In 1910, when this book was published, the advancement of modern mechanism was still moving at a rapid pace. It must have seemed like very day, new inventions were made to make life easier. Most of these are still very much in use today, such as the lawn-mower, automatic milking machines in the dairy industry, fire engines, and escalators. Learn about how these worked in this volume. - Summary by Carolin

Fourteen more stories about William Brown. William is a mischievous eleven year old who is puzzled by the adult world, which is no less puzzled by him. The humor is gentle and pleasing in this 1923 publication. The series of books is better known in the United Kingdom than in the United States.

The murder has finally been solved. After 20 years, Humphrey Vargas came with his dog, seemingly from no where, and informed the magistrate of the county that he murdered the popular Mr. Blake. He even told the magistrate the whole story. This book picks up where other books end and shows how this revelation brings about a chain of unexpected events. Knowing who murdered such a popular man does not make things any easier around the county, as memories finally surface, and relationships may change forever. - Summary by Stav Nisser.

In this volume, Clifton Johnson has compiled his favourite fairy tales. We hear a lot of animals, because fairy tales with animals in them are Mr. Johnson's favourite stories, but we also hear of fairies, of wizards, and princesses. The stories are sometimes taken from the famous volumes of the Brothers Grimm or from Anderson, but a lot of them are based on folklore and stories from around the world. - Summary by Carolin

This is an immensely readable book explaining anything to do with air - the atmosphere, wind and clouds, and life. This 1896 explanation has since been overtaken by more specific scientific discoveries, but the general concepts certainly still hold true until today. Any beginner interested in meteorology will find this book a great place to start. - Summary by Carolin

Everywhere on earth the fairy world of each country is older and perhaps more enduring than the one we see and feel and tread upon. So I tell in this book the folk lore of the Korean people, and of the behavior of the particular kind of fairies that inhabit the Land of Morning Splendor.

The life of Frederick Douglass, recorded in the pages which follow, is not merely an example of self elevation under the most adverse circumstances; it is, moreover, a noble vindication of the highest aims of the American anti-slavery movement.

"There were neither examinations nor graduation exercises at the Coventry Institute. The only ceremony peculiar to the last day of school, except the farewells, was a little sermon from Mrs. Abbott, the principal, preceded by reading the average of reports for the year." Delia, Lily and Kate predict speeches and a visitor... but are surprised at what that visitor has brought them and what he wants them to do for the next year! Suddenly, they can't wait for next term! - Summary by Lynne Thompson

This is a volume of short stories by Herman Cyril McNeile, better known by his pseudonym "Sapper", who is well-known until today for his haunting short stories and novels, set at the front in World War I, and based on his first-hand experiences. This collection is early, it was published in 1916, the bloodiest and most gruesome year of what would later be known as the Great War. - Summary by Carolin

“Never before in the history of archaeological inquiry has any event excited such immediate and world-wide interest as Mr. Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in November 1922. It gives us a new revelation of the wealth and luxury of Egyptian civilization during its most magnificent period. In beauty and design and perfection of craftsmanship, Tutankhamen's funerary equipment is indeed a new revelation of the ancient Egyptians' artistic feeling and technical skill.” “At the time of Tutankhamen the great peoples that had built up civilization were losing their dominant position...

In 1927, H. P. Lovecraft wrote a long essay on "Supernatural Horror in Literature" in which he discussed the history of what came to be known as Weird Fiction. This collection includes many of the texts that Lovecraft mentioned in the essay, beginning with Edgar Allan Poe's Fall of the House of Usher, published in 1839 and ending with Walter de la Mare Seaton's Aunt from 1922. Included are 19 stories and 1 poem. - Summary by Alan Winterrowd

Mustafa of Mudge has heard of the famous Cowardly Lion of Oz, and decides to capture him and put him into a zoo! He enlists the help of Bob Up and a clown called Notta Bit More - the master of disguise! The Cowardly Lion meanwhile travels though Oz and meets a stone man, who offers to turn the Cowardly Lion into stone: after all, a stone lion doesn't feel fear! Is this the solution to the Cowardly Lion's quest for courage? Or is it a trap, and does the stone man want to trick him for reasons of his own? The Cowardly Lion of Oz was published in 1923, and is the seventeenth in the Oz series created by L...

