Description Details
Phoebe Yates Pember served as a matron in the Confederate Chimborazo military hospital in Richmond, Virginia, during the Civil War, overseeing a dietary kitchen serving meals to 300 or more wounded soldiers daily. Reminiscences of a Southern Hospital is her vivid recounting of hospital life and of her tribulations (and personal growth) as a female administrator. To follow her from day one, when she is greeted with “ill-repressed disgust” that “one of them had come,” and she, herself, “could only understand that the position was one which dove-tailed the offices of housekeeper and cook” to the day when she as exerts control over the hospital’s “medicinal whiskey barrel” is to watch a woman find herself. Besides describing “daily scenes of pathos,” Pember gives a horrifying account of the prisoner exchange of November 1864 (“living and dead . . . not distinguishable”), and also of the evacuation and burning of Richmond in 1865. Her memoirs were serialized in Cosmopolite magazine in 1866, then reprinted in book form in 1879 under the title A Southern Woman’s Story. Pember was honored by the US Postal Service with a stamp in 1995. (Summ...

Excerpt Details
Memoirs, History, War stories

Description Details
In this biography for young adults, Mary A. Hamilton gives a British person’s perspective on the 16th President of the United States. A glowing tribute to “Honest Abe”, the author traces Lincoln’s ancestral roots and recounts his birth in Kentucky, his youth in Indiana, his adult life in Illinois and his years in the White House. She also provides a good background on the causes and course of the American Civil War. Hamilton is not always historically precise. For example, she erroneously names Jefferson Davis as the Southern Democratic candidate for president running against Lincoln and Douglas in 1860 rather than John C. Breckinridge. However, overall “The Story of Abraham Lincoln” is a good summarization and interesting account of the life, values and politics of Lincoln. Cautions: Chapter 7 contains a single use of an epithet for African-Americans in a quotation from a British magazine. Chapter 8 ends with an example of a stereotypical Southern black dialect which many may find offensive. (Summary by John Lieder.)...

Excerpt Details
History, Children, Biography

Description Details
Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement.In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their textbook: History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: The authors… assume enough maturity in…students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well..The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole a...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement. In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their textbook: History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: The authors… assume enough maturity in…students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well...The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This is the third chapter in Macaulay’s great History of England from the Accession of James II. In this chapter Macaulay looks at the state of the nation in 1685. He discusses the population, the revenue, the military system, the roads, the inns, the coaches, the great cities and, of course London, its coffee houses and first experiments in street lighting. An interesting diversion from Macaulays’s usual obsession with politics but worry not, he still manages to crowbar some political intriguing into this chapter. (Summary by Jim Mowatt)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This is volume 3 chapter 14 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1959 in the 19th century. It starts with a brief resume of the history of England up until the Stuart kings and then starts to delve into a little more detail. Macaulay is primarily fascinated by ending of any claim to divine right of kings and the growing role of Parliament in the governing of the country. He sees the accession of William and Mary (Dutch, Protestant royalty) to the British throne as a key moment in the history of the British Isles. This is a book delightful for the literary gifts of the author and intriguing for his view of 18th century English and world politics. (Jim Mowatt)This volume covers various 17th century events including a military campaign in Ireland and the Church of England oath-swearing controversy, in which some clergymen refused to swear an oath to King William and Queen Mary required by the crown (Karen Merline)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The historical works of Tacitus are a history of the period from A.D. 14 to 96 in thirty volumes. Although many of the works were lost (only books 1-5 of the Histories and 1-6 and 11-16 of the Annals survive), enough remains to provide a good sense of Tacitus’s political and moral philosophy. He recognized the necessity for strong rulers but argued that more should be done to manage the succession of power and allow for the ascension of talent. Tacitus asserted that it was the dynastic ambitions of Rome’s many emperors that caused the decline of moral and political life and precluded the possibility of recruiting leaders of real ability. Moreover, the dynastic temptation caused political instability because military force was now required for political change. His works point to the necessity of systematic institutional restraints on power for the preservation of liberty. Gordon’s translation and his lengthy Discourses on Tacitus bring Tacitus’ ideas up to date and apply them to the British state of the early 18th century. (Description from Online Library of Liberty)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC, the Histories tell the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia.)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC, the Histories tell the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia.)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The Histories of Herodotus of Halicarnassus is considered the first work of history in Western literature. Written about 440 BC, the Histories tell the story of the war between the Persian Empire and the Greek city-states in the 5th century BC. Herodotus traveled extensively around the ancient world, conducting interviews and collecting stories for his book. The rise of the Persian Empire is chronicled, and the causes for the conflict with Greece. Herodotus treats the conflict as an ideological one, frequently contrasting the absolute power of the Persian king with the democratic government of the Greeks. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia.)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
The newspapers of Hawaii form a unique role in the history of Hawaii and of American journalism. In a period of 165 years, from 1834, when American Protestant missionaries introduced the Hawaiian language Lama Hawaii (Hawaiian Luminary), to the present, newspapers have spanned the history of Hawaii from its status as an independent nation, a republic, and a U. S. territory, to its position as a state. By newspapers, I mean publications that have titles and mastheads, and appear serially, generally on newsprint, unbound, and without covers. Size and style have varied dramatically over two centuries from single sheets to 100 pages plus. Some papers were issued once or twice; others from their first appearance are still in print today. Some were conceived as newsletters or magazines, and then became newspapers. By reverse, others started as newspapers and changed their format. But all are recognizable by format and topical subject matter. Between 1834 and 2000, approximately 1,250 separately titled papers have appeared in print. This is an estimate because, for example, in the case of no holdings having been found for some p...

