The Picture of Dorian Gray
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Number of pages: 198
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Book genre: fiction
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 26.09.2024, 00:17Annotation: Oscar Wilde’s only novel is the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty.
In this celebrated work Wilde forged a devastating portrait of the effects of evil and debauchery on a young aesthete in late-19th-century England. Combining elements of the Gothic horror novel and decadent French fiction, the book centers on a striking premise: As Dorian Gray sinks into a life of crime and gross sensuality, his body retains perfect youth and vigor while his recently painted portrait grows day by day into a hideous record of evil, which he must keep hidden from the world. For over a century, this mesmerizing tale of horror and suspense has enjoyed wide popularity. It ranks as one of Wilde's most important creations and among the classic achievements of its kind.
The War in the Air
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Number of pages: 222
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Book genre: sci-fi & fantasy
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 25.09.2024, 01:11Annotation: A cornerstone of early science fiction and a haunting image of world war
Following the development of massive airships, naïve Londoner Bert Smallways becomes accidentally involved in a German plot to invade America by air and reduce New York to rubble. But although bombers devastate the city, they cannot overwhelm the country, and their attack leads not to victory but to the beginning of a new and horrific age for humanity. And so dawns the era of Total War, in which brutal aerial bombardments reduce the great cultures of the twentieth century to nothing. As civilization collapses around the Englishman, now stranded in a ruined America, he clings to only one hope - that he might return to London, and marry the woman he loves.
Revolution and Counter-Revolution
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Number of pages: 71
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Book genre: sociology
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 10.07.2010, 16:00Annotation: Revolution and Counter-Revolution is an account of what happened in Prussia, Austria and other German states during 1848, describing the impact on both middle-class and working-class aspirations and on the idea of German unification. Events in Austria and Prussia are discussed, along with the role of the Poles and Czechs and Panslavism, which Engels was against. Also discussed is the Cologne Communist Trial, in which the defendants were acquitted after some of the evidence was shown to have been crudely forged.
Parker Fillmore
Czechoslovak Fairy Tales
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Number of pages: 98
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Book genre: fairy tales
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 08.07.2010, 01:36Annotation: Czechoslovak Fairy Tales is a book of Eastern European fairy tales. The stories have been translated, polished and edited for a audience of American children.
John Stevens Cabot Abbott
Josephine
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Number of pages: 112
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 08.07.2010, 01:35Annotation: "Know the woman, and you will know the man" is a proverb oft-repeated, and nowhere is it proved truer than in this highly insightful biography of Josephine de Beauharnais (1763-1814), first wife of Napoleon Bonaparte and famous in her own right. With his usual masterful flair, John S. C. Abbott provides the reader with a detailed description of Josephine's dramatic life: her birth into a wealthy French colonial family on the island of Martinique, her first marriage into the noble de Beauharnais family-and of her first spouse's execution during the Reign of Terror which accompanied the French Revolution. Josephine herself was only spared the guillotine after the overthrow of Robespierre, and a day before her own scheduled execution. She met Napoleon in 1795, and although six years his senior, soon became his lover. Within two years they were married, and her rise in society accompanied that of her husband. Starting as wife of the First Consul of France, her fame and beauty became even more widespread when, in 1804, she was proclaimed Empress of France by Napoleon at a grand ceremony in the Notre Dame Cathedral. This book does not however concentrate on her husband's exploits, but instead focuses on aspects of Josephine's life, activities, and interactions with the public which led her to become one of France's most loved figures. Included are revelations about her influence over her husband-which extended to matters of state-and also their domestic arrangements, which became strained over time with Napoleon's increasingly wide-ranging military adventures. Finally, the book provides the details of Napoleon's decision to divorce Josephine to marry the daughter of the Austrian emperor-driven by the need to produce an heir which Josephine could not fulfil. Napoleon's regret at this action-and the heartbreak it caused Josephine-are fully documented, and her death only four years later saw her last recorded words being his name.
