Essays & Short Works
He Can Who Thinks He Can
Read by KirksVoice
Orison Swett Marden
Do you have what it takes to be the person you want to be? This is a neat self help book in plain English by the New Thought Movement author…
Character Building
Read by Luke Sartor
Booker T. Washington
Character Building is a compilation of speeches, given by Mr. Booker T. Washington, to the students and staff of the Tuskegee Normal and Ind…
Apology of Socrates
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Plato
The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BC against the charg…
Tales of Old Japan
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Lord Redesdale
Tales of Old Japan by Lord Redesdale is a collection of short stories focusing on Japanese life of the Edo period (1803 - 1868). It contains…
The Souls of Black Folk
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W. E. B. Du Bois
The Souls of Black Folk is a well-known work of African-American literature by activist W.E.B. Du Bois. The book, published in 1903, contain…
On the Duty of Civil Disobedience (Version 2)
Read by Bob Neufeld
Henry David Thoreau
Civil Disobedience (Resistance to Civil Government) is an essay by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau that was first published i…
As a Man Thinketh (version 2)
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James Allen
As a Man Thinketh is a literary essay of James Allen, published in 1902. The title is influenced by a verse in the Bible from the Book of Pr…
J'accuse...!
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Émile Zola
J'accuse est le titre d'un article rédigé par Émile Zola lors de l'affaire Dreyfus et publié dans le journal L'A…
The Federalist Papers
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James Madison
The Federalist Papers (correctly known as The Federalist) are a series of 85 articles advocating the ratification of the United States Const…
The Human Machine
Read by Ruth Golding
Arnold Bennett
Bennett asks us to consider our brains as the most wonderful machine, a machine which is the only thing in this world that we can control. A…
Self and Self-management: Essays about Existing
Read by Ruth Golding
Arnold Bennett
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 Awful German Language
Read by Rainer
Mark Twain
If you’ve ever studied German (and maybe even if you haven’t), you’re likely to find this short essay to be hilarious. Published as Appendix…
Our Island Story, Part 1
Read by Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023)
Henrietta Elizabeth Marshall
Our Island Story was first published in 1905 and became an instant classic. Beginning with the Romans and following the triumphs and foibles…
Hans Christian Andersen: Fairytales and Short Stories Volume 2, 1844 to 1847
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Hans Christian Andersen
A collection of some of Hans Christian Andersen's works. He is a Danish author and poet most famous for his fairy tales. (Summary by Kristin…
What's Wrong With the World
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G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874–1936) has been called the “prince of paradox.” Time magazine observed of his writing style: “Whenever possibl…
Heretics
Read by Ray Clare
G. K. Chesterton
The Author Gilbert Keith Chesterton was born in London, England on the 29th of May, 1874. Though he considered himself a mere "rollicki…
A Short History of England
Read by Ray Clare
G. K. Chesterton
Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a prolific writer on many topics. His views of history were always from the standpoint of men and their interac…
The Prince (Version 3)
Read by Bob Neufeld
Niccolò Machiavelli
The Prince (Italian: Il Principe) is a political treatise by the Italian diplomat, historian and political theorist Niccolò Machiavel…
Celebrated Crimes, Vol. 1: The Borgias and The Cenci
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Alexandre Dumas
Dumas's 'Celebrated Crimes' was not written for children. The novelist has spared no language--has minced no words--to describe the violent …
The Soul of Man
Read by Martin Geeson
Oscar Wilde
“(T)he past is what man should not have been. The present is what man ought not to be. The future is what artists are.”Published originally …