The Scottish historian, Robert Balmain Mowat writes that these wars saw "the death of the old England and the beginning of the new." But they also saw the emergence of great personalities: the noble Richard of York, Warwick the Kingmaker, King Edward IV, indolent and energetic by turns, and his relentless opponent, Margaret of Anjou, a true she-wolf of France.

Robert James Manion was a Canadian doctor who volunteered in the Canadian medical corps during World War I. This book is his memoir of the war. After the war he entered politics and served in several Canadian governments. The listener may note a lack of mention of the United States soldier; this is because the memoir was written before the entry of that country into the war. - Summary by David Wales

In a nineteenth century Sicilian fishing village, the Malavoglia family gambles everything on being able to profit from a cargo of lupin nuts. The cargo is lost at sea and a succession of misfortunes and tragedies assails the family. A masterpiece of social commentary hailed within Italy but neglected by the wider world, The House by the Medlar Tree ranks alongside the works of Zola, Dickens or Balzac among the great books of European literature. The book is the inspiration behind the 1948 film 'La Terra Trema' , one of the earliest works of the great Italian director Luchino Visconti. - Summary by Tom Denholm

This is the eighth volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Topics in Part VIII include excerpts from the Eddas, the life of the Vikings, the Scandinavian kings' fight for supremacy and the race towards the North and South Pole...

Volume III of this history of Victorian Britain begins in 1856 with the gunboat diplomacy of the Second Opium War and then moves to the harrowing days of the Indian Rebellion of 1857. In June 1858, Benjamin Disraeli secures passage of the Jews Relief Act and Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild takes his seat in Parliament. Prince Albert dies after a short illness in December 1861, leaving a distraught and cloistered Queen. Lord Palmerston's diplomacy increases Britain's influence on the Continent, while the Civil War in America divides the country in surprising ways. Bismarck emerges and Prussia begins her ascent to power.

Morel explains the history and formation of the Congo Free State, owned by King Leopold II. However, Morel, a humanitarian, focuses on the atrocities commited in the Congo through the enslavement of the native population, leading to the deaths of as much as 50 percent of the population. Writing in the early 20th century, he argues Britain can and should stop these horrific human rights violations. - Summary by Elsie Selwyn

Dr. Woodson describes the internal migration of African Americans within the United States, including the Northern Migration and the draw of California. Cultural and sociological observations are made as well as a study of principal economic factors in this migration. Summary by KevinS.

Personal correspondence of Bohemian religious reformer John Huss from 1411 when he was exiled from Prague through his death by burning as heretic in 1415 by order of the Council of Constance. These were first published in 1536 by the German Protestant reformer Martin Luther and his introduction is included here. - Summary by Rom Maczka

Though sometimes called the "Dark Ages", the period of Middle Ages is far from dull or uninteresting. In this book I. L. Plunket masterfully shows the colorfullness and diversity of the Middle Ages. Heroes like Charlemagne, Richard the Lion Hearted, Joan of Arc and many others come to life in these pages. The rich religious life of the Middle Ages, controversies between different secular and religious authorities and general rising of nations in Europe are disclosed to the reader. - Summary by Kikisaulite

Reading this book, I had a vision of a land, heretofore sunk in the mists of muteness, suddenly rising up into the eminence of song. Innumerable books have been written about the South; some good books have been written in the South. This book is the South. . . . . Part One is the primitive and evanescent world of Georgia. Part Two is the threshing and suffering brown world of Washington. . . . Part Three is Georgia again . . . this black womb of the ferment seed: the neurotic, educated, spiritually stirring Negro. From the Forward by Waldo Frank

A simple history of England written principally with words of one syllable. Books of these kind, I understand, are helpful for both beginning and remedial reading students. - Summary by KevinS

The charming story of “Gudrun” is a romance of the old heroic period, written by some unknown poet of Austria or Bavaria in the thirteenth century. Next to the "Nibelungen Lied," it is the most important of the German epic poems...The same elemental passions are depicted. The men are brave, vigorous heroes, rejoicing in battle and feats of prowess; the women are beautiful, constant, and courageous. There are many fine delineations of character in the original, as well as vigorous sketches of northern scenery...

“These tales are memories of several months spent as a special correspondent attached to the forces of the American Navy on foreign service…. [I have] been content to chronicle the interesting incidents of the daily life as well as the achievements and heroisms of the friends who keep the highways of the sea…. I would not end without a word of thanks to the enlisted men for their unfailing good will and ever courteous behaviour.” Henry Beston was an American author. In 1918, Beston became a press representative for the U...