Excerpt Details
There are several ways to classify newspapers. In Shaping History: The Role of Newspapers in Hawaii (University of Hawaii Press, 1996), I placed newspapers within four major categories: establishment, opposition (or alternative), official, and independent. Establishment papers represent the mainstream or dominant power. Alternative or opposition publications voice anti-establishment or countervailing views. Official papers, the third type, are sponsored by government agencies. Independent journals, the rarest form, are unallied to any special interest. The present work calls for a different organization. There are three main sections. Section I organizes the newspapers alphabetically by the title's first noun: for example, Aha Elele, Ka (The Convention), or Facho, O (The Torch), or Honolulu Advertiser, The. There are two exceptions. One is those Hawaiian language papers commonly referred to by the article preceding the noun, as in Ka Leo O Ka Lahui (The Voice of the Nation), or Na Pahu Kane (Sounding Drums). The other, for the same reason, is the Filipino language papers, as in Ti Silaw (The Light) and Ang Bantay (The Gu...

Table of Contents Details
Introduction -- 1 -- Alphabetical Listing and Annotations of Newspapers by Title -- 5 -- Categories of Newspapers -- 111 -- African American -- 111 -- Alternative -- 111 -- Chinese -- 112 -- Church -- 112 -- Cultural -- 113 -- Establishment -- 113 -- Filipino -- 116 -- Government -- 117 -- Hawaiian -- 117 -- Hispanic -- 119 -- Independent -- 119 -- Indonesian -- 119 -- Japanese -- 119 -- Jewish -- 121 -- Korean -- 121 -- Labor -- 121 -- Micronesian -- 122 -- Military -- 122 -- Plantation -- 123 -- Portuguese -- 124 -- Prison -- 124 -- Samoan -- 124 -- School -- 124 -- Sports -- 124 -- Tongan -- 125 -- Tourist -- 125 -- Unclassified -- 125 -- Underground -- 125 -- Vietnamese -- 125 -- Newspapers in Print by Years 1834–2000 -- 127 --...

Description Details
The Art of War is a Chinese military treatise written during the 6th century BC by Sun Tzu. Composed of 13 chapters, each of which is devoted to one aspect of warfare, it has long been praised as the definitive work on military strategies and tactics of its time. (From Wikipedia.)...

Excerpt Details
Politics, History, Philosophy, War stories, Instruction

Description Details
A collection of short nonfiction works in the public domain. The essays, speeches and reports included in this collection were independently selected by the readers, and the topics encompass history, politics, military history, humor, philosophy, nature and religion. (summary by J. M. Smallheer)...

Excerpt Details
Essay/Short nonfiction, History, Religion, Philosophy, Nature, War stories, Politics

Description Details
The Inquiry into the Role and Oversight of Private Security Contractors in Afghanistan, which reported in September 2010, was precipitated by events in August 2008, when US forces bombed the Afghan village of Azizabad. This gave rise to a public dispute between the US Government and the United Nations about the level of fatalities caused by the attack and about whether those killed had been civilians or Taliban-linked insurgents. Allegations soon emerged that the attack had been based on false information deliberately fed to the US military by Afghan employees of ArmorGroup, a private security contractor, and that these employees were engaged in murder and anti-coalition activities. A key local contact of ArmorGroup, who they dubbed Mr Pink, was subsequently convicted of espionage and sentenced to death, but was later freed....

Excerpt Details
History, Politics

Description Details
The book recalls previously developed approaches toward history based on correlation of words, astrological aspects and periodicity defined by the Chinese horoscope and the Lunar Nodes. They are illustrated by new examples. Astonishing correlations are found among the astral signs of the French presidents, the German chancellors and the generals of the Russian Civil War (1918-1922). The strange form of some states such as Mali, Somalia, India and others is associated to inter-ethnic conflicts taking place in these countries. The astral themes of certain historical events and of their participants are also analyzed (such as the revolutions of 1830 and 1848, the Berlin Congress, the putsch of 1991 in Moscow). Astrological, historical and geographical coincidences are found between the Arab revolutions of 2011 on the one side and the revolutions of 1848, the independence movements in the Spanish colonies, the social movements of 1968 and World War II on the other. The book is addressed to persons interested in History and/or astrology....

Table of Contents Details
Preface Chapter 1. The already developed methods Chapter 2. Astral sign and history Chapter 3. Geography, history and astrology Chapter 4. Different examples from history Appendix 1. Beginnings and ends of years of the Chinese horoscope Appendix 2. The Cyrillic alphabet....

