Biography & Autobiography
”Tell It All”: The Story of a Life’s Experience in Mormonism
Fanny relates the experiences of a 19th century missionary as she and her young husband proselytize throughout Europe in search of converts to the new Mormon faith. Her religious zeal is sorely tested upon receipt of news from America revealing that their religion has adopted the practice of polygamy as the means to exaltation. The couple is summoned to Utah only to find themselves firmly ensconced in Brigham Young's inner circle and called upon to practice plural marriage or risk a fall from family, friends, and faith. - Summary by Spiffycat
A Book of Scoundrels
There are other manifestations of greatness than to relieve suffering or to wreck an empire. Julius Caesar and John Howard are not the only heroes who have smiled upon the world. In the supreme adaptation of means to an end there is a constant nobility, for neither ambition nor virtue is the essential of a perfect action. How shall you contemplate with indifference the career of an artist whom genius or good guidance has compelled to exercise his peculiar skill, to indulge his finer aptitudes? A masterly theft rises in its claim to respect high above the reprobation of the moralist. The scoundrel, when once justice is quit of him, has a right to be appraised by his actions, not by their effect; and he dies secure in the knowledge that he is commonly more distinguished, if he be less loved, than his virtuous contemporaries. While murder is wellnigh as old as life, property and the pocket invented theft, late-born among the arts. It was not until avarice had devised many a cunning trick for the protection of wealth, until civilisation had multiplied the forms of portable property, that thieving became a liberal and an elegant profession. True, in pastoral society, the lawless man was eager to lift cattle, to break down the barrier between robbery and warfare. But the contrast is as sharp between the savagery of the ancient reiver and the polished performance of Captain Hind as between the daub of the pavement and the perfection of Velasquez.
A Book of Sibyls: Mrs. Barbauld, Miss Edgeworth, Mrs. Opie, Miss Austen
This book is a biography of four woman authors whose names were well known by readers at the time of its publication (1883) : Anna Barbaud, Maria Edgeworth, Amelia Opie, and Jane Austen. Though most of us today are only familiar with the writings of Austen, all four of these women are well worth taking the time to get to know. The author, Anne Thackeray Ritchie, was the eldest daughter of William Makepeace Thackeray. - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi
A Boy, a Mouse, and a Spider,The Story of E. B. White
A lyrical biography of E. B. White, beloved author of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little, written by Barbara Herkert and illustrated by Caldecott honoree Lauren Castillo.When young Elwyn White lay in bed as a sickly child, a bold house mouse befriended him. When the time came for kindergarten, an anxious Elwyn longed for the farm, where animal friends awaited him at the end of each day. Propelled by his fascination with the outside world, he began to jot down his reflections in a journal. Writing filled him with joy, and words became his world. Today, Stuart Little and Charlotte?s Web are beloved classics of children?s literature, and E. B. White is recognized as one of the finest American writers of all time.A Christy Ottaviano Book
A Company of Tanks [Illustrated Edition]
?Steel, mud, blood and courage on the Western FrontThis is a fine book because it is a superb first hand eye-witness account of British Tanks in action throughout the First World War. Without much preamble Watson launches the reader, in company with the author?s brother officers, men and machines into the heart of the field of conflict on the 11th Corps forward line on the Western Front in the Autumn and Winter of 1916. From that point to the end of the book and the war itself the narrative takes us inexorably into the dark heart of war the tankers knew. Battles and battlefield experiences in their various phases (sometimes the book includes descriptions as expansive as three chapters each) are covered in engrossing detail. We join the author and the men we come to know as personalities, at First and Second Bullecourt, in much detail at Third Ypres and Cambrai before Amiens, the breaking of the Hindenburg Line and Second Le Cateau. This is a primary source work within a finite resource and as such is beyond value. Nevertheless, it is also a highly absorbing read to be relished by students of the period-professional and amateur alike. Available in soft cover and hard back with dust jacket for collectors.?-Leonaur Print VersionAuthor ? Major William Henry Lowe Watson, D.S.O., D.C.M. (1891-1931)Text taken, whole and complete, from the edition published in Edinburgh; William Blackwood, 1920.Original Page Count ? vii and 296 pagesMaps ? 8 sketch maps.