Hamlet is Jeremy’s dog. This 1923 book is Hugh Walpole’s second volume in his Jeremy semi-autobiographical trilogy , Jeremy at Crale ), about a ten-year-old English boy. One commentator wrote this of the first book: “With affectionate humor, Mr. Walpole tells the story of Jeremy and his two sisters, Helen and Mary Cole, who grow up in Polchester, a quiet English Cathedral town…. Mr. Walpole has given his narrative a rare double appeal, for it not only recreates for the adult the illusion of his own happiest youth, but it unfolds for the child-reader a genuine and moving experience with real people and pleasant things...

This volume does not pretend to be a history of Artic exploration. My aim has been to narrate some of the most thrilling incidents of Polar adventure in such a manner that the reader may feel something of the fascination which induces explorers, in spite of reverses and disasters, to attempt again and again to penetrate the vast region of snow and silence and solitude around the North Pole. Great care has been taken to ensure accuracy; and, wherever possible, the actual journals of the various expeditions have been consulted, besides a host of minor publications...

William Elliot Griffis born in Philadelphia in 1843, was an educator, author and Congregational minister. In 1870 he was invited to go to Japan in order to modernize the school system and became the Superintendent of Education in the Province of Echizen. Whilst there he became interested in the folk lore, legends and stories of the East and began to collect tales from the story tellers that he met with and the literature that he found there. The thirty four wonderful stories in this collection are some of the ones that he found and fortunately decided to share with us...

This is the ninth volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Part IX deals with the first part of the history of England, from the early times till the reign of the Tudor kings and queens...

This complete collection of Oscar Wilde’s English language interviews gives listeners the opportunity to hear one of history’s greatest conversationalists in full flow. Newspaper interviewers repeatedly sought Wilde out for his “Oscarisms” – his trademark witty phrases – as well as his views on topics ranging from poetry to politics, and acting to architecture. The ordering of the interviews is chronological according to when they were given rather than publication date. Wilde’s few interviews in French and Italian are excluded...

The Historia Francorum is the most important contemporary source for the Merovingian age. It is written in ten books, of which one to four recount the world's history from the Creation and move on to the Christianization of Gaul, the life and times of Saint Martin of Tours, the conversion of the Franks, the conquest of Gaul under Clovis, and the history of the Frankish kings down to the death of Sigebert I in 575. From the fifth book on, Gregory starts the second part of the book, on his contemporary history, closing Book 6 with Chilperic I's death in 584...

Woolf wrote this novel based on his experience as a government agent for British imperialist-controlled Ceylon in the early part of the twentieth-century. He focuses his story on one poor family in a jungle village as they struggle to survive, not just faced with a very harsh environment but with their own human prejudices, superstitions, jealousies, violence, ignorance, and greed. In the background is the other enemy: the foreign government that controls them but does not really understand or care for these uncivilized, not really human beings. It was an important work because its point of view was sympathetically a native one. JL

Joseph Rogers was an English physician, medical officer, and health care reformer in London. The system of poor-law dispensaries and separate sick wards, with proper staffs of medical attendants and nurses, was due to the efforts of Rogers and his colleagues. His memoir, published in 1889, contains an informative biography written by his brother. His career was not without conflict as his zeal sometimes offended governing boards. - Summary by David Wales

This volume contains the principal hero-lays of the six great epic cycles of the Teutonic Middle Ages: The Langobardian Legends, the Amelung and Kindred Legends; Dietrich of Bern's Adventures; the Nibelung Legends; the Hegeling Legends; and Beowulf. To them, the author has added the great mythical Carolingian cycle, which centred round the persons of Charlemagne and his heroes, and the Breton ones of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, as well as the legend of the Holy Grail. Therefore, this one book tells all of the great epic and romances of the Middle Ages in accessible language for the general public.

A very brief introduction to postal stamps used and issued during times of war. The principal focus might be said to be placed upon the Great War which just erupted in Europe and across much of the globe. - Summary by KevinS

300 short maxims by Spanish Jesuit Baltasar Gracian . The advice is still useful and insightful for our modern world. Gracian was considered one of the most interesting philosophers by both Nietzsche und Schopenhauer, and the latter translated The Art of Worldly Wisdom into German. This English translation was done by the famous Australian fairy-tale collector Joseph Jacobs . - Summary by Sandra Schmit

This history of the Women's Suffrage agitation is written at a time when the question is in the very forefront of British politics. What the immediate future holds for those women who are most actively engaged in fighting for their political freedom no one can foretell, but one thing is certain: complete victory for their cause is not far distant. When the long struggle for the enfranchisement of women is over, those who read the history of the movement will wonder at the blindness that led the Government of the day to obstinately resist so simple and obvious a measure of justice...

Giovanna and Costantino Ledda are a happily married couple living with their young child in a Sardinian country village close to their extended family. Costantino is wrongly convicted of murdering his wicked uncle and with no way of supporting herself, Giovanna reluctantly divorces him and is driven to marry Brontu Dejas, a wealthy but brutish drunkard who has always lusted after her. As well as enduring a marriage amounting to slavery, Giovanna is derided by villagers for having two husbands...