Description Details
The vibrations of one's name are part of his/her personality and are very important in the case of a political figure. The same applies to names of towns and states. Repeated planetary influences (including the 60 years period of the Chinese horoscope and the 18.5 years revolution period of the Lunar Nodes whose definition is recalled) stimulate periodical repetition of historical events. In the books many examples of such repetitions are given. The resemblances between names of generals having participated in the World Wars and the ones between names of enclaves and cities that have been granted a special status are analyzed. In terms of astrology we consider the aspects (conjunctions, oppositions, trines, squares), the favourable period of 30 days that follows one's anniversary and the unfavourable one of 50 days that precedes it and their roles for the success or failure in the context of history. The examples are taken mainly from modern history. The book is addressed to people interested in history and/or astrology....

Excerpt Details
During the First Battle of the Marne (1914) the danger was real that Paris could be captured by the German army. The situation demanded a good concordance on behalf of the combined Franco-British staff so that the attack should be repulsed and the front stabilized. The names of the commanders give us a key to at least part of the answer to the question why the allied forces succeeded to defend the French capital. Here's the list of their names: Joseph Joffre; Franchet d'Espèray; Michel Maunory; Ferdinand Foch; Joseph Gallieni; Ferdinand de Langle. Sir John French; The presence of two “Joseph” and two “Ferdinand” is to be noticed at once. It seems that destiny had chosen persons that are placed under the influence of the same vibrations to have to accomplish the same task at a crucial moment. However it should be said at once that the relationship between the two Josephs was the one of conflicts. Thus to be in good concordance (by the vibrations of ones' names) to serve the homeland does not mean necessarily to be in good relationship with one another. The first name “John” has a correlation of ¾ with “Joseph” and the...

Table of Contents Details
Preface Chapter 1. Correlation and resemblance of names Chapter 2. Astrological aspects Chapter 3. The Lunar Nodes Chapter 4. The Chinese horoscope Appendix 1. Beginnings and ends of the years of the Chinese horoscope Appendix 2. The Cyrillic alphabet...

Description Details
Charles Beard was the most influential American historian of the early 20th century. He published hundreds of monographs, textbooks and interpretive studies in both history and political science. He graduated from DePauw University in 1898, where he met and eventually married Mary Ritter Beard, one of the founders of the first greek-letter society for women, Kappa Alpha Theta. Many of his books were written in collaboration with his wife, whose own interests lay in feminism and the labor union movement. In 1921, Charles and Mary Beard published their textbook: History of the United States. A contemporaneous review stated: The authors… assume enough maturity in…students to justify a topical rather than a chronological treatment. They have dealt with movements, have sketched large backgrounds, have traced causes, and have discussed the interrelation of social and economic forces and politics. All this has been directed to the large purpose of helping the student to understand American today in all its national characteristics and as part of world civilization as well...The literary style is exceptionally clear and crisp, and the whole...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
This is volume 3 chapter 15 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1959 in the 19th century. It starts with a brief resume of the history of England up until the Stuart kings and then starts to delve into a little more detail. Macaulay is primarily fascinated by ending of any claim to divine right of kings and the growing role of Parliament in the governing of the country. He sees the accession of William and Mary (Dutch, Protestant royalty) to the British throne as a key moment in the history of the British Isles. This is a book delightful for the literary gifts of the author and intriguing for his view of 18th century English and world politics. (Jim Mowatt) This volume covers part of the reign of William and Mary including the beginning of the War with Ireland. (Karen Merline)...

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
General Pierre Gustave Toutant Beauregard was one of the senior commanders of Southern forces during the Civil War. It was he who initiated the hostilities by opening fire on Ft. Sumter in Charleston harbor, in April, 1861. PARAGRAPH In July of that year, having taken command of the Confederate Army of the Potomac, he triumphed in the first serious clash of the war, at Manassas, Virginia. His army, aided by reinforcements from Johnston's army in the Shenandoah Valley, routed a Federal army under General McDowell. Had it been his army instead that routed, it is possible the Civil War might have ended that same year, as the path to Richmond would have been wide open. PARAGRAPH This is his account of the battle, including the strategic situation leading up to it. As an afterward, he added a very revealing appraisal of the relations between him and Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and the reasons why, in his opinion, the South failed to win its war of secession....

Excerpt Details
History

Description Details
J.B. Bury wrote his History of Greece before World War I, but it was such a good overview of classical Greek history that the third edition was still being used as a college textbook in the late 1960's. In the newer editions, a co-author rewrote the material dealing with the early centuries where there have been new archeological developments, but the later chapters and Bury's framework were retained essentially unchanged. Bury writes in a lucid, easily understood style that entertains as it educates. The book covers artistic and literary development, as well as politics and war, and its field of view includes western Asia Minor, the Agean archipelago, and Greater Greece (Sicily and Southern Italy). (Summary by Karen Merline)...

Excerpt Details
History