Showing results for "Book of Life" in World

Leander Stillwell was an 18-year-old Illinois farm boy, living with his family in a log cabin, when the U.S. Civil War broke out. Stillwell felt a duty "to help save the Nation;" but, as with many other young men, his Patriotism was tinged with bravura: "the idea of staying at home and turning over senseless clods on the farm with the cannon thundering so close at hand . . . was simply intolerable." Stillwell volunteered for the 61st Illinois Infantry in January 1861. His youthful enthusiasm for the soldier's life was soon tempered at Shiloh, where he first "saw a gun fired in anger," and "saw...

America's most original and controversial literary critic writes trenchantly about forty-eight masterworks spanning the Western tradition—from Don Quixote to Wuthering Heights to Invisible Man—in his first book devoted exclusively to narrative fiction. In this valedictory volume, Yale...

John Foxes Book of Martyrs is a riveting English Protestant narrative detailing the tortures and triumphs of Protestants who sacrificed their lives for their beliefs. Premiered in 1563 by John Day, this work was Britains largest publishing project at the time. Adorned with numerous woodcuts, Foxes Book of Martyrs offers an intimate view into the trials of the early Christian and Protestant martyrs. Despite its original size, which was twice as long as Edward Gibbon’s Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, this version has been significantly condensed. Experience the gripping tales of ...

In 1844, Charles Nordhoff joined the U.S. Navy at the young age of 14. He describes his around-the-world adventure as a young sailor aboard the American ship USS Columbus, a large 74-gun ship of the line. He crossed the Equator six times while visiting many countries of south-east Asia and South America while on a diplomatic mission to China, and then to Japan, in an attempt to open the latter to American trade. He offers up an entertaining account of life in the last days of the sailing warship. - Summary by Barry Eads

Marie Corelli's book The Life Everlasting examines the world of past lives, mysticism, secret societies and twin souls against a backdrop of a true love based on the highest ideals. The plot follows our heroine from a yachting trip around Scotland with eccentric characters such as an atheist millionaire and his hypochondriac daughter, to the entering of a secret society of ancient mystics where she is determined to achieve initiation. Ms. Corelli's beautiful, flowing, and descriptive writing style make this novel a joy of upliftment and inspiration. - Summary by Lisa Statler

How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (1890) was a pioneering work of photojournalism by Jacob Riis, documenting the squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. It served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums to New York City’s upper and middle class. The title of the book is a reference to a phrase of François Rabelais, who wrote in Pantagruel: "one half of the world does not know how the other half lives". (Summary by Wikipedia)

The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon is a fascinating, detailed account of Japanese court life in the closing years of the 10th century. Written by a lady of the court at the height of Heian culture, this book enthrals with its lively gossip, witty observations and subtle impressions. Lady Shōnagon was an erstwhile rival of Lady Murasaki, whose novel, The Tale of Genji, fictionalized the elite world Lady Shōnagon so eloquently relates. 

Brought to you by Penguin. Humans did not make history - we played host. This humbling and revelatory book shows how infectious disease has shaped humanity at every stage, from the first success of Homo sapiens over the equally intelligent Neanderthals to the fall of Rome and the rise of Islam...

Shakespeare’s famous second Henriad reaches its thrilling conclusion in this chronicle of King Henry V’s spirited leadership over his country—a Henry who is a far cry from the prodigal prince who we saw in Henry IV, Part 1 and Henry IV, Part 2. Now grown up and more mature than he was in his youth, Henry V is persuaded by the English clergy that he has an ancestral claim to the French throne, and when France’s haughty Dauphin facetiously rebuffs him with a gift of tennis balls, Henry orders his troops to invade French lands and begin another violent and costly war. Thus ensues one of ...

The accounts of old-time child life gathered for this book are wholly unconscious and full of honesty and simplicity, not only from the attitude of the child, but from that of his parents, guardians, and friends. The records have been made from affectionate interest, not from scientific interest; no profound search has been made for motives or significance, but the proof they give of tenderness and affection in the family are beautiful to read and to know. - Summary taken from Foreword of book.

Cup of Gold: A Life of Sir Henry Morgan, Buccaneer, with Occasional Reference to History (1929) is John Steinbeck's first novel, a work of historical fiction based loosely on the life and death of 17th-century privateer Henry Morgan. It centres on Morgan's assault and sacking of Panama City (the "Cup of Gold"), and the woman (La Santa Roja, or the Red Saint) he seeks there, reputed to be fairer than the sun. As of January 1, 2025 the book is in the public domain in the United States, becoming the first of Steinbeck’s novels to no longer be under copyright. - Summary by Wikipedia

This is not your typical H. Rider Haggard adventure book yet it is full of mystery and intrigue including a coerced marriage, bigotry, adultery, murder and a buried treasure! This is the tale of an ancient family’s struggles to survive, one woman’s selflessness and another’s evil schemes; Two Gentlemen, two scoundrels and one very underestimated, loyal servant. Listen as the tale unfolds and guess where the treasure is hidden that can save them all! Summary by Esther.

This large biographical book was compiled after years of research to uncover and compile information about the Florentine monk, revolutionary and martyr, Girolamo Savonarola, an historically important figure in the era of the Italian Renaissance. - Summary by Leon Harvey

Dive into the comprehensive biography of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the pioneer of modern nursing. This captivating account, enriched by her personal notes, letters, and writings, goes beyond the well-known narrative of The Lady With The Lamp. It explores Florences transformation into an influential woman with a noble mission, her advantageous social status that unlocked numerous opportunities, and her monumental contributions post-Crimean War. She worked tirelessly with governments to improve healthcare for the poor in England and India and was a prolific writer on a variety of ...

Worried that old age will inevitably mean losing your libido, your health, and possibly your marbles too? Well, Cicero has some good news for you. In How to Grow Old, the great Roman orator and statesman eloquently describes how you can make the second half of life the best part of all - and why you might discover that reading and gardening are actually far more pleasurable than sex ever was.

Discover the books that have already changed the lives of millions. This unabridged guide to the literature of the spirit surveys fifty of the all-time classics, giving you their key ideas, insights, and applications—everything you need to know to start benefiting from these legendary works...

Frederick Douglass published his highly acclaimed third autobiography, Life and Times of Frederick Douglass, in 1881 and revised it in 1892. The emancipation of American slaves during and following the American Civil War enabled him to relate in this volume more details of his life as a slave and his escape from slavery than he could in his two previous autobiographies, which would have put him and his family in danger. It is the only Douglass autobiography to discuss his life during and after the Civil War, his encounters with several American presidents including Lincoln and Garfield, his ...

The Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, from Cimabue to Our Times, or Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori da Cimabue insino a' tempi nostri, as it was originally known in Italian, is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the most-read work of the older literature of art", "some of the Italian Renaissance's most influential writing on art", and "the first important book on art history". The title is often ...

The Lives of the Most Excellent Italian Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, from Cimabue to Our Times, or Le Vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori da Cimabue insino a' tempi nostri, as it was originally known in Italian, is a series of artist biographies written by 16th-century Italian painter and architect Giorgio Vasari, which is considered "perhaps the most famous, and even today the most-read work of the older literature of art", "some of the Italian Renaissance's most influential writing on art", and "the first important book on art history". The title is often ...

Volume 9 of the lives of some eminent painters, sculptors and architects in history. - Summary by Michele Eaton