"The spark of this play is introduced with as much agility and life as he brought with him from France, and as much humour as I could bestow upon him in England. But he uses the advantages of a learned education, a ready fancy, and a liberal fortune, without the circumspection and good sense which should always attend the pleasures of a gentleman; that is to say, a reasonable creature. Thus he makes false love, gets drunk, and kills his man; but in the fifth Act awakes from his debauch, with the compunction and remorse which is suitable to a man's finding himself in a gaol for the death of his friend, without his knowing why...

Samuel Logan Brengle was a commissioner in the Salvation Army. His books are known for the practicality, joyfulness and authenticity. His life was spent working with people on the streets, so his insights into the work of the Holy Spirit are relevant to everyday life. His holiness was that of the street, the kitchen, and everyday life. His stories are of men and women living their daily lives. This book is the first in his "Holiness" trilogy, explaining what Holiness is and how to get it. - Summary by Beth Thomas

volunteers bring you 25 recordings of At A Lunar Eclipse by Thomas Hardy. This was the Weekly Poetry project for January 27, 2019. ------ While Hardy wrote poetry throughout his life and regarded himself primarily as a poet, his first collection was not published until 1898. Initially, therefore, he gained fame as the author of such novels as Far from the Madding Crowd , The Mayor of Casterbridge , Tess of the d'Urbervilles , and Jude the Obscure . During his lifetime, Hardy's poetry was acclaimed by younger poets who viewed him as a mentor. - Summary by Wikipedia

Water is fascinating! Which child is not delighted by the sea shore, by rivers, even by puddles in the street? This little book explains to children that a river can cut through rock to weave its way to the sea, how sand is made, and how fish can breathe underwater. Grown-ups may learn some new things, too! - Summary by Carolin

This is a volume of poetry by Canadian poet and prose writer Sir Charles G.D. Roberts. This volume starts with a series of poems on New York City, and then includes some other poems on miscellaneous subjects. The poems of the "Father of Canadian Poetry" will be enjoyed by all modern listeners who are fans of New York. - Summary by Carolin

"As the noblest attribute of man, family pride had been cherished time immemorial by the noble race of Rossville. Deep and incurable, therefore, was the wound inflicted on all its members by the marriage of the honorable Thomas St. Clair, the youngest son of the Earl of Rossville, with the humble Miss Sarah Black, a beautiful girl of obscure origin and no fortune." And so the stage is set for our plot, which focuses on the implications and complications of the return from France to Scotland of the Rossville widow and her daughter-heiress Gertrude, who must suffer the onslaught of relations and suitors as well as a mysterious, threatening stranger who plagues her mother...

Arthur West has been taken as a prisoner of war by Colonel Hetherhill of the Confederate States of America, and imprisoned at Fort Defiance, where an oddly small number of soldiers are stationed. More odd than the size of the fort's company, however, is the fact that the Civil War ended thirty years prior to West's capture. This is the story of West's attempts to regain his freedom. - Summary by David Gore

The book starts with Annette Georges choosing between two fates: suicide and running away with a disreputable stranger. She is rescued by a kind woman who looks after her until she can go to live with her maiden aunts in a village in the English countryside. There she meets and makes friends with various people and, almost coincidentally, the facts of her past come back to play a crucial part in the story. - Summary by Simon Evers

This is an overlooked novel by the author of House Of Mirth, Age Of Innocence, and more. She already became the first woman to win the Pulitzer prize for literature before this novel was written. Edith Wharton is known for her combination of social observations, criticism, and compassion. This WWI novel is told from the point of view of parents, forced to live their own lives when their son is at the front. John and Julia are divorced parents. When their only son George enlists, Julia and her second husband do their best to give him a desk job...

