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Silas Marner (originally published in 1861): Betrayed by a beloved friend and accused of a crime he didn’t commit, awkward Silas Marner is expelled from his beloved religious community — the only community he has ever known. He exiles himself in the remote village of Raveloe. Friendless and without family, set apart from the villagers by their superstition and fear of him, he plies his weaving trade day after day, storing up gold which becomes his idol. When his gold is stolen, he is rescued from despair by the arrival on his lonely hearth of a beautiful little girl, whom he adopts, and through whom he and the other people of the village learn that loving relationships are more fulfilling than material wealth. (Summary by rachelellen)...

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Literature

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Excerpt: The Narrative of Sojourner Truth (1850), Dictated by Sojourner Truth, edited by Olive Gilbert.

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Contents NARRATIVE OF SOJOURNER TRUTH ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 HER BIRTH AND PARENTAGE.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 4 ACCOMMODATIONS ............................................................................................................................................................................................................. 5 HER BROTHERS AND SISTERS ............................................................................................................................................................................................ 6 HER RELIGIOUS INSTRUCTION ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 THE AUCTION .....................................................

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Piracy embodies the romance of the sea at its highest expression. It is a sad but inevitable commentary on our civilization, that, so far as the sea is concerned, it has developed from its infancy down to a century or so ago, under one phase or another of piracy. If men were savages on land they were doubly so at sea, and all the years of maritime adventure--years that added to the map of the world till there was little left to discover--could not wholly eradicate the piratical germ. It went out gradually with the settlement and ordering of the far-flung British colonies. Great Britain, foremost of sea powers, must be credited with doing more both directly and indirectly for the abolition of crime and disorder on the high seas than any other force. But the conquest was not complete till the advent of steam which chased the sea-rover into the farthest corners of his domain. It is said that he survives even today in certain spots in the Chinese waters,--but he is certainly an innocuous relic. A pirate of any sort would be as great a curiosity today if he could be caught and exhibited as a fabulous monster. (Summary from text)...

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History

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Can a spaceship go crazy? Well, yes it can if it has a brain. And the new MG (magnetogravitic drive) experimental robot space ship does indeed have a 'brain'. Completely bewildered as to why the first six models of their supposedly perfect new ship model, the MG-YR, nicknamed the McGuire, have gone totally bonkers after activation and before they could ever be used, the company has called in the services of Daniel Oak. They suspect sabotage of course. Daniel Oak is the hard boiled private investigator with nerves of steel and a mind of the same substance. He is extremely expensive to hire but gets results; and he knows his way around crime, space ships and especially women. What he finds out is surprising! (Summary by Phil Chenevert)...

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Science fiction

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Ashton-Kirk, who has solved so many mysteries, is himself something of a problem even to those who know him best. Although young, wealthy, and of high social position, he is nevertheless an indefatigable worker in his chosen field. He smiles when men call him a detective. No; only an investigator, he says. He has never courted notoriety; indeed, his life has been more or less secluded. However, let a man do remarkable work in any line and, as Emerson has observed, the world will make a beaten path to his door. Those who have found their way to Ashton-Kirk's door have been of many races and interests. Men of science have often been surprised to find him in touch with the latest discoveries, scholars searching among strange tongues and dialects, and others deep in tattered scrolls, ancient tablets and forgotten books have been his frequent visitors. But among them come many who seek his help in solving problems in crime. I'm more curious than some other fellows, that's all, is the way he accounts for himself. If a puzzle is put in front of me I can't rest till I know the answer. At any rate his natural bent has always been to make pla...

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Mystery, Fiction

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Consolation of Philosophy (Latin: Consolatio Philosophiae) is a philosophical work by Boethius written in about the year 524 AD. It has been described as the single most important and influential work in the West in medieval and early Renaissance Christianity, and is also the last great work that can be called Classical. - Consolation of Philosophy was written during Boethius' one year imprisonment while awaiting trial, and eventual horrific execution, for the crime of treason by Ostrogothic King Theodoric the Great. Boethius was at the very heights of power in Rome and was brought down by treachery. It was from this experience he was inspired to write a philosophical book from prison reflecting on how a lord's favor could change so quickly and why friends would turn against him. It has been described as “by far the most interesting example of prison literature the world has ever seen.” - The Consolation of Philosophy stands, by its note of fatalism and its affinities with the Christian doctrine of humility, midway between the heathen philosophy of Seneca the Younger and the later Christian philosophy of consolation represented by T...

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Philosophy

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A 1922 source-book for British criminal pathologists, this will be of particular interest to fans of popular police forensics television shows, films, and murder mysteries.(Summary by BellonaTimes)...