The High Middle Ages in Italy, 1250-1409, were a time of incessant strife between rival city-states, some the Ghibelline allies of the Holy Roman Empire, others joining forces with the Guelph armies of the Papacy. Mercenary captains led hired bands of soldiers of fortune. These captains sometimes became great despots, ruling the very cities that had engaged them. Florence began her ascent. The terrible Visconti dominated Milan, and Genoa established a vast trading empire, only to suffer defeat and decline when her fleet was destroyed by Venice, the Queen of the Adriatic.

"In the year 1907, the Woman’s Home Companion commissioned me to go to Russia to write the story of the early days, courtship and marriage of her whom the world knows to-day as the 'Tsaritsa,' The following year, the same periodical sent me to Italy to write a similar account of the life of Queen Elena; and in 1910 I was once more sent abroad, this time to Spain, to learn all about Queen Victoria Eugenie....'Your task is difficult,'remarked a friend to whom I had just explained that I was writing the lives of the Empress of Russia, the Queen of Spain, and the Queen of Italy...

It was Godwin, in his Enquiry concerning Political Justice , who was the first to formulate the political and economical conceptions of anarchism, even though he did not give that name to the ideas developed in his remarkable work. Laws, he wrote, are not a product of the wisdom of our ancestors: they are the product of their passions, their timidity, their jealousies and their ambition. The remedy they offer is worse than the evils they pretend to cure. - Summary by Peter Kropotkin

In this short work, Morris and Woodress present a selection of fascinating source materials to survey key events which occurred during the presidencies of Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, and John Quincy Adams. As the authors state in their preface, "The early part of the last century was an exciting time to live in America. The signers of the Declaration of Independence and the framers of the Constitution, mostly old men by now, saw that their experiment in republican government had turned out to be a success...

This short work attempts to establish that Jesus had black ancestry dating back to Ham, the son of Noah, who had been made black-skinned as a punishment for having seen his father naked. Furthermore, Canaanites are here also identified as being black, and according to the author, several important Jewish figures and ancestors of Jesus had children by this group of people. - Summary by Jim Locke

Kellogg Durland spent a year in Russia as a journalist in 1906, during a seminal period in Russian history. This is a highly interesting read, knowing as we do what fell out for Russia in the next decade. The Russian Revolution did not appear from nowhere in 1917. Durland's account shows the rumblings that existed before the explosion.

The summer of 1967 again brought racial disorders to American cities, and with them shock, fear and bewilderment to the nation. The worst came during a two-week period in July, first in Newark and then in Detroit. Each set off a chain reaction in neighboring communities. On July 28, 1967, the President of the United States [Lyndon B. Johnson] established this Commission and directed us to answer three basic questions: What happened? Why did it happen? What can be done to prevent it from happening again? This is our basic conclusion: Our nation is moving toward two societies, one black, one white--separate and unequal...

Ellen and William Craft were a married couple who escaped from slavery in 1848 when Ellen disguised herself as a white, literate man and William pretended to be an accompanying slave. This is their story of their escape to freedom.NB Listeners may find some scenes of abuse and vocabulary in this book distressing.

In the early 19th century, in the Hudson Valley of New York State, hundreds of square miles of land were still the feudal domains of large landowners known as patroons. Such families as the Van Rensselaers, Livingstons, and Schuylers owned the farms and towns in which hundreds of thousands of ordinary people lived and worked. Even the capitol city of New York State, Albany, was encompassed in the private fiefdom of a patroon. On July 4, 1839, in the mountain town of Berne, New York, a mass meeting...

Richmond, Virginia, was the capital of The Confederacy during the American Civil War, 1861-1865. It was the focus of two military campaigns by Northern armies, one in the summer of 1862 and the second in 1864-1865. When the city was conquered and destroyed in early April, 1865, , it was only a few days later that General Lee surrendered to General Grant and the Civil War was over. Published in 1961, this is National Park Service Historical Handbook 33. The text contains many informative maps and interesting photographs. - Summary by david wales

Six out of seven essays appearing here were reprinted from other publications; indeed, this 1910 collection went out of print, so that two of the essays occurring here were reprinted in Russell's 1917 "Mysticism and Logic, and Other Essays". Nonetheless, this essay records Russell's thinking at a critical juncture, just before the publication of Volume I of the co-authored "Principia Mathematica" and just after the passing of the American pragmatist, William James. These essays record Russell's reactions...

This is the tenth volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Part X covers the second part of the history of England, from the Stuart Kings till the early 1900s. Also included are excerpts from the history of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as Irish and Welsh legends and Scottish ballads...

