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The Wit and Humor of America is a 10 volume series. In this, the third volume, 45 short stories and poems have been gathered from 33 authors. This volume is sure to delight listeners. (Summary by Linette Geisel) The Wit and Humor of America series was edited by American humorist Marshall Pinckney Wilder (1859 - 1915)(from Wikipedia)...

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Comedy, Fiction, Humor, Satire, Politics

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As the title reveals, these stories are a collection of some of Mark Twain's more fanciful and eccentric works. They run the gamut from political commentary to our species' need to be remembered somehow. Taken as a whole the stories are whimsical. Taken individually, they speak the truth in different ways. (Introduction by John Greenman)...

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Literature, Fiction, Essay/Short nonfiction, Short stories

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The Way We Live Now is a scathing satirical novel published in London in 1875 by Anthony Trollope, after a popular serialization. It was regarded by many of Trollope's contemporaries as his finest work. One of his longest novels (it contains a hundred chapters), The Way We Live Now is particularly rich in sub-plot. It was inspired by the financial scandals of the early 1870s, and lashes at the pervading dishonesty of the age, commercial, political, moral, and intellectual. It is one of the last memorable Victorian novels to have been published in monthly parts. –from Wikipedia...

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Satire

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Constitución vigente en España actualmente, fruto de la Transición a la democracia tras la muerte de Francisco Franco. (Introducción por AGV)

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Politics

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Rhoda Massey is a young, sharp reporter for a daily newspaper in San Francisco. After proving herself an astute and fearless investigator on her first big story, she spends most of her waking hours running down leads and doing (almost) anything it takes to produce headline grabbing tales and to be the first one to do so. She must compete with her male colleagues where she works but also with those from other newspapers. Rhoda discovers it useful to be pretty and small in stature (great for eavesdropping from tight and unusual locations) but it's her shrewd mind and her nose for news that propel her to pursue stories in dangerous places and, sometimes, from dangerous characters. Just how far is she prepared to go as a ‘yellow’ journalist who wants the truth and at what price to her integrity? Then there’s the respected and handsome reporter, Ted Thompson, from a rival newspaper. Will he have a place in Rhoda’s life? (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett)...

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Adventure, Fiction, Mystery, Politics, Romance

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The Trail of the Lonesome Pine is a 1908 romance novel/western novel written by John Fox, Jr.. The novel became Fox's most successful, and was included among the top ten list of bestselling novels for 1908 and 1909. Set in the Appalachian Mountains at the turn of the twentieth century, a feud has been boiling for over thirty years between two influential mountain families: the Tollivers and the Falins. The outside world and industrialization, however, is beginning to enter the area. Coal mining begins to exert its influence on the area, despite of the two families feuds. Entering the area, enterprising furriner (foreigner) John Hale captures the attention of the beautiful June Tolliver, and inadvertently becomes entangled in the region's politics. (Summary Wikipedia)...

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Fiction, Westerns, Romance

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The Masquerader is one of two Katherine Cecil Thurston’s books that appeared on the Publisher’s Weekly best-seekers list in 1905 (The other, The Gambler, is also in the collection). The Masquerader is part mystery, part romance and part political thriller – all tied up in one neat package. Nature has a way of sometimes making two people nearly indistinguishable in appearance. Such is the premise for this book. John Chilcote, a British politician, and John Loder, a man down on his luck meet by accident one night during one of London’s worst fogs. Chilcote, addicted to morphine, needs to escape his political responsibilities and presents an offer to Loder to exchange places occasionally. Loder, reluctant at first, finally accepts the proposal and finds he fits into Chilcote’s role – perhaps better than Chilcote himself. The exchanges become more frequent and lengthy. Loder, finding his way, discovers he is worthy of Chilcote’s position, especially during an international crisis, but when Chilcote reclaims his life, Loder’s accomplishments try to unravel. Two women are intimately involved in this story – one is Chilcote’s wife, Eve, wh...

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Fiction, Mystery, Romance, Politics

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Rose Wilder Lane was a newspaper reporter, free-lance writer, political activist, and the daughter of Laura Ingalls Wilder, author of the Little House series of popular children's books. In this biography of Henry Ford, Ms. Lane worked directly with Ford to tell his story from his birth to his founding of the Ford Motor Company and his use of modern assembly lines to mass produce his cars. (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett.)...

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Biography

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Phineas Finn is the sequel to Can you Forgive Her? and the second novel in Trollope's Palliser series. The eponymous hero is a young Irishman who becomes a member of the English parliament. Trollope aspired to become an M.P. himself, and he ably describes the workings of the English political scene. There is also a love interest, as the somewhat inconstant Phineas courts three different women: his Irish sweetheart, Mary Flood Jones; Lady Laura Standish, the daughter of a prominent Whig politician; and a lovely heiress, Violet Effingham. (Summary by Karen Merline)...

