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Monday, April 30, 2012

Selected New Books 22-23 April 2012

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These are newly released or update books available from Gutenberg.com

I've gone through the titles and choose the ones that interest me, and cull many which don't appeal. My tendency has been to try to highlight those that concern women's writing and portrayal of women.

Generally I've ignored novels, except for classics that have been offered for the first time or updated/corrected.

The star rating is based completely on the book's appeal to me. It may be because of its content, or good illustrations.

I would love to comment on each one of these because of some particular quality it presents, positive and/or negative, but I won't. Just plunge in!

Click on any item to read it online or download it in the format of your choice.


22-23 April 2012


my personal blog | my gutenblog home

Selected New Books 24-25 April 2012

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I've gone through the titles and choose the ones that interest me, and cull many which don't appeal. My tendency has been to try to highlight those that concern women's writing and portrayal of women.

Generally I've ignored novels, except for classics that have been offered for the first time or updated/corrected.

The star rating is based completely on the book's appeal to me. It may be because of its content, or good illustrations.

Click on any item to read it online or download it in the format of your choice. 

24-25 April 2012


Curious Epitaphs by Various
Language: English
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The following is from Bolsover churchyard, Derbyshire:–

  Here
  lies, in a horizontal position, the outside
  case of
  THOMAS HINDE,
  Clock and Watch-maker,
  Who departed this life, wound up in hope of
  being taken in hand by his Maker, and being
  thoroughly cleaned, repaired, and set a-going
  in the world to come,
  On the 15th of August, 1836,
  In the 19th year of his age.
 
Pioneers of Evolution from Thales to Huxley by Edward Clodd
Language: English
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The Doctor in History, Literature, Folk-Lore, Etc. by Various
Language: English
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The Life of Mohammad by Etienne Dinet and Sliman Ben Ibrahim
Language: English
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Aspects of Modern Oxford
Language: English
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Masters of the English Novel by Richard Burton
Language: English
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The Rulers of the Mediterranean by Richard Harding Davis
Language: English
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  The Huguenot: (Volumes I-III) by G. P. R. James
Language: English
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Saturday, April 28, 2012

Selected New Books 26-27 April 2012

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OK - I confess. I tried very hard to keep up with the output of new and updated books from Gutenberg, which worked well until my schedule was interrupted, and there's no way to catch up by doing things how I was, publishing excerpts from every interesting book. It takes too long.

So... at least until I can catch up – which may well be never! – here's the deal. I will go through the titles and choose the ones that interest me, and cull many which don't appeal. My tendency has been to try to highlight those that concern women's writing and portrayal of women.

Generally I've ignored novels, except for classics that have been offered for the first time or updated/corrected.

The star rating is based completely on the book's appeal to me. It may be because of its content, or good illustrations.

Click on any item to read it online or download it in the format of your choice.


26-27 April 2012

The Revolutionary Movement of 1848-9 in Italy, Austria-Hungary, and Germany by C. Edmund Maurice
Language: English
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The Alps by Martin Conway
Language: English
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A Holiday in Bed and Other Sketches by J. M. Barrie
Language: English
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Medieval English Nunneries c. 1275 to 1535 by Eileen Power
Language: English
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Arabian nights. English by Anonymous
Language: English
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The Cambrian Sketch-Book by R. Rice Davies
Language: English
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The American by Henry James
Language: English
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The Aspern Papers by Henry James
Language: English
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Confidence by Henry James
Language: English
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Embarrassments by Henry James
Language: English
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The Europeans by Henry James
Language: English
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The Finer Grain by Henry James
Language: English
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The Outcry by Henry James
Language: English
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Picture and Text by Henry James
Language: English
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The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 1 by Henry James
Language: English
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The Portrait of a Lady — Volume 2 by Henry James
Language: English
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The Reverberator by Henry James
Language: English
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Language: English
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History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 2 of by William Edward Hartpole Lecky
Language: English
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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Andersen's Fairy Tales


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036
Andersen's Fairy Tales 
by H. C. Andersen

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Of all Hans Christian Andersen's stories, none fascinated me more as a child than "The Snow Queen". It was a tale about a place and characters so remote from my experience that is made me return to it again and again. 

It was only when I grew up that I really understood what it was about. Once more, the best books for children always turn out to be stories for adults that children can love and appreciate.