In this short book Edward Ellis Morris writes a vivid account of the reigns of the first two Georges. Scarcely had the fifty-four-year-old king assumed the throne when James Stuart roused the Highlanders in the "Fifteen." Five years later the collapse of the South Sea Company convulsed Britain and her first prime minister, Robert Walpole, emerged to stabilize the country's finances. George II succeeded his father in 1727 and Morris writes that "the new King was in person short, and like many short men, proud and touchy...

Simon Dubnow was born in 1860 to a poor Jewish family in Belarussian town of Mstsislaw and later became authority of Jewish history and an activist. Due to his Jewish origin, he had to move to St.Petersburg, Odessa, Vilna, St.Petersburg, Kaunas, Berlin and finally Riga. When Nazi troops occupied Latvia 1941, he was moved with thousands of other Jews to Riga ghetto and was eventually killed. His life is a symbol of Jewish suffering in Eastern Europe. In this book Jews have been migrating from Germany...

A series of biographies of the wives of the doges of the Venetian Republic. - Summary by Timothy

In this famous early work of German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, he investigates the artistic characteristics of Apollonian and Dionysian characteristics in Greek art, specifically in Greek tragedy as it evolved. Then he applies his conclusions about Greek tragedy to the state of modern art, especially modern German art and specifically to the operas of Richard Wagner.

This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise from obscurity, to its zenith of power and influence, to its eventual decay and ruin. It outlines their history in conjunction with the major events of Europe and dwells much on the artists and artworks patronized by the Medici - the impetus of the Renaissance. This first volume brings to life the Renaissance and how Florence, through the Medici, was the epicentre of the movement that spread new learning throughout Europe...

While most associate the "Great War" with trenches, barbed wire, machine guns, and poison gas, ships played roles in the military at the beginning of the 20th century. Stories of the Ships is a 1919 collection of accounts described in the first person by those who fought battles on the sea during World War I. It gives the listener a more complete account of the conflicts that defined the most costly war in history. Lewis Ransome Freeman was an American explorer, journalist and war correspondent who wrote over twenty books chronicling his many travels, as well as numerous articles...

Johanne Fichte published The Destination of Man in 1799. It was translated into English in 1846 by Jane Sinnett and then again in 1848 by William Smith. Fichte says his book is designed to "raise [the reader] from the sensuous world, to that which is above sense." Francis Bacon said, in The Advancement of Learning, "the two ways of contemplation are not unlike the two ways of action commonly spoken of by the ancients; the one plain and smooth in the beginning, and in the end impassable; the other rough and troublesome in the entrance, but after a while fair and even...

In 1904, Margaret Nevinson, a respectable lady and active suffragette, joined the board of guardians in Hampstead Heath. The guardians had responsibility over the parish workhouse. In the UK, before the 1930s, one could not receive welfare assistance unless he or she entered the workhouse. A house for which one had to work. The conditions were so poor, sometimes even poorer then conditions in prison. The workhouse inspired many novels, the most famous is Oliver Twist. This collection of short stories is about the horrors Margaret saw, chiefly about things women had to endure...

The fourth and concluding volume of this history of Victorian Britain opens with the brutal repression in 1865 of a rebellion by ex-slaves in Jamaica. Then in 1867, the Conservative Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, takes his celebrated "leap in the dark" with the passage of the most comprehensive expansion of manhood suffrage in British history. The Fenian movement agitates unsuccessfully for Irish independence. British trade unions win the right to organize. William Ewart Gladstone launches his great reform ministry by abolishing in Ireland the hated Anglican establishment and follows with a flood of bills reforming education, the British army, and poor relief...

Picture a tranquil English village, with an inn on the green. A lone patron enjoys his wine and teasing the landlord's pretty daughter, when suddenly they are rudely interrupted by a local aristocrat and his two henchmen. These same three reappear the following day to disrupt the May Day celebrations.Suddenly, a group of men in Lincoln green appear to save the day. But who are they? This is a different take on the tale of Robin Hood, placing him in the time of Henry III, rather than the more traditional reign of Richard I...

A preliminary report to the U. S. Congress on a portion of the subversive activities conducted by two specific Neo-Fascist organizations that espouse racial hatred and un-Democratic positions then at work in the United States. - Summary by KevinS

Mrs. Emily Beesly, the writer of this brilliant narrative, lived in an era of nothing but fairy tales and "the stories of nursery life" for her children. Yet, she believed that when historical stories of importance were reworded into narratives fit for her children's ears, they, too could learn the Stories from the History of Rome and grow in knowledge, fascination, and wonder with the past. This is the product of that idea and desire. Summary by Melissa Petermann

"I have called the present volume "Legends of Saints and Sinners," which to a certain extent it is; but I mean it for a book of Irish Christian folk-lore. My idea in compiling it has been to give for the first time a collection of genuine Irish folk-lore which might be called "Christian." By this I mean folk-stories and folk-poems which are either entirely founded upon Christian conceptions, or else are so far coloured by them, that they could never have been told—at least in their present shape—had not Christianity established itself in Ireland...

