Showing results by author "Mentor New York" in All Categories

Believed to have been written by Chicago socialite, Emma Murdock Van Deventer, this detective story set at the World's Fair follows Carl Masters as he is in pursuit of international criminals Greenback Bob and Delbras. Conmen, lost handbags, jewel robberies, an adventuress... not to mention two missing young men and a murder, all come under the detective's eye. ( Lynne Thompson)

The British historian, George W. Cox writes that the "whole duration of the Athenian empire extends over little more than two generations." This confederation of Greek city states with Athens at its head was an attempt to present a unified front to the Persian Empire. But ultimately, the strife between democratic and oligarchic factions within each polis, combined with the tangle of alliances between the various city states, led to the ruinous and protracted Peloponnesian War. In this short work, Cox describes the battles on land and sea, and such personalities as the Athenian general, Nikias,...

Lamb used Homer's Odyssey as the basis for the re-telling of the story of Ulysses's journey back from Troy to his own kingdom of Ithaca. Not a direct translation and deemed modern in its time, Lamb states in the preface that, "I have gained a rapidity to the narration which I hope will make it more attractive and give it more the air of a romance to young readers". (Summary by Rebecca)

Further adventures of Allan Quatermain. This is one of the 14 books that H. Rider Haggard wrote - starting with "King Solomon's Mines" - depicting the adventures of Allan Quatermain, great English hunter in the wilds of mysterious Africa. (Summary by laineyben)

"Tarawa Atoll is 2085 miles southwest of Pearl Harbor and 540 miles southeast of Kwajalein in the Marshalls. Betio is the principal island in the atoll. The Japanese seized Tarawa from the British within the first three days after Pearl Harbor. In August 1943, to meet in secret with Major General Julian C. Smith and his principal staff officers, Vice Admiral Raymond A. Spruance flew to New Zealand from Pearl Harbor. Spruance told the Marines to prepare for an amphibious assault against Japanese positions in the Gilbert Islands in November. General Smith’s operations officer, Lieutenant ...

When Paddy the Beaver moves into the Green Forest and wants to build his home, he never quite expected it would cause so much commotion! Being a focal point of attention, the forest animals watch him carefully and scrutinized his work, make fun of and question his building project, someone screams at him saying unkind things, and one forest animal sets his sights on hunting him to have him for lunch! That's an awful lot for a little beaver to overcome - do you think he can do it?

"In this engaging story, Bobby Raccoon suffers a series of mishaps. Following a bad dream, he bites his own tail, is given a dreadful fright, learns that Farmer Brown's Boy is a kind friend, survives an encounter with Buster Bear, gets a terrible shaking and more, but, happily, is rescued by Peter Rabbit and eventually finds a new home." (Jude Somers)

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather...

There's nothing that sly troublemaker Sammy Jay likes better than stealing corn - unless it's playing tricks on the other animals in the forest. Yet Chatterer the Red Squirrel would like to keep his corn, thank you very much, and while he's at it prove he is just as smart as Sammy Jay! Thornton Burgess takes us once again into the charming world of the Green Forest and Green Meadows in this delightful story. (Summary by Rachel)

A governess comes to Sherlock Holmes for advice on an offer of a excellent position with a new employer. But the conditions are odd and expectations strange. What is behind the smiling demeanor of the owner of the Copper Beeches house? Sherlock and Dr. Watson are happy to help this lady with her conundrum and save lives as a consequence.

A collection of letters written by Stuart Walcott while training to be an aviator in France to prepare for combat. Walcott died in his first aerial combat after first downing a German bi-plane. - Summary by KevinS

In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain creates an entertaining adventure of Middle America in the 1800's - afloat on a raft on the Mississippi River. Huck escapes his civilized life when he arranges his own "murder" and turns back into the backwoods, downriver yokel he started as, and in the process springing a slave, Jim, from bondage.Huck and Jim experience life as a series of tableaux as the river sweeps them through small towns on their way South. At each stop, Huck engages his talent for mixing fact with bald-faced lies to endlessly get himself out of situations... and of ...

This short history by the eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, places Elizabeth and her reign within the context of 16th century European political, religious, and military events. Elizabeth overcomes her two great rivals, King Philip of Spain and Mary, Queen of Scots. England gradually unites behind her Queen, who survives multiple assassination plots. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English, lightly taxed by their frugal sovereign, launch flourishing commerce enterprises. The author writes of the Protestant Reformation that "a change of belief meant a revolt from ...

As Jowett relates in his brilliant introduction, 95% of Plato's writing is certain and his reputation rests soundly on this foundation. The Alcibiades 1 appears to be a short work by Plato with only two characters: Socrates and Alcibiades. This dialogue has little dramatic verisimilitude but centres on the question of what knowledge one needs for political life. Like the early dialogues, the question is on whether the virtues needed by a statesman can be taught, on the importance of self-knowledge as a starting point for any leader. While this may be only partially the work of Plato, or even ...

The Achilleid is the third and unfinished work by the Roman poet Publius Papinius Statius. In its introduction, it promises to present the life of the hero Achilles from his youth as a pupil under the centaur Chiron to his death at Troy. The author died however before writing most of the poem, leaving only one and a half books completed. The part that remains though holds interest for being unusual, bringing an account of the hero's early life and an episode in which his mother, Thetis, disguised him as a girl on the island of Scyros before he joined the Greek expedition against Troy. (Summary...

Anne Bronte's semi-autobiographic novel about Agnes Grey, a young woman who becomes a governess to support her family, but finds her new career more difficult than she expected.

A look at the year 1891 through literature and non-fiction essays first published that year, including works by Mary E Wilkins, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sara Orne Jewett, and Oscar Wilde. (Summary by BellonaTimes)

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather...

The Adventures of Bob White is another in the long line of children's books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Bob White and Mrs. Bob White make a new home near the Old Briar Patch where they become neighbors with Peter Rabbit. We learn what Bob White likes to eat, how he protects his nest from being discovered, and who his friends and his enemies are. We also learn that sometimes it's not good to know everything, that arithmetic can be a useful tool, and that a Bob White needs to stay far away from the two-legged creatures who carry fire-sticks. - Summary by John Lieder

This story presents through letters, poems and third-person commentary the love affair between a young man named Freeman Jones and a married woman named Elinor, lady of the castle he is visiting in Scotland. Events in the affair are traced from initial attraction through seduction to (somewhat) graphic sexual encounters and their aftermath. (Allegedly based on a real-life scandal, the author, in re-issuing his story two years later, transplanted the action to Italy, renaming the principals Fernando Jeronimi and Leonora.) (Summary by Grant Hurlock)