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volunteers bring you 20 recordings of Best Way to Read a Book by Edgar A. Guest. This was the Fortnightly Poetry project for September 12th, 2010.

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Humor, Instruction, Philosophy, Poetry

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Plato's Phaedo is one of the great dialogues of his middle period, along with the Republic and the Symposium. The Phaedo, which depicts the death of Socrates, is also Plato's seventh and last dialogue to detail the philosopher's final days (the first six being Theaetetus, Euthyphro, Sophist, Statesman, Apology, and Crito). In the dialogue, Socrates discusses the nature of the afterlife on his last day before being executed by drinking hemlock. Socrates has been imprisoned and sentenced to death by an Athenian jury for not believing in the gods of the state and for corrupting the youth of the city. The dialogue is told from the perspective of one of Socrates' students, Phaedo of Elis. Having been present at Socrates' death bed, Phaedo relates the dialogue from that day to Echecrates, a fellow philosopher. By engaging in dialectic with a group of Socrates' friends, including the Thebans Cebes and Simmias, Socrates explores various arguments for the soul's immortality in order to show that there is an afterlife in which the soul will dwell following death. Phaedo tells the story that following the discussion, he and the others were the...

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Ancient Texts, Classics (antiquity), History

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This account by Trotsky is of the events in Russia from the October Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd, to his signing of the Brest-Litovsk treaty with Germany on 3rd March 1918 which took Russia out of the First World War. The treaty exacted heavy losses for Russia in terms of annexations of land and financial indemnities to Germany. In this extended essay, Trotsky argues the reasons as to why he decided to sign what appears to be a disastrous agreement for Russia. (Summary by Rebecca)...

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History, War stories

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This is volume 4 chapter 22 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1859) 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)...

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History, War stories, Religion

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This is volume 5, chapter 25 of a series of books written by the Baron Macaulay (1800-1859) and published after his death. To quote from the preface - 'I HAVE thought it right to publish that portion of the continuation of the History of England which was fairly transcribed and revised by Lord Macaulay. It is given to the world precisely as it was left: no connecting link has been added; no reference verified; no authority sought for or examined. It would indeed have been possible, with the help I might have obtained from his friends, to have supplied much that is wanting; but I preferred, and I believe the public will prefer, that the last thoughts of the great mind passed away from among us should be preserved sacred from any touch but his own. Besides the revised manuscript, a few pages containing the first rough sketch of the last two months of William's reign are all that is left. From this I have with some difficulty deciphered the account of the death of William. No attempt has been made to join it on to the preceding part, or to supply the corrections which would have been given by the improving hand of the author. But, impe...

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History, Politics

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A great dog story, a well told tale--the naturalist and adventurer John Muir recounts how he and his companion, a dog named Stickeen, each, alone, confronted and conquered their fears of an icy Alaskan glacier in 1880. (Summary by Sue Anderson)...

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Animals, Essay/Short nonfiction

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Thornton Chase (1847 – 1912) is commonly recognized as the first convert to the Bahá'í Faith of Occidental background. During his life he organized many Bahá'í activities in Chicago and Los Angeles and was considered a prominent Bahá'í. In 1907 Chase was able to go on pilgrimage. Though Chase was able to be with `Abdu'l Bahá in Akka for only three days, the experience transformed him. `Abdu'l Bahá, highly impressed by Chase's qualities, conferred on him the title Thábit , steadfast. On returning home Chase wrote an account of his pilgrimage, which was published under the title In Galilee in 1908. The short work gives a detailed and poignant description of `Abdu'l-Bahá's home and family in Akka, as well as a moving description of `Abdu'l-Bahá Himself. The work remains one of the most important examples of the genre commonly known as pilgrim's notes....

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Memoirs, Religion, Travel

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Excerpt: Chapter 1. It was in the early days of April; Bernard Longueville had been spending the winter in Rome. He had travelled northward with the consciousness of several social duties that appealed to him from the further side of the Alps, but he was under the charm of the Italian spring, and he made a pretext for lingering....

