myebooksbuy
My Books

The whole shelf

All free summaries — page 187

9,354 public-domain books, summarised. Page 187 of 195.

Cover of The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 02

The historians' history of the world in twenty-five volumes, volume 02

Unknown

Across mountain passes and river valleys, ancient peoples forge empires through blood, devotion, and cold political strategy.

History - Ancient10 min read
Cover of The Life of David Belasco

The Life of David Belasco

William Winter

A meticulous chronicler of the American stage captures the life of a seminal theatrical pioneer, detailing a relentless pursuit of art across the shifting landscapes of nineteenth-century drama.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of The Skirts of the Great City

The Skirts of the Great City

N. D'Anvers

London is not merely a city of stone and mortar, but a sprawling, living tapestry of neighborhoods. This guide traces the hidden histories, artistic legacies, and royal footprints scattered across the quiet villages and green spaces that ring the capital.

History - British6 min read
Cover of The Treasury of Ancient Egypt: Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology

The Treasury of Ancient Egypt: Miscellaneous Chapters on Ancient Egyptian History and Archaeology

Arthur E. P. Brome (Arthur Edward Pearse Brome) Weigall

This collection of essays offers an intimate, atmospheric window into the early twentieth-century world of Egyptian archaeology. Written by a dedicated inspector of antiquities, it explores the enduring connection between the sun-drenched landscapes of the Nile and the ancient civilization that once thrived there.

Archaeology & Anthropology7 min read
Cover of The Tree-Dwellers

The Tree-Dwellers

Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

Survival in a world of giants requires more than just claws and teeth; it demands the slow, steady spark of human ingenuity.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask: Extracted from Documents in the French Archives

The True History of the State Prisoner, commonly called the Iron Mask: Extracted from Documents in the French Archives

Dover, George Agar Ellis, Baron

A minister’s betrayal, a king’s quiet fury, and decades of hidden imprisonment dissolve one of history’s most romanticized legends into the plain reality of political revenge.

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)6 min read
Cover of Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Gordon Home

The moors of Northern England hold an ancient, rugged beauty that defies the march of time. This guide explores a landscape where Roman history, medieval abbeys, and wild, wind-swept geography converge in quiet, enduring harmony.

History - British6 min read
Cover of America's Munitions 1917-1918

America's Munitions 1917-1918

United States. War Department

An immense industrial engine awakens as a nation transforms its civil factories into a single, coordinated arsenal to equip millions of overseas combatants.

History - American22 min read
Cover of An Apologie for the Royal Party (1659)

An Apologie for the Royal Party (1659)

John Evelyn

A desperate plea for political stability and a triumphant celebration of the monarchy define these two pivotal texts from the mid-seventeenth century. They capture the raw, emotional transition from the chaos of revolutionary rule to the promise of a restored kingdom.

History - British6 min read
Cover of Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2)

Anthology of Russian literature from the earliest period to the present time, volume 1 (of 2)

Leo Wiener

This collection offers a rare, panoramic view of the Russian soul, spanning from ancient, earth-bound folk wisdom to the sophisticated literary salons of the eighteenth century.

Classics of Literature7 min read
Cover of Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Clarissa Harlowe; or the history of a young lady

Samuel Richardson

A virtuous young woman is ensnared in a web of sophisticated cruelty, struggling to preserve her integrity against a relentless libertine who views her very resistance as a challenge to his own mastery.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Genius in Sunshine and Shadow

Genius in Sunshine and Shadow

Maturin M. (Maturin Murray) Ballou

The lives of history’s most brilliant minds often reveal a striking paradox: those who illuminate the world with their genius frequently dwell in the deepest shadows of personal suffering, poverty, or eccentricity.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Gods of Modern Grub Street: Impressions of Contemporary Authors

Gods of Modern Grub Street: Impressions of Contemporary Authors

Arthur St. John Adcock

These profiles capture the essence of a generation, mapping the creative lives of the authors who defined the early twentieth-century literary landscape.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of History of the Peninsular War, Volume 1 (of 6)

History of the Peninsular War, Volume 1 (of 6)

Robert Southey

The Peninsular War stands as a watershed of the nineteenth century, marking the violent, often treacherous intersection of Napoleonic ambition and the fierce, unyielding spirit of national independence.

