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In the autumn of 1913 John Reed was sent to Mexico by the Metropolitan Magazine to report the Mexican Revolution. He shared the perils of Pancho Villa's army for four months, present with Villa's Constitutional Army when it defeated Federal forces at Torreón, opening the way for its advance on Mexico City. Reed's time with the Villistas resulted in a series of outstanding magazine articles that brought Jack a national reputation as a war correspondent. Reed deeply sympathized with the plight of the peons and vehemently opposed American intervention, which came shortly after he left. Jack adored Villa, while Carranza left him cold. Jack's Mexican reports were later republished in book form as Insurgent Mexico , which appeared in 1914. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

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History, War stories

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Mark Twain's work on Joan of Arc is titled in full Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte. De Conte is identified as Joan's page and secretary. For those who've always wanted to get behind the Joan of Arc story and to better understand just what happened, Twain's narrative makes the story personal and very accessible. The work is fictionally presented as a translation from the manuscript by Jean Francois Alden, or, in the words of the published book, Freely Translated out of the Ancient French into Modern English from the Original Unpublished Manuscript in the National Archives of France. It was originally published as a serialization in Harper's Magazine beginning in 1895 and later published in book form in 1896. However the Harper's editors decided to cut 12 chapters that describe much of Joan's Great Trial, saying the chapters were not suitable for serialization since, They will not bear mutilation or interruption, but must be read as a whole, as one reads a drama. This recording contains the complete text! De Conte is a fictionalized version of Joan of Arc's page Louis de Contes, and provides narrativ...

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Historical Fiction, History, Memoirs, War stories

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Phoebe Yates Pember served as a matron in the Confederate Chimborazo military hospital in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, overseeing a dietary kitchen serving meals to 300 or more wounded soldiers daily. Reminiscences of a Southern Hospital is her vivid recounting of hospital life and of her tribulations (and personal growth) as a female administrator. To follow her from day one, when she is greeted with “ill-repressed disgust” that “one of them had come,” and she, herself, “could only understand that the position was one which dove-tailed the offices of housekeeper and cook” to the day when she as exerts control over the hospital’s “medicinal whiskey barrel” is to watch a woman find herself. Besides describing “daily scenes of pathos,” Pember gives a horrifying account of the prisoner exchange of November 1864 (“living and dead . . . not distinguishable”), and also of the evacuation and burning of Richmond in 1865. Her memoirs were serialized in Cosmopolite magazine in 1866, then reprinted in book form in 1879 under the title A Southern Woman’s Story. Pember was honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp in 1995. (Summ...

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Memoirs, History, War stories

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The Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner is a graphic account of WWI submarine warfare. Forstner was the commander of German U-boat U-28. His journal, first published 1916, gives a gritty picture of daily life inside a submarine and details several torpedo attacks on Allied shipping. The 1917 translation of Forstner’s journal into English was unquestionably intended to bolster the Allied war effort. In the foreword, the translator states: “Nothing at the present day has aroused such fear as this invisible enemy, nor has anything outraged the civilized world like the tragedies caused by the German submarines.” This audio read of Forstner’s journal was prompted by a tour of a captured WWII German U-505 submarine, which is a prime draw at Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry. The sub’s interior is not for claustrophobics--a hunkered maze of pipes and valves, banks of engines and batteries that leave very little room for humans. Particularly arresting are the sleeping quarters--bunks cozy’d up with the 15 foot long torpedoes. (Introduction by Sue Anderson)...

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Adventure, History, Memoirs, Sea stories, War stories

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Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement. In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their textbook: History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: The authors… assume enough maturity in…students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well...The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole...

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History

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The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could be expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source; descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, ascertained with accuracy the Geography, of that interesting communication across the continent; learned the character of the country, its commerce and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their brave companions, have, by this arduous service, deserved well of their country. This volume is the 1840 edition with woodcut images and an Indian vocabulary. They may be viewed by clicking on the text URL. (Summary in quotes by President Thomas Jefferson)...

