Showing results for "Autobiographie" in Science & Engineering

When Helen Keller's autobiography was first published in 1903, she was a young woman studying at Radcliffe College. In it, Helen shares memories of her childhood, describes how Miss Sullivan helped her learn how to communicate, and reflects on her experiences as a college student. This audiobook is divided into a three-part special edition. The first part is Helen's autobiography. The second part is a collection of Helen's letters from childhood through 1901. The third part is a supplementary account of Helen’s education, including in-depth passages from her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan,...

Sojourner Truth (born Isabella Baumfree) was born into slavery in 1797 (or thereabouts) in Swartekill, Ulster County, New York. This narrative, as told by Sojourner Truth to her friend Olive Gilbert, recounts to the best of her recollection what she and her family endured while they were the legal property of other human beings. These life experiences served as the catalysts for her becoming, in her later years, an outspoken abolutionist and women's rights activist. Her forgiving attitude toward those who once treated her and her loved ones with such cruelty is an example for all who would ...

What was growing up like for a seaside country girl in 1800’s New England -- her expectations, occupations, education, and opportunities? What was it like working at the Lowell Textile Mills in Massachusetts, from age 11, to help support her family (see Loom and Spindle for that story), who then went on to edit magazines, teach at Wheaton College, and write many charming books, this one chock full of a girl’s hopes, dreams, recollections, poetry, and brilliant reflections on life such as: "This we working-girls learned from the webs of cloth we saw woven around us. Every little thread must...

“THE study of history, like the study of a landscape, should begin with the most conspicuous features. Not until these have been fixed in memory will the lesser features fall into their appropriate places and assume their right proportions. The famous men of ancient and modern times are the mountain peaks of history. It is logical then that the study of history should begin with the biographies of these men. Not only is it logical; it is also pedagogical. Experience has proven that in order to attract and hold the child’s attention each conspicuous feature of history presented to him ...

"Jane Austen's Sailor Brothers" by Edith & John Hubback is a biography that explores the lives of Jane Austen's two sailor brothers, Francis and Charles. The book examines their naval careers, their relationships with their famous sister, and their impact on her writing. They begin with background information on the Austen family and the naval world of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. They then describe Francis's and Charles's experiences in the Royal Navy, including their participation in the Napoleonic Wars and voyages to exotic locations such as the West Indies and ...

Interesting, witty, and unusual epitaphs found in graveyards in England, Wales, Scotland, and more. Feast on this gem: Dr. I. Letsome wrote the following for his own tombstone: "When people's ill, they comes to I, I physics, bleeds, and sweats 'em; Sometimes they live, sometimes they die; What's that to I? I. Letsome." - Summary by MamaPhish and Dr. I. Letsome

For Chesterton, Francis of Assisi is a great paradoxical figure, a man who loved women but vowed himself to chastity; an artist who loved the pleasures of the natural world as few have loved them, but vowed himself to the most austere poverty, stripping himself naked in the public square so all could see that he had renounced his worldly goods; a clown who stood on his head in order to see the world aright. Chesterton gives us Francis in his world-the riotously colorful world of the High Middle Ages, a world with more pageantry and romance than we have seen before or since. Here is the Francis...

Departing from the usual third person narratives of biographies, this account is told in the first person as the reminiscences of a now retired George Washington. Reflecting on his days as a youth, he relates his family history, education, and military life up to the age of about 26 when he was a colonel. Naturally the author takes much liberty in filling in the details of Washington’s life, but largely remains true to history and the spirit of the man. The result is an engaging story that flows naturally, entertaining as it informs. - Summary by Larry Wilson

Booker T. Washington was one of the first nationally recognized African American leaders after the Civil War. He was born to a slave woman in Virginia, who then took him as a young boy to West Virginia after the emancipation. Booker became a leader in education heading the Tuskegee Institute for more than 30 years and working with other universities. He advocated a moderate approach to elevating the African Americans through education and business, but worked behind the scenes to change discriminatory laws and practices, and became an adviser to the White House. He authored 14 books, and many ...

