Sixteen short nonfiction works in the public domain, independently chosen by the readers. The human condition is variously explored in Chesterton's essay "The Contented Man," Shōtoku Taishi's "Laws" outlining the proper relationships between rulers...

Old Granny Fox and grandson Reddy Fox must use all their cunning to hunt up enough food to survive the long winter. Food in the Green Meadow is scarce but Farmer Brown's hens are locked up tight and protected by Bowser the Hound, so Granny takes a...

Sanford Quest, the master criminologist of the world, attempts to bring to justice the murderer of Lord Ashleigh's daughter. But he soon discovers that he has just entered a life-and-death struggle with a mysterious master criminal. (Summary by...

Middlemarch: A Study of Provincial Life is a novel by George Eliot, the pen name of Mary Anne Evans, later Marian Evans. It is her seventh novel, begun in 1869 and then put aside during the final illness of Thornton Lewes, the son of her companion...

Edgar Wilson “Bill” Nye (1850 – 1896) was a distinguished American journalist, who later became widely known as a humorist. Jim “jimmowatt” Mowatt is a distinguished LibriVox volunteer, widely known for his continued devotion both to regularly...

The Outline of Science, Volume 1 was written specifically with the man-on-the-street in mind as the target audience. Covering scientific subjects ranging from astronomy to biology to elementary physics in clear, concise and easily understood prose,...

Originally published in the May, 1960 issue of Amazing Science Fiction Stories. Jack Odin has returned to the world of Opal, the world inside our own world, only to find it in ruins. Many of his friends are gone, the world is flooded, and the woman...

As a gifted writer with a strong interest in supernatural phenomena, Charles Dickens produced a string of ghost stories with enduring charm. Three of them are presented here, of which The Signal Man is one of the best known. Though quite different...

A history through poetry of the American Revolution, from the early days of unrest, through the Boston Tea Party, The Ride of Paul Revere, the campaign at Valley Forge, to the time of peace and the forming of the Nation, including works by Oliver...

Charles Darwin LL.B F.R.S was the discoverer of evolution and argued the role of "natural selection" in directing the evolution of species. Darwin also had an interest in the formation of soils (moulds) that began relatively early in his life, with...

St. Patrick's Breastplate - This prayer is attributed to St. Patrick and his disciples. It is written with some Celtic pagan elements, but is definitely a Christian prayer asking God for protection through daily life. A Letter to the Soldiers of...

As usual, Trollope creates a nice variety of characters of different English classes, sentiments and positions. The primary themes are the inheritance of property, extravagance or reason in the spending of assets, the mating of young people, and the...

Alexander Wilmot was a Cape Town politician and Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He is the author of the History of the Zulu War 1879. Here he collects poetry from various sources in the Cape Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal. Summary by...

John Avery Lomax is a towering figure in the field of early American musicology and folklore. Through intensive field work, Lomax built up the core body of work for the Library of Congress Archive. "Cowboy Songs and Other Frontier Ballads" is his...

When Julius Caesar returns to Rome from conquering the Gauls, Cassius and his friends are worried that he will try to seize power and make himself emperor. Cassius must act fast. He gathers Brutus, Cinna, and others to stop Julius Caesar and save...

Reading the Cup is essentially a domestic form of Fortune-telling to be practiced at home, and with success by anyone who will take the trouble to master the simple rules laid down in these pages: and it is in the hope that it will provide a basis...

Inspired by Jane Eyre, Dinah Maria Craik's 1850 novel, Olive, was one of the first to feature a disabled central character. 'Slightly deformed' from birth, Olive believes that she will never be able to marry like other women, so she devotes her life...

There should be a bit of poetry in every day, and John Kendrick Bangs wrote a fitting poem for each day in the year. In 1920, a book was published with one of Bangs' poems for each day. This project covers the month of November. - Summary by Carolin...

This is the third chapter in Macaulay’s great History of England from the Accession of James II. In this chapter Macaulay looks at the state of the nation in 1685. He discusses the population, the revenue, the military system, the roads, the inns,...

Work on the translation began in 1853 by a London businessman called Ferrar Fenton (1832–1920). The complete Bible was first published in 1903, though parts were published as separate volumes during the preceding 11 years. The translation is noted...