Essays & Short Works
- Philosophical Travelogues
- Essays on Society and Culture
- Essays for Personal Growth
- Explorations in Science and Thought
- Explorations in Psychology
- Political Essays and Reflections
- Political Essays and Manifestos
- Philosophical Essays on Existence
Love Conquers All
Robert Benchley, 1889-1945, was a writer, humorist and actor of note during the 1920s through the early 1940s. Born in Massachusetts, he spe…
Etiquette in Society
From advice on planning the perfect wedding to eating an artichoke correctly, Emily Post offers instruction on how to live a well-mannered l…
Radioactive Substances
Marie Curie, born in Warsaw in 1867, was a Polish-French physicist and chemist famous for her work on radioactivity. She was a pioneer in th…
A Modest Proposal
Jonathan Swift almost defines satire in this biting and brutal pamphlet in which he suggests that poor (Catholic) Irish families should fatt…
Democracy in America
When Tocqueville visited America in the 1830s he found a thriving democracy of a kind he had not seen anywhere else. Many of his insightful …
Contra Gentes
Contra Gentes is the first of a two volume work published by Athanasius of Alexandria prior to the outbreak of the Arian controversy (ca. 31…
Noted Speeches of Abraham Lincoln
A few of Lincoln's most famous speeches and the Lincoln-Douglas debate make for historic reading. (summary by David O)
The World As Will and Idea
In this work, Schopenhauer explains his fundamental idea that at the root of the reality we see around us is a Will that eternally, insatiab…
The Art of Travel
The Art of Travel is a handbook of practical advice for the adventure seeking Victorian. We hear how to organize all steps of a voyage, from…
Public Opinion
Public Opinion by Walter Lippmann offers a profound exploration of the dynamics that shape public perception and its impact on democracy. Wr…
Discourse on the Method of Rightly Conducting One’s Reason and of Seeking Truth
The Discourse on Method is best known as the source of the famous quotation “cogito ergo sum”, “I think, therefore I am.” …. It is a method …
Institutes of the Christian Religion
Institutes of the Christian Religion is John Calvin's seminal work on Protestant systematic theology. Highly influential in the Western worl…
From October to Brest-Litovsk
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 tre…
Tales of Old Japan
Tales of Old Japan by Lord Redesdale is a collection of short stories focusing on Japanese life of the Edo period (1803 - 1868). It contains…
What is Property?
What Is Property?: or, An Inquiry into the Principle of Right and of Government (French: Qu'est-ce que la propriété ? ou Reche…
Insomnia Collection
Soporific dullness is in the ear of the listener, and what's tedium incarnate to one person will be another person's passion and delight. Ho…
The Devil's Dictionary
The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce is a sharp and witty exploration of language and human nature, presented in the form of a satirical…
The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel
From September 12, 1884 through November 6, 1885, C.F.W. Walther delivered a series of 39 Friday evening lectures to his students at Concord…
The Servile State
In The Servile State, Hilaire Belloc explores the stark divide between servile and non-servile labor, presenting a thought-provoking analysi…
The Speaking Voice
From the Preface of The Speaking Voice: principles of training simplified and condensed: "This book offers a method of voice training w…