Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. "Why Women Should Vote" is one of several selections devoted to women's interests, as are Martha Foote Crow's "The Young Woman on the Farm" , Alice Freeman Palmer's "Three Rules for Happiness," and Myrtle Reed's recipes for "Coffee Cakes, Doughnuts, and Waffles." Tradition and belief are treated in two selections from Kierkegaard, a letter from Japan , a creation myth , and an essay by Mark Twain on "Mental Telegraphy." Topics in history and political...

Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. Two U.S. Presidents are remembered in "A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison" and Washington's "Address to Congress on Resigning His Commission ." Other topics in history and political theory include two of George W. Ball's memos about the Vietnam War from 1965, "Irish Marriage Rites," "Celts and Celtophiles," Kropotkin on "Anarchism in Socialistic Evolution," a tragedy at sea , and a look back at "The Passing of the Sailing Ship." Religion and philosophy are represented with two selections from Kierkegaard's "Preparation for a Christian Life" and a sermon by Spurgeon ...

A collection of essays regarding the pros and cons of prohibition of alcoholic beverages, principally in the United States. - Summary by KevinS

This is the twenty-first Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is fairy tales... traditional children's tales, tall stories and notorious scams and the authors of thm may be uncovered! Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays... all are welcome here.

Twenty short nonfiction works in the public domain. "The Regulation of Time" and "Uniform Standard Time" are two of several readings which touch on social regulation, societal norms, and individual expression. Others examine dancing mania ; gender conformity ; race laws ; etiquette and social class "; "Opportunity" ; organized religion ; oratory and persuasion ; legal protection for original ideas ; and an exhortation to judge men by their deeds, not their names . Music and books are celebrated in "Fidelio;" "The Function of a National Library;" "Books in the Wilderness;" and Oscar Wilde's "To Read or Not to Read...

This is the twenty-second Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Days Gone By. All pieces were of a historical nature at the time written . Ancient Rome, Greece or Egypt, medieval Europe, the early days of the American colonies.

"It seemed as if a total dissolution of nature was taking place" is the way 15-year old Alexander Hamilton described living through a hurricane . Other natural and man-made disasters chronicled in vol. 069 are "The Eruption of Mt. Asama of 1783," "The Great Chicago Fire," and "The Siege of Nicaea ." Society and social reform are treated from a variety of viewpoints: "Tatlings: Epigrams ," "Wooed a 'Marjorie Daw' for 14 Years," Petty Management" , "The Public Schools of Today," "What a Colored Man Should Do to Vote," "Patriotism and Government" , the "Prison Journal of Stephen F...

This is the twenty-third Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Mysteries, Riddles and Conundrums. Short mystery fiction, puzzles that have baffled generations, whether solved or unsolved and anything our forefathers have struggled to explain. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays...who knows what you will discover?

William Cowper Brann earned the nickname “The Iconoclast” by fearlessly attacking established beliefs and institutions which he thought to be pompous and self-serving. He settled in the wild and wooly West Texas town of Waco in the late 1800s as a newspaper man - first as a writer and then as owner of newspaper he named “The Iconoclast”. During this period, Catholics and Protestants were duking it out over the soul of Texas and there was even further sectarian strife among Protestants. Brann wrote prolifically and aired his Politically Incorrect views with vigor and colorful language...

This is the twenty-fourth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is Ghosts, Ghouls and Spooky Things in honor of Halloween. Fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, essays... all chill and perplex.

This is the twenty-fifth Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select English language public domain works of about 15 minutes or less in duration -- perfect to listen to during commutes, workouts or coffee breaks. The topic for this collection is water, a subject that has attracted Archimedes, Shelley and Masefield, to name but a few.

This is the 26th Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. The subject for this collection is "It's a Small World". Readers have interpreted this in their own way, so we have selections such as Asteroids, Small Country Houses of Today and stories for "small people", such as Jack and the Beanstalk.

Seneca the Younger’s letters to his friend, Lucilius Junior, appear to have been written with a broad audience in mind. These letters introduce major themes of Stoic philosophy and have been a source of inspiration and comfort for readers throughout the centuries. - Summary by jvanstan

Hillaire Belloc of French by birth, British by naturalization was a diverse and prolific writer of the early 20th century. His writing runs the range from poetry, political writings and children’s stories. He was a close friend, and sometimes collaborator with fellow Catholic G.K. Chesterton. This book is a collection of essays and other short writings on a vast array of subjects ranging from observations on the barber, the duel, reflections on war and religion. Some are in the form of drama, dialogue and letters but always engaging with wit and satire. - Summary by Larry WilsonProof-listened by LynnJM and ADKreader

Simple and unpretentious as a statement by Francis d’Assisi, yet full of a gentle modern sophistication and humour, this little work will bring delight and refreshment to all who seek flight from the heavy-laden hour. It is, moreover, one of the most subtle and penetrating studies of the psychology of the dog that has ever been written—tender yet unsentimental, realistic and full of the detail of masterly observation and description, yet in its final form and precipitation a work of exquisite literary art. - Summary from the Foreword by Herman George Scheffauer

This is the 27th Coffee Break Collection, in which readers select and read poems, fiction and non-fiction pieces of fifteen minutes' duration or less. In honor of the Super Bowl, the subject for this collection is "Sports".

This collection showcases fabricated documents and stories throughout history, and the diversity of purposes and contexts they were deployed in.The "Awful Disclosures of the Hotel Dieu Nunnery of Montreal" is a fabricated anti-Catholic eye-witness account, published in 1836 and purporting to reveal the horrors of life in a convent. The Donation of Constantine is a forged imperial decree, supposedly enacting a perpetual transfer of authority over the western part of the Roman Empire from the emperor to the Pope...

