Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Politics & Government

"On the Duty of Civil Disobedience", published by Henry David Thoreau in 1849, speaks eloquently and personally about one man's desire to live a peaceful, government-free life. In this short essay, Thoreau lays out his philosophy best summed up by the author as, "That government governs best that does not govern at all." Thoreau takes on the key issues of his day: slavery and the Mexican war.

When James Forrestal resigned as secretary of defense in March 1949 before apparently committing suicide (arguably the highest ranking US government official to do so), he left in his office a large accumulation of files and papers. Among them was a private record. This was the "diary", as he called it, that he had maintained in one form or another since the middle of 1944, shortly after his appointment as secretary of the Navy.

The publication in 1848 of The Communist Manifesto came at a time when industrialization was reaching its peak, and signs of the cost to the working class blatant; the Revolutions of 1848 were just getting under way. Marx and Engels shared the belief that "the history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles" and this notion formed a central part of the manifesto they crafted together. They believed that industrialization was simply a new form of struggle among the classes - the price paid by the lower class still high.

The "meat" of The Mueller Report is contained in his summaries of the report. Did the Russians interfere in our 2016 election? Did the Trump campaign collude with the Russians? Did Trump attempt to obstruct the investigation? Mueller presents the evidence but does not make judgments.

This essay was written in 1891 after Wilde had become enamored of concepts expressive of a liberal socialism. In his view, the aim of socialism should be "to try to reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible". Typically, Wilde stresses the vital role played by art and the imperative significance of the artist.

This Civil War recording is taken from a 1963 booklet by John I Robertson and the US Civil War Centennial Commission in the public domain. The recording presents in simple language, a survey of the 11 most important aspects of the 1861-1865 American conflict. It is not possible to describe all of the 6,000 plus battles nor consideration of the political, economic, and social history of the period in this abridged version.

Volume Seven of Alexander' Dumas' catalogue of crime features three colourful historical figures. Albanian tyrant Ali Pacha (or Pasha) was a brigand who later became an operative of the Ottoman empire. After extending his territory to include large areas of Greece and Macedonia, and aspiring to become an independent leader, he attracted the enmity of the Sultan and was declared a rebel. He died in battle at the age of 80.

In Celebrated Crimes [eight volumes: this version, 1895], Dumas the elder, recognised master of historical fiction (The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers) turns to historical fact. In this volume: Joan of Naples. The much-married queen does what she must to survive ‘the violence and treachery of this barbarous age’. ‘An angel soiled by crime, she lied like Satan himself .’ The Man in The Iron Mask (an essay). How much of the well-known story is fact, and how much fiction?

Alexander Michhailovich was the Grand Duke of Russia, a member of the Romanov family. In this touching story written in the first third of the 20th century, he interviews deposed European rulers - many of whom were his friends - and shares how they feel about their predicaments and their futures. Twilight of Royalty is an insider's look at the intimate details of royals in exile.

For historical buffs, Signers of the Declaration is a nonfiction work that offers short biographical sketches of the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence. Outside of their colony, many of the signers were not well known. In general, the signers were individuals who happened to be delegates sent from their colony to meet in Philadelphia and organize colonial resistance to Parliament's coercive tax acts. Of the 56, only eight were born in Britain. Unknown to most Americans, the signers did not all sign the Declaration on July 4, 1776 as is commonly believed.

Benjamin Franklin tells the story of his life here, as he himself says, for the benefit of his posterity. His autobiography is his longest work, and yet it is only a fragment. It is comprised of four parts written years apart. This production features the first part, composed in 1771.

Harriet Tubman was born into slavery around 1820. This biography by Elizabeth Ross Haynes was published just eight years after Harriet's death (1913) as a part of her book Unsung Heroes. Over the years Ms. Tubman's legacy as a former slave, an abolitionist, a humanitarian, a suffragette, and a spy and agent for the US Army has grown. Beginning in 2020 her face will grace the US 20 dollar bill.

Queen Elizabeth II's address in Philadelphia on July 6th, 1976, where she presented a new Liberty Bell inscribed with "Let Freedom Ring" in honor of the bicentennial of the USA.

Lyndon Orr published his story of Aaron Burr in 1912 within his Famous Affinities of History. Here he briefly and simply compares Burr's life with Alexander Hamilton's and attempts to dispel some of the negative opinions that surrounded him as the "villain" who shot and killed one of the Founding Fathers of the USA in a duel. Orr also describes Burr's strong relationships and the mysteries surrounding the women in his life, particularly his daughter.

This book describes Napoleon as an everyman, a friend of the people, and suggests a difference between the "imperial period" and the return of a trustworthy Napoleon who had learned from exile. Because of this transformation, Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo precluded great advances in the timeline of history.

Born 1706 in Boston, Benjamin Franklin was the 15th of his father's 17 children. He went to school as a child with the intent of becoming a minister, as his father, Josiah, intended. However, that idea was dropped after Franklin showed a keen interest in reading and writing. He was apprenticed to his brother, James, at a young age, but after fighting with his brother he quit the job and moved to Philadelphia, where he worked for a man named Samuel Keimer.

Written in the sixth century BC by senior military general and advisor Sun Tzu, The Art of War has been adopted by strategists the world over. The tactics detailed in the work are appropriate even today, after two and a half millennia, for all those wishing to obtain the best performance from their soldiers and subordinates, sports athletes, and themselves.

In November 1872, Anthony was arrested in Rochester, NY, for illegally voting in the United States election. As a local newspaper wrote, “Voting illegally in her case means simply voting, for it is held that women cannot lawfully vote at all.” She was indicted and held for trial in early 1873. During March and April 1873, Anthony delivered an address titled “Is It a Crime for a US Citizen to Vote?” in 29 villages and towns of Monroe County, NY.

As the country approaches the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibits states from denying or abridging the right to vote on the basis of gender, the case of United States v. Susan B. Anthony remains a significant milestone in the quest for gender equality.

Charles E. Lauriat, Jr., was an American who survived the sinking of the great ship. This is his eyewitness account of that disaster that helped bring America into WWI, narrated by award-winning audiobook narrator Mike Vendetti.