Showing results by author "breek" in All Categories

This audiobook is a collection of Mark Twain's anti-imperialist writings (newspaper articles, interviews, speeches, letters, essays and pamphlets). (Summary by Vineshen Pillay)

Lucy Maud Montgomery’s classic children’s novel, Anne of Green Gables tells the story of a red headed orphan girl with a personality you can’t help but love. Despite her “tragical” past, Anne’s optimism and imagination have helped her to always see the best in things. Anne’s life changes considerably when she is accidentally adopted by the Cuthberts, a brother and sister who thought they were getting a boy to help out on the farm. The Cuthberts decide Anne will have to be sent back to the orphange but before they know it, she has begun to work her way into their hearts. (Summary ...

A small collection of some of H.C. Andersen's fairy tales -- including The Emperor's New Clothes, The Red Shoes, The Naughty Boy and fifteen others. (Summary by Halle Kill)

An introduction to world geography for young and old alike. Topics such as China, Japan, the American Indian, Europe and the oceans on a beginning level. Summary by BettyB

Two planets are about to engage in a nuclear war that will destroy one of them. Millions will perish. Brion Brandd, who lives on neither planet, has been recruited by the Cultural Relationships Foundation to stop the war from happening. He is only person in the galaxy who can do it, but can he? A classic 1962 science fiction short novel by master Harry Harrison. (Summary by M. Nelson)

Once in a generation, a man is born with a heightened sense of empathy. Brion Brandd used this gift to win the Twenties, an annual physical and mental competition among the best and smartest people on Anvhar. But scarcely able to enjoy his victory, Brandd is swept off to the hellish planet Dis where he must use his heightened sense of empathy to help avert a global nuclear holocaust by negotiating with the blockading fleet, traversing the Disan underworld, and cracking the mystery of the savagely ruthless magter. Summary by Great Plains

In 1869, the Atlantic published Stowe's article, The True Story Of Lady Byron's Life, a brief exposé of the famous poet Lord Byron's sordid private life which had led to a separation from his wife and drove him out of England, as told to her by Lady Byron herself before her death. Stowe wrote this article long after Lady Byron's death, when Lady Byron‘s impeccable reputation was being smeared across Europe by Byron's influential literary friends, and her trustees were doing nothing to defend her. Criticism against the article raged in the American and European press and damaged the ...

Dis was a harsh, inhospitable, dangerous place and the Magter made it worse. They might have been human once—but they were something else now. The Magter had only one desire—Kill! Kill everything, themselves, their planet, the universe if they could—Brion Brandd was sent in at the eleventh hour. His mission was to save Dis, but it looked as though he was going to preside over its annihilation. Space derring Do. Rip roaring action. Evil Aliens. A bewildered hero. Lots of fun. ( phil chenevert)Space derring Do. Lots of fun. - Summary by phil chenevert

The Adventures of Pinocchio is a novel for children by Italian author Carlo Collodi (here transl. by Carol della Chiesa). The first half was published in serial form between 1881 and 1883, and then completed as a book for children in February 1883. It is about the mischievous adventures of Pinocchio, an animated marionette, and his poor father, a woodcarver named Geppetto. It is considered a classic of children’s literature and has spawned many derivative works of art, such as Disney’s classic 1940 animated movie of the same name, and commonplace ideas, such as a liar’s long nose. (...

''Bringing up the Boy'' is, according to its subtitle, ''A Message to Fathers and Mothers from a Boy of Yesterday concerning the Men of To-morrow'' and proffers advice for parents on raising boys from infancy until adulthood, to become fine, upstanding men. The fact that boys are temperamentally, emotionally and physically different from girls is never lost sight of in the discussions in the various chapters. Discussions include: advice on allowing boys to settle their own differences, without interference, but with advice; the Santa Claus myth; the best ways to discipline the boy, to ensure ...