Lucy Perkins has given us many books featuring twins that give a child insight into different cultures and countries. In this one she explaining prehistoric man and his environment: "This is a story about things that happened ages and ages ago, before any of us were born, or our great-great-grandfathers either, for that matter. It was so very long ago that there were no houses, or farms, or roads from one place to another, and there was not a single city, or a town, or even a village in the whole earth...

"Any man who doesn’t want to get on in the world, to make a million dollars, and maybe even park his toothbrush in the White House, hasn’t got as much to him as a good dog has—he’s nothing more or less than a vegetable."Such is the preface of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s only outing as a playwright. The action begins when 35-year-old railway clerk Jerry Frost gets drunk off a bootlegger’s potent hooch on the eve of Warren G. Harding’s presidential nomination. As a result, the second act takes place entirely within Jerry’s intoxicated fantasies, where he has become the new U...

This is the sixth 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 VI include the Russian Empire, the fights for independence in Hungary and the Balkan states and the politics of early Turkey...

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

"There is an opportunity of knowing in brilliant English translations much of the poetry of China and Japan, of India and Persia; and Arabic poetry is accessible ; but I believe this book to be the first general English anthology of Asiatic verse. It is haphazard, as such books must be until some polyglot scholar gives a whole life to the matter. Variety was the only aim possible in a space so small, and therefore I have selected love poems of different centuries and of both primitive and subtle peoples." - Summary by Author

Fergus Hume was a prolific writer of Victorian murder mysteries and The Clock Struck One is another great example of his inventive plots. Julian Edermont living in near seclusion for the last 20 years fearful of an unknown assailant is beaten to death in his study following an argument with his ward's fiance Dr. Allen Scott. The secret revealed to Allen during this argument is such that he breaks off his engagement to Dora refusing to reveal the cause. Since those around her seem unwilling to share what they know it is up to Dora to discover the truth and unmask the murderer of her guardian. - Summary by Celine Major

Betty and Esther are having another camping adventure in the New Hampshire hills, but this time it is the dead of winter. They are stuck with an overturned sleigh in the middle of a snowstorm! That is just the beginning of the problems that need to be overcome by these two smart girls!

This is a volume of humorous poems by Australian poet Henry Lawson. - Summary by Carolin

Early twentieth century travel book about Alaska with stories of major cities, Indian tribes, customs and geography of what would become our 49th state. - Summary by BettyB.

This book is a collection of small essays to help parents better understand their children and offer help to parents in the task of raising them. To quote from the preface, “It is hoped that the very simplicity and homeliness of method of this book may help eager, devoted, perplexed parents to realize that similarity in apparent diversity which underlies the experiences of different people, to perceive more clearly that the small affairs of childhood are really very large in their significance and that our way of dealing with them concerns far more than the present moment.” Summary by SweetHome.

The young, intelligent Mary discovers that through an act of will she can transform her appearance to make herself incredibly beautiful. But will her newfound identity be all that she hopes? This recording is from the novella’s original publication in The Savoy in August and September 1896.

When Roy Walton becomes the new director of the UN division of population control, after the director is assassinated, he becomes the most hated man in the world. Being Director involved him in not only population control, but a terra-forming project on Venus, and negotiations with aliens. Not only that, but some people were trying to kill him. To stay alive, he had to become The Master of Life and Death. Summary by Dale Grothman.

volunteers bring you 21 recordings of Knight - Errant by Madison Cawein. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 3, 2019. ------ Cawein's poetry allied his love of nature with a devotion to earlier English and European literature, mythology, and classical allusion. This certainly encompassed much of T. S. Eliot's own interest, but whereas Eliot was also seeking a modern language and form, Cawein strove to maintain a traditional approach. Although he gained an international reputation, he has been eclipsed as the genre of poetry in which he worked became increasingly outmoded. - Summary by Wikipedia

Longfellow's first collection of early poems, published in 1895, with a short biography by the editor, a chronological list of his works, plus analysis and commentary on Longfellow's themes, style, and talent, by various authors.

volunteers bring you 22 recordings of A Psalm Of Life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 3, 2019. ------ This poem was first published in the October 1838 issue of The Knickerbocker, a New York City magazine. It then appeared in Longfellow's first published book of poems, Voices Of The Night, in 1839. It is an upbeat psalmists answer to the biblical psalm that we are but dust heading for the grave, urging us instead to be heroic, to make the most of our lives, and set a good example for others to follow.