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History, Travel

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In this biography for young adults, Mary A. Hamilton gives a British person’s perspective on the 16th President of the United States. A glowing tribute to “Honest Abe”, the author traces Lincoln’s ancestral roots and recounts his birth in Kentucky, his youth in Indiana, his adult life in Illinois and his years in the White House. She also provides a good background on the causes and course of the American Civil War. Hamilton is not always historically precise. For example, she erroneously names Jefferson Davis as the Southern Democratic candidate for president running against Lincoln and Douglas in 1860 rather than John C. Breckinridge. However, overall “The Story of Abraham Lincoln” is a good summarization and interesting account of the life, values and politics of Lincoln. Cautions: Chapter 7 contains a single use of an epithet for African-Americans in a quotation from a British magazine. Chapter 8 ends with an example of a stereotypical Southern black dialect which many may find offensive. (Summary by John Lieder.)...

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History, Children, Biography

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East by West: a Journey in the Recess is an account of British journalist Henry Lucy's travels across America and on to the Far East in 1883, within two or three decades of the American Civil War, the Indian Mutiny and the end of Japan's isolation from the western world. Lucy was one of the most influential journalists of his day and, as Toby M.P., a noted humorist in Punch magazine. His acute powers of observation and light touch make this a most engaging book. This is the second of two volumes and covers his experiences in Japan, India and other parts of south-east Asia, returning home via Aden and the Suez Canal. The /east-by-west-vol-i-by-henry-w-lucy/ first volume included his travels in America and in Japan, including the Atlantic and Pacific crossings by steamer. Note: In Chapter 6, Lucy understandably, to a readership wholly unfamiliar with Japan, includes lengthy statistics about Japan's systems and economy. While the reader of the can glance at such tables and move swiftly on, this is not possible in an audiobook. Accordingly, I have made two versions of Chapter 6. The first version is completely unabridged. In the alterna...

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History, Memoirs, Travel

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Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement.In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their textbook: History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: The authors… assume enough maturity in…students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well..The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole a...

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History

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Robert Surcouf (* 12. Dezember 1773 in Saint-Malo, Frankreich; † 8. Juli 1827 in Saint-Malo) war während der Revolutionskriege französischer Kaper gegen Großbritannien. Er fügte dem englischen Handel bei seinen Kaperfahrten in insgesamt 50 Monaten auf See beträchtliche Verluste zu, 47 feindliche Schiffe wurden erobert oder versenkt. Karl May verfasste unter dem Pseudonym Ernst von Linden das Seemannsbild von Robert Surcouf als semihistorische Erzählung für die Publikation: Deutscher Hausschatz in Wort und Bild. 8. Jg. 1881/82. Heft 18. Regensburg, New York, Cincinnati (1882). Nr. 50, S. 795. (Summary by Wikipedia, Zeno & Wassermann)....

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History

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The subject of our policy on the North-West frontier of India is one of great importance, as affecting the general welfare of our Eastern Empire, and is specially interesting at the present time, when military operations on a considerable scale are being conducted against a combination of the independent tribes along the frontier. It must be understood that the present condition of affairs is no mere sudden outbreak on the part of our turbulent neighbours. Its causes lie far deeper, and are the consequences of events in bygone years. (From the author's Preface, 1897)....

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History

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The world, if we choose to see it so, is a complicated picture of people dressing and undressing. The history of the world is composed of the chat of a little band of tailors seated cross-legged on their boards; they gossip across the centuries, feeling, as they should, very busy and important. As you will see, I have devoted myself entirely to civil costume—that is, the clothes a man or a woman would wear from choice, and not by reason of an appointment to some ecclesiastical post, or to a military calling, or to the Bar, or the Bench. Such clothes are but symbols of their trades and professions, and have been dealt with by persons who specialize in those professions. (Summary excerpted from Introduction.)...

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History

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Any life of Wolfe can be artificially simplified by treating his purely military work as something complete in itself and not as a part of a greater whole. But, since such treatment gives a totally false idea of his achievement, this little sketch, drawn straight from original sources, tries to show him as he really was, a co-worker with the British fleet in a war based entirely on naval strategy and inseparably connected with international affairs of world-wide significance. The only simplification attempted here is that of arrangement and expression. AUTHOR’S NOTE...