John Stevens Cabot Abbott
Maria Antoinette
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Number of pages: 108
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 23.01.2010, 16:31Annotation: Marie Antoinette ( born Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last Queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an Archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child of Empress Maria Theresa and Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor. In April 1770, upon her marriage to Louis-Auguste, heir apparent to the French throne, she became Dauphine of France. On 10 May 1774, when her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI, she assumed the title Queen of France and Navarre, which she held until September 1791, when, as the French Revolution proceeded, she became Queen of the French, a title she held until 21 September 1792. After eight years of marriage, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a daughter, Marie Thérèse of France, the first of her four children. Despite her initial popularity, a growing number of the population eventually came to dislike her, accusing her of being profligate, promiscuous,[2] and of harbouring sympathies for France's enemies, particularly her native Austria.[3] The Affair of the Diamond Necklace damaged her reputation further. During the Revolution, she became known as Madame Déficit because the country's financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to the social and financial reforms of Turgot and Necker. During the Revolution, after the government had placed the royal family under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace in October 1789, several events linked to Marie Antoinette, in particular the June 1791 attempted flight to Varennes and her role in the War of the First Coalition, had disastrous effects on French popular opinion. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the royal family to take refuge at the Assembly, and on 13 August the family was imprisoned in the Temple. On 21 September 1792, the monarchy was abolished. After a two-day trial begun on 14 October 1793, Marie Antoinette was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by guillotine on the Place de la Révolution on 16 October 1793
Jacob Abbott
Cyrus the Great
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Number of pages: 101
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 19.12.2009, 20:57Annotation: Cyrus the Great is a classic biography of the great Persian leader, Cyrus the Great, by Jacob Abbott. Cyrus the Great was the founder of the ancient Persian empire--a monarchy, perhaps, the most wealthy and magnificent which the world has ever seen.
Běsi
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Number of pages: 551
Size: 3,28 MB
Book genre: fiction
Language: CzechRead: NO Added: 11.10.2009, 16:13
John Stuart Mill
Principles Of Political Economy
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Number of pages: 556
Size: 2,5 MB
Book genre: economy
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 17.09.2024, 01:46Annotation: Mill’s Principles of Political Economy was first published in 1848, and it went through various editions; the final edition was the seventh, which appeared in 1871. Political Economy is the term nineteenth-century writers use to refer to the study of what we today call macroeconomics, though its practitioners, such as Adam Smith, Mill, David Ricardo, and Karl Marx, were more philosophical and less empirical in their methods than modern economists. In this book, Mill examines the fundamental economic processes on which society is based: production, the distribution of goods, exchange, the effect of social progress on production and distribution, and the role of government in economic affairs.
John Stevens Cabot Abbott
Henry IV
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Number of pages: 119
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 08.08.2009, 13:19Annotation: About four hundred years ago there was a small kingdom, spreading over the cliffs and ravines of the eastern extremity of the Pyrenees, called Navarre. Its population, of about five hundred thousand, consisted of a very simple, frugal, and industrious people. Those who lived upon the shore washed by the stormy waves of the Bay of Biscay gratified their love of excitement and of adventure by braving the perils of the sea. Those who lived in the solitude of the interior, on the sunny slopes of the mountains, or by the streams which meandered through the verdant valleys, fed their flocks, and harvested their grain, and pressed rich wine from the grapes of their vineyards, in the enjoyment of the most pleasant duties of rural life. Proud of their independence, they were ever ready to grasp arms to repel foreign aggression. The throne of this kingdom was, at the time of which we speak, occupied by Catharine de Foix. She was a widow, and all her hopes and affections were centred in her son Henry, an ardent and impetuous boy six or seven years of age, who was to receive the crown when it should fall from her brow, and transmit to posterity their ancestral honors.
Ferdinand of Aragon had just married Isabella of Castile, and had thus united those two populous and wealthy kingdoms; and now, in the arrogance of power, seized with the pride of annexation, he began to look with a wistful eye upon the picturesque kingdom of Navarre. Its comparative feebleness, under the reign of a bereaved woman weary of the world, invited to the enterprise. Should he grasp at the whole territory of the little realm, France might interpose her powerful remonstrance. Should he take but the half which was spread out upon the southern declivity of the Pyrenees, it would be virtually saying to the French monarch, “The rest I courteously leave for you.” The armies of Spain were soon sweeping resistlessly through these sunny valleys, and one half of her empire was ruthlessly torn from the Queen of Navarre, and transferred to the dominion of imperious Castile and Aragon...