The Silver Fox patrol find themselves on a boat, quietly travelling on the Rhine from Mainz. Bumpus' mother is sick in Antwerp, and they are trying to visit her. Of course, an adventure awaits them in Germany, with the advent of the Great War fast approaching, which is happening much faster than the boys could know! Herbert Carter is one of many pseudonyms used by St George Rathborne.

The title of the novella is almost an adequate summary in itself. The "boy-meets-girl-then-loses-her" story is universal but not, I think, banal - despite a surprise ending which notoriously turns out to be very little of a surprise. First Love is given its originality and poignancy by Turgenev's mastery of the piercing turning-point (akin to Joyce's "epiphanies") that transforms the character's whole being, making a tragic outcome inevitable. Even the nature symbolism is rescued from triteness by lovely poetic similes - e.g. "but at that point my attention was arrested by the appearance of a ...

Science fiction is a genre encompassing imaginative works that take place in this world or that of the author’s creation where anything is possible. The only rules are those set forth by the author. The speculative nature of the genre inspires thought and plants seeds that have led to advances in science. The genre can spark an interest in the sciences and is cited as the impetus for the career choice of many scientists. It is a playing field to explore social perspectives, predictions of the future, and engage in adventures unbound into the richness of the human mind. - Summary by A. ...

A classic collection of oral German folklore, brought together for posterity by the scholarly brothers Grimm in the 1800s, this epitome of fairy tales includes many of the world’s best known stories. In these dark foreboding woods, you will find: Rapunzel, Hansel and Gretel, Rumpelstiltskin, Lily and the Lion (better known as Beauty and the Beast), and Snow White and Rose Red, among other timeless works. These tales were later heavily revised and sanitised, but here are presented closer to their grim and beloved originals. (Summary by Marlo Dianne)

Pride and Prejudice is the most famous of Jane Austen’s novels, and its opening is one of the most famous lines in English literature - “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” Its manuscript was first written between 1796 and 1797, and was initially called First Impressions, but was never published under that title. Following revisions it was published on 28 January 1813 by the same Mr. Egerton of the Military Library, Whitehall, who had brought out Sense and Sensibility. Like both its predecessor and ...

Sherlock Holmes is a fictional detective of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, who first appeared in publication in 1887. He was devised by Scottish author and doctor Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. A brilliant London-based detective, Holmes is famous for his prowess at using logic and astute observation to solve cases. He is perhaps the most famous fictional detective, and indeed one of the best known and most universally recognizable literary characters. Join Dr. Watson and Sherlock Holmes, in Holmes' fourth book. (summary from Wikipedia and TBOL3)

Sherlock Holmes, a fictional character of the late 19th and early 20th century created by Scottish author and physician Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, is a brilliant London-based "consulting detective" famous for his intellectual prowess and renowned for his enormous scope of observation, his astute logical reasoning and forensic science skills in solving difficult crimes. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes is a collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries, including The Final Problem in which Holmes confronts his arch-nemesis Professor Moriarty, originally published in 1894, which are preceded by The ...

This is the third of a four-volume history of the First World War, coming in along the Ypres Salient in February 1916 and stopping mid-November 1917. Buchan continues to give us a comprehensive war history that provides clear understanding of the complexities involved without feeling bogged down. - Summary by Lynette Caulkins

Sherry reads Jane Austen’s sparkling comedy of manners with wit and vivacity, and brings the characters to life. Mr. Woodhouse worries and frets, Miss Bates chatters on, and Emma blithely manipulates and misunderstands her friends and family until she finally learns her lesson! (Summary by Kara)

Set in an English-Scottish border village during the waning days of the Napoleonic era, this adventure story introduces us to Jock Calder, whose quiet way of life is shattered when a mysterious stranger steps ashore near his home. The stranger changes forever the lives of Jock, his cousin Edie, and his best friend Jim, sending the young men into the jaws of the final battle to defeat The Great Shadow that threatens to devour the whole of Europe. Don't look for Sherlock Holmes in this well-written tale, but do expect a wonderful glimpse of life at the end of the Napoleonic era, including an ...