Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 064

Various

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."

Genre(s): *Non-fiction

Language: English

Group: Short Nonfiction Collections

Section Chapter Author Source Reader Time Language
Play 01 The Age of Reason: Conclusion Thomas Paine Etext Peter Thomlinson (1940-2022)
00:33:23 en
Play 02 The Art of Playing Frank Gelett Burgess Etext Colleen McMahon
00:09:55 en
Play 03 The Boxer Rebellion From the Standpoint of a Christian Chinese (1900) Jee Gam Etext Some Old Bird
00:18:59 en
Play 04 Day of Infamy Speech: Given before the US Congress December 8 1941 Franklin D. Roosevelt Etext Larry Wilson
00:04:09
Play 05 An Essay in the Art of Writing Robert Louis Stevenson Etext Quaker Woodworker
00:19:22 en
Play 06 The Failure of Speculative Philosophy Rudolf Christoph Eucken Etext Craig Campbell
00:34:05 en
Play 07 Have Faith in Coolidge! Eugene M. Weeks Etext Elsie Selwyn
00:20:16 en
Play 08 Immortality Ambrose Bierce Etext Dale Grothmann
00:10:33 en
Play 09 Meditation (from The Familiar Letters of James Howell) James Howell Etext Craig Campbell
00:07:24 en
Play 10 A Modest Proposal Jonathan Swift Etext Availle
00:21:55 en
Play 11 Monitions on the Flight of Time Samuel Johnson Etext Quaker Woodworker
00:06:56 en
Play 12 A Mystery of Crowds Lafcadio Hearn Etext Quaker Woodworker
00:13:17 en
Play 13 Notes On Pianos Lawton Mackall Etext Dale Grothmann
00:04:56 en
Play 14 On The Social Element in Religion (1799) Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher Etext Craig Campbell
00:33:15 en
Play 15 The Road Away from Revolution Thomas Woodrow Wilson Etext Larry Wilson
00:07:00 en
Play 16 A Son Of The Gods Ambrose Bierce Etext Dale Grothmann
00:18:58 en
Play 17 What a Woman Ought to Know in Choosing a Husband Mary Wood-Allen Etext BettyB
00:11:33 en
Play 18 What to Avoid in Cycling Benjamin Ward Richardson Etext TriciaG
00:27:20 en
Play 19 William Kilburn (1745-1818) and Copyright for Artists' Original Designs Anonymous Etext Sue Anderson
00:09:15 en
Play 20 The Woman Thou Gavest Me William Cowper Brann Etext Michele Fry
00:09:08 en