Published in 1917, this "little volume of 'Theta’s' letters to his home people" was assembled to provide useful information for young men who might like to become pilots for the Royal Flying Corps. A mixture of conversational letters, poems, and descriptions of flying, the book proves entertaining, even today, despite having been written in training and in active duty during World War I. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins

Italy from 1409 to 1530 is synonymous with the Renaissance, but this was also the age of the condottieri, Italian captains of mercenary companies and multinational armies who fought in the service of city states, monarchs, and the Pope. Some like Ludovico Sforza in Milan seized power and founded dynasties in their own right. The merchant princes of the Medici family reached their apogee in Lorenzo the Magnificent in Florence, but faltered in the Papacy; Leo X proved no match for Martin Luther and Clement VII was powerless to avert the sack of Rome in 1527...

Genji Monogatari, or The Tale of Genji, is a Japanese classic novel from the eleventh century. Supposedly commissioned by members of the Imperial Family, it tells the story of the son of the Emperor's favorite concubine and his role as a privileged boy and man, but not quite recognized as royal. He is placed in a loveless marriage, but continues a number of 'friendships' with the women of the court. This translation brings us the first seventeen chapters, and there is some dispute over the authorship of later chapters. The book gives us a fascinating insight into court life of the period. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

PREFACE This Booklet has been written and compiled for the use of any student or layman who seeks concise and clear information on the history of Influenza. Brief and salient facts are set forth relating to “Flu” epidemics and pandemics: other collateral features have also been discussed, connected with or bearing upon this subject. Honolulu, Hawaii, U. S. A., 1921. - A. Mouritz Notes: Much of the material in "The Flu" is still relevant today, like pandemic terminology, thoughts about causes and micro-organisms, the flu's relationship with pneumonia, the impact on society, and approaches to treatments "The Flu" is included in the Surgeon General's Library at the U...

In 1918 over 2,000 Roman Catholic nuns left their convents in the Philadelphia area to nurse the sick and dying of the influenza epidemic. Twenty-three of the sisters died because of their ministrations. This is an account of their heroic work published in the American Catholic Historical Society Of Philadelphia, 1919. “Gathered and arranged from reports of personal experiences of the sisters and contributed by request of the compiler.” The compiler/author was an academic/priest at Villanova University in Pennsylvania. Since there are no chapter headings, this recording uses the section headings of the book. - Summary by David Wales and book's subtitle

The United States Department of the Interior, Office of Education partnered with the Columbia Broadcasting System to present a series of 26 dramatic radio broadcast programs detailing the role of immigrants in the development of the USA. This small volume was printed as a supplement to the programs. It contains a great deal of the data concerning the contributions of immigrants to the country, often in condensed or tabular form, which were highlighted in the broadcasts. - Summary by Mark Smith

Justus Friedrich Carl Hecker was a German physician and medical writer, whose research focused on the history of epidemics, in a broad sense of the term that included pandemics like the Black Death as well as the group of social phenomena known as dancing mania. The Epidemics of the Middle Ages comprises three of his works -- The Black Death, The Dancing Mania, and The Sweating Sickness -- translated by the English epidemiologist Benjamin Guy Babington. Despite what the name of the book may suggest, the events it describes are not limited to the Middle Ages...

Parkman has been hailed as one of America's first great historians and as a master of narrative history. Numerous translations have spread the books around the world. The American writer and literary critic Edmund Wilson in his book O Canada , described Parkman’s France and England in North America in these terms: The clarity, the momentum and the color of the first volumes of Parkman’s narrative are among the most brilliant achievements of the writing of history as an art. Parkman's biases, particularly his attitudes about nationality, race, and especially Native Americans, has generated criticism...

In Spanish California, a troubling pattern had developed. The natives were reduced to peasants, the Franciscan friars that ministered to them were derided, and the only people who mattered were the caballeros – who styled themselves as knights of the New World. These men strutted about in elegant clothes, riding magnificent horses, and sporting rapiers at their sides that they were quick to draw if they felt their honor was affronted. Into this world burst Zorro . A later-day Robin Hood, he stole from the rich and gave to the poor, but he also took it upon himself to punish men who had notably abused others...

