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12/08/2024
Sherman’s March To The Sea, And The Burning Of Columbia, South Carolina, From His Memoirs
This librivox recording comprises part of chapter 22 and all of chapter 23 (The March To The Sea – From Atlanta To Savannah – November And December 1864) of American Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman’s Memoirs. Sherman was one of the premier generals fighting for the North. In 1864, Sherman succeeded Grant as the Union commander in the western theater of the war. He proceeded to lead his troops to the capture of the city of Atlanta, a military success that contributed to the re-election of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. Sherman’s subsequent march through Georgia and the Carolinas further undermined the Confederacy’s ability to continue fighting. He accepted the surrender of all the Confederate armies in the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida in April 1865. Sherman’s scorched earth policy marching his army through Georgia from conquered Atlanta to coastal Savannah was a strong factor in breaking the South’s will to fight. The South’s surrender came just five months later. He steadfastly refused to be drawn into politics and in 1875 published his Memoirs, one of the best-known first-hand accounts of the American Civil War. British military historian B. H. Liddell Hart famously declared that Sherman was “the first modern general” ( Wikipedia and david wales) [chương_files]
12/08/2024
Essays book 3
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne is one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary genre. He is also known as the father of Modern Skepticism. His pieces became famous for his apparent effortless ability to merge serious intellectual speculation with casual anecdotes and autobiography. His main work, Essais (translated literally as “Attempts” but traditionally as “Essays”), contains some of the still most widely influential essays ever written. This is the third volume of that important work. [chương_files]
11/08/2024
A Jewish State
Read in English, this is a pivotal document in the history of Zionism and the State of Israel. Herzl designed this work to elevate the discussion of “the Jewish Question” so it would “no longer take the form of violent abuse or sentimental vindication but of a debate, practical, large, earnest, and political.” While few of Herzl’s proposals were actually carried out, the importance of A JEWISH STATE was in the groundswell of support for a Jewish homeland engendered by its solutions to the practical problems of establishing a new state. In the words of a contemporary, “[Herzl] made it seem possible.” Benjamin Ze’ev Herzl (1860-1904) was a Hungarian writer, political economist, and Jewish activist. [chương_files]
11/08/2024
狄公案 (Di Gong An – Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee)
Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee is an 18th-century Chinese gong’an detective novel by an anonymous author, “Buti zhuanren” (Chinese: 不题撰人). It is loosely based on the stories of Di Renjie, a county magistrate and statesman of the Tang court, who lived roughly 630–700. The novel contains cultural elements from later dynasties, rather than Tang Dynasty China, however. (Summary by Vivienne Wong) [chương_files]
11/08/2024
Flight of the Shadow
A fantastical story of personal growth and a warning against the dangers of keeping secrets. This novel by George MacDonald is a deceptively easy read aimed to be accessible to teens, but the ideas will remain in your mind long afterwards. Beautifully written in the style of Gothic Novels of the nineteenth century, a story about relationships and redemption, secrets and confessions and an inspiring example of how to live in the light. [chương_files]
11/08/2024
The Theory of the Leisure Class
Originally published by the Norwegian-American economist Thorstein Veblen while he was a professor at the University of Chicago in 1898, the Theory of the Leisure Class is considered one of the great works of economics as well as the first detailed critique of consumerism. In the book, Veblen argues that economic life is driven not by notions of utility, but by social vestiges from pre-historic times. [Summary modified from Wikipedia.] [chương_files]
11/08/2024
Pretty Lady
‘The Pretty Lady’ is considered to be one of Bennett’s most revealing and under-rated works. It is the story of a French prostitute, Christine, who has escaped from wartime Ostend, and set herself up in business in London. Though a refugee, she demands no pity; she is self-sufficient, practical and realistic. Christine is not a harpy preying on innocent soldiers, but a canny businesswoman, doing the best she can with the opportunities life has given her. Her main relationship is with G.J. Hoape, a wealthy man above the military age. Bennett in this novel presents a disturbing image of wartime society, fragmented, uneasy and divided. There are references to industrial unrest and to social injustices, and hints that the British press is less than frank about the war. [chương_files]
11/08/2024
The Gray Mills of Farley
As contemporary today as it was over a century ago, this relatively unsentimental tale of labor relations still packs a punch. [chương_files]
11/08/2024
Exploits and Triumphs, in Europe, of Paul Morphy, the Chess Champion
Paul Morphy, born in New Orleans in 1837, was considered the greatest chess player of his era. He was a child prodigy who learned playing chess simply by watching family members play, and when he was only 9 years old, he was hailed as the best chess player in New Orleans. This book describes Morphy’s trip to Europe, i.e., England and France, where he wanted to play the European Champion Staunton, a match that never came about as the correspondence included in this book shows. He did play – and beat – virtually every other strong player in Europe though, and tales of these matches and people make up a large part of this book. After his triumphs in Europe, Paul Morphy was considerd the unofficial World Chess Champion, as official championship tournaments were only held from 1886. Morphy retired from chess in 1859 in order to devote himself to his law practice. He died from a stroke in 1884. [chương_files]