Showing results by author "Mentor New York" in All Categories

Volume 14 is a compilation of essays regarding accomplishments over the 50 years preceding the author's death in 1894. The editorial staff chose the people that they felt best exemplified Lord's criteria of being a historical force to represent the worlds of music, art, science and invention. Though not personally written by Lord, the book is attributed to him. - Summary by KHand

Delightful sketches of British wild birds - a bird for every month of the year from the pheasant in January to the robin in December. This collection of articles, reprinted in book form from the periodical The Outlook, is full of fascinating information about bird behaviour and habitat, as well as many interesting anecdotes. (Summary by Ruth Golding)

Two stories in the inimitable Philip Dick style. What is a Wub? A 400 pound slovenly, fat, ungainly, drooling animal that looks like a cross between a walrus and an enormous hog? Well, yes that is pretty much what he looks like and for 50 cents, a good bargain no matter how he tastes. The hungry spaceship crew expect to find out. Of course the Wub may not entirely agree but it doesn't have much to say about it. The second story, The Skull, is a skillful mesh of time travel, unscrupulous governments, prisoners, and religion. With an assassin thrown in for good measure. Enjoy! (summary by Phil ...

The vagabond, Paragot, a truly eccentric bohemian and a wandering scholar with a mysterious past, adopts a London street urchin (whom he calls Asticot) by purchasing him from his mother for half a crown. Paragot leads Asticot on various adventures through 19th century Europe, eventually arriving in Paris. Here Paragot’s dark romantic past begins to catch up with him. (Summary by Simon Evers)

In between "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) and Herland (1915), feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) wrote and published this delightful fictional autobiography, Benigna Machiavelli (1914), in her monthly magazine, The Forerunner. The narrator, young Benigna MacAvelly, decides as a child that she intends to emulate her ancestor Niccolò Machiavelli but dedicate her machinations to doing good rather than evil. She starts her ingenious plotting very early in life (for example, as an 11-year-old, she enlists her classmates in an elaborate money-raising scheme to buy a new watch for an ...

Peggy the cat lives in the post office at R., and she's just had a litter of kittens. However, instead of snuggling up with them in the box prepared for her by the post officers, she prefers a corner in the cellar by the post bags. But oh noes, little Tommy falls into one of those bags and is shipped off to Connecticut with the Thanksgiving mail! Read of Tommy's adventures in this delightful little book. - Summary by Carolin

The first part of the book builds the characters of four con men who become interconnected and attempt their schemes on each other. This book is the first of a two part story, the second part is the book Charlotte's Inheritance.

Homilies 1 - 14 of Saint John Chrysostom's commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, which include the wondrous birth, baptism, temptation, and early ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. - Summary by The Reader

The third book in the Beacon Lights of History series, Lord discusses achievements such as the formation of laws, the development of the fine arts, ancient science, and key people such as Cicero and Cleopatra. Summary by KHand

Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) famously said, "The great questions of the day will not be settled by speeches or the decisions of the majority...but by iron and blood." Prince Bismarck unified the German states under Prussian hegemony through a series of carefully orchestrated wars, which excluded Austria from the new Confederation and added Schleswig-Holstein, and Alsace-Lorraine to Germany. But Bismarck avoided useless confrontations and was, above all, a master of balance of power diplomacy. His skills, both at home and abroad, won him the loyal support of Kaiser Wilhelm I. Paternalistic and...

Book Seven of the series focuses on the women of history and includes George Eliot, Joan of Arc and Madame Recamier. - Summary by KHand

A series of essays offering a humorous look at commonplace items and occurrences. (Summary by Nick Bulka)

This essay is one of a great number that endorse the principle of eugenics, a controversial study and practice that aims for society or government to 'self-direct' the course of human evolution. In this essay, one finds discussion of contraception, abortion, population growth and war, as well as questions of 'race.' One finds here a use of the term 'race' meaning something far different than what is used today. This is a provocative essay. - Summary by KevinS

"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by Herman Melville. The story first appeared, anonymously, in Putnam's Magazine in two parts. The first part appeared in November 1853, with the conclusion published in December 1853. It was reprinted in Melville's The Piazza Tales in 1856 with minor textual alterations. The work is said to have been inspired, in part, by Melville's reading of Emerson, and some have pointed to specific parallels to Emerson's essay, "The Transcendentalist." The story has been adapted twice: once in 1970, starring Paul Scofield, and again in 2001,...

This book is a collection of short observations by Helen Hunt Jackson, several with children and parenting as the subject matter. (Summary by ashleighjane)

Volume 4 discusses some of the key leaders of the ancient world, including Julius Caesar, Marcus Aurelius and Constantine, as well as important religious figures such as Saint Ambrose and Saint Augustine. Summary by KHand

The young, intelligent Mary discovers that through an act of will she can transform her appearance to make herself incredibly beautiful. But will her newfound identity be all that she hopes? This recording is from the novella’s original publication in The Savoy in August and September 1896. (Newgatenovelist)

An approved Treatise of Hawkes and Hawking. Divided into three Bookes. The first teacheth, How to make a short-winged Hawke good, with good conditions. The second, How to reclaime a Hawke from any ill condition. The third teacheth. Cures for all knowne griefes and diseases. By Edmund Bert, Gentleman. The author, who lived at Collier Row, near Romford, Essex, details his method of training the Goshawk, in which he was very successful. He used to ride out of Essex into Sussex to hawk over the downs, where, he says, " I have killed for the most part of a moneth together with an intermewed ...

The hilarious diary of a young man's recruitment into, and service in a navy, which, though well equipped and disciplined, remains woefully ill prepared for his arrival and dubious contribution. (Introduction by Nigel Boydell)

The Adventures of Paddy Beaver is another in the long list of children’s books by the conservationist, Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, the industrious and clever Paddy Beaver, a newcomer to the Green Forest, has encounters with Sammy Jay, Jerry Muskrat, Ol’ Man Coyote and other inhabitants of the Green Forest. Along the way, we learn how Paddy builds his dam and his house, and how he stores his food. We also learn little lessons about life, such as the importance of planning before doing, caring for Nature, trusting others, the benefits of working together and how wonderful it is to ...