Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 074

Various

Twenty-one short nonfiction works chosen by the readers. "We must learn to dignify common labor." Booker T. Washington spoke plain truth at an 1898 Lincoln Day commemoration. Recorded during months of pandemic virus lockdown, unemployment, and mass dependence on the "common labor" of grocery clerks and delivery persons, Volume 074 of the Short Nonfiction Collection reflects its readers' reactions to uncertain times. Religion and Philosophy figure in several selections (The Second Epistle of Clement; Nietzsche on Nihilism and the Idea of Recurrence; The Counter-reformation in Scandinavia and Poland; Spinoza and the Bible; and Women and Holy Orders).

Praising human resiliency, William James recalls "the rapidity of the improvisation or order out of chaos" in Mental Effects of the 1906 San Francisco Earthquake; while Samuel Johnson takes a verbal swing at the rich and powerful who look "with unconcern on a man struggling for life in the water, and when he has reached ground, encumbers him with help." (Letter to Lord Chesterfield, 1755). Tactless types who comment on gray hairs and brand eccentric people as "mad" are skewered in two essays by Anna Mowatt Richie. (Tactless People; Original People). Balancing these negatives is praise for accomplished individuals: James Wilson, Blind Biographer; Japanese writer Madame Yukio Ozaki; and pioneering chemist Agnes Pockels (Surface Tension); followed by a look at communal enterprise in the Salt Mines of Wieliczka.

Finally, virtual travel (Rhode Island), virtual bakery treats (Biscuits, Breakfast Cakes and Shortcakes; The Story of Crisco) and words of wisdom for times when life is turned upside down. (Reflections of a Stained-Glass Master). Creator of cathedral windows, artisan Christopher Whall writes "Pull yourself together in such an aroused and angry spirit as shall flame out against the difficulty with force and heat. Let the whole thing be as fuel of fire... and the chief difficulty may become...the chief glory ... like the new-born Phoenix, sprung from the ashes of the old and thrice as fair."

The Crisis: Nihilism and the Idea of Recurrence was translated by Anthony M. Ludovici
Surface Tension was translated by Lord Rayleigh
The Second Epistle of Clement was translated by John Keith

Summary by Sue Anderson

Genre(s): *Non-fiction

Language: English

Group: Short Nonfiction Collections

Section Chapter Author Source Reader Time Language
Play 01 Biscuits, Breakfast Cakes and Shortcakes - 1913 Fannie Farmer Etext BettyB
00:29:25 en
Play 02 The Counter-reformation in Scandinavia and Poland, Part 1 Martin Philippson Etext Piotr Nater
01:08:23 en
Play 03 The Counter-reformation in Scandinavia and Poland, Part 2 Martin Philippson Etext Piotr Nater
00:27:29 en
Play 04 The Crisis: Nihilism and the Idea of Recurrence Friedrich Nietzsche Etext Craig Campbell
00:13:48 en
Play 05 Eternal Recurrence Friedrich Nietzsche Etext Craig Campbell
00:19:46 en
Play 06 James Wilson, Blind Biographer James Wilson Etext Sue Anderson
00:54:46 en
Play 07 Letter to Lord Chesterfield Samuel Johnson Etext Daniel Davison
00:03:55 en
Play 08 Lincoln Day Address Booker T. Washington Etext Larry Wilson
00:09:07 en
Play 09 Madame Yukio Ozaki: A Biographical Sketch Mary Crawford Fraser Etext Colleen McMahon
00:21:08 en
Play 10 On Some Mental Effects of the San Francisco Earthquake William James Etext Winston Tharp
00:18:37 en
Play 11 Original People Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie Etext Kelly S. Taylor
00:08:02 en
Play 12 Reflections of a Stained Glass Master Christopher Whitworth Whall Etext Sue Anderson
00:17:09 en
Play 13 Rhode Island Clifton Johnson Etext BettyB
00:07:56 en
Play 14 The Salt Mines of Wieliczka Bayard Taylor Etext Piotr Nater
00:14:13 en
Play 15 The Second Epistle of Clement Pope Clement I Etext ancientchristian
00:29:58 en
Play 16 Spinoza and the Bible (Part 1) Matthew Arnold Etext Daniel Davison
00:31:29 en
Play 17 Spinoza and the Bible (Part 2) Matthew Arnold Etext Daniel Davison
00:34:45 en
Play 18 The Story of Crisco Marion Harris Neil Etext TriciaG
00:25:33 en
Play 19 Surface Tension Agnes Pockels Etext Availle
00:20:02 en
Play 20 Tactless People Anna Cora Mowatt Ritchie Etext Kelly S. Taylor
00:09:19 en
Play 21 Women and Holy Orders (1921) Arthur C. A. Hall Etext KevinS
00:16:48 en