Jacob Abbott
Queen Elizabeth
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Number of pages: 98
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 22.06.2009, 00:19Annotation: Queen Elizabeth, by Jacob Abbott, is a classic English royalty biography that details the life of Queen Elizabeth the 1st. Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death on 24 March 1603. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the last monarch of the House of Tudor. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, his second wife, who was executed two-and-a-half years after Elizabeth's birth. Anne's marriage to Henry VIII was annulled, and Elizabeth was declared illegitimate. Her half-brother, Edward VI, ruled until his death in 1553, bequeathing the crown to Lady Jane Grey and ignoring the claims of his two half-sisters, Elizabeth and the Roman Catholic Mary, in spite of statute law to the contrary. Edward's will was set aside and Mary became queen, deposing Lady Jane Grey. During Mary's reign, Elizabeth was imprisoned for nearly a year on suspicion of supporting Protestant rebels. In 1558, Elizabeth succeeded her half-sister to the throne and set out to rule by good counsel. She depended heavily on a group of trusted advisers, led by William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley. One of her first actions as queen was the establishment of an English Protestant church, of which she became the Supreme Governor. This Elizabethan Religious Settlement was to evolve into the Church of England. It was expected that Elizabeth would marry and produce an heir to continue the Tudor line. She never did, despite numerous courtships. As she grew older, Queen Elizabeth became celebrated for her virginity. A cult grew around her which was celebrated in the portraits, pageants, and literature of the day. In government, Queen Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and half-siblings had been. One of her mottoes was "video et taceo" ("I see but say nothing"). In religion, she was relatively tolerant and avoided systematic persecution. After the pope declared her illegitimate in 1570 and released her subjects from obedience to her, several conspiracies threatened her life, all of which were defeated with the help of her ministers' secret service. Elizabeth was cautious in foreign affairs, manoeuvring between the major powers of France and Spain. She only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns in the Netherlands, France, and Ireland. By the mid-1580s, England could no longer avoid war with Spain. England's defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 associated Elizabeth with one of the greatest military victories in English history. Elizabeth's reign is known as the Elizabethan era. The period is famous for the flourishing of English drama, led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe, and for the seafaring prowess of English adventurers such as Francis Drake. Some historians depict Elizabeth as a short-tempered, sometimes indecisive ruler, who enjoyed more than her share of luck. Towards the end of her reign, a series of economic and military problems weakened her popularity. Elizabeth is acknowledged as a charismatic performer and a dogged survivor in an era when government was ramshackle and limited, and when monarchs in neighbouring countries faced internal problems that jeopardised their thrones. Such was the case with Queen Elizabeth's rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, whom she imprisoned in 1568 and had executed in 1587. After the short reigns of Elizabeth's half-siblings, her 44 years on the throne provided welcome stability for the kingdom and helped forge a sense of national identity.
Sigmund Freud
Výklad snů
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Number of pages: 338
Size: 1,23 MB
Book genre: psychology
Language: CzechRead: NO Added: 11.05.2009, 00:00
Jacob Abbott
Genghis Khan
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Number of pages: 125
Size: 1,26 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 10.05.2009, 23:56Annotation: The History of Genghis Khan by Jacob Abbott is a part of the Makers of History series intended for young readers which contains biographies of important historical figures. This simply narrated history of Genghis Khan traces the life of the great conqueror, from being the son of a minor chieftain in Mongolia to becoming the ruler of arguably the largest empire in history. Genghis Khan (c. 1162 -1227), born Temüjin, was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous empire in history after his death. He came to power by uniting many of the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia, and, after being proclaimed the universal ruler of the Mongols, or Genghis Khan, he launched the Mongol invasions, which ultimately conquered most of Eurasia, reaching as far west as Poland and as far south as Egypt.