These are some of his best.




The snow-flakes grew larger and larger, till at last they looked just like great white fowls. Suddenly they flew on one side; the large sledge stopped, and the person who drove rose up. It was a lady; her cloak and cap were of snow. She was tall and of slender figure, and of a dazzling whiteness. It was the Snow Queen.

"We have travelled fast," said she; "but it is freezingly cold. Come under my bearskin." And she put him in the sledge beside her, wrapped the fur round him, and he felt as though he were sinking in a snow-wreath.

"Are you still cold?" asked she; and then she kissed his forehead. Ah! it was colder than ice; it penetrated to his very heart, which was already almost a frozen lump; it seemed to him as if he were about to die--but a moment more and it was quite congenial to him, and he did not remark the cold that was around him.

"My sledge! Do not forget my sledge!" It was the first thing he thought of. It was there tied to one of the white chickens, who flew along with it on his back behind the large sledge. The Snow Queen kissed Kay once more, and then he forgot little Gerda, grandmother, and all whom he had left at his home.

"Now you will have no more kisses," said she, "or else I should kiss you to death!"

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 Andersen's Fairy Tales by H. C. Andersen

Your download site:


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Monday, April 23, 2012

The God-Idea of the Ancients

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035
The God-Idea of the Ancients 
by Eliza Burt Gamble

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This is a rare opportunity to read a concise modern account available on Gutenberg of the development of the God principle from its ancient roots.
 
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PREFACE
 
Much of the material for this volume was collected during the time that I was preparing for the press the Evolution of Woman, or while searching for data bearing on the subject of sex-specialization. While preparing that book for publication, it was my intention to include within it this branch of my investigation, but wishing to obtain certain facts relative to the foundations of religious belief and worship which were not accessible at that time, and knowing that considerable labor and patience would be required in securing these facts, I decided to publish the first part of the work, withholding for the time being that portion of it pertaining especially to the development of the God-idea.

As mankind construct their own gods, or as the prevailing ideas of the unknowable reflect the inner consciousness of human beings, a trustworthy history of the growth of religions must correspond to the processes involved in the mental, moral, and social development of the individual and the nation.

By means of data brought forward in these later times relative to the growth of the God-idea, it is observed that an independent chain of evidence has been produced in support of the facts recently set forth bearing upon the development of the two diverging lines of sexual demarcation. In other words, it has been found that sex is the fundamental fact not only in the operations of Nature but in the construction of a god.

In the Evolution of Woman it has been shown that the peculiar inheritance of the two sexes, female and male, is the result of the bias given to these separate lines of development during the earliest periods of sex-differentiation; and, as this division of labor was a necessary step in the evolutionary processes, the rate of progress depended largely on the subsequent adjustment of these two primary elements or forces. A comprehensive study of prehistoric records shows that in an earlier age of existence upon the earth, at a time when woman's influence was in the ascendancy over that of man, human energy was directed by the altruistic characters which originated in and have been transmitted through the female; but after the decline of woman's power, all human institutions, customs, forms, and habits of thought are seen to reflect the egoistic qualities acquired by the male.

Nowhere is the influence of sex more plainly manifested than in the formulation of religious conceptions and creeds. With the rise of male power and dominion, and the corresponding repression of the natural female instincts, the principles which originally constituted the God-idea gradually gave place to a Deity better suited to the peculiar bias which had been given to the male organism. An anthropomorphic god like that of the Jews – a god whose chief attributes are power and virile might – could have had its origin only under a system of masculine rule.

Religion is especially liable to reflect the vagaries and weaknesses of human nature; and, as the forms and habits of thought connected with worship take a firmer hold on the mental constitution than do those belonging to any other department of human experience, religious conceptions should be subjected to frequent and careful examination in order to perceive, if possible, the extent to which we are holding on to ideas which are unsuited to existing conditions.

In an age when every branch of inquiry is being subjected to reasonable criticism, it would seem that the origin and growth of religion should be investigated from beneath the surface, and that all the facts bearing upon it should be brought forward as a contribution to our fund of general information. As well might we hope to gain a complete knowledge of human history by studying only the present aspect of society, as to expect to reach reasonable conclusions respecting the prevailing God-idea by investigating the various creeds and dogmas of existing faiths.