History - European6 min read
Cover of Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives

Illustrated Catalogue of Locomotives

Baldwin Locomotive Works

This is a technical chronicle of the rise of steam-powered transit in America, detailing the evolution of locomotive engineering from a jeweler’s basement project into a global industrial force.

Engineering & Technology6 min read
Cover of La Légende des Siècles

La Légende des Siècles

Victor Hugo

This monumental collection of verse charts the rise of humanity from the dawn of time, tracing the human spirit’s arduous, mythic struggle toward enlightenment and progress. It is a vast, panoramic vision of history reimagined through poetry.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of Letters and social aims

Letters and social aims

Ralph Waldo Emerson

The pursuit of a meaningful life requires balancing the practical demands of the material world with the lofty, often elusive, requirements of the human soul. This collection of essays serves as a meditation on how to navigate that tension with integrity.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, Volume 2 (of 3): Illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy, from 1440 To 1630

Memoirs of the Dukes of Urbino, Volume 2 (of 3): Illustrating the Arms, Arts, and Literature of Italy, from 1440 To 1630

James Dennistoun

The history of the Dukes of Urbino reveals the intricate dance between Renaissance artistic splendor and the brutal, shifting tides of Italian power. Through the lens of a scholarly nineteenth-century eye, the narrative reconstructs a world where the sword and the quill were equally essential tools of survival for…

History - Early Modern (c. 1450-1750)7 min read
Cover of North America

North America

Israel C. (Cook) Russell

This survey offers a sweeping, turn-of-the-century portrait of a continent’s physical evolution, detailing how geological forces and climate shaped the vast, rugged landscapes that define North America.

Environmental Issues7 min read
Cover of Pelham

Pelham

Lytton, Edward Bulwer Lytton, Baron

High fashion, political ambition, and dark underworld crime intersect in this glittering tale of a nineteenth-century dandy who hides sharp intellect beneath an outrageous, velvet-trimmed exterior.

British Literature7 min read
Cover of Prejudices, second series

Prejudices, second series

H. L. (Henry Louis) Mencken

A relentless observer of the American scene, this collection dissects the national psyche with the precision of a surgeon and the wit of a barroom brawler. It offers a provocative, unsparing audit of a culture struggling to reconcile its democratic ideals with its persistent anti-intellectualism.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Some Notes on Shipbuilding and Shipping in Colonial Virginia

Some Notes on Shipbuilding and Shipping in Colonial Virginia

Cerinda W. Evans

Ships were the lifeblood of the Virginia colony, serving as the primary vehicles for defense, commerce, and connection to the wider world. These wooden vessels transformed a wilderness into a thriving, mercantile society.

History - American5 min read
Cover of The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México

The Amphibians and Reptiles of Michoacán, México

William Edward Duellman

This systematic survey documents the diverse reptiles and amphibians of Michoacán, Mexico, mapping their distribution across the state’s varied tropical forests, mountain ridges, and volcanic plateaus.

Nature/Gardening/Animals6 min read
Cover of The Edda, Volume 2: The Heroic Mythology of the North

The Edda, Volume 2: The Heroic Mythology of the North

Lucy Winifred Faraday

This scholarly examination traces the ancient Germanic heroic tradition as preserved in the fragmented, often brutal poems of the Norse Edda. It serves as an essential guide to the evolution of Northern legend, mapping how oral tales of gods and warriors transformed across centuries and cultures.

