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Nothing spooky or supernatural, but a very personal gathering of gossip, letters, and fragments of biography of famous people who have lived in Piccadilly (in London, England) ... and of some of the buildings, now long gone. If any part of any city deserves a book to itself, it is Piccadilly. We shall stand before some house in the hours when the traffic is stilled, and I shall tell of its history, of the men and women who dwelt there, and talked and loved and gambled and lived and died. I shall follow the lines of my temperament and tastes rather than those of completeness and impartiality: it is likely that I shall be voluble about Byron and reticent about Macaulay. (From the preface)...

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Originally published by the Norwegian-American economist Thorstein Veblen while he was a professor at the University of Chicago in 1898, the Theory of the Leisure Class is considered one of the great works of economics as well as the first detailed critique of consumerism. In the book, Veblen argues that economic life is driven not by notions of utility, but by social vestiges from pre-historic times. [Summary modified from Wikipedia.]...

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III. SEXUAL SELECTION IN RELATION TO MAN, AND CONCLUSION. Part 3 of 3 of a book on evolutionary theory by English naturalist Charles Darwin, first published in 1871. It was Darwin's second great book on evolutionary theory, following his 1859 work, On The Origin of Species. In The Descent of Man, Darwin applies evolutionary theory to human evolution, and details his theory of sexual selection. The book discusses many related issues, including evolutionary psychology, evolutionary ethics, differences between human races, differences between sexes, the superiority of men to women, and the relevance of the evolutionary theory to society.(Summary by Wikipedia)...

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Elder James E. Talmage, an apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, makes a survey of the Latter-day Saint view of the Great Apostasy. The book's subtitle states that it is a study considered in the in the light of scriptural and secular history, and includes a discussion of the establishment of Christ's church in the meridian of time, the predictions and causes of its apostasy, or falling away, and the restoration of Christ's church in the Latter-days by a modern prophet. (Summary by Matthias Whitney)...

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Religion

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This is chapter 9 of Thomas Babington Macaulay's History of England from the accession of James II. This chapter covers part of the invasion of England by William, the Dutch Stadtholder, later William III of England....

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History

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Edward Gibbon's massive history of Rome has become the definitive work on the subject. Spanning the years between the rise of Augustus and the invasion of Rome by the barbarians, it is...

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History

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“Secret Chambers and Hiding Places” is a collection of concealments and their uses, almost all within England, although a very few passages and chambers in continental Europe are mentioned, Jacobite hidey holes in Scotland, while the final chapter of the book covers Bonnie Prince Charlie’s wanderings around Scotland, among caves and other hiding places. Most chapters are devoted to historical events; such as the the seventeenth century persecution of roman catholics (with many large houses having specially constructed “priests’ holes”), or various unpopular monarchs and their hiding places. The text is scattered with legends and true stories, with occasional skeletons found, still hiding, long centuries after the searchers have left. The author describes hidden doors, passages, rooms and pits with enormous enthusiasm … and with considerable regret when he has to describe secret places lost to demolition or modernisation. You’ll wish you could wander the country, poking into the darkest recesses of every old house you find! (Summary by Peter Yearsley)...

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History

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A Short History of Scotland is a consise introduction to the history of Scotland from Roman times to the last Jacobite rebellion, written by the author of a much longer Scottish history. (Summary by Sibella Denton.)...

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History

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This is a detailed biography of the life and adventures of Daniel Boone. His accomplishments are brushed over in history classes these days and not given the recognition they deserve. This biography clearly paints a picture of the benevolent person of Daniel Boone as well as the achievements he made in furthering European settlement in America. (Summary by Allyson Hester)...

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Biography

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Famous Men of Modern Times is a series of biographical sketches written for the purpose of making the study of history lively and interesting by giving insight into the men who lived during this time. Summary by Laura Caldwell...

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History

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Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish refugee and a father of the Canadian confederation. His work on Irish history is comprehensive, encompassing twelve books; Book 10 subtitled “From the Union of Great Britain and Ireland to the Emancipation of the Catholics”, addresses the period of the creation of the United Kingdom to the granting of religious freedom in Ireland. (Summary by Sibella Denton)...