A Day With Great Poets
Who was John Milton? The author of Paradise Lost you say? Well, certainly, but he was also a man, going about his daily life like any of us in 17th century England, (except that he was a genius of course). Take time to read about a day in his life and learn more about him and his likes, dislikes, background and proclivities. Also, the same with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Walt Whitman, Lord Byron, Keats and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Each of them a man or woman of their times, living each day like us, but seeing shades and hues of life that we can only experience through their exquisite poetry. These are meant by the author to be brief biographies with examples of their works and some insights into their common foibles as humans in addition to human geniuses. If you love to read poetry, you will enjoy reading these short bios which contain much of their best poetry in them. The selections are from a number of stand alone sources but Browning is part of another book and the link below is to that directly. (Summary by phil chenevert)
A Doctor in France, 1917-1919
Harold Barclay (1872-1922) was born in New York City and grew up in his wealthy parents' country home by Lake Cazenovia, NY, resulting in his lifelong love of the country and dislike of cities. He entered Harvard but left after the first year to travel in Europe before studying music in Germany, and although tempted to make music his life's work, eventually decided upon a career in medicine. In 1899 he graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons, having acted as a medical assistant during the Spanish-American War. His love of travel and music remained throughout his life and he often took vacations in Europe and undertook scientific studies in France and Germany. In 1917 he received a commission as captain and went overseas in the Roosevelt Hospital Unit. Promoted to Major in February 1918, he was later transferred to the 42nd (Rainbow) Division in which he served during the heavy fighting at Ch?teau-Thierry and St.-Mihiel. In November 1918 he became a Lieutenant-Colonel and was ordered home on January 2, 1919. Dr. Barclay was traveling with his wife in France when his sudden death occurred at Biarritz in the summer of 1922. This wartime diary was privately printed in 1923 and includes a photographic portrait of the author.
A Lady’s Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia, in 1852-53: Written on the Spot
A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53 is an account of Clacy's visit with her brother to the Victorian goldfields. It combines detailed description with features of real dramatic interest and gives a lively impression of the times. Ellen Clacy (Mrs Charles) 1830-? was the author of Light and Shadows of Australian Life (1854) and A Lady's Visit to the Gold Diggings of Australia in 1852-53 (1853)
A Motor-Flight Through France
"Those who have been charmed with Mrs. Wharton's novels will not be disappointed by her venture into the unfamiliar role of a travel writer." ?New York Times, 1908A trailblazer among American women at the turn of the century, Edith Wharton set out in the newly invented "motor-car" to explore the cities and countryside of France. As the Whartons embark on three separate journeys through the country in 1906 and 1907, accompanied first by Edith?s brother, Harry Jones, and then by Henry James, Edith is enamored by the freedom that this new form of transport has given her. With a keen eye for architecture and art, and the engrossing style that would later earn her a Pulitzer Prize in fiction, Wharton writes about places that she previously ?yearned for from the windows of the train."A Motor-Flight Through France captures the riches and charm of France during the Belle ?poque in gorgeous, romantic prose. With the automobile in its infancy, Wharton experienced the countryside as few people ever had, liberated from the tedium and passivity of train travel. ?The motor-car has restored the romance of travel,? she writes. Seeing through Wharton?s eyes, readers are sure to have their own appreciation for the road trip reawakened.Now published for the first time as an illustrated ebook with photographs reproduced directly from the 1908 first edition, with a new introduction by acclaimed travel writer Lavinia Spalding, the Restless Books edition of A Motor-Flight Through France kicks off an eye-opening new series of women writing about travel, with fresh introductions by some of our best contemporary travel writers. This overlooked classic will inspire current and future generations of readers and adventurers.Praise for A Motor-Flight Through France"Edith Wharton's graceful sentences create dramatic, populous tableaux and peel back layer after layer of artifice and pretense, of what we say and how we wish to appear, revealing the hidden kernel of what human beings are like, alone and together."?Francine Prose, New York Review of Books"Those who have been charmed with Mrs. Wharton's novels will not be disappointed by her venture into the unfamiliar role of a travel writer."?New York Times (1908)"Wharton's reflections will still charm those who've been and those who dream. A nice addition to American literature as well as travel collections."?Library Journal"A portrait of a long-forgotten France, a country that, when Wharton ranged over it in her 1904 Panhard-Levassor, was largely unchanged from medieval times."?New York Times Book ReviewEdith Wharton (1862?1937) was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Having grown up in an upper-class, tightly controlled society known as ?Old New York? at a time when women were discouraged from achieving anything beyond a proper marriage, Wharton broke through these strictures to become one of that society?s fiercest critics as well as one of America?s greatest writers. The author of more than 40 books in 40 years, Wharton?s oeuvre includes classic works of American literature such as The House of Mirth, The Custom of the Country, The Age of Innocence, and Ethan Frome, as well as authoritative works on architecture, gardens, interior design, and travel.Lavinia Spalding is a writer, editor, teacher, and lapsed luddite. She?s the author of Writing Away: A Creative Guide to Awakening the Journal-Writing Traveler, named one of the best travel books of 2009 by the LA Times, and With a Measure of Grace: The Story and Recipes of a Small Town Restaurant. She is also the series editor of The Best Women?s Travel Writing. Lavinia is a regular contributor to Yoga Journal, and her work has appeared in many print and online publications, including Sunset, Post Road, The San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco magazine, Tin House, Gadling, Overnight Buses, Every Day with Rachael Ray, and The Best Travel Writing Volume 9. Lavinia lives in San Francisco, where she?s a resident of the Writers? Grotto and co-founder of the award-winning monthly travel reading series Weekday Wanderlust.