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Du hast mir die Frage vorgelegt, mein Lucilius, warum, wenn eine Vorsehung über die Welt walte, den Guten doch so viele Übel zustoßen. (aus dem Text)

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Philosophy

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The Book of Lamentations is a series of mournful poems written by the Prophet Jeremiah as he saw the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah laments the desolation of this once great city, as well as the condition of the people, many of whom were once surrounded by great wealth and honor. Jeremiah has been referred to by many as The Weeping Prophet, and this book merely confirms the sense of this title. (Summary by Mark Penfold)...

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Religion

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“For there is no light of justice or temperance, or any of the higher ideas which are precious to souls, in the earthly copies of them: they are seen through a glass, dimly…” Socrates and his earnest friend Phaedrus, enjoying the Athenian equivalent of a lunchtime stroll in the park, exchange views on love and on the power of words, spoken and written. Phaedrus is the most enchanting of Plato’s Erotic dialogues (capitalised in honour of the god). The barefoot philosopher urges an eager young acquaintance – who has allowed his lover’s oratorical skills to impress him overmuch – to re-examine the text of Lysias’s speech in the light of his own exalted (and Platonic) vision of Love. Not long ago this early example of literary dismantling was itself deconstructed by a contemporary sage - Jacques Derrida. The present reader tries to present Socrates as he conceivably was: the chortling, pot-bellied ex-soldier, a flirtatious yet charismatic talker with a serious passion for Truth. (Introduction by Martin Geeson)...

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Literature, Philosophy, Classics (antiquity)

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To the millions of children and grown-ups who have loved a Rag Doll, the author dedicated these stories. Now listen as eight voices read to you Raggedy Ann's exciting adventures, as gentle and charming today, as they were when first published in 1918.Find out what is written on her candy heart, what was the gift the fairies brought, and all about Raggedy Ann's new sisters. (summary by Cori)...

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Children

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The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BC against the charges of corrupting the young, and by not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel (24b). Apology here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the word apologia) of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions (from the Ancient Greek ἀπολογία)....

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Classics (antiquity), Philosophy

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Excerpt: Measure For Measure; Actus Primus -- Scena Prima -- Enter Duke, Escalus, Lords. Duke. Escalus. Esc. My Lord. Duk. Of Government, the properties to unfold, Would seeme in me t? affect speech & discourse, Since I am put to know, that your owne Science Exceedes (in that) the lists of all aduice My strength can give you: Then no more remaines But that, to your sufficiency, as your worth is able, And let them worke: The nature of our People, Our Cities Institutions, and the Termes For Common Justice, y?are as pregnant in As Art, and practise, hath inriched any That we remember: There is our Commission, From which, we would not have you warpe; call hither, I say, bid come before us Angelo: What figure of us thinke you, he will beare. For you must know, we have with speciall soule Elected him our absence to supply; Lent him our terror, drest him with our love, And given his Deputation all the Organs Of our owne powre: What thinke you of it? Esc. If any in Vienna be of worth To undergoe such ample grace, and honour, It is Lord Angelo. Enter Angelo. Duk. Looke where he comes. Ang. Alwayes obedient to your Graces will, I come to know...

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Table of Contents: Measvre, For Measure, 1 -- Actus primus, Scena prima., 1 -- Scena Secunda., 3 -- Scena Tertia., 5 -- Scena Quarta., 7 -- Scena Quinta., 9 -- Actus Secundus. Scoena Prima., 11 -- Scena Secunda., 17 -- Scena Tertia., 22 -- Scena Quarta., 23 -- Actus Tertius. Scena Prima., 28 -- Actus Quartus. Scoena Prima., 40 -- Scena Secunda., 42 -- Scena Tertia., 47 -- Scena Quarta., 51 -- Scena Quinta., 52 -- Scena Sexta., 52 -- Actus Quintus. Scoena Prima., 53...

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Epistulae morales ad Lucilium sind eine Sammlung von 124 Briefen. In den Briefen erteilt Seneca Ratschläge, wie Lucilius, von dem lange Zeit vermutet wurde, er wäre eine fiktive Gestalt, zu einem besseren Stoiker werden könnte. Sicher ist, dass Seneca die Briefe als Mittel benutzte, um verschiedene Aspekte seiner Philosophie darzustellen. Zugleich eröffnen die Texte auch einen Einblick in das Alltagsleben des antiken Rom. (Zusammenfassung von Wikipedia) Die Briefe 1 - 93 übersetzte August Pauly, die Briefe 94 -124 Adolf Haakh. Briefe 66 - 79: Text (1) & (5) Briefe 80 - 93: Text (2) & (5) Briefe 94 - 107: Text (3) & (5) Briefe 108 - 124: Text (4) & (5)...

