Lively (and often unsparing) descriptions of the people, places, and customs that the author encounters as he attempts to retrace the steps of the early Spanish conquistadores in the Americas: Columbus, Cortez, Pizarro, Balboa, Coronado. (Summary by Steven Seitel) [chương_files]
In this fine sailing and exploring yarn, Edward Frederick Knight (1852-1925), sometime English barrister, journalist, sportsman, and amateur seaman, conspires over a fish dinner in Harwich to buy and refit the tiny yacht Falcon, recruit a crew of four (and a cabin boy), and sail across the Atlantic Ocean to South America. This they do, despite naysayers who advised painting the yacht’s name conspicuously on her keel to aid identification when found floating upside down in some foreign sea. The book provides detailed descriptions of sailing in difficult waters and powerful storms, the spectacular scenery of Bahia and Rio de Janeiro, sport hunting in unspoiled jungles, frequent revolutions (and a terrible war of annihilation) and, perhaps most important, the customs of the many different peoples who inhabit the South American continent. As was common practice in his day, Knight assumes the superiority of the “white” races and is not hesitant to express his sometimes less-than-favorable impressions of the “lesser” races he encounters. But he offers high praise for the beauty of the land and the kindness of the people he meets. (Steven Seitel) [chương_files]
Toute l’érudition littéraire si variée et étendue, et les convictions politiques de Madame Germaine de Staël, à une période particulière en France, 1810. Tout le talent de plume si fluide, clair, alerte de l’auteure dans cet ouvrage essentiel. Les mœurs des Allemands, de différentes régions, société, langue, etc… La littérature et les Arts, différentes époques, Wieland, Klopstock, Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, poésies, art dramatique et romans. Philosophie et Morale, en Angleterre et en France, puis Kant, influence sur le caractère des Allemands, la morale scientifique, Jacobi, etc… Religion et Enthousiasme, catholicisme, protestantisme, philosophes religieux, mysticité, douleur, contemplation de la nature, enthousiasme et vie en adéquation avec soi-même, bonheur. – Summary by Christiane Jehanne [chương_files]
William Booth (1829 – 1912) was the founding General of the Salvation Army in late nineteenth century England. Finding his salvation as a teenager, he went on to become one of the most controversial and, ultimately, well-loved and respected social reformers of his day. Published in 1890 amidst the turmoil of the death of his beloved wife, Catherine, “In Darkest England” was hailed as a revolutionary approach to coping with the social ills facing Great Britain at the time. Although 130 years old, this revolutionary book of Victorian England still has much to say of note today. – Summary by Tom Hirsch [chương_files]
Samuel Phillips Day traces the history of tea from Asia to England, exploring some of the romance of this treasured drink and its place in British culture. – Summary by Larry Wilson [chương_files]
Traditions, us et coutumes, croyances et religion, histoires écoutées et notées en Bretagne : en région du Trégor, et en Centre-Finistère, endroit fort typique des Montagnes Noires, Menez-du. Anatole Le Braz (Le Bras, mais il a choisi Le Braz, pour la bonne prononciation de son nom), fut un conférencier très apprécié et a fait connaître et aimer la Bretagne, en France, et aussi aux U.S.A. et au Canada. Ce sont des Contes recueillis, et écrits avec fluidité et grand talent, où amour, habitudes bretonnes, etc… nous réjouissent. A Motreff, par exemple, lors de “La Nuit des feux”, chaque clan prépare son bûcher pour honorer Saint-Pierre et les âmes de ses morts, les anaon. Des aventures bien étranges arrivent aux habitants de cette belle contrée, au climat variable, à la géographie parfois tourmentée, où le sol peut être très riche, ou bien, de landes arides et d’espèces végétales très variées. – Summary by Christiane Jehanne [chương_files]
The court of French King Louis XIV was not a safe place to be. It was filled with plots and intrigues, leaving observers and commentators with more questions than answers among speculation and innuendo. Funck-Brentano was a scholar, librarian and expert on the political climate of eighteenth century France. Backing up his work with research in the archives of the Bastille, he attempts to explain and throw light on the tumultuous times. – Summary by Lynne Thompson [chương_files]
William H. Councill, former slave and contemporary of Booker T. Washington was founder of Huntsville Normal School, now Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University in Normal, Alabama. This short volume consists of short pieces of advice to the Negro workers of his time with some statistical information at the end. Councill reflects many of the attitudes and opinions of his time. (Summary by Larry Wilson) [chương_files]
An historical and sociological view of race relations in America as it pertains to the African-American. – Summary by KevinS [chương_files]
If you love the quiet of the country – the real quiet which is not silence at all, but the blending of a myriad scarce-perceptible sounds you will get it in Windlecombe, year in and year out. For how many ages a human settlement has existed in this wooded, sun-flooded cleft of the Downs, it is impossible to hazard a guess. Windlecombe is mentioned in Domesday, but the stones of the old church proclaim it as belonging to times more distant still. Neighbourhood, the daily interchange of thought and word and kindly deed, is a necessity for all healthy human life, and the natural medium of all true advancement. And nowhere will you find it of such sturdy growth, rooted in such nourishing, yet temperate soil, than in the villages of modern England. (From the Introduction of Neighbourhood – Tickner Edwardes) Although the village of Windlecombe is itself fictitious, it is based on the tiny West Sussex village of Burpham – a place that Tickner Edwardes lived in for a time before WWI. He was to return in 1927, holding the post of vicar at St. Mary’s parish church until his retirement in 1935 and continued to reside there until his death in 1944. Neighbourhood chronicles a number of notable events in Windlecombe (including the annual cricket match against Stavisham – their arch rivals!) and experiences of some of the distinctive characters within this Downland village. – Summary by Steve C [chương_files]
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