Mythology, Legends & Folklore7 min read
Cover of The Fatal Dowry

The Fatal Dowry

Philip Massinger

A tragic collision of honor and obsession, this play charts the ruin of a young man caught between his duty to a benefactor and the betrayal of his marriage. It is a work of dark, forensic intensity, where the courtroom serves as both stage and final judgment.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither

The Golden Chersonese and the Way Thither

Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

A seasoned traveler ventures into the heart of the Malay Peninsula, documenting a world where British colonial administration brushes against ancient customs and the raw, untamed reality of the jungle.

Travel Writing6 min read
Cover of The Grandeur That Was Rome: a survey of Roman culture and civilisation

The Grandeur That Was Rome: a survey of Roman culture and civilisation

J. C. (John Clarke) Stobart

The rise and fall of the Roman state is a study in the immense power of discipline, the corruption of success, and the inevitable entropy of an over-organized society.

History - Ancient7 min read
Cover of The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 2 of 2)

The Life of Napoleon I (Volume 2 of 2)

J. Holland (John Holland) Rose

A supreme military genius reshapes the map of Europe through audacity and administrative force, only to watch his vast empire crumble under the weight of endless war, personal overreach, and united national resistance.

Biographies11 min read
Cover of The Mysteries of Paris, illustrated with etchings, Vol. 2

The Mysteries of Paris, illustrated with etchings, Vol. 2

Eugène Sue

A secret benefactor traverses the darkest corners of 19th-century Paris, intervening in the lives of the suffering to weave a complex web of redemption, vengeance, and hidden identity.

French Literature6 min read
Cover of The Philippine Islands

The Philippine Islands

Ramon Reyes Lala

A native of Manila recounts the complex history, culture, and colonial struggle of his archipelago at the pivotal moment of the Spanish-American War. This vivid chronicle serves as both an intimate travelogue and a fervent political appeal for American guardianship.

History - Other6 min read
Cover of The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western Railway

The Sunny Side of Ireland: How to see it by the Great Southern and Western Railway

John O'Mahony

This practical, vivid guide illuminates the scenic wonders and historical depths of Southern and Western Ireland, mapping the terrain through the iron veins of its primary railway network.

History - European6 min read
Cover of The Young Man and the World

The Young Man and the World

Albert J. (Albert Jeremiah) Beveridge

Success is not the holding of a good hand, but the playing of a poor hand well. This fundamental principle of personal character serves as the cornerstone for navigating the challenges of a complex, indifferent world.

Essays, Letters & Speeches6 min read
Cover of Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger: From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of Africa

Travels of Richard and John Lander into the interior of Africa, for the discovery of the course and termination of the Niger: From unpublished documents in the possession of the late Capt. John William Barber Fullerton ... with a prefatory analysis of the previous travels of Park, Denham, Clapperton, Adams, Lyon, Ritchie, &c. into the hitherto unexplored countries of Africa

Robert Huish

A continuous line of British explorers faces disease, hostile rulers, and unforgiving wilderness to map the interior of West Africa and trace the enigmatic Niger River to its mouth.

History - British10 min read
Cover of Women in the Life of Balzac

Women in the Life of Balzac

Juanita Helm Floyd

This biographical study examines the intense, complex, and often fraught relationships between Honoré de Balzac and the women who shaped his inner life and professional output. It serves as an intimate map of the muse-figures behind his monumental fiction.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of A History of Science

A History of Science

Henry Smith Williams

This narrative traces the rapid evolution of human understanding, moving from early chemical theories to the complex biological and psychological discoveries that defined the nineteenth century. It serves as a comprehensive record of how meticulous experimentation transformed vague natural philosophies into modern…

History - Modern (1750+)7 min read
Cover of A Student's History of England, v. 1: B.C. 55-A.D. 1509: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VII

A Student's History of England, v. 1: B.C. 55-A.D. 1509: From the Earliest Times to the Death of King Edward VII

Samuel Rawson Gardiner

This overview traces the foundational centuries of the English state, documenting the slow, often turbulent evolution from tribal fragmentation toward a unified, centralized nation. It offers a rigorous, chronological account of the political and social shifts that defined the British landscape from the Roman era…

History - Ancient6 min read
Cover of Anglo-Saxon Primer, With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary: Eighth Edition Revised

Anglo-Saxon Primer, With Grammar, Notes, and Glossary: Eighth Edition Revised

Henry Sweet

Learning an ancient language requires a reliable guide, and this volume serves as a clear, foundational path into the earliest form of English. It provides the essential grammatical framework and curated texts needed to begin reading Old English with confidence.

