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A collection of essays on 19th century novelists, both famous ones and those largely forgotten now. Among the writers presented most wrote in English, but three foreign authors are also discussed. Phelps taught a course on novels at a university and he added to those biographical essays some of his ideas about the importance of novels in the process of teaching about literature. (Summary by Piotr Nater)

Capt. Robert F. Scott's bid to be the leader of the first expedition to reach the South Pole is one of the most famous journeys of all time. What started as a scientific expedition turned out to be an unwilling race against a team lead by R. Admunsen to reach the Pole. The Norwegian flag already stood at the end of the trail when Scott's party reached their target. All the five men of the Scott expedition who took part in the last march to the Pole perished on their way back to safety. Robert F. Scott kept a journal throughout the journey, all the way to the tragic end, documenting all aspects...

After the bizarre death of Thomas Simpson, Dr. John Rae was chosen to complete the survey of the Northwest Passage, linking the work of Simpson and Peter Dease with the previously known country to the east. Rae was recognized for his endurance and skill in wilderness travel, adopting the methods of the native peoples often eschewed by other European explorers. This is his report on the initial work in the years 1846-47. The final link was made to the surveys of Simpson and Dease several years later (1848-51). - Summary by Fritz

The Crisis is the official publication of the NAACP first published in 1910 with W. E. B. Du Bois, one of the founders, as editor. He exercised almost total control of the content and opinions of the publication until he resigned in 1934. Du Bois was one of the most ardent advocates for total civil rights for all racial minorities and was a prolific author for the cause. From Du Bois’ editorial: “The object of this publication is to set forth those facts and arguments which show the danger of race prejudice, particularly as manifested to-day toward colored people. It takes its name from ...

A non-fictional account of Burke and Wills's 1860 expedition to cross the Australian continent from south to north and then return. Containing many excerpts from the diaries and accounts of the explorers, this book was published the year after the expedition met its disastrous end. More information at Wikipedia: Burke and Wills Expedition. (description written by trioptimum)

Lost in the wilderness of The Yellowstone for over a month, nearly dying of starvation and wild animal attack, despairing of ever finding his way out. Here are six relatively unknown early pieces about the U.S.A.’s first national park. The first is a U.S. Geological booklet about initial exploration and Congress’s institution of the park. The next two are articles from Scribner’s Monthly, 1871, a very popular magazine of the time, describing the park’s features (vol 2 #1 pp 1-17 and vol 2 #2 pp 113-128) . The fourth piece is a narrative by the leader of the exploratory expedition ...

The Roosevelt–Rondon Scientific Expedition was the famous survey that took place in 1913-14 to follow the path of the Rio da Dúvida ("River of Doubt") in the Amazon basin. The expedition was jointly led by Theodore Roosevelt, the former President of the United States, and Colonel Cândido Rondon, the Brazilian military engineer known for his explorations of the Western Amazon Basin and his lifelong support of Brazilian indigenous populations. Almost from the start, the expedition was fraught with problems: diseases left the explorers in a constant state of sickness; the canoes were ...

A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The selections included in this collection were independently chosen by the readers, and the topics encompass history, war, farming, slavery, education, philosophy, and nature. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

The Charge Of The Light Brigade (1854) is a famous poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson. It is about, among other things, the valor of soldiers and the tragic loss of life in futile war engagements. The war is the Crimean War (1853-1856) which Russia lost against a coalition of France, United Kingdom, the Ottoman Empire, and Sardinia. The battle is Balaclava, 25 October, 1854. The Light Brigade (United Kingdom) comprises cavalry officers and soldiers, mounted on smaller unarmored light fast horses and armed with sword and lance. Mobile and speedy, they were primarily intended for skirmishes and ...

A collection of ten short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches and reports included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, politics, religion, science and humor. Included in this collection are the "Oath of Hippocrates" and "The Funeral Oration of Pericles" along with Patrick Henry's "The Call to Arms," and Jack London's eyewitness account of the aftermath of the San Francisco earthquake in 1906. On the lighter side, we have Jerome K. Jerome's "Should Women Be Beautiful," a short address by Mark Twain to The ...

A collection of fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches, news items and reports included in these collections are independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, politics, philosophy, nature, religion, etc.

A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The selections included in this collection were independently chosen by the readers, and the topics encompass history, science, humor, travel, philosophy, nature, slavery, the U. S. Civil War, and politics. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

Sixteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include Science and Exploration--a tribute to Egyptologist Amelia Edwards, and discourses on gravitation and relativity by Georges-Louis Le Sage and Ralph Sampson; Sociology and Society--Julio Guerrero on the Mexican character, reflections on life from Kierkegaard's Diapsalmata, Immanuel Kant on religious education, the fate of romance in the King of Siam's harem, nickelodeons, and the tragic results of an 1851 fire on small businesses in New York's Bowery; Nature--how weeds spread, animal ...

A collection of sixteen short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches and reports included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, politics, medicine, nature and religion. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

The Plain Speaker: Opinions on Books, Men, and Things is a posthumous collection of essays by William Hazlitt, organized by his grandson, William Carew Hazlitt. The book contains some of Hazlitt's more famous essays that couldn't be found in book format. (Summary by Leni)

A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The selections included in this collection were independently chosen by the readers, and the topics encompass history, slavery, science, education, humor, philosophy, nature and baseball. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)

Fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Topics include the Faust Legend, Stephen Crane, Sundials and the Statue of Liberty. (Summary by Sue Anderson)

“We must inscribe on our banner the revolutionary watchword, ‘Abolition of the wage system’” The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), members of which are commonly termed "Wobblies," is an international labor union that was founded in 1905. The philosophy and tactics of the IWW are described as "revolutionary industrial unionism," with ties to both socialist and anarchist labor movements. The IWW promotes the concept of "One Big Union," and contends that all workers should be united as a social class to supplant capitalism and wage labor with industrial democracy. Vincent St. John (...

This is a collection of short (15 minute or less readings) fiction or non-fiction works in English suitable for a coffee break at work or a short commuter ride. The theme for this collection is Hodge Podge: humor, romance, science, long poems, biography, inspirational -- you name it, as long as it's public domain and between 3 and 15 minutes long.(Summary by BellonaTimes)

In this celebration of diversity, learn about the myriad histories and cultures behind our volunteers. (summary by Eric Ray)