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

"Bartleby the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by Herman Melville. The story first appeared, anonymously, in Putnam's Magazine in two parts. The first part appeared in November 1853, with the conclusion published in December 1853. It was reprinted in Melville's The Piazza Tales in 1856 with minor textual alterations. The work is said to have been inspired, in part, by Melville's reading of Emerson, and some have pointed to specific parallels to Emerson's essay, "The Transcendentalist." The story has been adapted twice: once in 1970, starring Paul Scofield, and again in 2001,...

Arabella Buckley had a great love of nature and wished to impart that love to children. Birds of the Air will encourage children to observe birds in their natural environment and notice the habits of each particular bird they encounter. (Summary by Laura Caldwell)

Mahommah Gardo Baquaqua was a former slave, native of West Africa. He was sold as a slave in 1845 and worked in Brazil as a captive; however, when the ship where he was enslaved crew was at the harbor in New York in 1847, he fled. He studied at the New York Central College in McGrawville for almost three years. In 1854, he moved to Canada; he narrated his autobiography to the abolitionist Samuel Downing Moore in Detroit, who published it. His narrative is the only known document about the slave trade written by a former Brazilian slave. - Summary by Leni

Despite its brevity, this Little Blue Book #142 by the Oxford historian, Sir F.M. Powicke, provides a valuable overview of the political history of Germany from medieval to modern times, culminating in the career of Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898), the Prussian Junker who masterminded the unification of Germany and served as its first Chancellor. - Summary by Pamela Nagami, M.D.

A series of essays offering a humorous look at commonplace items and occurrences. (Summary by Nick Bulka)

Herbert Jenkins' most popular fictional creation was Mr. Joseph Bindle, who first appeared in a humorous novel in 1916 and in a number of sequels. In the preface to the books, T. P. O'Connor said that "Bindle is the greatest Cockney that has come into being through the medium of literature since Dickens wrote Pickwick Papers". The stories are based on the comedic drama of life at work, at home and all the adventures that take place along the way. Bindle leaves a path of good-natured destruction behind him and walks away unscathed every time. He is not above embellishing and loves the joke. He ...

Volume 8 of the Beacon Lights of History focuses on the great rulers of the ages. In this work, Lord discusses Alfred the Great, Queen Elizabeth, Henry of Navarre, Gustavus Adolphus, Richelieu, Cromwell, Louis XIV, Louis XV, Peter the Great and Frederic the Great. ( KHand)

Do you enjoy bird watching? Would you like to learn a little more about the early conservation efforts to protect wild birds? In the Preface to The Bird Study Book, Pearson tells us “This book was written for the consideration of that ever-increasing class of Americans who are interested in acquiring a greater familiarity with the habits and activities of wild birds. Attention is also given to the relation of birds to mankind and the effect of civilisation on the bird-life of the country. ” An avid ornithologist, T. Gilbert Pearson (1873-1943) was a co-founder in 1905 of the National ...

Volume 14 is a compilation of essays regarding accomplishments over the 50 years preceding the author's death in 1894. The editorial staff chose the people that they felt best exemplified Lord's criteria of being a historical force to represent the worlds of music, art, science and invention. Though not personally written by Lord, the book is attributed to him. - Summary by KHand

This book is a wonderful way to learn about how the prairies were years ago, but you will hardly feel you are learning because you will be caught up with the 'little girl', living with her as she grows up far away from any large city. Very well written, in this book you live, worry, and rejoice, along with the little girl. Whether it is through a prairie fire, raising some interesting and queer pet, having fun at some big prairie-time event, or worming her way out of trouble, the little girl continues to grow, until at the end, you leave, not a little girl, but a young lady stepping into ...

Flora Lee's birthday came in July. Her mother wished very much to celebrate the occasion in a proper manner. Flora was a good girl, and her parents were always glad to do any thing they could to please her, and to increase her happiness.This story was written by Adams under the pseudonym of Oliver Optic.

The vagabond, Paragot, a truly eccentric bohemian and a wandering scholar with a mysterious past, adopts a London street urchin (whom he calls Asticot) by purchasing him from his mother for half a crown. Paragot leads Asticot on various adventures through 19th century Europe, eventually arriving in Paris. Here Paragot’s dark romantic past begins to catch up with him. (Summary by Simon Evers)

First published in 1904, Betty Wales Freshman is the first book in an 8 volume series that follows Betty and her classmates throughout college and beyond. It takes place at Harding in New England (NOT to be confused with the Arkansas university) based on the author's time at Smith College in Massachusetts. Some humour and frivolity ensue as well as interpersonal drama among Betty and her many peers. And of course, the usual fascination with basketball that tends to run the gamut in the bountiful supply of books about most boarding school girls. (The popularity of this series inspired product ...

Delightful sketches of British wild birds - a bird for every month of the year from the pheasant in January to the robin in December. This collection of articles, reprinted in book form from the periodical The Outlook, is full of fascinating information about bird behaviour and habitat, as well as many interesting anecdotes. (Summary by Ruth Golding)

In between "The Yellow Wallpaper" (1892) and Herland (1915), feminist Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935) wrote and published this delightful fictional autobiography, Benigna Machiavelli (1914), in her monthly magazine, The Forerunner. The narrator, young Benigna MacAvelly, decides as a child that she intends to emulate her ancestor Niccolò Machiavelli but dedicate her machinations to doing good rather than evil. She starts her ingenious plotting very early in life (for example, as an 11-year-old, she enlists her classmates in an elaborate money-raising scheme to buy a new watch for an ...

Peggy the cat lives in the post office at R., and she's just had a litter of kittens. However, instead of snuggling up with them in the box prepared for her by the post officers, she prefers a corner in the cellar by the post bags. But oh noes, little Tommy falls into one of those bags and is shipped off to Connecticut with the Thanksgiving mail! Read of Tommy's adventures in this delightful little book. - Summary by Carolin

"The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke" is a verse novel by Australian novelist and poet C. J. Dennis. The work was first published in book form in 1915 and sold over 60,000 copies in nine editions within the first year. A special pocket edition was even printed for the Australian soldiers in the trenches during the Great War. "The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke" tells the story of Bill, a larrikin of the Little Lonsdale Street push, who is introduced to a young woman by the name of Doreen. The book chronicles their courtship and marriage, detailing Bill's transformation from a violence-prone gang ...

The third book in the Beacon Lights of History series, Lord discusses achievements such as the formation of laws, the development of the fine arts, ancient science, and key people such as Cicero and Cleopatra. Summary by KHand

Homilies 1 - 14 of Saint John Chrysostom's commentary on the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, which include the wondrous birth, baptism, temptation, and early ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. - Summary by The Reader

Josephine Brown's Biography of an American Bondsman faithfully follows the trajectory of her father's life as previously explored in his own narratives. She distills and summarizes the major revelatory moments of his autobiography while she also incorporates new anecdotal information and offers her own perspective on Brown's life. Whereas her biography draws frequently from previously published autobiographical accounts, the narrative style and comic flourishes add interest and value to the text. Andrews observes that her biography's primary contribution to the "lore of William Wells Brown" ...