Language & Communication5 min read
Cover of Cock Lane and Common-Sense

Cock Lane and Common-Sense

Andrew Lang

This exploration of the supernatural challenges the modern divide between folklore and scientific inquiry. It invites the reader to examine how human experience, whether in ancient rituals or Victorian drawing rooms, consistently repeats the same mysterious patterns.

Archaeology & Anthropology6 min read
Cover of Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country

Eben Holden: A Tale of the North Country

Irving Bacheller

The story of a young boy and his rugged, devoted guardian journeying through the Adirondack wilderness, this book captures the transition from pioneer simplicity to the complex realities of American adulthood.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches: An Account of the Big Game of the United States and its Chase with Horse, Hound, and Rifle

Hunting the Grisly and Other Sketches: An Account of the Big Game of the United States and its Chase with Horse, Hound, and Rifle

Theodore Roosevelt

The American frontier was once a vast, untamed theater of life and death, where the silence of the wilderness was broken only by the crack of a rifle and the primal struggles of beast against beast.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel

Theodore Dreiser

A young woman’s life is defined by the rigid social codes of her era, as her genuine, self-sacrificing love for a man of status becomes a burden she is forced to carry alone.

American Literature6 min read
Cover of Lancelot of the Laik: A Scottish Metrical Romance (About 1490-1500 A. D.)

Lancelot of the Laik: A Scottish Metrical Romance (About 1490-1500 A. D.)

Unknown

This Scottish metrical romance explores the intersection of courtly love, knightly duty, and the tempering influence of wisdom. It captures a pivotal moment in the Arthurian cycle through the lens of a nameless, humble narrator.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Lao-tzu, A Study in Chinese Philosophy

Lao-tzu, A Study in Chinese Philosophy

Thomas Watters

HOOK This exploration of an ancient Chinese sage examines the elusive origins and enduring mysteries of the Tao-tê Ching, tracing the transformation of a philosophical text into a cornerstone of Eastern thought.

Philosophy & Ethics6 min read
Cover of Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public

Letter on Corpulence, Addressed to the Public

William Banting

HOOK A determined man shares his journey toward health, offering a simple, common-sense dietary shift that permanently transformed his life and challenged the medical conventions of the Victorian era.

Biographies6 min read
Cover of Mardi, and a voyage thither, Vol. 2 (of 2)

Mardi, and a voyage thither, Vol. 2 (of 2)

Herman Melville

A wanderer abandons his ship to pursue a lost, ethereal love through a sprawling, allegorical archipelago, seeking truth in a world that defies his grasp.

Adventure6 min read
Cover of Mental Philosophy: Including the Intellect, Sensibilities, and Will

Mental Philosophy: Including the Intellect, Sensibilities, and Will

Joseph Haven

Human thought, feeling, and action proceed from a single, highly structured mind whose underlying powers can be systematically mapped and understood.

Philosophy & Ethics8 min read
Cover of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens

J. M. (James Matthew) Barrie

This work captures the fragile, bittersweet boundary between the boundless imagination of childhood and the irreversible finality of growing up. It invites readers into a twilight realm where the impossible is ordinary and the heart’s deepest desires are perpetually at risk of being left behind.

British Literature6 min read
Cover of Promenades of an Impressionist

Promenades of an Impressionist

James Huneker

Hook A restless, erudite guide leads readers through the galleries of Europe and the minds of history’s most daring painters, championing the visceral power of art over the dry constraints of academic tradition.

Art5 min read
Advertisement