This work relates the history of the Medici family through three centuries and eleven generations, from its rise from obscurity, to its zenith of power and influence, to its eventual decay and ruin. It outlines their history in conjunction with the major events of Europe and dwells much on the artists and artworks patronized by the Medici - the impetus of the Renaissance. This second volume begins in 1537 and highlights Catherine, the last of the elder branch, then follows the younger branch to the eventual extinction of the family in 1743. - Summary by TriciaG

Volume 1: The Christian Roman Empire and the Foundation of the Teutonic Kingdoms "The present work is intended as a comprehensive account of medieval times, drawn up on the same lines as The Cambridge Modern History but with a few improvements of detail suggested by experience. It is intended partly for the general reader, as a clear and, as far as possible, interesting narrative; partly for the student, as a summary of ascertained facts, with indications of disputed points; partly as a book of reference, containing all that can reasonably be required in a comprehensive work of general history." - Summary by KevinS

The Cambridge Modern History is a universal history covering the period from 1450 to 1910. It was published in 14 volumes between 1902 and 1912. The series was planned by Lord Acton, who intended it to be a monument of objective, collaborative scholarship, and edited A.W. Ward, G. W. Prothero and Stanley Leathes. From the preface: "The aim of this work is to record, in the way most useful to the greatest number of readers, the fulness of knowledge in the field of modern history which the nineteenth century has bequeathed to its successor...

This is the eleventh volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Part XI contains stories about Canadian history and about the discovery of Central and South America, from the early Inca and Aztec civilizations to the 20th century revolutions and upheavals. - Summary by Sonia Cast list for The Court of Justice of General Gomez: Major: Jim Locke / Gomez: Monika M.C. / Narrator: Sonia

L.W. de Laurence, an occult and spiritual author and publisher, not only provides a history of the Tarot for fortune-telling purposes, but writes "a harmony of the meanings which have been attached to the various cards." De Laurence also offers a simple method for divinatory work with the cards, as opposed to the "cumbrous and involved" handbooks of the day.

Margaret Sanger, an advocate for birth control rights, chronicles the story of her struggles, including her times in jail and in exile, in order to legalize birth control options for women. She details the uphill battles of not only convincing lawmakers, but of doctors as well. Her relentless pursuit is told against the backdrop of courtrooms, her personal life, and her travels across the globe, giving a glimpse into the world during and post-WW I. This riveting account is a must read for those interested in a key moment in woman’s history and reform.

This short history by the eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, places Elizabeth and her reign within the context of 16th century European political, religious, and military events. Elizabeth overcomes her two great rivals, King Philip of Spain and Mary, Queen of Scots. England gradually unites behind her Queen, who survives multiple assassination plots. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English, lightly taxed by their frugal sovereign, launch flourishing commerce enterprises. The author writes of the Protestant Reformation that "a change of belief meant a revolt from authority...

Holland 's provides us with an engaging history of the Unification of Italy by exploring the lives of some of its most important figures: Alfieri, Manzoni, Gioberti, Manin, Mazzini, Cavour, Garibaldi, and Victor Emmanuel. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi

Excerpt: At the time when Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated there had been no Democratic President for a full quarter of a century. A whole generation had been born and had grown to manhood and to womanhood without ever having lived under any but Republican rule. This long continuance in power of a single party had led many citizens to identify the interest of that party with the interests of the nation. The democrats had been so invariably beaten at the polls as to make Republicans believe that the defeated party had no decent reason for existence, and that is was composed only of wilful obstructionists or of persons destitute of patriotism...

This is volume one in this series of books and deals with history from Caractacus and his Wife before Claudius to the death of Wat Tyler. This follows the history of that time. Volumes two and three will be done once this one is complete.

This 1904 history of slavery in the southeastern United States reflects the state of knowledge at that time, of course. The text contains so many extensive quotations that it was unfeasible to indicate them as quotes in reading the text. The author was a professor of history and English at Claremont College, a North Carolina school that closed in 1917. A resource of more current thinking may be had at the well-regarded 1988 Dictionary Of Afro-American Slavery. - Summary by David Wales

Exeter, county town of Devon, is one of England's most historic cities with remains of the Roman occupation and medieval times still on view. Exeter cathedral, founded in 1050 and completed 400 years later, has the longest uninterrupted vaulted ceiling in the country. This short book in Blackie & Sons' Beautiful England series details the history of the city and it many sites of interest, with chapters on the city, the cathedral and the River Exe. Readers who can access the printed version of the book on Internet Archive, may enjoy looking at E. W Haslehursts' 12 colour illustrations while listening to this audiobook. - Summary by Phil Benson

This work is a look at the life and ideas of Thomas Hobbes, English philosopher of the seventeenth century. The most important ideas are found in his famous work Leviathan. Taylor looks at such concepts of Hobbes as the contract, naturalism, sovereignty, natural laws, church and state, absolutism, and political obligation, etc.