A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers
In the late summer of 1839 Thoreau and his elder brother John made a two-week boat-and-hiking trip from Concord, Massachusetts, to the White Mountains of New Hampshire. After John's sudden death in 1842, Henry began to prepare a memorial account of their excursion. At Walden Pond he wrote two drafts of this story, which he continued to revise and expand until 1849, when he arranged for its publication at his own expense. The contemporary audience for A Week was troubled by its heterodoxy and apparent formlessness; but modern readers have come to see it as an appropriate predecessor to Walden, with Thoreau's story of a river journey actually depicting the early years of his spiritual and artistic growth.
Abigail Adams and Her Times
This is a young person's biography of Abigail Adams that will appeal to readers of all ages. In the author's own words, "I am not writing a history; far from it. I am merely throwing on the screen, in the fashion of today, a few scenes to make a background for my little pen-picture-play. " - Summary by Ciufi Galeazzi
Abraham Lincoln | the Pink Classics
When Lincoln took office as President of the United States, the nation was fraught with problems, not the least of which was slavery and the danger of secession. This biography relates how Lincoln dealt with the problems with thought and wisdom. James Russell Lowell (February 22, 1819 ? August 12, 1891) was an American Romantic poet, critic, editor, and diplomat. He is associated with the Fireside Poets, a group of New England writers who were among the first American poets that rivaled the popularity of British poets. These writers usually used conventional forms and meters in their poetry, making them suitable for families entertaining at their fireside. Lowell graduated from Harvard College in 1838, despite his reputation as a troublemaker, and went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School. He published his first collection of poetry in 1841 and married Maria White in 1844. The couple had several children, though only one survived past childhood. They soon became involved in the movement to abolish slavery, with Lowell using poetry to express his anti-slavery views and taking a job in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as the editor of an abolitionist newspaper. After moving back to Cambridge, Lowell was one of the founders of a journal called The Pioneer, which lasted only three issues. He gained notoriety in 1848 with the publication of A Fable for Critics, a book-length poem satirizing contemporary critics and poets. The same year, he published The Biglow Papers, which increased his fame. He went on to publish several other poetry collections and essay collections throughout his literary career.
Abraham Lincoln and the Abolition of Slavery in the United States
The book is a biography of Abraham Lincoln with emphasis on how his personality and beliefs impacted the history of the American Emancipation and its causes. The book is very well written, easy to read and includes incredible historical information being written by a man who was there during the civil war. He even fought in the war and was able to add his insight into the happenings from his own perspective. This book would add knowledge to anyone who really wants to know the truth about Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War. - Summary by philip chenevert
Abraham Lincoln the Practical Mystic
A knowledge of the influences which ruled the life of Lincoln, the greatest of practical mystics, is essential now that a new form of paganism and slavery threatens humanity. In Lincoln's time the black slaves of America had to be freed; in our time the white slaves of Europe have to be freed. We have returned to the conquest. History is being repeated, but on a far vaster scale. The whole world is groaning under the threats and deeds of tyranny that seeks to become absolute. What Abraham Lincoln stood for in the middle of the nineteenth century the English-speaking peoples must stand for at the beginning of the twentieth. Materialism produced Prussian autocracy. A spiritual power brought America safely through the ordeals of the Civil War. But the material and the spiritual cannot both rule at the same time. One must yield authority to the other. And we cannot succeed by denying the very thing which caused Lincoln to triumph over all enemies and obstacles...
Abraham Lincoln: A Commemoration ? 15 April 2015
April 14-15th, 2015, is the 150th year anniversary of President Abraham Lincoln?s assassination. This is a collection of pieces to mark that occasion. Whitman?s poems, written shortly after the death, express his intense grief. Here are prose pieces that Whitman composed in the years following. Included too are three other eulogies regarded by Lincoln scholars as among the best, as well as a narrative from one of the doctors who attended the dying president and two speeches in the British Parliament. And finally three of the President?s finest compositions. ( summary by david wales)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 10)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 10 chronicles Lincoln's life in early 1865, including his assassination and the events following. (Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 3)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 3 chronicles Lincoln's life from his election in 1860 through April, 1861. ( Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 4)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 4 chronicles Lincoln's life from April to November 1861. ( Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 5)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 5 chronicles Lincoln's life from November 1861 through August 1862. (Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 7)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 7 chronicles Lincoln's life from 1862, including the major battles in the American Civil War that year. (Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 8)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 8 chronicles Lincoln's life from 1862 to 1863. (Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)
Abraham Lincoln: A History (Volume 9)
Abraham Lincoln: A History is an 1890 ten-volume account of the life and times of Abraham Lincoln, written by John Nicolay and John Hay, who were his personal secretaries during the American Civil War. Volume 6 chronicles Lincoln's life in 1864, including the battles of that summer and Lincoln's reelection. (Summary adapted from wikipedia by Ann Boulais)