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Science, Instruction

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The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells that Rang an Old Year Out and a New Year In is the second of Charles Dickens' Christmas books, published in 1844. Its contemporary setting is the Hungry Forties, a time of social and political unrest, and the book has a strong moral message. It remained popular for many years, although its fame has since been eclipsed by that of A Christmas Carol , the first of the series. Our hero Toby (Trotty) Veck is a poor but hard-working man, whose beloved daughter Meg is due to marry on New Year's Day. Trotty, who is appalled by newspaper reports of crime and immorality, is further depressed by his encounters with the rich and influential Alderman Cute and Sir Joseph Bowley, who make him feel that the poor have no right to exist in society, and his daughter has no right to marry. Trotty hears messages in the chimes of the church bells, which lead him to visit the belfry at night on New Year's Eve......

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Holiday, Fiction

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A cowboy outlaw whose youthful daring has never been equalled in the annals of criminal history. When a bullet pierced his heart he was less than twenty-two years of age, and had killed twenty-one men, Indians not included. The author feels that he is capable of writing a true and unvarnished history of Billy the Kid, as he was personally acquainted with him, and assisted in his capture, by furnishing Sheriff Pat Garrett with three of his fighting cowboys--Jas. H. East, Lee Hall and Lon Chambers. The facts set down in this narrative were gotten from the lips of Billy the Kid, himself, and from such men as Pat Garrett, John W. Poe, Kip McKinnie, Charlie Wall, the Coe brothers, Tom O'Phalliard, Henry Brown, John Middleton, Martin Chavez, and Ash Upson. All these men took an active part, for or against, the Kid. Ash Upson had known him from childhood, and was considered one of the family, for several years, in his mother's home. Other facts were gained from the lips of Mrs. Charlie Bowdre, who kept Billy the Kid, hid out at her home in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, after he had killed his two guards and escaped. (Introduction by the author)...

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History

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Will Barrent awakes without memories just before being deposited on Omega, a planet for criminals where the average life expectancy is 3 years. He’s listed as a murderer and released into the illicit society as a “peon” the lowest class imaginable. A mysterious girl gives him a weapon that starts him on his path to status, a path that requires constant brutality. But it must be borne if our hero is to discover the reason for his imprisonment; A reason that pits him against himself, and involves the sardonically similar but devoutly different creeds of Omega and Earth. - The Status Civilization was first published as “Omega!” in the August and September 1960 issues of Amazing Science Fiction Stories Magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)...

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Science fiction

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The play begins years after Oedipus has taken the throne of Thebes. The Theban chorus cries out to him for salvation from the plague sent by the gods in response to Laius's murder. Oedipus searches for the murderer, unaware that he himself is guilty of that crime. The blind prophet Teiresias is called upon to aid the search, but, after his warning against following through with it, Oedipus oppugns him as the murderer, even though he is blind and aged. In response, an angry Tiresias tells Oedipus that he is looking for himself, causing the king to become enraged in incredulity. He then accuses the prophet of conspiring with Creon, Jocasta's brother, to overthrow him. Oedipus calls for one of Laius's former servants, the only surviving witness of the murder, who fled the city when Oedipus became king in order to avoid being the one to reveal the truth. Soon a messenger from Corinth arrives to inform the king of the death of Polybus, whom Oedipus still believes to be his real father. At this point, the messenger informs him that he was in fact adopted and that his true parentage is unknown. In the subsequent discussions between Oedipus...

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Myths/Legends, Play, Literature, Poetry

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The Riot Act was passed by the British Parliament in 1714, the first year of the reign of George I, and came into effect in August 1715. This was a time of widespread social disturbance, as the preamble describes; the Act sought to put an end to this. A group of twelve or more people, “being unlawfully, riotously and tumultuously assembled”, would be read a proclamation; they must disperse within an hour, on pain of death. The same fate would befall anyone preventing the reading of the proclamation, or damaging buildings while on a riot. If the law enforcement officers happened to injure or kill a rioter, they were immune from prosecution. The reading of the proclamation, the wording of which is detailed in the Act, was the necessary first step before action could be taken against the rioters. This gave us the phrase “to read the riot act”, to give a stern warning or rebuke. The Act was repealed in Britain in 1973, but had long since fallen into disuse there. A version is still in force in Canada....

