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Childhood (Детство [Detstvo]; 1852) is the first novel in Leo Tolstoy’s autobiographical trilogy. They are the works that launched his writing career. These books earned him instant acclaim. This book describes the major physiological decisions of boyhood that all boys experience....

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Biography

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Harry Wethermill, the brilliant young scientist, a graduate of Oxford and Munich, has made a fortune from his inventions, and is taking a vacation at Aix-les-Bains. There he meets, and immediately falls in love with, the young and beautiful Celia Harland, who serves as companion to the aging but warm-hearted Madam Dauvray of Paris. All this is observed by Julius Ricardo, a retired financier from the City of London, who spends every August at Aix, expecting there to find a pleasant and peaceful life. Imagine his consternation when he learns that Mme. Dauvray has been brutally murdered, and imagine Harry Wethermill's consternation when he learns that every finger of suspicion is pointed at the now vanished Celia Harland. Implored to do so by Wethermill, Ricardo asks his friend Inspector Hanaud, the great detective of the Paris Sûreté (who is also vacationing in Aix) to involve himself in the case so that the truth may come out. Hanaud agrees to do so (with the permission of the Aix police, of course), and goes to work. Will he be up to the job? And will Harry Wethermill ultimately be glad that he called in the great man? We can only w...

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Mystery

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Out of Time's Abyss is a science fiction novel, the third of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Caspak trilogy. In this conclusion, the mysteries of the lost world's unique biological system are revealed. (Adapted from Wikipedia)...

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Science fiction, Adventure

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An account given of the lives of five great naturalists (Hippocrates, Aristotle, Galen, Vesalius and Harvey) will not be found devoid of interest. The work of each one of them marked a definite advance in the science of Biology. There is often among students of anatomy and physiology a tendency to imagine that the facts with which they are now being made familiar have all been established by recent observation and experiment. But even the slight knowledge of the history of Biology, which may be obtained from a perusal of this little book, will show that, so far from such being the case, this branch of science is of venerable antiquity. And, further, if in the place of this misconception a desire is aroused in the reader for a fuller acquaintance with the writings of the early anatomists the chief aim of the author will have been fulfilled. (Summary is the Preface to the book, adapted by Neeru)...

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Biography, Essay/Short nonfiction, History, Nature, Science

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Populair-wetenschappelijke, verkorte weergave van Charles Darwins baanbrekende boek Het ontstaan der soorten, ca. 10 jaar na de uitgave daarvan verschenen om de evolutietheorie bij een groter publiek bekend te maken. Ook nu nog kan het degenen op weg helpen die het oorspronkelijke werk van Darwin te lijvig of te ingewikkeld vinden. (kattekliek)...

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Nature, Science

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Gardening expert Steve Solomon has written extensively on gardening techniques for the home gardener. Water conservation is the focus of this work, along with more information on how to have the healthiest plants in your garden through fertigation, appropriate plant rotation, and soil preparation. (Summary by Brenda Price)...

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Advice, Instruction, Nature, Science

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This is not a manual of instruction for orchid growers; though there are many hints on cultivation, and a few paragraphs on how to hybridize. The author is just an enthusiastic amateur orchid lover. He takes the reader on a wander through the dangers and consequences of hunting orchids in the tropical jungles of the nineteenth century, and chats about the extreme peculiarities of orchid growth, behaviour and structure, colouring the essays with his own experiences and with his delight in cultivating these beautiful plants. Beware! A new hobby beckons! (Summary by Peter Yearsley)...

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Instruction, Nature

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The story is set in Padua in a distant, but unspecified past. From his quarters, Giovanni, a young student of letters, observes Beatrice, the beautiful daughter of Dr. Rappaccini, a scientist working in isolation. Beatrice is confined to the lush and locked gardens filled with poisonous plants by her father. Having fallen in love, Giovanni enters the garden and meets with Beatrice a number of times regardless of the warning of his mentor, Professor Baglioni, that Rappaccini is up to no good and he and his work should be avoided. -- Wikipedia....

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Fiction, Romance

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Nature Near Home is one of many books on natural history by John Burroughs. It is full of simple observations about rural scenes and charming stories about animals, plants, and even people! Burroughs loves the creatures around him and derives great pleasure from his walks and studies in nature’s scenes. (Summary by Edith Phern)...

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Essay/Short nonfiction, Nature

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Captain Nemo, The Nautilus, and the mysterious depths of the ocean. Unforgettable. Come join an adventure that will roam among coral and pearls, sharks and giant squid, with wonders of biology and engineering that will thrust us from the Antarctic to Atlantis. Whether voyaging a yarn of the glorious unknown, a tale of the darkness that grips the heart of men, or a reinterpretation of Homer’s Odyssey, we’ll all enjoy the fantastic trip. Seasickness optional. (Summary by Marlo Dianne)...

