Description Details
A biography of Abraham Lincoln by his long-time law partner, William Herndon and Herndon's collaborator, Jesse Weik. The book is notable for its extensive use of first hand interviews (unusual for its time) and for Herndon's overriding determination to convey an affectionate but frank picture of his law partner's life story as remembered by Lincoln's family, friends, associates and neighbors. (Summary by RalphK)...

Excerpt Details
Biography

Description Details
This recording is in Hebrew. Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (1856 - 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am (literally one of the people), was a Hebrew essayist and one of the greatest pre-state Zionist thinkers. With his secular vision of a Jewish spiritual center in Palestine he confronted Theodor Herzl. Unlike the founder of political Zionism he strove for a Jewish state and not merely a state of Jews. In 1889 his first article criticizing practical Zionism, called Lo ze haddereckh (This is not the way), appeared in HaMelitz. The ideas in this article became the platform for Bnai Moshe (sons of Moses), a group he founded that year. Bnai Moshe, active until 1897, worked to improve Hebrew education, build up a wider audience for Hebrew literature, and assist the Jewish settlements. This article was the first in a collection of essays published in book form in 1895 (At the Crossroads). The following is a selection from this book. (summary from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Essay/Short nonfiction

Description Details
No matter how enlightened, chances are you've been raised around superstitious lore of one kind or another. Fanny Dickerson Bergen was one of the original researchers of North American oral traditions relating to such key life events and experiences as babyhood and childhood, marriage, wishes and dreams, luck, warts and cures, death omens and mortuary customs, and such truck, as Huck Finn would say.You'll be surprised at how many of these old saws you'll know. Here's a quote from Chapter One, Babyhood:Monday’s child is fair of face, Tuesday’s child is full of grace, Wednesday’s child is sour and sad, Thursday’s child is merry and glad, Friday’s child is loving and giving, Saturday’s child must work for a living; But the child that is born on the Sabbath day Is blithe and bonny, good and gay. --Baldwinsville, N. Y.All of these readings are as short as 5 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes, with plenty of pithy one-liners in the form of proverbs, always given with the locale they came from in Canada or the United States (with clear influences in British tradition). (summary by Denny Sayers)...

Excerpt Details
Essay/Short nonfiction

Description Details
A cross between guidebook and social commentary, The Spinster Book gives clever and humorous insights on topics such as courting, handling men and women, love letters, marriage and spinsterhood. (Summary by Kristin Hughes)...

Excerpt Details
Advice

Description Details
A clear and delightful peek into the world of Japanese girls and women of the late 1800s: their childhood, education, marriage and intimate family life. And it is done by someone who admires the immense resources, abilities and strength shown by all of these girls and women. The intricate customs that bind the society together and must be learned by every girl, such as the annual Doll ceremony are explained as well as the difficult life of a Japanese wife of this period. Life among the nobles and upper class in the courts and castles, something long hidden away, is explored. Did you know there were Samauri Women? The entire spectrum of Japanese life in the late 1800s is explored from the feminine point of view. The writer is a Christian but respects the cultural and religious differences of Japan society and presents what she has observed from many years in the country and what was shared with her by her Japanese women friends. (Summary by Phil Chenevert)...

Excerpt Details
Travel

Description Details
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was ratified in 1948 by the United Nations General Assembly. It defines the fundamental rights of individuals, and exhorts all governments to protect these rights. The UN has translated the document into over three hundred languages and dialects. This audiobook includes readings in 21 languages, by volunteers....

Excerpt Details
Philosophy

Description Details
Jonathan Swift almost defines satire in this biting and brutal pamphlet in which he suggests that poor (Catholic) Irish families should fatten up their children and sell them to the rich (Protestant) land owners, thus solving the twin problems of starving children and poverty in one blow. When the “Proposal” was published in 1729, Swift was quickly attacked, and even accused of barbarity – the exact state the “Proposal” was written to expose. (Summary by Hugh)...

Excerpt Details
Essay/Short nonfiction

Description Details
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the Most Translated Document in the world. It consists of 30 articles which outline the view of the General Assembly on the human rights guaranteed to all people.(Summary adapted from Wikipedia) This collection contains 42 readings of this declaration, recorded by 35 volunteers in 39 different languages - to mark its 60th anniversary. In combination with /the-universal-declaration-of-human-rights-by-the-united-nations/ an earlier collection this brings the total number of languages of readings of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to 53....

Excerpt Details
Philosophy

Description Details
Described by William Barclay as the Queen of the Epistles, the Epistle to the Ephesians is one of the books of the Bible in the New Testament. Paul is traditionally said to have written the letter while he was in prison in Rome (around 63 A.D.). This would be about the same time as the Epistle to the Colossians (which in many points it resembles) and the Epistle to Philemon. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Religion

Description Details
The Epistle of James is a book in the Christian New Testament. The author identifies himself as James (James 1:1), traditionally understood as James the Just, the brother of Jesus, first of the Seventy Disciples and first Bishop of Jerusalem. With no overriding theme, the text condemns various sins and calls on Christians to be patient while awaiting the imminent Second Coming. The epistle has caused controversy: Protestant reformer Martin Luther argued that it was not the work of an apostle. Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Mormonism claim it contradicts Luther's doctrine of justification through faith alone (Sola fide) derived from his translation of Romans 3:28. The Christian debate over Justification is still unsettled, see also Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification and Christian view of the Law. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Religion

Description Details
The Epistle to Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought....

