Showing results by narrator "Jim Killavey" in All Categories

This collecton features some of Twain's best known stories as well as some lesser-known gems, such as "A Mysterious Visit", "The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut", and "The Loves Of Alonzo Fitz-Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton".

Walden or, "Life in the Woods", is, primarily, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings. Henry David Thoreau kept a journal during his stay in a cabin beside Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, for two years, two months, and two days, from July 1845 to Sept 1847. The book is based on that journal.

In its oppressive atmosphere of fog, mist, and mud, nothing conjures up the dreary days of November and its "implacable" weather like the celebrated opening of Bleak House, by Charles Dickens. The plot concerns a long-running legal dispute (Jarndyce and Jarndyce) which has far-reaching consequences for all involved. Dickens' assault on the flaws of the British judiciary system is based in part on his own experiences as a law clerk.

Emerson's ideas are alive and well and very much with us today. Consider that Emerson, now an establishment figure, was a rebel in his time. He could find no relevance in established religion. But, unlike others, he set out to reform it. Many of his ideas now seem obvious and as American as apple pie.

During a trip to Europe, Christopher Newman, a wealthy American businessman, asks the charming Claire de Cintre to be his wife. To his dismay, he receives an icy reception from the heads of her family, who find Newman to be a vulgar example of the American privileged class. Brilliantly combining elements of comedy, tragedy, romance and melodrama, this tale of thwarted desire vividly contrasts nineteenth-century American and European manners.

William Dean Howells was born in Martin's Ferry, Ohio, of Welch, Irish, and German forebears. Along with Mark Twain, he was one of the great novelists of his time. This book, the realisic saga of the rise and redemptive fall of an American tycoon, is considered to be his best novel.

The Education of Henry Adams is among the oddest and most enlightening books in American literature. Henry Adams was the grandson of a president and the great-grandson of another one. He was also the son of the American Ambassador to England, and his secretery. As such he rubbed elbows, literally, with Presidents from Abraham Lincoln to Theodore Roosevelt and with many of the great figures of his time.

Bram Stoker created an incredible novel in Dracula. The success of the vampire novel unfortunately overshadowed most of his other writings. This volume contains nine of his best short stories, including the one in which the character of Dracula first appeared.

When the name Abraham Lincoln is mentioned , we usually think of the highlights of his career.We think of Lincoln the politician, the statesman, the orator and the man who did away with slavery.What is not as well known, however, is that Lincoln did produce one piece of fiction, The Trailor Murder Mystery. When Lincoln was practicing law, it was common for lawyers to write summaries of their cases and present them as fiction.

Henry James wrote many excellent ghost stories, his most famous being, The Turn of the Screw. In The Ghostly Rental a newcomer in town, who loves to walk for exercise, comes upon a deserted rural road. He follows the road and comes upon a house that immediately strikes him as "simply haunted." He is determined to get into the house and find out the truth about it. What he finds out turns out to be quite different than what he expected.

Brand Whitlock was an American attorney, author, elected official and diplomat in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He wrote this excellent little life of Lincoln but recognized that his book could serve only as an introduction to the great man's life when he wrote, "To compress between the covers of a little book like this the whole story of AbrahamLincoln, to present within such limitations a life so epical, a character so original and yet so universal, is obviously impossible."

Carlo Collodi, whose real name was Carlo Lorenzini,was a Florentine children's writer most famous for this world-renowned fairytale novel. The name "Pinocchio" is a Tuscan word meaning "pine nut." The story concerns a puppet who dreams of becoming a real boy. The book has appeared in many adaptations including the famous 1940 Disney movie.

Stephen wrote astonishingly realistic stories of men under the stress of battle, the most famous being The Read Badge of Courage. He also wrote a number of very insightful stories with the same theme. This is considered one of his best.

Daisy Miller is one of Henry James' shorter and earlier novels. It was written in 1878. It portrays the confused courtship of a headstrong American girl by Winterbourne, a compatriot of hers who is much more sophisticated. His pursuit of her is hampered by her own flirtatiousness, which is frowned upon by the other expatriates they meet in Switzerland and Italy.

The Altar of the Dead was first published in the collection Terminations in 1895. It is a fable of life and death significance which explores what happens when a man tries to keep the remembrance of his dead friends, to save them from being forgotten entirely in the rush of everyday events.

Saladin Foster and his wife, Electra, are jolted out of their tranquility by the stunning news that a distant relative has left them $30,000. The one condition is that the couple must be able to prove "that they had taken no notice of the gift by spoken word or by letter, had made no inquiries concerning the [ship] Moribund's progress toward the everlasting tropics, and had not attended the funeral." This condition leads to some major difficulties.

The American Civil War had ended, and the members of the American Gun Club tried to think of something else to interest them. At last they came up with the extraordinary idea of building the greatest cannon the world had ever seen and using it to launch a man-made "bullet" to the moon!

Hear some of the greatest American essays ever written! This unabridged collection covers a multitude of subjects, including philosophy, politics, turkeys, and dogs.

The story concerns a scientist, Victor Frankenstein, who conducts a great experiment to see if he can create a living being from the body parts of corpses. Only whe the experiment is successful does he begin to think of the ethics and consequences of what he has done. The creature he created becomes embittered when he finds that no one will love him becuase of his appearance.

William H. Danforth, who founded the Nestle Purina Company, saw life as a type of checkerboard. He believed that four key components, the mental, the physical, the social, and the religious, needed to be in balance in order to achieve fulfillment and success in life. He expounds on his ideas in I Dare You!. Once you get beyond the confrontational tone of the title what you will find in this book is enthusiastic encouragement and confidence-building.