Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 062


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

Fifteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. Volume 62 features several introspective essays: by T. S. Eliot (Tradition and Individual Talent), Stephen Leacock (The Decline of the Drama), Carlyle (The Sacredness of Work), and Jonathan Swift (A Meditation Upon a Broomstick). Life questions are further explored by theologians Agrippa von Nettesheim (The Vanity of Arts and Sciences) and Spurgeon (Effectual Calling, Sermon # 73), while spiritualist Andrew Jackson Davis presents his understanding of death and dying (The Portal of the Unknown).

Public and political life are examined by Eltwood Pomeroy (The Follies of Legislators), Henry Ward Beecher (The American Flag), Franklin Hanford (Did Betsy Ross Design the Flag?), and Nicolas de Condorcet (On the Admission of Women to the Rights of Citizenship).

Vol. 62 includes biographical sketches of two men of genius, a scientist, Nikola Tesla (Hugo Gernsback) and a painter, John Singer Sargent (Henry James). Finally, a scientific look at the destructive power of sea waves is complemented by a meditation on nature's grandeur by poet Rupert Brooke, who visits Niagara Falls and is moved to " thoughts of destiny and the passage of empires." - Summary by Sue Anderson (3 hr 42 min)

Chapters

The American Flag 5:11 Read by Dale Grothmann
The Decline of the Drama 12:45 Read by Peter Thomlinson (1940-2022)
Did Betsy Ross Design the Flag of the United States of America? 21:07 Read by Wayne Cooke
Effectual Calling, Sermon 73 (1856) 36:07 Read by Leighton Garner
The Follies of Legislatures 15:32 Read by Colleen McMahon
John Singer Sargent 36:45 Read by Sue Anderson
A Meditation upon a Broomstick 3:49 Read by Dale Grothmann
Niagara Falls 14:08 Read by Peter Thomlinson (1940-2022)
Nikola Tesla the Man 4:33 Read by Kane Mercer
On the Actual Height of Sea Waves 3:06 Read by Availle
On the Admission of Women to the Rights of Citizenship 19:54 Read by Craig Campbell
The Portal Of The Unknown 12:16 Read by Dale Grothmann
The Sacredness Of Work 2:34 Read by Dale Grothmann
Tradition and Individual Talent 26:18 Read by Sumit Waghmare
The Vanity of Arts and Sciences (excerpt) 8:31 Read by Craig Campbell