This collection of articles came from Mark Twain's travels and experiences abroad. While many had been previously published, there also were many that had never before seen the light of day...which one reviewer said had never been Twain's intent for them, having consigned them to obscurity. With introductory essays by Brander Matthews and Albert Bigelow Paine, the book paints a clear picture of the complexity and wide variety of Samuel L. Clemens' thinking, where it originated and how it developed.

This work is a scathing criticism of the economic and philosophical arguments of Pierre-Joseph Proudhon's The Philosophy of Poverty.

The phrase "The Hatfields and McCoys" conjures up images of feudal warfare and Appalachian backwardness even to this day. This is a sensationalized account of the feud between the Hatfields and McCoys along the mountainous border of Kentucky and West Virginia in the late 1800s. At the height of the feud in 1888, yellow journalist T. C. Crawford interviewed Anderson "Devil Anse" Hatfield in person at his headquarters in West Virginia. Crawford's stories were serialized in a New York newspaper and later published in book form...

The Guide for the Perplexed by Mūsá ibn Maymūn is regarded as one of the most important works of Medieval Jewish thought. The book attempted to harmonize the philosophy of Aristotle with the Rabbinical teachings, but was regarded by many at the time as antithetical to Jewish theology, despite its earnest arguments in vindication of the ways of God. - Summary by Daniel Davison

In concluding an earlier volume on the mistresses of the western Roman Empire I observed that, as the gallery of fair and frail ladies closed, we stood at the door of “the long, quaint gallery of the Byzantine Empresses.” It seemed natural and desirable to pass on to this more interesting and less familiar series of the mistresses of the eastern Roman Empire, and the present volume will therefore tell the story of the Empresses, or Queens, as they preferred to be called, who occupied the throne set up by Constantine in New Rome, or ancient Byzantium.

A Short History of Russia by Lucy Cazalet is a helpful introduction to the people, places, and events that shaped Russia, the largest country in the world. While covering the bullet points of Russian history, the author expands to greater detail when talking about the people whose ideas and victories became the backbone of Russian culture and politics. The timeline of this book is the 9th century A.D. to 1906, when the country's first State Parliament opened, but before the last Romanov Tsar, Nicholas II, was executed, and Revolution swept the entire country.

This short survey of the age of Queen Anne begins with the War of the Spanish Succession and the career of the Duke of Marlborough, leader of the allied armies against Louis XIV. Scotland joins England to form the United Kingdom. Peter the Great wrests control of the Gulf of Finland from Charles XII of Sweden and builds St. Petersburg. Despite the Jacobite threat, the Whigs secure the Protestant Succession and George I ascends the throne. Pope writes a mock epic in couplets, Addison's "Spectator" enlivens coffee houses and tea tables, and Defoe creates the immortal "Robinson Crusoe."

The eighteenth, nineteenth and early twentieth centuries were periods of stark contrast between the opulent lifestyle of the rich and the extreme poverty of the peasants throughout the world. In addition, Russia straddled eastern and western cultures, not fitting neatly into either. The church was an important force, and those adhering to traditional eastern religions were peaceful and accustomed to 'doing as they were told'; followers of western thought were more eager for a democratic society. Add an autocratic czar and the conditions were ripe for revolution, corruption and murder...

An essay in three parts written in July 1840. "Human life is his topic, and he views it with an Oriental scope of thought, in which distinctions of Time and Space are lost in the wide prospect of Eternity and Immortality." - Summary by Fritz

"The Wrong of Slavery" is a work written by Robert Dale Owen based largely off of the work of the Freedmen's Inquiry Commission where he served. It traces the early beginnings of the slave trade from its English beginning to the United States Civil War. It puts a focus on the barbarism of the slave trade from capture and transportation to the arrival in the Americas, the extreme cruelties that took place in the West Indies and South America, facts about slavery in the United States, and the advantages of a freed black population to the South.

The Ordeal of Mark Twain analyzes the literary progression of Samuel L. Clemens and attributes shortcomings to Clemens' mother and wife. The Encyclopaedia Britannica says, Brooks' work "was a psychological study attempting to show that Twain had crippled himself emotionally and curtailed his genius by repressing his natural artistic bent for the sake of his Calvinist upbringing." Also, Brooks says, his literary spirit was sidelined as "...Mark Twain was inducted into the Gilded Age, launched, in defiance of that instinct which only for a few years was to allow him inner peace, upon the vast welter of a society blind like himself, like him committed to the pursuit of worldly success...