Excerpt Details
Religion

Description Details
This chapter is a bit of a mixture. It begins with the death of Charles II and then goes on to James II. Judge Jeffries then makes an appearance in a riot of slapstick absurdity when viewed from so far away. Although, at the time of the ‘Bloody Assizes’ he will have been much feared and hated by many.There are more to-and fro-ings in the Houses of Parliament. The Scots Covenanters make an appearance and dangerfield and Oates get their come-uppance. Macaulay paints the mid to late 17th century in a mad effervescence of colour. Summary by Jim Mowatt...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Epistle to the Galatians is a book of the New Testament. It is a letter from Paul of Tarsus to a number of early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia in central Anatolia. It is principally concerned with the controversy surrounding Gentile Christians and the Mosaic Law within Early Christianity. Along with the Epistle to the Romans, it is the most theologically significant of the Pauline epistles, and has been particularly influential in Protestant thought. (Summary from Wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Religion

Description Details
An in-depth view and early history of the Mohawk Valley in upper New York state, covering the time period of 1609-1780. This historical piece covers that part of the Mohawk Valley between Schenectady and Rome, NY. The narrator hopes that the listener understands that a best effort has been made in pronunciation of many names within this work; particularly those of the Mohawks, Iriquois, Huron, and Mohicans; as well as the French and Dutch. (Summary by Roger Melin)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
William Law (1686-1761) was an Anglican priest, Christian mystic, and one of the most prominent, popular, and controversial theological writers of his time. Law revolutionized the way in which 18th century Anglicans engaged the spiritual aspect of their faith, and his popularity rivaled that of John and Charles Wesley. Law adapted mystical practices from early church writings to the practice and doctrine of the modern British church, with the intention of equipping the Anglican layman to pursue intimacy with Christ. Dialogue Between a Methodist and a Churchman is one of Law's purely theological works. In it, Law engages what he sees as the most dangerous doctrines of Methodism using a dialectic format. The dialogue focuses especially on the Calvinistic doctrines of predestination and absolute depravity, and is remarkable for its extrapolation of Calvinist proof texts to refute the doctrines they allegedly prove. (Summary by Kirsten Ferreri)...

Excerpt Details
Religion

Description Details
The History of the Standard Oil Company is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries. The History of the Standard Oil Company was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911. ( Summary by Wikipedia ) Note: This reading does not include any of the 36 Appendices....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
Emma Goldman (1869-1940) was an anarchist known for her political activism, writing and speeches. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the twentieth century. Born in Russia, Goldman emigrated to the US in 1885 and lived in New York City, where she became a writer and a renowned lecturer on anarchist philosophy, women's rights, and social issues, attracting crowds of thousands. Goldman was imprisoned several times for inciting to riot and illegally distributing information about birth control. In 1906, Goldman founded the anarchist journal Mother Earth. In 1910, she collected a series of speeches and items she had written for Mother Earth and published Anarchism and Other Essays . In addition to a comprehensive look at anarchism and its criticisms, the book includes essays on patriotism, women's suffrage, marriage, and prisons. (summary extracted from wikipedia)...

Excerpt Details
Essay/Short nonfiction

Description Details
The History of the Standard Oil Company is a book written by journalist Ida Tarbell in 1904. It was an exposé of the Standard Oil Company, run at that time by oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, the richest figure in America's history. Originally serialized in 19 parts in McClure's magazine, the book was a seminal example of muckraking, and inspired many other journalists to write about trusts, large businesses that (in the absence of strong antitrust law in the 19th century) attempted to gain monopolies in various industries. The History of the Standard Oil Company was credited with hastening the breakup of Standard Oil, which came about in 1911. ( Summary by Wikipedia ) Note: This reading does not include any of the Appendices....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
Alfred Dreyfus, a Jewish captain in the French Army was court martialed in 1894 on a trumped up charge of treason and condemned to life imprisonment on Devil’s island, a penal colony off French Guiana. His prison diary, published as Five Years of My Life in 1901 is a heroic tale of survival against daunting odds: isolation, deprivation, torture . . Alfred left behind in Paris his wife Lucie, who, forbidden to join her husband in exile, struggled to protect their two children from the rampant anti-Semitism that swirled about them, while she begged her husband to hold onto life as she tried to clear his name. Excerpts from the letters that Alfred and Lucie wrote to each other, between Devil’s island and Paris, are included in Five Years. Their letters are one of the great love stories of all times. “I live only by feverish will from day to day,” Dreyfus wrote to Lucie on September 4, 1897. Imprisoned in a walled-in hut in brutal heat, for months chained to his bed at night so that he could not turn over, watched 24-hours a day by guards who were forbidden to speak to him, denied books to read or any means of exercising, and only at se...

Excerpt Details
Memoirs

Description Details
This chapter of Macaulay’s, History of England is concerned, for a large part, with insurrection against James II and his manoeuverings to suppress these. Argyle has been sheltering in Holland and returns to raise an army against James. Although brave and quick witted, he was no leader of men and the army became a confused rabble and were dispersed. Argyle was captured and died bravely. Monmouth had also been sheltering in Holland and he landed at Lyme and declared himself king on 20th June 1685. He was defeated at the battle of Sedgemoor and eventually caught and executed. Monmouth is a fine romantic and of course ultimately tragic figure. The chapter comes to an end with the Bloody Assizes and the very bloody Judge Jeffries. Summary by Jim Mowatt...

Excerpt Details
History