Showing results by author "Mentor New York" in All Categories

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was an influential English writer of the early 20th century. His prolific and diverse output included journalism, philosophy, poetry, biography, Christian apologetics, fantasy, and detective fiction. Chesterton has been called the "prince of paradox." He wrote in an off-hand, whimsical prose studded with startling formulations. Chesterton wrote about 4000 essays on various subjects, and "Alarms and Discursions is one of his collections. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia by Karen Merline.)

A passionate exponent of Russian Existentialism, Lev Shestov is little known in the English-speaking world but had an extensive influence on philosophy and literature in the first half of the 20th century, his influence imprinting thinkers and writers as diverse as D. H. Lawrence, Nicholas Berdyaev, Georges Bataille, and Edmund Husserl. Driven out of Russia by the Bolshevik Revolution, Shestov continued to live, study, and write in Paris, where he died in 1955. - Summary by Expatriate

Jasper Derry was on a mission. He had left the northern wilderness a few years earlier when he had worked for the Hudson's Bay Company, but in doing so he had also left some unfinished business behind. Now he is on his quest to complete those affairs. We travel with Jasper and his two companions through the rugged, desolate region, and while doing so, we learn a great deal of just how wild and untamed the wilderness was in the mid-19th century. This is an adventure, a series of learning experiences, and a lesson in bonding to ensure survival away in the wilderness. - Summary by Roger Melin

For your listening pleasure, here are three stories by the ingenious Keith Laumer from the glorious days of Science Fiction in the early 1960s: A Bad Day for Vermin, The King of the City and Doorstep. They were all published in various Science Fiction magazines then flourishing in the United States at that time. I won't spoil your fun of listening to them by giving detailed story outlines, but be assured that there are aliens of various disgusting and/or beautiful shapes involved in several and a sad view of our future life when the US government collapses. (phil chenevert )

Aucassin and Nicolette is a medieval romance written in a combination of prose and verse called a “song-story.” Created probably in the early 13th century by an unknown French author, the work deals with the love between the son of a count and a Saracen slave girl who has been converted to Christianity and adopted by a viscount. Since Aucassin’s father is strongly opposed to their marriage, the two lovers must endure imprisonment, flight, separation in foreign lands, and many other ordeals before their ardent love and fierce determination finally bring them back together. Aucassin is the...

A baby squirrel is adopted by a farm cat after his mother is killed, but when he is half-grown the barn which is his home catches fire. He flees into the woods, where he learns to survive and make a new life. - Summary by Wikipedia

William Booth, together with his wife Catherine founded a small mission in London which eventually expanded to become a global movement, carrying the Christian gospel message of salvation and holiness under the banner of the Salvation Army. While never losing his sharp focus on personal transformation that saved men and women from the depths of despair, Booth put faith into action by caring for the temporal needs of society wherever the Army gained a foothold. George Scott Railton was the first Commissioner in the Salvation Army and second in command, working closely and intimately with Booth,...

William Booth (1829 – 1912) was the founding General of the Salvation Army in late nineteenth century England. Finding his salvation as a teenager, he went on to become one of the most controversial and, ultimately, well-loved and respected social reformers of his day. Published in 1890 amidst the turmoil of the death of his beloved wife, Catherine, “In Darkest England” was hailed as a revolutionary approach to coping with the social ills facing Great Britain at the time. Although 130 years old, this revolutionary book of Victorian England still has much to say of note today. - Summary ...

The Adventures of Reddy Fox is another in the series of children’s stories by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this story, Reddy and Granny Fox must outsmart Farmer Brown’s Boy who is out to get Reddy for stealing his pet chicken. Along the way, Reddy encounters many of the citizens of the Green Meadows and the Green Forest and with him we learn little lessons about life such as: the perils of being a show off; the importance of using all of one’s senses; that it is a fine thing to show sympathy and kindness to others – even our enemies; and that the value of a grandmother’s ...