Ammianus Marcellinus
The Roman History
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Number of pages: 557
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Book genre: history
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 01.05.2009, 17:04Annotation: Ammianus Marcellinus, ca. 325–ca. 395 CE, a Greek of Antioch, joined the army when still young and served under the governor Ursicinus and the emperor of the East Constantius II, and later under the emperor Julian, whom he admired and accompanied against the Alamanni and the Persians. He subsequently settled in Rome, where he wrote in Latin a history of the Roman empire in the period 96–378 CE, entitled Rerum Gestarum Libri XXXI. Of these 31 books only 14–31 (353–378 CE) survive, a remarkably accurate and impartial record of his own times. Soldier though he was, he includes economic and social affairs. He was broadminded towards non-Romans and towards Christianity. We get from him clear indications of causes of the fall of the Roman empire. His style indicates that his prose was intended for recitation.
Jacob Abbott
Richard III
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Number of pages: 129
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 01.05.2009, 16:50Annotation: King Richard III of England (1452-1485) only occupied the throne for two years, but his death at the Battle of Bosworth Field marked the end of the thirty-year long Wars of the Roses and symbolized the end of the Middle Ages in that country. His life and death became entwined with intrigue and myth, spurred on by William Shakespeare's dramatization of his life in one of the Bard's most famous plays. This enthralling account of Richard III's life, retold by master storyteller Jacob Abbott, starts with his family background and the build-up to the Wars of the Roses, which saw the Houses of York and Lancaster lock horns over the succession to the throne. When Edward IV died in 1483, Richard, as his younger brother, was named Lord Protector of the realm on behalf of Edward's son and successor, the 12-year-old King Edward V. This young boy-king and his brother disappeared under mysterious circumstances, allegedly murdered in the Tower of London, and Richard was declared king in terms of the rules of royal succession. Linked by common gossip to the disappearance of the two princes, Richard's reign was marked by continued civil unrest, culminating in the landing of Henry Tudor on the coast of Wales. Henry, who claimed the throne for himself, met Richard's army in battle at Bosworth Field, where Richard was slain, making him the last English king to die in battle. Henry Tudor was crowned king, and the Wars of the Roses came to an end.
Great Expectations
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Number of pages: 494
Size: 548 kB
Book genre: fiction
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 29.03.2009, 18:32Annotation: Great Expectations is the thirteenth novel by Charles Dickens and his penultimate completed novel: a bildungsroman that depicts the personal growth and personal development of an orphan nicknamed Pip. It is Dickens's second novel, after David Copperfield, to be fully narrated in the first person.
The Philosophy of Style
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Number of pages: 30
Size: 66 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 20.09.2024, 01:00Annotation: Today’s abundance of advice on the art and craft of writing makes the phenomenon appear a modern meta-trope of the written word. And yet it is anything but new. In his 1852 treatise The Philosophy of Style (public library; public domain), Victorian-era philosopher, scientist, and liberal political theorist Herbert Spencer sets out to create a structural framework for good composition, guided by the emergent groundswell of formalist writing. Only 32 years old at the time, he defines language as “an apparatus of symbols for the conveyance of thought” and proceeds to map out its essential machinery.