If you have ever wondered why Spain was first to “settle” the Golden State, this book is for you. Professor Chapman has produced a comprehensive and highly entertaining popular history of “the Californias,” beginning with a nod to geography and the native races and carrying on through to the arrival of Old Glory in 1848. What might in less capable hands have proved a heavy historical loaf to digest is lightened and leavened with the yeast of “interesting incident” throughout. Consider...

The Exciting adventures of a beautiful Texan debutante. She was raised in New York City high society and attended the best schools. When her mother died she felt the urge to go out west to join her father, whom she never knew, on their massive ranch. What followed were river boat journeys, steamboat gamblers, desperadoes, con artists, Mexican military and Indian attacks. She rode out west under the protection of the Texan Rangers and US military only to discover the ultimate deception when she reached the ranch!

This is the first Lucy and Dora story. A charming story about Lucy and Dora, two little girls in a New England town. They are not really sisters, but soon everyone forgot that fact. The Silver Bear is a necklace, treasured by the girls.

"He was a stranger in Matcham, a 'foreigner' as the villagers called such alien visitors. He had never been in the village before, knew nothing of its inhabitants or its surroundings, its customs, ways, local prejudices, produce, trade, scandals, hates, loves, subserviencies, gods, or devils , and yet henceforward he was to be closely allied with Matcham, for a certain bachelor uncle had lately died and left him a small estate within a mile of the village."

Our ethereal man with wings, whom we met in Riallaro, continues his tale about Limanora which is a Utopian Island created as an experiment in Eugenics. Medical and technological advances have led to a central Power Source, computers, and weather control to name a few. - Summary by kirk202

Lady Truman received word fourteen months ago that her husband, Sir George Truman, has died in battle. Now a very eligible widow with a large estate, she has more suitors than she knows what to do with. As if that wasn't enough, her house is now being haunted at night by the horrible and ghostly sound of a drum, apparently caused by the restless spirit of her husband. When an old man arrives who claims to be able to lay the spirit to rest, she is so desperate for relief that she determines to give him a chance...

Con Price recalls the 1870s through the 1940s, growing up in Iowa and South Dakota before heading out on a cattle drive into Montana. Never dull, his life was full of experiences from cattle drives to Indian encounters to cattle wars to frontier romance. - Summary by Gary Clayton

Edmund Burke was an Irish statesman, economist, and philosopher. Born in Dublin, he moved to London in 1750 and later served as a member of parliament between 1766 and 1794 in the House of Commons of Great Britain. He belonged to the Whig Party.Burke favored underpinning virtues with manners in society and stressed the importance of religious institutions for the moral stability and good of the state. He was an opponent to slavery and expressed appreciation for the complaints of the colonists in America before the outbreak of Revolution.This collection of his writings is the first of twelve available online at Project Gutenberg.

This book contains 2 poetry bundles by Ella Wheeler Wilcox, containing many better- or lesser-known poems. The poems are recorded by a single reader , with the exception of a few poems that are written as small theatrical plays, which are additionally read by Nemo and Larry Wilson.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of twelve short stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, featuring his fictional detective Sherlock Holmes. Each of the stories are told in a first-person style from the point of view of Dr. Watson, Holmes' associate and sidekick. The stories detail Holmes and Watson's various adventures in solving cases that befuddle others within law enforcement. This book is a collection of twelve of Doyle's favorite Sherlock Holmes stories. - Summary by TheBookBro

volunteers bring you 18 recordings of Michael Angelo's "Dawn" by Margaret Steele Anderson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 10, 2019. ------ Dawn is a sculpture by Italian Renaissance artist Michelangelo, executed for the Medici Chapel in the area of the tomb of Lorenzo de' Medici in Florence, Italy. It is part of a second pair , which followed Day and Night in his work on the Chapel. - Summary by Wikipedia