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History

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The writings of J. B. Bury (1861-1927), on subjects ranging from ancient Greece to the 19th-century papacy, are at once scholarly and accessible to the layman. This work covers the period from the beginning of the Roman Empire until Gibbon begins; from Augustus through Marcus Aurelius and the Antoinine Emporers. (Summary by kmerline)...

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History

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The necessity of a work on Snobs, demonstrated from History, and proved by felicitous illustrations:—I am the individual destined to write that work—My vocation is announced in terms of great eloquence—I show that the world has been gradually preparing itself for the WORK and the MAN—Snobs are to be studied like other objects of Natural Science, and are a part of the Beautiful (with a large B). They pervade all classes—Affecting instance of Colonel Snobley. (Summary excerpted from Prefatory Remarks from the book by W. M. Thackeray)...

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Humor

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An introduction to Arizona from approximately a century ago. (Summary by BellonaTimes)

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History

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This is volume 5 chapter 23 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1859) and published after his death. To quote from the preface - 'I HAVE thought it right to publish that portion of the continuation of the History of England which was fairly transcribed and revised by Lord Macaulay. It is given to the world precisely as it was left: no connecting link has been added; no reference verified; no authority sought for or examined. It would indeed have been possible, with the help I might have obtained from his friends, to have supplied much that is wanting; but I preferred, and I believe the public will prefer, that the last thoughts of the great mind passed away from among us should be preserved sacred from any touch but his own. Besides the revised manuscript, a few pages containing the first rough sketch of the last two months of William's reign are all that is left. From this I have with some difficulty deciphered the account of the death of William. No attempt has been made to join it on to the preceding part, or to supply the corrections which would have been given by the improving hand of the author. But, imper...

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History

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Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish refugee and a father of the Canadian confederation. His work on Irish history is comprehensive, encompassing twelve books; Book 7 subtitled “Unionized Crowns of England and Ireland”, addresses the Tudor period, particularly the actions of Woolsey and Henry VIII, before the Reformation, in 1541. (Summary by Sibella Denton)...

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History

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Louisbourg was no mere isolated stronghold which could be lost or won without affecting the wider issues of oversea dominion. On the contrary, it was a necessary link in the chain of waterside posts which connected France with America by way of the Atlantic, the St Lawrence, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi. But since the chain itself and all its other links, and even the peculiar relation of Louisbourg to the Acadians and the Conquest, have been fully described elsewhere in the Chronicles of Canada, the present volume only tries to tell the purely individual tale. (Summary from Book preface)...

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History

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Thomas D'Arcy McGee was an Irish refugee and a father of the Canadian confederation. His work on Irish history is comprehensive, encompassing twelve books; Book 4 begins with the first Norman invasion of the island and continues to the end of the 13th century. (Summary by Sibella Denton)...

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History

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It was a cloudy November day in 1863 when thousands gathered to hear renowned orator Edward Everett dedicate a national cemetary at the site of a pivotal battle early in July of that year. Also present to deliver a few appropriate remarks was the President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln spoke but 278 words; Everett later wrote to the President, I should be glad, if I could flatter myself that I came as near to the central idea of the occasion, in two hours, as you did in two minutes. Though there are surviving transcripts of Everett's lengthly speech, it is Lincoln's words which have come to be known as The Gettysburg Address (Summary by Chip)...

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History

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On 16th August 1819 around 60,000 people gathered at St. Peter’s Fields, Manchester, to rally for parliamentary reform. Shortly after the meeting began, a troop of Hussars and local yeomanry rode into the crowd, wielding clubs, swords and sabres, leaving 18 dead and more than 700 severely injured. In the following years, the Peterloo Massacre was the subject of several trials and inquiries. It now counts as one of the most significant events in the history of the British labour movement. Francis Archibald Bruton’s account of the day’s events, published for its centenary and based on a detailed exami nation of contemporary accounts, is both dispassionate and moving.(Introduction by Phil Benson)...

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History