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Consider by scholars as the single most influential book in naval strategy, Alfred Thayer Mahan's "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History: 1660-1783," is a history of naval warfare and sea power during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries that would have a profound influence on the world in the early part of the twentieth century. After the publication of this work the policies outlined in it would soon be adopted by the major military powers...
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In 1908 John Neihardt (1881—1973) and two companions traveled the Missouri River—about two thousand miles—in a twenty-foot canoe. Originally published in Outing Magazine as a series of articles, The River and I describes their adventures on that wild waterway before it was dammed by the Army Corps of Engineers and points out storied sites along the shore. The result transcends journalism, Neihardt does for the Missouri what Twain did for the...
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Excerpt: "Through the quiet night, crystalline with the pervading spirit of the frost, under prairie skies of mystic purple pierced with the glass-like glinting of the stars, fled Antoine. Huge and hollow-sounding with the clatter of the pinto's hoofs hung the night above and about-lonesome, empty, bitter as the soul of him who fled. A weary age of flight since sunset; and now the midnight saw the thin-limbed, long-haired pony slowly losing his nerve,...
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Edward Hutton's "Attila and the Huns" is a historical work that examines the life and impact of Attila the Hun and his nomadic warrior people, the Huns. Published in 1922, the book explores the history and significance of the Hunnic Empire during the 5th century.
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Excerpt: "Some of the flowers described are found along every country highway. It is interesting to note that these wayside flowers may usually be classed among the foreign population. They have been brought to us from Europe in ballast and in loads of grain, and invariably follow in the wake of civilization. Many of our most beautiful native flowers have been crowded out of the hospitable roadside by these aggressive, irresistible, and mischievous...
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Life in Mexico is a travel narrative written by Frances Erskine Inglis, who used the pen name Madame Calderón de la Barca. Originally published in 1843, the book offers a vivid and insightful portrayal of Mexico during the mid-19th century. Madame Calderón de la Barca, the Scottish-born wife of a Spanish diplomat, provides observations on Mexican society, culture, and politics.
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The Retreat of the Ten Thousand refers to the historical event documented in Xenophon's "Anabasis." The Anabasis is an ancient Greek work that recounts the journey of a Greek mercenary army, led by Cyrus the Younger, into the Persian Empire and their subsequent harrowing retreat.
10) Old Songs
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A collection of old songs. Excerpt: "If I go abroad and late come in, "Sir Knave," saith she, "where have you been?" And do I well or ill, she claps me on the skin."
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Excerpt: "If the average student of Western American History in our schools were asked to recall those names which loom large for him during the four decades from the purchase of the Louisiana Territory to the coming of the settlers, he would doubtless think of Lewis and Clark, Lieutenant Pike, Major Long, and General Frémont, with perhaps one or two others. That is to say, the average student of Western History is familiar with the names of official...
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Excerpt: "On the last morning of Queen Anne's life, a man, deep in thought, was slowly crossing Smithfield. The eyes of a clergyman passing in a carriage were bent upon him. The carriage stopped, the wayfarer looked up, and the two men knew each other. The one on foot was the dissenting preacher, whom Queen Anne used to call 'bold Bradbury.' The other was Bishop Burnet. 'On what were you so deeply thinking?' asked the bishop. 'On the men who died...
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Excerpt: "By many friends, both in this country and in the Far East, the question has often been asked me: "Why do you not write a book about Japan?" Whatever answer to this question à propos of each particular occasion, may have been given, there have been two reasons which have made me decline the temptation hitherto. Of the innumerable books, having for their main subject, "The Land of the Rising Sun," which have appeared during the last forty...
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Excerpt: "On the 26th day of September, 1846, the 7th Regiment of New York State Volunteers, commanded by Colonel J. D. Stevenson, sailed from the harbour of New York under orders from the Secretary of War, to proceed to Upper California. The objects and operations of the expedition, the fitting out of which created some sensation at the time, are now too well understood and appreciated to require explanation. This regiment, in which I had the honour...
15) Electricity
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Excerpt: "Although the science of electricity is of comparatively recent date, electricity itself has existed from the beginning of the world. There can be no doubt that man's introduction to electricity was brought about through the medium of the thunderstorm, and from very early times come down to us records of the terror inspired by thunder and lightning, and of the ways in which the ancients tried to account for the phenomena. Even to-day, although...
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Excerpt: "For that matter the whole west coast of Africa is called by the natives The White Man's Grave; and everywhere the fever stalks along the beach like a grim sentinel warning the stranger to stay away and ready to beat him into delirium and death if he lands. But the name, The White Man's Grave, is especially attached to several of the oldest of the coast settlements. Notable among these is Gaboon, in the French Congo, almost exactly at the...
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The Venice which one visits to-day is so curiously a part and not a part of the ancient Venice of which we dream, that one feels, when in that sea-enveloped and fairy-like city, a strange sense of duality,-of being a veritable antique and an equally veritable modern. He has a genuine sympathy with the past, and regrets that he has not the enchanter's wand to bring it all back again,-long enough, at least, for him to revel in its magnificence.
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Excerpt: "This book grows out of the conviction that geography in the schools must return somewhat to human interests. In saying this the author will scarcely need to defend himself against the charge of undervaluing physiography. It is only a question of wise adaptation to youthful students. Elementary history also needs to be placed in its setting of physical conditions. It is here attempted to promote both these objects in the study of the eastern...
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Excerpt: "The scope of the present work is to give in a concise form an account of the principal facts relating to the structure, classification, and life-history of Fishes. It is intended to meet the requirements of those who are desirous of studying the elements of Ichthyology; to serve as a book of reference to zoologists generally; and, finally, to supply those who, like travellers, have frequent opportunities of observing fishes, with a ready...