A biography of a woman who advocated for the humane treatment of people with mental illness. As a young woman travelling overseas, Dorothea Dix met with people who were interested in reforming how the mentally ill were treated. Returning to America, she pushed for changes and proper care for these individuals, meeting with strong resistance. Her work ultimately resulted in social reform and the creation of asylums. Dorothea Dix was a tireless crusader and instrumental in important social reforms in the United States and the world. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

Nine stories, chapters, or essays about Christmas or around Christmas. - Summary by David Wales

Historical overview and personal reminiscences published in 1992. Pearl Harbor attack 7 December 1941. Part of U.S. Government U.S. Marine Corps World War II Commemorative Series. - Summary by David Wales

This is the twelfth volume of the 15-volume series of The World’s Story: a history of the World in story, song and art, edited by Eva March Tappan. Each book is a compilation of selections from prose literature, poetry and pictures and offers a comprehensive presentation of the world's history, art and culture, from the early times till the beginning of the 20th century. Part XII compiles stories about the early history of the United States, starting with the first explorators, the fights with the native Americans, the early settlers and culminating with the struggle for independence from the European leaders. - Summary by Sonia

Molly, The Drummer Boy is the tale of a brave drummer, who, during the war of the Revolution, passed like a gleam of brightness, fun—and alas! sadness through the scenes of war and bloodshed; winning the friendship of all, the esteem and consideration of General Washington himself, and lastly a page or so in history. - Summary by Harriet Theresa Comstock

This is the speech given by Fredrick Douglass at the unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington DC, April 14, 1876 along with the appendix which includes additional information about the order of the events and the story of the beginning of the collection of funds. - Summary by Edward Graham V

A beautifully written and witty history of The New York Times, and of newspaper publishing in general, from the 1850s to 1921 by three-time Peabody Award winner Elmer Davis. Davis provides a detailed history of the founding of The Times; its role in the exposure and demise of the notorious Boss Tweed; its resurrection from near-failure by legendary publisher Adolph Ochs; its role in local and national politics; and how The Times became the dominant newspaper of his generation. Along the way, Davis shares insight into how technology influences newsgathering, and reveals The Times' surprising role in some of the major technological advances of the era...

This is the third volume in ten volume series of great epochs in the history of the United States, from the landing of Columbus to the building of the Panama Canal. In large part, events composing each epoch are described by men who participated in them, or were personal eye-witnesses of them. Volume III describes the French war and the Revolution and covers time period from 1745 to 1782. - Summary by Kikisaulite

"My opposition to injustice, imposition, discrimination and prejudice, which have for many years existed against the colored people of the South, has led to this little book. In many parts of America the press has been furnished with “matter” for defending the colored people, through the medium of “Coleman’s Illustrated Lectures.” By request of my many auditors, some of whom being leading elements of the Northern States and Canada, this volume is published. Many persons interested in the welfare of the negro, have sought a more elaborate book on the Southern horrors...

This book is part history and part travelogue, an account of a brief visit by a wealthy, white U.S. politician during a lamentable time in Haiti’s history of its invasion and occupation by the U.S. military. Dryden offers his views of elements of Haitian culture such as education, religion and commerce, with some optimism but with the shallow understanding of a casual observer who has not been immersed in the culture enough to provide truly insightful understanding. One chapter is an account of his duck hunting expedition. This is, nonetheless, valuable in helping us understand how many understood the Haitian situation in the early twentieth century. Summary by Larry Wilson.

The Crusades were a series of religious wars fought between 1096 and 1272 to recover the Holy Land from Islamic rule. According to the Latin Church, Crusaders were penitent pilgrims whose sins were forgiven. British historian, George Cox, writes of the churchmen, great and small, who inspired the Crusades, of the warriors who left families and lands behind, of the wily Venetian merchants and Byzantine emperors who exploited the knights, and of the valor of the Saracens. Here are accounts of sublime sacrifice and bestial ferocity, of dynastic conflict within the Crusader States, of sieges, starvation, pestilence, and ambush, and of the clash and interpenetration of two cultures...

John Winthrop served as governor of the Massachusetts Bay colony for several years. His History of New England, 1630-1649 details life in the colony and narrates several controversies that arose within the plantation. Examples include the excommunication of Anne Hutchinson and a civil suit over a sow that expressed the tension between the aristocracy and democracy and led to the establishment of the bicameral system within the New England government. The Pequod war, treaties with other Native American tribes such as the Naragnasetts, and the establishment of the United Colonies are also covered.

This book explains the policy of the United States and France toward Vietnam beginning after World War II until the beginning of America's entry into the Vietnam War in 1965. Summary by Craig Campbell

In 1916, the Cambridge historian, F.J. Foakes-Jackson braved the wartime Atlantic to deliver the Lowell Lectures in Boston. In these wide-ranging and engaging talks, the author describes British life between 1750-1850. There are John Wesley's horseback peregrinations over thousands of miles of English countryside. Next, Foakes-Jackson introduces the mordant rural poet, George Crabbe, who began life as a surgeon apothecary and ended up as a parish rector who made house calls. He gives us a female convict, assorted Cambridge University dons, Regency fops and rakes, and Victorian slices of life from Dickens and Thackeray...