Essays on art, letters, thoughts, aphorisms - Goethe's thoughts were dealing with artworks of every branch of arts. He addressed many aspects of the artistic process and described his impressions of works of arts - and even dilettantism - in his essays. Being one of the great masters of german written arts, Goethe used his own skills to express his thoughts: while Section 25 is more of a commented list of pictures in a gallery, two other sections are dramatic readings. Furthermore there are letters, talks and thoughts to entertain - I hope, these essays may function as a worthy treasure-chest for the interested...

Louise Imogen Guiney, and American poet and essayist, here presents twenty essays with her characteristic wit and poetic flair and often a touch of satire on sometimes common topics such as the apple, the moon, mathematics and the garret, even the provocative "On Teaching One's Grandmother how to Suck Eggs." - Summary by Larry Wilson

A collection of the newspaper columns/essays written by G.K. Chesterton for "The New Witness", under the heading "At the Sign of the World's End". This project compiles the articles from 1921

An engaging collection of essays about artists, composers, writers, and, of course, unicorns. - Summary by Stav Nisser

This collection of articles came from Mark Twain's travels and experiences abroad. While many had been previously published, there also were many that had never before seen the light of day...which one reviewer said had never been Twain's intent for them, having consigned them to obscurity. With introductory essays by Brander Matthews and Albert Bigelow Paine, the book paints a clear picture of the complexity and wide variety of Samuel L. Clemens' thinking, where it originated and how it developed.

Even with the best intentions, we can often get caught up in the affairs of this world and forget about God. To stay on the path to Heaven we must make, from time to time, an examination of our life's heading. This collection of essays reminds us to live for God rather than for ourselves, encourages us to rise above the concerns and cares of our daily life, and places God's existence - rather than possessions or success - as the true meaning of our lives. . . . While he was the superior of the young Jesuits at Manresa House, Roehampton, Rev...

These selections from the works of Mark Twain are presented in chronological order. They include the memorable whitewashing of the fence in "Tom Sawyer", events preceding the Mississippi River raft journey in "Huckleberry Finn", a dark moment during the exchange of identities in “The Prince and the Pauper”, and reflections of “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”. A critic wrote of another excerpt concerning a feud, "...as dramatic and powerful an episode as I know in modern literature." Also included are comments about travel abroad, Joan of Arc, a generous helping of Twain’s renowned quips, and mortality.

Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. "Our constitution is color-blind... the law regards man as man and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights...are involved." Justice Harlan's eloquent defense of equal rights for Black citizens in his 1866 dissent to Plessy v. Ferguson is one of several Vol. 076 selections which explore social issues and politics: John Adams; Gettysburg Address; Civil Rights Bill ; First Philippic of Demosthenes; Manifesto of the Humanitarian League; and Acadian Reminiscences...

This first collection of the correspondence of Oscar Wilde begins with the Irish playwright's earliest extant letter, thanking his mother for the hamper she had sent to him at school. It includes letters about his travels in Italy, his American lecture tour, the staging of his first play , arrangements for the publication of a friend's poetry collection, and exchanges in the press with artist James McNeill Whistler. The letters, some of which have been excerpted or redacted, are sourced from auction catalogues, newspapers, biographies, and other texts in the public domain...

This second collection of the correspondence of Oscar Wilde includes letters written when the Irish playwright was at the height of his success. Wilde defends several of his works from criticism and even censorship, and writes "prose poems" to his lover, Lord Alfred Douglas, that will eventually be read out in court. The letters, some of which have been excerpted or redacted, are sourced from auction catalogues, newspapers, biographies, and other texts in the public domain. For a complete collection of Wilde's letters, please see "The Complete Letters of Oscar Wilde," edited by Merlin Holland and Rupert Hart-Davis. - Summary by Rob Marland

This is the speech given by Fredrick Douglass at the unveiling of the Freedmen's Monument in Lincoln Park, Washington DC, April 14, 1876 along with the appendix which includes additional information about the order of the events and the story of the beginning of the collection of funds. - Summary by Edward Graham V

This is the second issue of a monthly agricultural magazine for the year 1820. From the introduction: "A leading object of the Rural Magazine will be to furnish correct views of the science of Agriculture, and the various improvements which are daily made or suggested in it. For this purpose the best and most recent European works on the subject will be consulted, and selections made from the American newspapers that are devoted or friendly to the cause. The best information on the subject will thus be condensed in a form less unwieldy than a newspaper, and more popular than in scientific books...

This fourth collection of the correspondence of Oscar Wilde includes the letters Wilde wrote while living in Berneval, in the months after his release from prison, and in Naples, where he shared a villa with his former lover, Lord Alfred Douglas. In a long letter to the editor of the Daily Chronicle, Wilde describes the cruelties of prison life. At this time Wilde was writing The Ballad of Reading Gaol, and the poem is a frequent topic in his letters to his friend, Robert Ross, and publisher, Leonard Smithers...

A collection of the newspaper columns/essays written by G.K. Chesterton for "The New Witness", under the heading "At the Sign of the World's End". This project compiles articles from 1922.

In this extended essay, Mary Antin asks us to consider three questions: First: A question of principle: Have we any right to regulate immigration? Second: A question of fact: What is the nature of our present immigration? Third: A question of interpretation: Is immigration good for us? In doing so, she asks us to step back from the usual discussion around immigration, which tends to focus on practical matters, and consider the underlying principles involved. What do we owe our fellow humans and what is our national mission as Americans?