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Essay/Short nonfiction

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Crime and Punishment focuses on the mental anguish and moral dilemmas of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated, unscrupulous pawnbroker for her money, thereby solving his financial problems and at the same time, he argues, ridding the world of evil. Crime and Punishment is considered by many as the first of Dostoevsky's cycle of great novels, which would culminate with his last completed work, The Brothers Karamazov, shortly before his death. (Summary from Wikipedia)

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Fiction, Literature

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The Black Star was a master criminal who took great care to never be identifiable, always wore a mask so nobody knew what he looked like, rarely spoke to keep his voice from being recognized, and the only mark left at the scenes of the crimes which he and his gang committed were small black stars which were tacked as a sign of their presence, and an occasional sarcastic note to signify his presence and responsibility. Even those who worked for him knew nothing of him, all of which were making his crimes virtually unsolvable. The police were at a complete loss as to his identity and at a method of stopping his criminal activities. He seemed to have the perfect strategic setup and all advantages were in his favor. He even somehow knew where the wealthy kept their jewels and money, and knew when they would remove valuable items from their safes and deposit boxes. Thus Roger Verbeck decided to take on the case of the Black Star using his own methodology. The Black Star will keep you guessing from beginning to end, just as he kept the police and Verbeck guessing. Johnston McCulley was a prolific writer in the pulp fiction vein, and his Z...

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Adventure, Fiction, Mystery

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This historical novel is set in Rome in the early 4th century AD, during the time of the cruel persecution of Christians under the Emperor Diocletian The heroine of the book is Fabiola, a young pagan beauty from a noble Roman family. Fabiola seems to have everything, including a superior education in the philosophers, yet under the surface, she is not content with her life. One day, in a fit of rage, she attacks and wounds her slave girl Syra, who is a secret Christian. The proud, spoiled Roman girl is humbled by Syra's humility, maturity and devotion to her in this situation, and a slow transformation begins. Woven into this fictitious story are a number of martyrdom accounts of real-life Christian saints, including Saint Agnes, Saint Tarcisius and Saint Sebastian. Cardinal Wiseman wrote Fabiola in part as an answer to the vigorously anti-Catholic book Hypatia by Charles Kingsley. The novel was mainly aimed at the embattled Catholic minority in England, who had recently emerged from a half-illegal status. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)...

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Historical Fiction, Religion

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In The Path to San Damiano four friends are drawn into a search for a mysterious stranger with a reputation for acts of kindness. An unanticipated visit by the FBI and Secret Service adds to their curiosity and strengthens their resolve to find him. Their search takes them to Italy, where the elusive stranger seems just beyond their reach. Then, near the ancient town of Assisi, home of Saint Francis, something extraordinary occurs....

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Mrs. Macy set down her teacup. Peter knew to remain silent. She began, “I want to make sure I understand this situation correctly. Peter observed a man in rags giving a dying man a sip of water. For whatever reason, he was curious about him. He told his friends and we, in an effort to be supportive, joined in a search to find the man. We have not been successful in our search, although we have encountered some interesting stories along the way. Then, suddenly, the FBI and Secret Service show up at our doorstep, looking for the same man, you think. I'm not quite sure why Peter wants to find him, and I am absolutely befuddled as to why you want to find him. You either cannot or may not, but quite assuredly will not, tell us why. Apparently, you want us to trust you. Have you bugged our phones?” Her last words caught the others off guard. The agents looked quickly at each other. Agent Hardy spoke, “Mrs. Macy, we are familiar with your background and past activities. This is a serious matter and we would prefer to go the cooperative route rather than pursuing court orders, search warrants and the like.” 50 “Agent Hardy, ...

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« Takers Economy » proposes an alternative look at illegal file sharing in light of the role of art in society, and in the context of the oneness of all beings and things. ...

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1. Introduction 2. The State of Play 3. Ars Divina 4. Oneness 5. An I for an I Makes the World Go Bound 6. Alternatives Rock 7. Verses 8. Links 9. Credits 10. Disclaimer 11. About the Author 12. License...

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This is Perhaps the best Quran English translation. It is clear, easy to read, and very faithful to the Arabic original. It closely follows the Arabic text, and often reminds the reader of the Arabic original. It uses today's English language, and today's English vocabulary, thus it is easy to read and understand. The flow is smooth, the sentence structure is simple, the meaning is clear. This Quran translation has no interpretations, no footnotes, and no explanations. It is a pure translation of the Quran, from Arabic to English, and it does not try to emphasize any school of thought. The text purely and accurately translates the Holy Quran, from Arabic, into contemporary English. It was translated by a Muslim, who saw firsthand the miracles inside the Quran. His native language is Arabic; his everyday language is American English. For 15 years, he studied the Quran. For many years, he translated speech between his mother and his wife. For a living, he develops quality software. The Quran is the last Book from the Creator. It contains guidance, mercy, and healing. The Quran is a blessing, within reach....