Isaac Husik
A History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy
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Number of pages: 331
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Book genre: philosophy
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 22.01.2009, 00:45Annotation: This is a history of Jewish philosophical thought over the Middle Ages, and its influence on the modern age. From the preface: “No excuse is needed for presenting to the English reader a History of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy. The English language, poor enough in books on Jewish history and literature, can boast of scarcely anything at all in the domain of Jewish Philosophy. The Jewish Encyclopedia has no article on Jewish Philosophy, and neither has the eleventh edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica. Hastings' Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics will have a brief article on the subject from the conscientious and able pen of Dr. Henry Malter, but of books there is none. But while this is due to several causes, chief among them perhaps being that English speaking people in general and Americans in particular are more interested in positive facts than in tentative speculations, in concrete researches than in abstract theorizing—there are ample signs that here too a change is coming, and in many spheres we are called upon to examine our foundations with a view to making our superstructure deep and secure as well as broad and comprehensive. And this is nothing else than philosophy. Philosophical studies are happily on the increase in this country and more than one branch of literary endeavor is beginning to feel its influence. 'And with the increase of books and researches in the history of the Jews is coming an awakening to the fact that the philosophical and rationalistic movement among the Jews in the middle ages is well worth study, influential as it was in forming Judaism as a religion and as a theological and ethical system. But it is not merely the English language that is still wanting in a general history of Mediaeval Jewish Philosophy, the German, French and Italian languages are no better off in this regard. For while it is true that outside of the Hebrew and Arabic sources, German books and monographs are the sine qua non of the student who wishes to investigate the philosophical movement in mediaeval Jewry, and the present writer owes very much to the researches of such men as Joel, Guttmann, Kaufmann and others, it nevertheless remains true that there is as yet no complete history of the subject for the student or the general reader. The German writers have done thorough and distinguished work in expounding individual thinkers and problems, they have gathered a complete and detailed bibliography of Jewish philosophical writings in print and in manuscript, they have edited and translated and annotated the most important philosophical texts. France has also had an important share in these fundamental undertakings, but for some reason neither the one nor the other has so far undertaken to present to the general student and non-technical reader the results of their researches. What was omitted by the German, French and English speaking writers was accomplished by a scholar who wrote in Hebrew. Dr. S. Bernfeld has written in Hebrew under the title "Daat Elohim" (The Knowledge of God) a readable sketch of Jewish Religious philosophy from Biblical times down to " Ahad Haam." A German scholar (now in America), Dr. David Neumark of Cincinnati, has undertaken on a very large scale a History of Jewish Philosophy in the Middle Ages, of which only a beginning has been made in the two volumes so far issued.”
Friedrich Engels
Feuerbach
The Roots of the Socialist Philosophy
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Number of pages: 51
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Book genre: philosophy
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 21.09.2024, 14:50Annotation: Feuerbach’s idealism consists in this, that he does not simply take for granted the mutual and reciprocal feelings of men for one another such as sexual love, friendship, compassion, self-sacrifice, etc., but declares that they would come to their full realization for the first time as soon as they were consecrated under the name of religion. The main fact for him is not that these purely human relations exist, but that they will be conceived of as the new true religion. —from Chapter III In 1841, German philosopher and anthropologist Ludwig Feuerbach published The Essence of Christianity (also available from Cosimo), a rationalist exploration of concepts of God and religion. It exerted a profound influence on Karl Marx, who incorporated some of its ideas into the atheistic, socialist philosophies of The Communist Manifesto a few years later. But Marx and his Manifesto coauthor, German philosopher FRIEDRICH ENGELS (1820–1895), did not see entirely eye to eye with Feuerbach—they had a particular bone to pick with his inconsistencies on materialism—and in 1888, Engels published this pamphlet to explain where their thoughts diverged. This 1903 translation of that German original is an invaluable artifact of lively academic debates of the day, and a vital component for modern students of political and religious philosophies to understanding the 19th-century roots of both.
Jacob Abbott
Darius the Great
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Number of pages: 99
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Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 17.01.2009, 01:41Annotation: The story of the founder of the Achaemenid, or the First Persian Empire, Darius I (c. 550-486 BC), is one of the best documented from that ancient time primarily because of a trilingual monumental relief on Mount Behistun which was written between the time of his coronation and his death. By drawing upon this record, and other primary sources, master storyteller Jacob Abbott takes the reader on a whirlwind account of a dramatic series of events in ancient Middle Eastern history. Filled with background tales of personal intrigue and shocking cruelty, the story follows Darius's ascension after the end of his grandfather Cambyses's reign, the difficult suppression of a series of internal revolts, the move of his seat of government to the world-famous capital city of Susa, and the expansion of his empire's borders from the Caucasus to the Indus. It also tells the story of his disastrous attempt to conquer the Scythians and the first and second attempts to conquer the Athenians-the first of which ended with the loss of his fleet, and the second in the decisive defeat of his army at the Battle of Marathon. Finally, the story of Darius ends during the revolt of his Egyptian provinces, and in the midst of preparations for a third assault on the Athenians. "The greatness of Darius was the greatness of position and not of character. He was the absolute sovereign of nearly half the world, and, as such, was held up very conspicuously to the attention of mankind, who gaze with a strong feeling of admiration and awe upon these vast elevations of power, as they do upon the summits of mountains, simply because they are high."