“Father Marquette” is a biography of the French priest, devout missionary and courageous explorer who led an expedition, along with Louis Joliet, to find a route from the Great Lakes to the “Great River”, the Mississippi, and thence to its mouth. Their expedition traveled by 2 frail canoes from northern Michigan, along Lake Michigan, entering Green Bay, up the Fox River, portaging to the Wisconsin River, and then, oh joy!, to the Mississippi. They followed the Mississippi down to Arkansas, where deeming it too risky to go farther on account of hostile tribes and Spanish soldiers, they ...

The life of the Confederate States of America general, Robert E. Lee, through the eyes of his youngest son, who was also a Confederate Army officer. Published in 1905. Note: in many of the letters the recipient's name is printed after General Lee's signature; the White House is not that in Washington but General Lee's elder son's house in Virginia. - Summary by david wales

James P. Beckworth, born in Virginia at the dawn of our Nation, moved with his family to eastern Missouri settling a few miles below what is now St. Charles. Still young, James began his education in the character of the Indian nations where he gained first hand knowledge of the Indian tactics and at times, their brutality. At the young age of 19, he became a member of the famed company known as Ashley's hundred. Working along side some our countries most revered adventurers. Hugh Glass, Jim Bridger, Kit Carson and of course, General Ashley himself. After many adventures working for the ...

Short Biographies of some of the most influential engineers who developed the modern manufacturing methods behind the Industrial Revolution. Engineers and designers tend to be fairly anonymous figures in history – content to make things rather than write about them. At the time Smiles wrote “Industrial Biography” the whole of British society was undergoing massive changes driven by developments in the High Technology of the day – Mechanical Engineering. Much of the knowledge we have of the brilliant mechanical engineers who developed the iron and machine tools of the nineteenth century...

The results of a survey undertaken by Galton to learn more about individual differences and similarities between the "pre-eminent" men of his time. Brief biographical information, biometric data and extensive quotations have been compiled and presented. Summary by niobium.

Beaumarchais – Watchmaker, music teacher, politician, opportunist, publisher, secret agent for Louis XVI, yet fomenter of revolution in both France and America – and yet again imprisoned for being an enemy of the Revolution. . . Friend of Voltaire, libertarian, arms dealer, and dramatist whose famous Figaro trio of satirical plays reflects the dissolution of Medieval society and torturous emergence of a new democratic era. This biography by John Rivers was originally published in 1922. (Summary by Lynette Caulkins)

Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson is widely considered to be the greatest English-language biography ever written. It was revolutionary in its efforts to represent Johnson as he was, celebrating his flaws as well as his genius, and in Boswell's decision to represent Johnson primarily by quoting his writings and relating personal anecdotes rather than relying on matters of public record. From the time of its publication till now, The Life of Johnson has been one of the most popular and influential books ever written. (Summary by Kirsten Ferreri.) N.B. This recording does not include the Preface,...

Chronicles the life of Richard II, born in 1367 in Bordeaux, France, who later wore the crown of King of England. (Summary by Cathy Barratt)

Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and philosopher. A leading transcendentalist,he is best known for his book Walden, a reflection upon simple living in natural surroundings, and his essay "Civil Disobedience" (originally published as "Resistance to Civil Government"), an argument for disobedience to an unjust state. Thoreau was known for being a prolific writer, keeping journals from the age of 20 until shortly before his death.He wrote of his observations in nature, gleaned largely from his daily walks. He also was a man of strong ...

Saint Francis of Assisi grew up in a wealthy family and his early life was characterized by splendor, riches and a lavish lifestyle. During an illness, he supposedly had a vision, after which he became disillusioned with his lifestyle and began giving everything away to beggars. His conversion was gradual, but after a pilgrimage to Rome, he supposedly hid in a cave to avoid his father's anger and then began to live a life of poverty and contrition. He is forever associated with simplicity and nature. - Summary by Lynne Thompson

Lord Cochrane was a Napoleonic-era sea captain, whose adventures were the source material for many popular series of naval fiction. He started to write a biography but passed away after completing only two volumes. This work, co-authored by a naval historian and Cocharne's son, completes his "Autobiography of a Seaman". In this volume, Cochrane helps the Chilean navy defeat the Pacific navy of Spain, and then takes command of the navy of Brazil. It ends with him sailing to Greece, to aid them in rebellion against their Ottoman overlords