The object of this volume is not only to furnish a brief outline of religious growth, but to show the effect which each of the two forces, female and male, has had on the development of our present God-idea, which investigation serves to accentuate the conclusions arrived at in the Evolution of Woman relative to the inheritance of each of the two lines of sexual demarcation.

E.B.G.

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Your download site:

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Loss of the Steamship 'Titanic'


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034
Loss of the Steamship 'Titanic'
by British Government

Before the Titanic plunges out of sight for another century, I want offer you this British Government report from July 1912 on the disaster, newly released by Gutenberg.

This has a special significance for me, because Tracey choreographed and performed in the stage production of Titanic, with which I was heavily involved doing camera work and post-production. So I know the script and music very intimately of this stage version and the interaction of the characters as portrayed by the scriptwriters. I must add that the musical has nothing to do with the fanciful and often very silly script of the populist movie [say no more]. The musical has its dramatic licence, naturally, but as the British Government report shows, is certainly truer to the reality and spirit of Titanic's final hours than the movie.

I was interested especially in the report's version the relationship between Captain Smith and Titanic's owner, Ismay, and of the treatment of third class passengers, which is a dramatic theme in the stage production. Were they locked in below for more than an hour so they could not cause mayhem on the top deck? Is the report on this matter a whitewash?

The snippet below is worth reading.

The report itself is very precise and well laid out; a credit to the compilers.

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Your download site:

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Monday, April 16, 2012

A Few Words About the Devil


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033
A Few Words About the Devil
by Charles Bradlaugh (1874)



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It is too often the fashion with persons of pious reputation to speak in unmeasured language of Atheism as favoring immorality, and of Atheists as men whose conduct is necessarily vicious, and who have adopted atheistic views as a disparate defiance against a Deity justly offended by the badness of their lives. 
Such persons urge that among the proximate causes of Atheism are vicious training, immoral and profligate companions, licentious living, and the like. Dr. John Pye Smith, in his "Instructions on Christian Theology," goes so far as to declare that "nearly all the Atheists upon record have been men of extremely debauched and vile conduct." Such language from the Christian advocate is not surprising, but there are others who, professing great desire for the spread of Freethought, and with pretensions to rank among acute and liberal thinkers, declare Atheism impracticable, and its teachings cold, barren, and negative. In this brief essay I shall except to each of the above allegations, and shall endeavor to demonstrate that Atheism affords greater possibility for human happiness than any system yet based on Theism, or possible to be founded thereon, and that the lives of true Atheists must be more virtuous, because more human, than those of the believers in Deity, the humanity of the devout believer often finding itself neutralized by a faith with which it is necessarily in constant collision. The devotee piling the faggots at the auto de fe of a heretic, and that heretic his son, might, notwithstanding, be a good father in every respect but this. Heresy, in the eyes of the believer, is highest criminality, and outweighs all claims of family or affection.

Atheism, properly understood, is in nowise a cold, barren negative; it is, on the contrary, a hearty, fruitful affirmation of all truth, and involves the positive assertion and action of highest humanity.

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Your download site:

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Saturday, April 14, 2012

Christian Science


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032
Christian Science
by Mark Twain (1907)

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Mark Twain came from the very part of America where contradiction in Christian faith was at its highest, most foolish and powerful, and he was one of the greatest critics of those who manipulated Christianity until it made no sense at all; yet he was much loved for his writings throughout America and the world.

It is an intriguing paradox that his deep cynicism is synonymous with American atheism but does not seem to have tarnished his reputation in the slightest. Perhaps his gift for turning irrationality into humour, and his willingness to give credit where it is due allow him to remain permanently on this pedestal. This entertaining volume is a brilliant example.

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Within the last quarter of a century, in America, several sects of curers have appeared under various names and have done notable things in the way of healing ailments without the use of medicines. There are the Mind Cure the Faith Cure, the Prayer Cure, the Mental Science Cure, and the Christian-Science Cure; and apparently they all do their miracles with the same old, powerful instrument--the patient's imagination. Differing names, but no difference in the process. But they do not give that instrument the credit; each sect claims that its way differs from the ways of the others.