Jacob Abbott
Nero
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Number of pages: 105
Size: 1,14 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 30.11.2008, 16:00Annotation: Roman Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, commonly referred to as ‘Nero,’ ruled the world for thirteen years, from 54 to 68 AD. During his reign, Rome’s theaters and games were heavily patronized. Thousands of innocents were martyred before the mob. Nero himself was widely believed to have caused the Great Fire of Rome - in an attempt to clear some land for a property extension – and to have blamed the disaster’s origins on the Christians. A cruel young tyrant with an Oedipus complex who was generally unpopular with the populace, Nero lived hard and fast and committed suicide at the age of 30.
In Nero, historian Jacob Abbott sheds light on the main events and participants in the amazing life story of Ancient Rome’s fifth emperor.
Jacob Abbott
Pyrrhus
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Number of pages: 105
Size: 1,11 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 17.11.2008, 01:45Annotation: The English saying "a Pyrrhic victory" comes from the name of the third century BC king of Epirus, Pyrrhus. After a battle with the Romans which was won at great cost, Pyrrhus famously said, "one more victory like that and I will be undone." Pyrrhus, who was born only a few years after the death of Alexander the Great, was of the royal Aeacid house, and his military adventures were nearly as remarkable as those of the more famous Macedonian king. During his time, Pyrrhus conquered Sicily, parts of southern Italy, and finally Macedon, where he briefly held the crown. This work chronicles the remarkable life of one of ancient European history's most able military leaders, and also his bizarre and unexpected end.
John Stevens Cabot Abbott
Louis XIV
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Number of pages: 146
Size: 2,06 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 27.10.2008, 20:11Annotation: "Louis XIV - Makers of History" from John Stevens Cabot Abbott. American historian, pastor, and pedagogical writer (1805-1877).
Jacob Abbott
Richard I
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Number of pages: 121
Size: 1,52 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 27.10.2008, 20:09Annotation: Richard I is a classic English royal biography by Jacob Abbott. Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. He was known as Richard Cœur de Lion or Richard the Lionheart because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior. He was also known in Occitan as Oc e No (Yes and No), because of his reputation for terseness. By the age of 16, Richard had taken command of his own army, putting down rebellions in Poitou against his father. Richard was a central Christian commander during the Third Crusade, leading the campaign after the departure of Philip II of France and scoring considerable victories against his Muslim counterpart, Saladin, although he did not retake Jerusalem from Saladin. Richard spoke both French and Occitan. He was born in England, where he spent his childhood; before becoming king, however, he lived most of his adult life in the Duchy of Aquitaine, in the southwest of France. Following his accession, he spent very little time, perhaps as little as six months, in England. Most of his life as king was spent on Crusade, in captivity, or actively defending his lands in France. Rather than regarding his kingdom as a responsibility requiring his presence as ruler, he has been perceived as preferring to use it merely as a source of revenue to support his armies. Nevertheless, he was seen as a pious hero by his subjects. He remains one of the few kings of England remembered by his epithet, rather than regnal number, and is an enduring iconic figure both in England and in France
Jacob Abbott
Charles I
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Number of pages: 99
Size: 1,35 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 21.10.2008, 14:57Annotation: A dramatic and sweeping account from master storyteller Jacob Abbott, detailing the trials, tribulations, errors, and ultimate tragedy of Charles I (1600–1649), who achieved fame by becoming the only monarch of Britain to be executed after his country was plunged into a devastating civil war.After detailing his early life’s adventures, including his unsuccessful attempt to marry a Spanish Habsburg princess, and his later marriage to the French Bourbon princess Henrietta Maria, Abbot provides the reader with a concise background to the origin of the English Civil War.This work adeptly pinpoints the causes of Charles’s ultimate downfall: the odious influence of George Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham; his marriage to a Roman Catholic, which alienated many Protestants; his failure to successfully support the Protestant forces during the Thirty Years' War; his attempt to force the Church of Scotland to adopt high Anglican practices (which led to the Bishops' Wars); his quarrels with the Parliament of England over his royal prerogative, and the popular resentment against excessive taxes and his increasingly autocratic style of rule.From 1642 onward, the increasing disturbances saw Charles plunged into the English Civil War, which pitted Royalists against Parliamentarians. For three years the battles raged back and forth across the land, and only ended with Charles’s defeat and surrender in 1645.Even then, the drama was not at an end: Charles refused to agree to a constitutional monarchy, and escaped captivity in 1647. Re-captured, his increasingly diminished forces were finally overcome by Oliver Cromwell's New Model Army, and Charles was put on trial for treason and executed in public in the center of London in January 1649. His death marked the abolition of the monarchy in Britain and the creation of a republic called the Commonwealth of England. The monarchy would only be restored in 1660, when Charles’s son was made king.This is without doubt the most readable account of Charles I’s life and the backdrop to the Civil War ever written.
