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

This short history by the eminent British historian, Mandell Creighton, places Elizabeth and her reign within the context of 16th century European political, religious, and military events. Elizabeth overcomes her two great rivals, King Philip of Spain and Mary, Queen of Scots. England gradually unites behind her Queen, who survives multiple assassination plots. After the defeat of the Spanish Armada, the English, lightly taxed by their frugal sovereign, launch flourishing commerce enterprises. The author writes of the Protestant Reformation that "a change of belief meant a revolt from ...

The Adventures of Bob White is another in the long line of children's books by conservationist Thornton W. Burgess. In this book, Bob White and Mrs. Bob White make a new home near the Old Briar Patch where they become neighbors with Peter Rabbit. We learn what Bob White likes to eat, how he protects his nest from being discovered, and who his friends and his enemies are. We also learn that sometimes it's not good to know everything, that arithmetic can be a useful tool, and that a Bob White needs to stay far away from the two-legged creatures who carry fire-sticks. - Summary by John Lieder

Against Celsus, preserved entirely in Greek, is a major apologetics work by the Church Father Origen of Alexandria, written in around 248 AD, countering the writings of Celsus, a pagan philosopher and controversialist who had written a scathing attack on Christianity in his treatise "The True Word". Among a variety of other charges, Celsus had denounced many Christian doctrines as irrational and criticized Christians themselves as uneducated, deluded, unpatriotic, close-minded towards reason, and too accepting of sinners. He had accused Jesus of performing his miracles using black magic rather...

John Kendrick Bangs was an American author and satirist, and the creator of modern Bangasian Fantasy, the school of fantasy writing that sets the plot wholly or partially in the afterlife. (Wikipedia) Plot summary: J K Bangs has taken Alice from Lewis Carroll's “Alice in Wonderland” and lets her on a boring day travel with the Mad Hatter, the March Hare, the Cheshire Cat and the other of Carroll's familiar characters to Blunderland. The story is a well written Satire, a witty, humorous tale of adventure and city politics, a tale of Alice in a land where nothing is as it should be. (Summary...

The Oresteia is a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus concerning the end of the curse on the House of Atreus. The name derives from the character Orestes, who sets out to avenge his father's murder. The only extant example of an ancient Greek theater trilogy, the Oresteia won first prize at the Dionysia festival in 458 BC. When originally performed, it was accompanied by Proteus, a satyr play that would have followed the trilogy. Proteus has not survived, however. In all likelihood the term "Oresteia" originally referred to all four plays; today it generally designates only the ...

A crack American flying troop has been sent to France, where they await further instructions. They are concerned that their extensive talents will not be put to good use in the war. Major Cowan introduces Lt. McGee as the British instructor for the crew. It turns out the Brit is actually an American, born in the U.S., even though his parents were British. McGee and Larkin are flying partners. Out on a mission, McGee spots a small enemy plane in a searchlight, probably intent on dropping flares to mark targets for bombers. He drives in for the attack successfully, as the enemy plane zooms ...

Also known as "The Children's Homer," this is Irish writer Padraic Colum's retelling of the events of Homer's Iliad and Odyssey for young people. Colum's rich, evocative prose narrates the travails of Odysseus, King of Ithaca: his experiences fighting the Trojan War, and his ten years' journey home to his faithful wife Penelope and his son Telemachus. ( Summary by Elizabeth Klett )

Everybody makes mistakes, and everything has a price. This novel describes, according to its name, the life of Adeline Mowbray, full of everything: sorrow, happiness, falsehood, truth, kindness, and mistakes. This novel is an exploration of the human heart. Be prepared for a strong and enjoyable read. (Summary by Stav Nisser)

Dr. Watson chronicles here some of the more interesting detective cases that he and his good friend, Mr. Sherlock Holmes, have encountered during their association. We see the cases unfold as he does, scratch our heads as does he while the evidence is collected, and then marvel at the impeccable observations, remarkable insight, and doggedness which Holmes displays as he teases apart the tangled clues.Packaged as twelve distinct cases, by the end of this book your own senses of observation and deductive reasoning should be improved. It's easy to see why this book became a model for detective ...

A relatively brief history of the life and conquests of Alexander the Great.

Anne Bronte's semi-autobiographic novel about Agnes Grey, a young woman who becomes a governess to support her family, but finds her new career more difficult than she expected.

Beau Brocade is a historical fiction set in England in the early 1700's. The hero Beau is a wanted highwayman, who takes from the rich to help the poor. - Summary by Deon Gines

The First Anglo–Afghan War was fought between British India and Afghanistan from 1839 to 1842. It was one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between the United Kingdom and Russia, and also marked one of the worst setbacks inflicted on British power in the region after the consolidation of British Raj by the East India Company. (Summary by Phil)

Child of an atheist father and a devoutly Catholic mother, Tommy has been from childhood the object of a battle of love. Tommy’s courage and unfailing loyalty to his Faith help him to overcome obstacles which threaten his whole future with spiritual tragedy. Brother Ernest Ryan, was a Holy Cross Brother, the founder of and a prolific author for the Dujarie Press, a Catholic publishing house of Juvenile Saint books for children in the 1950’s and 1960’s. He wrote numerous juvenile biographical saint books for children, as well as several children’s fictional titles – of which this is ...

This short survey of the age of Queen Anne begins with the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714) and the career of the Duke of Marlborough, leader of the allied armies against Louis XIV. Scotland joins England to form the United Kingdom. Peter the Great wrests control of the Gulf of Finland from Charles XII of Sweden and builds St. Petersburg. Despite the Jacobite threat, the Whigs secure the Protestant Succession and George I ascends the throne. Pope writes a mock epic in couplets, Addison's "Spectator" enlivens coffee houses and tea tables, and Defoe creates the immortal "Robinson Crusoe...

This book includes the classic alphabet, Sing-A-Song Of Sixpence, The Frog Who Would A Wooing go, The Three LIttle Pigs, Puss In Boot, and The Ugly Duckling. Fun for all ages! (Summary by Sam Stinson)

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884) by Mark Twain is one of the truly great American novels, beloved by children, adults, and literary critics alike. The book tells the story of “Huck” Finn (first introduced as Tom Sawyer’s sidekick in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer), his friend Jim, and their journey down the Mississippi River on a raft. Both are on the run, Huck from his drunk and abusive father, and Jim as a runaway slave.As Huck and Jim drift down the river, they meet many colorful characters and have many great adventures. The true heart of the story, however, is the friendship ...

Bartley Alexander is a construction engineer and world-renowned builder of bridges going through what's known today (but not in 1912) as a mid-life crisis. Although married to his wife Winifred, Bartley resumes his acquaintance with a former lover, Hilda Burgoyne, in London. The affair proves to gnaw at Bartley's sense of propriety and honor. (Summary by Wikipedia)

The turmoil of the world we cannot avoid, but the disturbances of mind we can overcome. The duties and difficulties of life claim our attention, but we can rise above all anxiety concerning them. Surrounded by noise, we can yet have a quiet mind; involved in responsibilities, the heart can be at rest; in the midst of strife, we can know the abiding peace. The twenty pieces which comprise this book, unrelated as some of them are in the letter, will be found to be harmonious in the spirit, in that they point the reader towards those heights of self-knowledge and self-conquest which, rising above...

Compilation of 20 Science Fiction Short Stories - Summary by Kirk Ziegler