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History

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This is the third chapter in Macaulay’s great History of England from the Accession of James II. In this chapter Macaulay looks at the state of the nation in 1685. He discusses the population, the revenue, the military system, the roads, the inns, the coaches, the great cities and, of course London, its coffee houses and first experiments in street lighting. An interesting diversion from Macaulays’s usual obsession with politics but worry not, he still manages to crowbar some political intriguing into this chapter. (Summary by Jim Mowatt)...

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History

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This is volume 3 chapter 14 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1959 in the 19th century. It starts with a brief resume of the history of England up until the Stuart kings and then starts to delve into a little more detail. Macaulay is primarily fascinated by ending of any claim to divine right of kings and the growing role of Parliament in the governing of the country. He sees the accession of William and Mary (Dutch, Protestant royalty) to the British throne as a key moment in the history of the British Isles. This is a book delightful for the literary gifts of the author and intriguing for his view of 18th century English and world politics. (Jim Mowatt)This volume covers various 17th century events including a military campaign in Ireland and the Church of England oath-swearing controversy, in which some clergymen refused to swear an oath to King William and Queen Mary required by the crown (Karen Merline)...

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History

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The historical works of Tacitus are a history of the period from A.D. 14 to 96 in thirty volumes. Although many of the works were lost (only books 1-5 of the Histories and 1-6 and 11-16 of the Annals survive), enough remains to provide a good sense of Tacitus’s political and moral philosophy. He recognized the necessity for strong rulers but argued that more should be done to manage the succession of power and allow for the ascension of talent. Tacitus asserted that it was the dynastic ambitions of Rome’s many emperors that caused the decline of moral and political life and precluded the possibility of recruiting leaders of real ability. Moreover, the dynastic temptation caused political instability because military force was now required for political change. His works point to the necessity of systematic institutional restraints on power for the preservation of liberty. Gordon’s translation and his lengthy Discourses on Tacitus bring Tacitus’ ideas up to date and apply them to the British state of the early 18th century. (Description from Online Library of Liberty)...

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History

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Astrological aspects (conjunctions, oppositions, trines, squares, sextiles) between dates of two historical events explain their similar or opposite character. This is illustrated by the example of the Munich Conference (1938) and the birth dates of its participants. Historical repetitions connected with the 60 years period of the Chinese horoscope are considered (Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, 60 years after the peninsula was given to Ukraine by order of Khrushchev). The half-period of 30 years is connected with couples of events combining analogy with contrast (e.g. the Sepoy uprising of 1857 and India's independence of 1947=1857+90). The chronology of the conflicts in the spheres of direct geopolitical influence of Germany, Serbia, Iraq, China and Russia is examined as a continuation of the comparative study of these spheres performed in V. P. Kostov, "The Rules of History". Other regions are also compared historically and geographically - South Europe, Georgia, South America, Spain and Mexico. Repetition of historical events or their analogy is often accompanied by high correlations between names of participants or places of bat...

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Definition. Suppose that two words contain respectively m and n letters, where n is greater than or equal to m. Suppose that they have exactly p letters in common counted with the possible repetitions. Then the correlation between the two words is equal to p/m. For instance, the correlation between the words « Italy » and « Sicily » is 3/5 (one has m=5, n=6 and p=3). The one between the words « Aix » and « Paris » is 2/3 (m=3, n=5, p=2). In any case the correlation remains a purely formally defined quantity. When the resemblance between two words is discussed one takes into account also the fact whether the first letters (eventually the first vowels) are the same and/or whether the letters in common are in the same order. Then comes the delicate question about spelling and pronunciation. This might raise the question whether the letters « s » and « ç » should be distinguished or not. But let's illustrate first the notions of correlation and resemblance by some examples. The resemblance between the names of (Aimé-Joseph) Darnand, head of the French Militia during the German occupation in World War II, and of the admiral (Jean L...

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Preface. Chapter 1. The Chinese horoscope and parallel events. Chapter 2. Comparison between five geographic regions. Names of persons and places of battles. Appendix 1. Beginnings and ends of the years according to the Chinese horoscope. Appendix 2. The Cyrillic alphabet....