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Fiction, Literature, Politics, Romance

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volunteers bring you 19 recordings of Tact by Ralph Waldo Emerson. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for April 22, 2012. Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, and poet, who led the Transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champion of individualism and a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and he disseminated his thoughts through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures across the United States. ( Summary by Wikipedia )...

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Advice, Instruction, Politics, Poetry

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Excerpted anecdotes from the biographies of Swift, Curran, O'Leary and O'Connell, relating humorous snippets of politics in 18th and 19th century Ireland. For some these may be poignant in addition to being humorous and for others they may be humorous in addition to being poignant. ( Summary by JCarson )...

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Comedy, Essay/Short nonfiction, Humor

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Common Sense, Paine's pro-independence monograph published anonymously on 10 January 1776, spread quickly among literate colonists. Within three months, 120,000 copies are alleged to have been distributed throughout the colonies, which themselves totaled only four million free inhabitants, making it the best-selling work in 18th-century America. Its total sales in both America and Europe reached 500,000 copies. It convinced many colonists, including George Washington and John Adams, to seek redress in political independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, and argued strongly against any compromise short of independence. (Wikipedia)...

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Politics

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When a clumsy, well-meaning lawyer gets involved with a pair of delightful old maids and a beautiful girl, he must acquire some of the skills of his friends the detective and the newspaperman to solve the puzzle of The White Cat. That’s the name of a back-street political club serving beers, political favors and, occasionally, murder. (Introduction by Robert Keiper)...

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Fiction, Mystery

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John Kendrick Bangs (May 27, 1862 – January 21, 1922) was an American author and satirist, and the creator of modern Bangasian Fantasy, the school of fantasy writing that sets the plot wholly or partially in the afterlife. (Wikipedia) Plot summary: J K Bangs has taken Alice from Lewis Carroll's “Alice in Wonderland” and lets her on a boring day travel with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat and the other of Carroll's familiar characters to Blunderland. The story is a well written Satire, a witty, humorous tale of adventure and city politics, a tale of Alice in a land where nothing is as it should be. (Summary by Lars Rolander)...

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Satire, Fiction, Humor

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Cowperwood moves to Chicago with his new wife Aileen. He decides to take over the street-railway system. He bankrupts several opponents with the help of John J. McKenty and other political allies. Meanwhile, Chicago society finds out about his past in Philadelphia and the couple are no longer invited to dinner parties; after a while, the press turns on him too. Cowperwood is unfaithful many times. Aileen finds out about a certain Rita and beats her up. She gives up on him and has an affair with Polk Lynde, a man of privilege; she eventually loses faith in him. Meanwhile, Cowperwood meets young Berenice Fleming; by the end of the novel, he tells her he loves her and she accepts to live with him. However, the ending is bittersweet as Cowperwood has not managed to obtain the fifty-year franchise for his railway schemes that he wanted. This is Book 2 of Trilogy Of Desire....

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Fiction

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In this collection of Sherlock Holmes stories, the great detective continues doing what he does best: averting political scandals, tracking down murderers, dragging Dr. Watson into unpleasant situations. As always, it's adventurous fun for the rest of us. This book was published in 1917, after The Return of Sherlock Holmes. (Summary by Laurie Anne Walden)...

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Mystery, Short stories, Adventure

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The Home and the World is a Bengali novel by Rabindranath Tagore, set during India's struggle for independence. It is a story of the beautiful Bimala who is married to Nikhil and who gets attracted to Nikhil's friend Sandip due to his strikingly zealous nature that is in stark contrast to the peace-loving character of Nikhil. (Summary by Accent)...

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Romance, Politics, Historical Fiction

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The Wit and Humor of America is a 10 volume series. In this, the second volume, 44 short stories and poems have been gathered from 31 authors. This volume is sure to delight listeners. (Summary by Linette Geisel)) The Wit and Humor od America series was edited by American humorist Marshall Pinckney Wilder (1859 - 1915)(from Wikipedia)...

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Comedy, Fiction, Humor, Politics, Romance, Literature

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Elizabeth Gurley Flynn (1890-1964) was a leading American socialist and feminist. Her book Sabotage, the conscious withdrawal of the workers' industrial efficiency was written to explain the utility and legality of sabotage. (Summary by Enko)...

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Politics, Advice

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In his vital, illustrative and dynamic autobiography, Theodore Roosevelt let us into the life that formed one of the greatest and outspoken presidents in American history. Not only are we privy to the formation of his political ideals, but also to his love of the frontier and the great outdoors. (Summary from Bartleby.com)...

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History, Biography, Memoirs, Politics