The chapters in this little book were originally part of a series of Sunday Evening Talks given by the Principal to the students of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. They have been recast from the second to the third person, and many local allusions have been cut out. They are now sent out, in response to repeated requests, to a larger audience than that to which they were first spoken. - Summary by Booker T. Washington

Published as the third volume in the Modern Criminal Science Series, Cesare Lombroso, renowned Italian criminologist, collected a wealth of information regarding the incidence, classification, and causes of crime. Crime calendars, the geography of crime, unusual events and circumstances leading to more frequent crime, political motivations and associations of criminal enterprise and an assessment of the real value and effectiveness of prisons and reform programs are all included in this three part volume. - Summary by Leon Harvey

Ever wondered if there is any "theoretical basis" for the well-known Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Personality Test? In this groundbreaking work of typology, Jung proposes three key dichotomies - extraversion/introversion, sensation/intuition, as well as thinking/feeling - as an attempt to reconcile the differing theories of Sigmund Freud and Alfred Adler. - Summary by Cao Yuqing

Many of us find it challenging to speak to other people, for various reasons. Some of us are afraid of being called a bore. Others are worried that we will be accused of hogging attention. Many of us simply don't know what to talk about. This book is an entertaining and enlightening manual that may be able to help. Through a series of twelve dialogues between a man and a woman, we are introduced to twelve "golden rules" that will help us navigate the waters of interpersonal communication. He: Read by KevinS She: Read by Devorah Allen

Psychological warfare and propaganda have been used extensively in warfare since the earliest times. This book explores the functions, limitations, types, and history of psychological warfare through 1953. It was written by Paul Myron Anthony Linebarger, a US Army officer, a noted East Asia scholar, and an expert in psychological warfare, also known by the pseudonym Cordwainer Smith as a science fiction author. Linebarger had extensive experience with the practice and implementation of psychological warfare techniques in the field through his work with the Office of War Information, the Operation Planning and Intelligence Board, and the CIA...

"This book is intended as a sequel to Self-Help and Character. It might, indeed, have appeared as an introduction to these volumes; for Thrift is the basis of Self-Help, and the foundation of much that is excellent in Character. The object of this book is to induce people to employ their means for worthy purposes, and not to waste them upon selfish indulgences. Many enemies have to be encountered in accomplishing this object. There are idleness, thoughtlessness, vanity, vice, intemperance. . . ." Some of the advice is obsolete, such as discussion about military savings banks and penny banks, but the general principles still apply even today. - Summary from the Preface & TriciaG

A series of essays by this forceful writer, constituting the cream of his magazine articles upon New Thought topics. The famous "I Can and I Will" essay forms the opening chapter. "The Secret of the I AM," of which 40,000 copies have been sold, is also contained in this volume.

Eight sketches by one of the pioneers of applied psychology, which highlight the mind of the witness on the witness stand, and how one can be an unreliable eyewitness. The last essay, on the prevention of crime, takes another direction. - Summary by TriciaG

Following his Psychology of the Unconscious Processes, this book is a series of papers compiled under the direction of Dr. Carl Jung, also known as the founder of psychoanalysis. It records research related to the association method conducted on persons with and without psychological conditions. Jung's work on association among "normal" individuals formed the basis of psychological types. - Summary by Cao Yuqing

Houdini, an escape artist and illusionist, became interested later in his life in debunking spiritualists, disbelieving anyone who claimed to have supernatural powers. This was during an era where paranormal phenomena, especially seances, were extremely popular. Although skeptical of their claims, he longed to find a credible source to communicate with family members he had lost. This book chronicles his travels and the many people he spoke with and his observations of their 'powers' and along the way also reveals many of the tricks they employed to deceive their paying customers. - Summary by Phyllis Vincelli

Written anonymously by "a working 'medium' for the past twenty years", this little book was an inspiration for a young Harry Houdini, and also rather hard to find until a facsimile edition was published in 1922, due to all the copies being bought and destroyed by spiritualists. According to the preface, "the most wonderful of the 'medium's' phenomena will be so thoroughly explained and so completely dissected that, after reading this book, you can perform the feats yourself". - Summary by Jordan

“Nature has granted to all to be happy if we but knew how to use her gifts.”—Claudius. Often we feel "down" or "low", without being clinically depressed or seeking the aid of a doctor. This is a study, in layman's terms, of the causes and effects of mental strife, with suggestions on how we can improve our state of mind. Some listeners may be offended by the views on homosexuality expressed, but these reflect the views of the day. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

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

In writing this book I have taken it as a commonplace that everyone—man, woman, and child—wants to be strong. Without strength—and by strength I mean health, vitality, and a general sense of physical well-being—life is but a gloomy business. Wealth, talent, ambition, the love and affection of friends, the pleasure derived from doing good to those about one, all these things may afford some consolation for being deprived of life’s chief blessing, but they can never make up for it. “But,”...

"No man is obliged to learn and know everything; this can neither be sought nor required, for it is utterly impossible; yet all persons are under some obligation to improve their own understanding; otherwise it will be a barren desert, or a forest overgrown with weeds and brambles. Universal ignorance or infinite errors will overspread the mind which is utterly neglected and lies without any cultivation. The common duties and benefits of society, which belong to every man living, as we are social...

The Appeal grabbed readers’ attention in as dramatic a manner as Walker could have possibly imagined. In her book, Maria W. Stewart and the Roots of Black Political Thought, Kirsten Waters writes about how the pamphlet itself was viewed as dangerous by pro-slavery forces, while Walker actively worked to get his text in the hands of Black readers. He did not direct his writing to White audiences, and in the third edition added a special message to Black readers, saying that: It is expected that...

I write for public speakers. I wish to take them into my confidence. I feel I can do them good. My object is to help them to speak with greater ease and efficiency. When the voice is developed and in a condition to answer the calls made upon it, then it will naturally seek to put its powers into operation.... Develop the powers of the voice and it will not be satisfied till it find scope for their exercise. This is a marvellous feature of the human voice, and yet, perhaps, it is more or less common to all the powers we possess...

This book contains many brief tales from history of commoners pretending to be kings and kings pretending to be commoners. Learn the fate of a Dutch merchant who wanted a kiss from the disguised Peter the Great's wife. Learn how a farmer's daughter born in 1750 in England gained attention and fame in many lands, and why her death was disbelieved. Learn about early vampires and ghosts. Find out the answers to these and other stories within this book.