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In the name of God, the Gracious, the Merciful. 1. When the sun is rolled up. 2. When the stars are dimmed. 3. When the mountains are set in motion. 4. When the relationships are suspended. 5. When the beasts are gathered. 6. When the oceans are set aflame. 7. When the souls are paired. 8. When the girl, buried alive, is asked: 9. For what crime was she killed? 10. When the records are made public. 11. When the sky is peeled away. 12. When the Fire is set ablaze. 13. When Paradise is brought near. 14. Each soul will know what it has readied. 15. I swear by the galaxies. 16. Precisely running their courses. 17. And by the night as it recedes. 18. And by the morn as it breathes. 19. This is the speech of a noble messenger. 20. Endowed with power, eminent with the Lord of the Throne. 21. Obeyed and honest. 22. Your friend is not possessed. 23. He saw him on the luminous horizon. 24. And He does not withhold knowledge of the Unseen. 25. And it is not the word of an accursed devil. 26. So where are you heading? 27. It is only a Reminder to all mankind. 28. To whoever of you wills to go straight. 29. But you c...

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A book of poems written by Florentin Smarandache whilst he was experiencing a dark time in life.

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EPILOGUE I leave you with my poems. Feel through me! I have achieves this volume in three years, but read it in T E N! It is a hut from the outside, and maybe a castle inside. (this volume holds connections with the earth!) The book has me between its covers - but now it is in its agony: ...

Table of Contents Details
Motto - 6 SHORT (AUTO)BIOGRAPHY - 7 THE MANIFESTO – PROGRAM - 9 =INAPPROPRIATE WORDS MADE APPROPRIATE= - 17 PEOPLE ARE FLYING THROUGH PEOPLE - 18 THE PHILOSOPHY OF PSYCHOLOGY - 19 OLD AGE WITHOUT YOUTH - 20 SCIENCE AND ART - 21 THIS OTHER WORLD - 22 VIVE LA PAIX! - 23 A NEEDED DRUG - 24 WESTERN POETRY - 25 PAZVANTE THE BLIND - 26 PHYSICAL EDUCATION / OF THE NERVES - 27 GEORGE DEVIL - 28 AT WORK: / WOMEN WITHOUT WORK - 29 ANTI-POEM OF LOVE - 30 ON WIMBLEY, IN BĂNIE - 31 COURSE OF GERMAN LANGUAGE - 33 FUSS WITH FISH – 34 PORTRAIT OF A GIRL - 35 SHE AND HE - 36 VIBRATIONS ON A SENSITIVE STRING - 37 A POSITIVE MINUS - 38 FRAGMENT OF FRAGMENT - 39 THE UNREAL IS REALITY - 40 BUREAUCRACY - 41 I LIVED MY LIFE / THE DYING WAY - 42 THE FIGHT OF OPPOSITES - 43 GO AHEAD, PLEASE! - 44 THEATER IN ABSURD - 45 HEARING AT GOD - 46 CITIZEN EDUCATION - 47 SCENE OF SCENERY - 48 DIALOGUE AT LONG DISTANCE - 49 THEATER ACTING - 50 DEMETER HAS DIED - 51 I EXIST AGAINST MYSELF - 52 ALLOW ME TO BE MYSELF - 53 CRIME WITHOUT PUNISHMENT - 54 LESSON OF PHILOSOPHY - 55 FLYING MANUAL - 56 PEACE TO YOU, LOVE - 57 LONG COUR...

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Sebastian is an intelligent look at alternative ways to live and love, presented as a thriller about the most horrific of the twenty-first century’s most lucrative human enterprises. If you're open to difference and enjoy a fast-paced thriller, then read and enjoy. ...

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During dinner Sebastian’s solitary life was laid bare. Speaking distractedly as if he were talking about someone else, he told about his irritable mother of whom he was so ashamed, never inviting anyone home, his rebellious nudity and sexually promiscuous behaviour that had been encouraged by his mother, who made a healthy profit from exploiting it. When questioned, he swore he had no idea where the money came from to buy the house or to sustain their life style, especially as Desolé was only the part time manager of a small employment agency. Rex and Fee remained sympathetically silent, letting Sebastian choose his own pace to speak about Jack and the ‘guests’, the private hospital where they recovered and Sebastian’s health was tested monthly, and to wonder why, despite becoming friends, none of the young men had contacted him after leaving. Finally they learned about Guapo’s escape, Desolé’s pretence that he was with Mr. Farzdbuk, and the discovery of the porno magazines and internet videos fed by hidden cameras. ‘If I hadn’t met Reginald at high school, and Mr. Noall hadn’t been so understanding, I’d be dead by now. I was a w...

Table of Contents Details
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Chapter Five Chapter Six Chapter Seven Chapter Eight Chapter Nine Chapter Ten Chapter Eleven Chapter Twelve Chapter Thirteen Chapter Fourteen Chapter Fifteen...