A travel journal to the Scilly Islands written in the Nineteenth Century. It records Scillonian legends and folklore. There are brief diversions into period racism. -Summary by Timothy Ferguson

A collection of short stories and poems for children, filled with sweet but simple life lessons. - Summary by Campbell Schelp

Published in 1923, Day Dreams is a collection of poems written by Hollywood screen icon Rudolph Valentino. Authored during Valentino’s court-imposed exile from the film industry, where a protracted legal battle with Famous Players-Lasky prevented him from acting, this collection channels much of the actor’s fear, frustration, desire, and his all-encompassing need for escapism. In his own words, this collection helped Valentino "forget the tediousness of worldly strife and the boredom of jurisprudence's pedantic etiquette." This fascinating piece of Hollywood ephemera gives us a snapshot of the famed "Latin Lover" at his most mediative and romantic.

The Book of Jubilees, sometimes called Lesser Genesis , is an ancient Jewish religious work of 50 chapters, considered canonical by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as well as Beta Israel , where it is known as the Book of Division . Jubilees is considered one of the pseudepigrapha by Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Churches. It is also not considered canonical within Judaism outside of the Beta Israel. - Summary by Wikipedia

A group of girls send gifts and letters to one whom they think to be a young woman like them. "Christie" is really a poor young bachelor tending his orange grove in sunny Florida. Through his correspondence with Hazel he becomes a Christian, and falls in love with her. What will happen when she takes a trip south to meet her dear pen-pal? - Summary by LikeManyWaters

The State of the Union address is a speech presented by the President of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress, typically delivered annually. The address not only reports on the condition of the nation but also allows the President to outline his legislative agenda and national priorities. This album contains recordings of addresses from Rutherford B. Hayes and Chester A. Arthur. - Summary by Wikipedia

From its man-made origins as a consequence of medieval peat excavations, the Broads of Norfolk and Suffolk have evolved into a natural ecosystem, providing habitat for a diverse range of flora and fauna , as well as a means of livelihood for the inhabitants of this region. In the company of the book’s author, a self-taught lifelong naturalist and undisputed expert of the Broads , we discover how the life of the Broads unfolds over the course of a single year. So, why not listen in, and join us...

volunteers bring you 26 recordings of Picture-Books In Winter by Robert Louis Stevenson. This was the Weekly Poetry project for February 17, 2019. ------ Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish novelist and travel writer, most noted for Treasure Island, Kidnapped, Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and A Child's Garden of Verses. - Summary by Wikipedia

A young man travels to South Africa to find his Mother and sister. He wants to be a clergyman and a farmer when he arrives there. This story includes accounts of the Zulu-Boer wars. - Summary by Ingrid Kennedy

This is Volume 4: Poems of Mystery and of Myth and Romance of the collected works of Madison Julius Cawein, an American poet from Kentucky. It falls into three sections: Poems of Mystery, Poems of Myth and Romance, and Song and Story. - Summary by Larry Wilson

volunteers bring you 17 recordings of Lines. After the Manner of the Olden Time by George Pope Morris. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for February 17, 2019. ------ George Pope Morris was an American editor, poet, and songwriter. He was especially well-known was his poem-turned-song "Woodman, Spare that Tree! - Summary by Wikipedia

A prolific writer of crime and detective stories Fergus Hume is known for his clever plots. The Turnpike House is another wonderful example of his many intriguing mysteries. EXCERPT: "Suddenly there was the cry of a human being in pain. The light was extinguished, and the mists closed thicker round the ruined building; it might be to hide the sight within the room. Could the walls only have spoken they would have shouted "Murder!" with most miraculous voice. But the age of miracles being past, the walls were dumb, and there was no clamour to greet the horror of this deed done in darkness." - Summary by Celine Major

The story of an inventor's son, who tries to prevent him and a couple other characters from being taken into poverty by the man of the house who is drinking away the money, while trying to inherit their grandmother's money. - Summary by ej400