They all achieve some cures, there is no question about it; and the Faith Cure and the Prayer Cure probably do no harm when they do no good, since they do not forbid the patient to help out the cure with medicines if he wants to; but the others bar medicines, and claim ability to cure every conceivable human ailment through the application of their mental forces alone. There would seem to be an element of danger here. It has the look of claiming too much, I think. Public confidence would probably be increased if less were claimed.

The Christian Scientist was not able to cure my stomach-ache and my cold; but the horse-doctor did it. This convinces me that Christian Science claims too much. In my opinion it ought to let diseases alone and confine itself to surgery. There it would have everything its own way.

The horse-doctor charged me thirty kreutzers, and I paid him; in fact, I doubled it and gave him a shilling. Mrs. Fuller brought in an itemized bill for a crate of broken bones mended in two hundred and thirty-four places--one dollar per fracture.

"Nothing exists but Mind?"

"Nothing," she answered. "All else is substanceless, all else is imaginary."

I gave her an imaginary check, and now she is suing me for substantial dollars. It looks inconsistent.

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Christian Science by Mark Twain
Your download site:
http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/3187

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Friday, April 13, 2012

An Essay on the Beautiful


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031
An Essay on the Beautiful
by Plotinus

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The early twentieth century translators of the ancient Greek philosophers were determined to stay faithful to the lofty style of the original, and while that may be commendable from one point of view, it creates difficulties in others. The paradox here is that this essay attempts to grapple with this very problem of words and their relationship to truth and beauty in a style which comes dangerously close to obscuring what it tries to explain.

So let me make it simple. Words are what we use to explain things, but they can't do it perfectly. They merely point to a higher truth, or perfection, which ultimately is the ideal of beauty. Keats and others in the Romantic tradition passionately echoed these sentiments in the nineteenth century:
"Beauty is truth, truth beauty" – that is all
Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know.

 [Ode on a Grecian Urn, John Keats]
It is something that's a theme in philosophical discussions on my personal blog. Words are good servants but bad masters, but in the western tradition, they are what entrap and enslave us.

The translator thought there was no other choice. Eastern philosophies do not agree, but this discussion by Plotinus represents the best attack on the dilemma that I know in western conceptualisation of the paradox.

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INTRODUCTION
It may seem wonderful that language, which is the only method of conveying our conceptions, should, at the same time, be an hindrance to our advancement in philosophy; but the wonder ceases when we consider that it is seldom studied as the vehicle of truth, but is too frequently esteemed for its own sake, independent of its connection with things.

This observation is remarkably verified in the Greek language; which, as it is the only repository of ancient wisdom, has, unfortunately for us, been the means of concealing, in shameful obscurity, the most profound researches and the sublimest truths.

That words, indeed, are not otherwise valuable than as subservient to things, must surely be acknowledged by every liberal mind, and will alone be disputed by him who has spent the prime of his life, and consumed the vigour of his understanding, in verbal criticisms and grammatical trifles. And, if this is the case, every lover of truth will only study a language for the purpose of procuring the wisdom it contains; and will doubtless wish to make his native language the vehicle of it to others. For, since all truth is eternal, its nature can never be altered by transposition, though by this means its dress may be varied, and become less elegant and refined.

Perhaps even this inconvenience may be remedied by sedulous cultivation; at least, the particular inability of some, ought not to discourage the well-meant endeavours of others. Whoever reads the lives of the ancient Heroes of Philosophy, must be convinced that they studied things more than words, and that Truth alone was the ultimate object of their search; and he who wishes to emulate their glory and participate their wisdom, will study their doctrines more than their language, and value the depth of their understandings far beyond the elegance of their composition.

The native charms of Truth will ever be sufficient to allure the truly philosophic mind; and he who has once discovered her retreats will surely endeavour to fix a mark by which they may be detected by others.
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Thursday, April 12, 2012

March 2012 listing in English (complete)


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I have filtered this listing manually to exclude all but English language, and grouped by author, though not alphabetical by surname. It gives a good idea of the extent of what was offered in that month. 

A list grouped by subject, probably much more useful for choosing a book to your taste, follows.

Nevertheless, clicking on any title will take you immediately to its precise download site.

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Memoirs of a Midget  by Unspecified
One Day at a Time  by Unspecified
Pictures and Stories  by Unspecified
The Fire-Gods  by Unspecified
The Power Of The Popes  by Unspecified
Theological Essays  by Unspecified

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