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In January of 1895, a nationalist rebellion broke out against the Republic of Hawaii. The rebellion was crushed in two days by Republican forces who outgunned the nationalist forces. The Queen was arrested and brought before a military tribunal. The Republic found her guilty of “misprision of treason” (branding her a traitor) and fined her $5,000 and five years of hard labor (Liliuokalani 1990 [1898]:289). Instead of hard labor though, they decided to imprison her in a corner room of Iolani Palace for eight months. The Queen later said, “My crime was that I knew my people were conspiring...to throw off the yoke of the stranger and oppressor” (278). Not being able to correspond with the outside world, the musically gifted Queen Liliuokalani sought solace during her imprisonment through music. She composed “The Queen's Prayer,” one of her most famous hymns, and dedicated it to her niece, Princess Kaiulani. In it, she asked God to forgive those who imprisoned her and let her nation be pure. But Princess Kaiulani would not get to see this hymn until after Liliu was released....

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Even if he is a very popular character, still not many people know his original history! Nowadays there are so much exaggerated stories and wrong information about him, that it is often confusion in “who was he really?”. This happens because there are rarely references to his real life and historical facts as they truly happened! Or worse, they are often distorted! Who is about? It is about the ruler of Walachia for three times between 1448 and 1476, Prince Vlad Dracula (1431-1476)! This is an Excerpt of the ebook! If you are a passionate of true historical events, Middle Age, life stories or East European history, than reading this free sample ebook it is a must for you! It will be an excellent occasion to find his original Romanian history, as there is described in details every event of his life! Because I wanted to create a rich informative ebook, I made an intense documentary work to the Romanian National Library from Bucharest, using the most serious sources. I also visited more historical places for gathering all the information I needed for this. Some information you already know but some are definitely new for you, becau...

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The subject of “Dracula” is one of the most fascinating and interesting in the world being always presented as a fictional character that during the day lives a normal life, while in the midnight transfigures in a cruel vampire, attacking people, sucking their blood and transfiguring them to their turn, in evil persons. Even the real character that lived in the XV century and inspired the creation of the fictional Dracula, the Walachian Prince Vlad Ţepeş (or Vlad the Impaler), is also often shown as a cruel despot, that led his people with a heavy hand, punishing with very rough methods everyone who breaks the laws. In these summary descriptions, his harshness terrible frightened both his people and the country’s enemies, spreading his fame in the world. The most presented describes of Prince Vlad Ţepeş are those of his cruelty deeds, his so-called pleasure to torture people, the use of most horrible torture methods of that Age, in order to get right the society, or to horrify the enemies that dare to invade his country. I think every time the people read this type of description of the legendary character, wonder themselves: Wa...

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PREFACE Chapter I: WALACHIA - THE BEGINNING AND THE FIRST RULERS. 1.1 The foundation of the country; Princes Basarab I and Mircea the Elder. 1.2 Prince Vlad Dracul (1390-1447) Chapter II: VLAD ŢEPEŞ (1431-1476) 2.1 Vlad Ţepeş becomes ruler Prince of Walachia 2.2 Vlad Ţepeş and the merchants from Southern Transylvania 2.3 Vlad Ţepeş and his fights for Walachia’s independence 2.4 The arrestment and detention of Vlad Ţepeş; his third reign in November – December 1476 Chapter III: THE TRACES OF VLAD ŢEPEŞ IN ROMANIA 3.1 Christian buildings, fortresses and towns related to Vlad Ţepeş’s life 3.1.1 The church of Târgşor 3.1.2 Comana Monastery 3.1.3 Snagov Monastery 3.1.4 Bucharest Fortress 3.1.5 Poienari Fortress 3.1.6 Târgovişte Fortress 3.1.7 Sighişoara Town 3.1.8 Bran Castle 3.2 Vlad Ţepeş in the Romanian culture Chapter IV: VLAD ŢEPEŞ’S DESCENDANTS CONCLUSIONS BIBLIOGRAPHY ...

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A brief history of The Great War (World War I) designed for students in grades seven and eight. Special emphasis on European history leading up to the war, reasons and events leading to America's eventual entering the war, and possible ramifications of the war for future generations. (Summary by James Christopher)...

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History