Essays & Short Works
- Philosophical Travelogues
- Essays on Society and Culture
- Essays for Personal Growth
- Explorations in Science and Thought
- Explorations in Psychology
- Political Essays and Reflections
- Political Essays and Manifestos
- Philosophical Essays on Existence
The Philippics
A philippic is a fiery, damning speech delivered to condemn a particular political actor. The term originates with Demosthenes, who delivere…
Love Conquers All
Robert Benchley, 1889-1945, was a writer, humorist and actor of note during the 1920s through the early 1940s. Born in Massachusetts, he spe…
From October to Brest-Litovsk
This account by Trotsky is of the events in Russia from the October Revolution of 1917 in Petrograd, to his signing of the Brest-Litovsk tre…
Self and Self-management
Bennett's essays always provide food for thought and bring a wry smile to the lips. Human nature, it appears, changes little over the ages, …
The Early History of the Airplane
The Brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright made the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air flight, on 17th December 1903. They…
Tea-table Talk
As the New York Times said in 1903, this lesser-known work by Jerome K. Jerome does not display "the wit of Congreve or even the glitte…
Essays
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, philosopher, and poet, best remembered for leading the Transcendentalist movement of the mid 1…
Essays
Michel Eyquem de Montaigne is one of the most influential writers of the French Renaissance, known for popularising the essay as a literary …
About Orchids, a Chat
This is not a manual of instruction for orchid growers; though there are many hints on cultivation, and a few paragraphs on how to hybridize…
1945 Radio News
Experience the news from 1945 with this collection of radio broadcasts. This compilation includes various news segments and V-Discs from tha…
The Wealth of Nations
The Wealth of Nations is a foundational text in economics, penned by Scottish philosopher Adam Smith during the transformative period of the…
The Letters of Mark Twain
These letters were arranged in two volumes by Albert Bigelow Paine, Samuel L. Clemens's literary executor, as a supplement to Mark Twain, A …
Magna Carta
The original document is in Latin so this can only be a fairly rough approximation of the actual content. The text used is the first version…
The Critique of Practical Reason
The Critique of Practical Reason (Kritik der praktischen Vernunft) is the second of Immanuel Kant's three critiques, first published in 1788…
Psychological Types
Ever wondered if there is any "theoretical basis" for the well-known Myers–Briggs Type Indicator Personality Test? In this groundb…
Etiquette in Society
From advice on planning the perfect wedding to eating an artichoke correctly, Emily Post offers instruction on how to live a well-mannered l…
The World as Will and Idea
In this work, Schopenhauer explains his fundamental idea that at the root of the reality we see around us is a Will that eternally, insatiab…
The Awful German Language
This long essay is a work of mock philology, one of several appendices to Twain’s travel novel, A Tramp Abroad. In it, Twain explains, compl…
Principles of Economics
Principles of Economics was a leading economics textbook of Alfred Marshall (1842-1924), first published in 1890. Marshall began writing the…
Biographies in Sound
Biographies in Sound was an hour-long documentary radio program that was produced and broadcast in the 1950s. It's one of the best examples …