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Philosophy

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Matilda Sophia Hanson, whose father has recently died in their country of Barbadoes in the West Indies, must live for a time with family friends in England. The Harewood family is astonished at how spoiled, rude, and uneducated the child is. However, with seemingly endless patience and love, they help Matilda work to conquer her bad temper, and become a sensible, good, and well-informed young lady. This story reminds children and adults alike, though you have many battles with yourself, you must never relinquish hope and be assured you will find every victory easier than the last. When you find pride rising in your heart, think on your ignorance and it will make you humble. When you are inclined to be angry, remember the kindness of those around you and it will make you bear with the present vexation. If at any time you are frustrated in any pursuit, remember, although you have many faults, you have some merit also, and may therefore reasonably hope to attain more. (Summary by Chieko Steely)...

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Children, Religion

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Ten-year old Peggy Clayton and her two younger brothers, Teddy and Harry, live with their father, Dr. Clayton, and Nurse, a woman who has taken care of them since the death of their mother when Peggy was five. Peggy is a sweet and kind little girl with a big imagination and a great sense of fun. Peggy's Trial follows her adventures with her friends at school, the mischief she and her brothers cause poor old Nurse, and even Peggy’s being chased by a bull. But nothing can prepare Peggy, Teddy and Harry when they fear they may lose their beloved father to a stepmother. (Summary by Lee Ann Howlett.)...

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Children, Fantasy

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Excerpt: WHEN I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again. I should not obtrude my affairs so much on the notice of my readers if very particular inquiries had not been made by my townsmen concerning my mode of life, which some would call impertinent, though they do not appear to me at all impertinent, but, considering the circumstances, very natural and pertinent. Some have asked what I got to eat; if I did not feel lonesome; if I was not afraid; and the like. Others have been curious to learn what portion of my income I devoted to charitable purposes; and some, who have large families, how many poor children I maintained. I will therefore ask those of my readers who feel no particular interest in me to pardon me if I undertake to answer some of these questions in this book. In most books, the I, or first person, is omitted; in this...

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Table of Contents: Economy, 1 -- Where I Lived, and What I Lived For, 50 -- Reading, 62 -- Sounds, 69 -- Solitude, 80 -- Visitors, 87 -- The Bean-Field, 97 -- The Village, 105 -- The Ponds, 109 -- Baker Farm, 126 -- Higher Laws, 132 -- Brute Neighbors, 140 -- House-Warming, 149 -- Former Inhabitants; and Winter Visitors, 160 -- Winter Animals, 169 -- The Pond in Winter, 176 -- Spring, 186 -- Conclusion, 199...

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The Getting of Wisdom tells the story of Laura Rambotham, a 12-year-old girl who is just starting at her boarding school. This is based on Henry Handel Richardson's experiences of her own school, the Prebysterian Ladies College in central Melbourne. The story goes through her friends and enemies and all the life of a boarding school in early 20th century Australia, and all the subjects and learning too. Laura learns a lot but her education does not satisfy her, and her social life is thrown upon her as very different from her peers. - Summary by Bronwyn Kate....

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Teen/Young adult

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Brooks Adams (1848- 1927), was an American historian and a critic of capitalism. He believed that commercial civilizations rise and fall in predictable cycles. First, masses of people draw together in large population centers and engage in commercial activities. As their desire for wealth grows, they discard spiritual and creative values. Their greed leads to distrust and dishonesty, and eventually the society crumbles. In The Law of Civilisation and Decay (1895), Adams noted that as new population centers emerged in the west, centers of world trade shifted from Constantinople to Venice to Amsterdam to London. He predicted in America’s Economic Supremacy (1900) that New York would become the centre for world trade. The Theory of Social Revolutions was written in 1913. (Wikipedia)...

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Politics, History