Jacob Abbott
Xerxes
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Number of pages: 106
Size: 1,04 MB
Book genre: non-fiction
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 09.05.2008, 15:50Annotation: Jacob Abbott was a prolific American author best known for his makers of history series, a collection of biographies on some of the most important figures in history such as Julius Caesar, Cleopatra, Genghis Khan, and many others. This is Abbott's biography on Xerxes, the fourth king of the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia.
Bleak House
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Number of pages: 784
Size: 812 kB
Book genre: fiction
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 03.05.2008, 18:31Annotation: Widely regarded as Dickens's masterpiece, Bleak House centers on the generations-long lawsuit Jarndyce and Jarndyce, through which "whole families have inherited legendary hatreds." Focusing on Esther Summerson, a ward of John Jarndyce, the novel traces Esther's romantic coming-of-age and, in classic Dickensian style, the gradual revelation of long-buried secrets, all set against the foggy backdrop of the Court of Chancery. Mixing romance, mystery, comedy, and satire, Bleak House limns the suffering caused by the intricate inefficiency of the law.
John Castell Hopkins
The Life of King Edward VII
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Number of pages: 265
Size: 3,95 MB
Book genre: biography
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 03.05.2008, 18:14Annotation: This book contains the life of King Edward and the career of King George V.
Archibald Henry Sayce
Babylonians And Assyrians
Life and Customs
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Number of pages: 123
Size: 831 kB
Book genre: history
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 03.05.2008, 17:45Annotation: "Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs" is a book written by A. H. Sayce, an eminent scholar of ancient Near Eastern history and languages. The book provides a comprehensive exploration of the life, culture, and customs of the Babylonian and Assyrian civilizations that thrived in Mesopotamia. Sayce delves into various aspects of their society, including religion, government, art, architecture, daily life, and more. Drawing from archaeological discoveries and ancient texts, the author offers valuable insights into the rich history and intricate social structures of these influential ancient civilizations. With its meticulous research and engaging narrative style, "Babylonians and Assyrians, Life and Customs" serves as an informative and captivating resource for those interested in understanding the complexities of the ancient Near East.
Claud Field
Mystics and Saints of Islam
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Format: PDF
Number of pages: 91
Size: 365 kB
Book genre: religion and theology
Language: EnglishRead: NO Added: 23.02.2008, 17:13Annotation: Mystics and Saints of Islam is a compilation of 15 short biographies of great Islamic saints and mystics, as reflected in the title of the book. Author Claud Field opens with a short introduction to Islamic mysticism and pantheistic sufism, followed by short descriptions of several well-known Islamic saints, including Rabia the Woman Sufi, Habib Ajami, Al Ghazzali, Suhrawardy, and Sharani the Egyptian. This book is intended for those new to Sufism and scholars interested in a quick overview of major Islamic figures. CLAUD FIELD (1863-1941) was an author and translator of Arabic literature. His most well-known translations are the works of Abu Hamid al-Ghazālī, namely The Alchemy of Happiness and The Confessions of Al Ghazzali. He is the author of Mystics and Saints of Islam, Heroes of Missionary Enterprise, The Charm of India, and Persian Literature, among others.
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