Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 064


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(5 stars; 3 reviews)

Twenty short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. Eucken's "The Failure of Speculative Philosophy," is one of several essays devoted to timeless questions. Others are by James Howell on man, nature and the universe, Samuel Johnson on procrastination and the flight of time, Schleiemacher on the social element in religion, Ambrose Bierce on immortality, and Thomas Paine and Jonathan Swift with their famous essays, "The Age of Reason" (1794-1795) and "A Modest Proposal" (1729).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Pearl Harbor "Day of Infamy" speech is one of various commentaries on war, politics and the polity. Others are Bierce's moving description of a solitary Civil War hero, Woodrow Wilson speaking to capitalism's spiritual crisis, Rev. Jee Gam presenting a Chinese Christian's thoughts on the Boxer Rebellion, and a partisan, Eugene Weeks, eulogizing Calvin Coolidge.

Intuitive self-direction is the theme of Lafcadio Hearn's essay "A Mystery of Crowds." Other selections that touch on personal development are Robert Louis Stevenson on literary style, Gelett Burgess on creativity and the art of play, Brann on the relative worth of the sexes, and Mary Wood-Allen on what a woman should know in picking a husband. For the musically inclined, Lawton Mackall has an amusing look at pianos, while sports enthusiasts will enjoy Benjamin Richardson's treatise on what to avoid in cycling. Artists should be interested in the biography of designer William Kilburn, who, in the late 1700s, was the first artist to seek copyright for his original textile designs. Summary by Sue Anderson

William Tudor Jones translated "The Failure of Speculative Philosophy."
George Ripley translated "On the Social Element in Religion."

(5 hr 21 min)

Chapters

The Age of Reason: Conclusion 33:23 Read by Peter Thomlinson (1940-2022)
The Art of Playing 9:55 Read by Colleen McMahon
The Boxer Rebellion From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese (1900) 18:59 Read by Some Old Bird
Day of Infamy Speech: Given before the US Congress December 8 1941 4:09 Read by Larry Wilson
An Essay in the Art of Writing 19:22 Read by Quaker Woodworker
The Failure of Speculative Philosophy 34:05 Read by Craig Campbell
Have Faith in Coolidge! 20:16 Read by Elsie Selwyn
Immortality 10:33 Read by Dale Grothmann
Meditation (from The Familiar Letters of James Howell) 7:24 Read by Craig Campbell
A Modest Proposal 21:55 Read by Availle
Monitions on the Flight of Time 6:56 Read by Quaker Woodworker
A Mystery of Crowds 13:17 Read by Quaker Woodworker
Notes On Pianos 4:56 Read by Dale Grothmann
On The Social Element in Religion (1799) 33:15 Read by Craig Campbell
The Road Away from Revolution 7:00 Read by Larry Wilson
A Son Of The Gods 18:58 Read by Dale Grothmann
What a Woman Ought to Know in Choosing a Husband 11:33 Read by BettyB
What to Avoid in Cycling 27:20 Read by TriciaG
William Kilburn (1745-1818) and Copyright for Artists' Original Designs 9:15 Read by Sue Anderson
The Woman Thou Gavest Me 9:08 Read by Michele Fry