A collection of short stories featuring a suite of wealthy protagonists navigating the perceived hardships of 1920s society. The themes center on lost love, personal struggles, fleeting romance, and the melancholy life.

The first part of the book builds the characters of four con men who become interconnected and attempt their schemes on each other. This book is the first of a two part story, the second part is the book Charlotte's Inheritance.

Aunt Jane's Nieces and Uncle John picks up the continuing story of the three cousins Patsy Doyle, Beth De Graf, and Louise Merrick, and their family; the plot of the book begins three days after the wedding of Louise and her fiancé Arthur Weldon, the event that concluded the sixth book in the series, Aunt Jane's Nieces in Society. Uncle John hires a touring car and the party makes a tour of the South West, visiting New Mexico and Arizona. (Summary by Lynne Thompson)

These are three imaginative SF stories by an author I admire a lot, William Tenn. Venus is a Man's World, (Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1951), Project Hush (Galaxy Science Fiction, 1954_ and Of All Possible Worlds. (Galaxy, Sept 1956) - Summary by phil chenevert

Florence Augusta Merriam Bailey was an American ornithologist and nature writer. She started observing bird behavior at a time when most bird study was based on collections and skins. By 1885, she began to write articles focusing on protecting birds. Her introduction of a birdwatching field guide, aimed at living birds, is considered the first in the tradition of modern bird guides. She wrote the first of these at the age of 26, initially as a series of notes in the Audubon Magazine and later as books. In "A-Birding on a Bronco," she writes an engaging memoir about her several trips to study ...

They had been captured, but by whom? And why where they allowed to build anything they wanted to escape? The space cruiser was powerful and built to fight anything in the galaxy, but somehow, in the empty rift between galaxies, they had been rendered helpless and brought to this prison. Even stranger was that their captors had not harmed any of them at all, used no weapons and allowed them to use all equipment brought from their ship inside the prison. And did not utter a sound. Stranger and stranger. Where were they, and how could they escape? And where could they go if they did? Follow these...

The Battle of Agincourt provided a surprise English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place in 1415 and brought a turning point in the war between France and England after failed negotiations. This romance by James begins in the lead-up to the battle, with the mysterious "Hal of Hadnock" shown hospitality by Sir Philip Beauchamp while on an unknown journey. He is befriended by young Richard of Woodville, who has suspicions regarding Hal. Gradually, we learn more of Hal and Richard as we follow their fortunes and the twists and turns surrounding Richard’s love for Mary. (Summary by ...

The word Upanishad (upa-ni-shad) consists of, "Upa" means "near;" "ni" means "down;" "shad" means "to sit." Thus, Upanishad is to sit down near the teacher to discuss, learn, practice, and experience. There are some 200 or more Upanishads. Some are lost and are only known about because of being referenced in other Upanishads. Most of the Upanishads were kept secret for centuries, only passed on to others orally in the form of Shlokas (a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anustubh meter).Aryanka (Snskrit) आरण्यक means means pertaining to the forest. Aranyaka refers to a...

Written under pseudonym of Edith Van Dyne. The story continues the adventures of three cousins, Louise, Patsy and Beth,with their debuts in society and the appearance of suitors, one of whom is rejected and kidnaps Louise. (Summary by Lynne Thompson)

You can call me Dr. Fathom. Or Count Fathom. But I'm not who I say I am. And can you blame me? My mother was a soldiers' harlot who pocketed extra loot by wandering through the battlefield stripping the dead and dying of valuables. I don't even know who my father was, except he must have had my handsome looks. People liked looking at me. And people liked how I talked too. Early on, I learned that telling the truth didn't get you the same quick reward as telling them what they wanted to hear, being assiduously charming, dissimulating. In a word, lying. I became good at it. And I became the ...

Franklin wrote his autobiography in the form of an extended letter to his son. While recording the events of his life, he adds instructions for good living which makes this work America’s first “How to Succeed” book. Edited by Frank Woodworth Pine (1869-1919). (Summary by Gary)