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Adventure

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The old space freighter Wahoo is all Dr. Pietro can afford for his expedition to the rings of Saturn. Although built for a crew of 6 the good doctor crams 19 people into the Wahoo, and after 5 months they are really getting on each other’s nerves. Then someone starts killing people and poisoning the air giving plants in the hydroponics bay. Can our hero Paul Tremaine find the killer before he suffocates? Perhaps you should hold your breath. – Let’em Breathe Space was first published in the July 1953 edition of Space Science Fiction magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)...

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Science fiction

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Freckles is a young man who has been raised since infancy in a Chicago orphanage. His one dream is to find a job, a place to belong and people who accept him despite his youth and the disability of having only one hand. He finds this place in the Limberlost Swamp, as a Limberlost guard of precious timber. In the process, he discovers a love for the wilderness and animals he encounters every day on his rounds and a burning desire to learn about all the new birds and plants he sees on his rounds every day. He also finds and falls in love with a girl he calls the Swamp Angel. This is the story of his plucky courage in sticking to his job in the swamp, and his adventures in learning about the natural world he finds himself in every day. He is befriended by the Bird Woman and with her help learns to love the Limberlost he has been hired to guard. (Summary by Mary Anderson)...

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Nature, Fiction

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This book, with the subtitle Across the Continent of South America describes the scientific expedion of 1867 to the equatorial Andes and the Amazon. The route was from Guayaquil to Quito, over the Cordillera, through the forest to Napo, and, finally, on the Rio Napo to Pebas on the Maranon. Besides this record, the expedition - under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institute - collected samples of rocks and plants, and numerous specimen of animals. The scientists also compiled a vocabulary of local languages and produced a new map of equatorial America. James Orton (1830 - 1877) was Professor in Natural History in Vassar College, and corresponding member of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. (Summary by Availle, from the Preface)...

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Adventure, Memoirs, Nature, Science, Travel

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Lilli Lehmann, born Elisabeth Maria Lehmann, was a German operatic soprano of phenomenal versatility. She was also a voice teacher. She wrote: Every serious artist has a sincere desire to help others reach the goal—the goal toward which all singers are striving: to sing well and beautifully. This is the 1915 second (expanded) edition of her book, and the accompanying http://www.archive.org/details/howtosingmeinege00lehmuoft online book scan includes many illustrations and diagrams, both physiological and musical, which the listener will find useful. Much of Lilli Lehmann's advice is complex and demanding - the standards which she set for herself were beyond the highest aspirations of most professional singers. However, there is still much in this book that is enlightening to all those who are interested in using their voice to best advantage, both in song and the spoken word. (Summary by Ruth Golding and Wikipedia)...

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Advice, Instruction, Music

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The Swiss Family Robinson has delighted generations of readers with its exciting tale of a family which, though shipwrecked, displays “the right stuff” and builds a charming colony that later, they do not want to leave. Cut off from the comforts and companionship of other humans, they use a familiarity with natural history and biology to find the resources and build the tools to construct a canoe, weave cloth, irrigate a garden, and turn an immense hollow tree into a lofty house with a spiral staircase. They domesticate buffaloes, wild asses, and monkeys. They establish farms and plantations. And finally, they have a terrifying encounter with natives from a nearby island. Johann David Wyss, the author, did not live to complete his tale. Storytellers over the years have injected so many episodes into the various versions that probably none closely match the original. (Indeed, the Baroness de Montholieu expanded the book from two volumes into five when she translated it into French.) This effort was re-translated into English in 1849 by W.H.G. Kingston, abridging the edition severely. It follows the British sensibilities of the period...

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Adventure

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Gregor Mendel (1822 - 1884) was an Augustinian monk in the St. Thomas monastery in Brno. His seminal paper Experiments on Plant Hybridization presents his results of studying genetic traits in pea plants. It is the ground breaking work on inheritance, being the first to differentiate between dominant and recessive genetic traits. His work was long ignored and deemed controversial, however, at its rediscovery at the turn to the 20th century, it earned Gregor Mendel the title father of modern genetics. (Summary by Availle)...

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Nature, Science

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This is a collection of short (15 minute or less readings) works in English suitable for a coffee break at work or a short commuter ride. The theme for this collection is Nature in various genres -- fiction and non-fiction. Botany, geology, biology, astronomy; flowers, (meteor) showers, bugs, slugs, frogs, dogs, cats, bats -- you name it, as long as it's public domain and between 3 and 15 minutes long.(Summary by BellonaTimes)...

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Animals, Essay/Short nonfiction, Nature, Short stories

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Two stuffy English scientists, always looking to further their scientific knowledge, create a substance called Herakleophorbia, which in its fourth incarnation – known as Herakleophorbia IV – has the special ability of making things increase greatly in size. As the scientists begin experimentation on some chicks, the substance is misused by some “country folk” who don’t take it seriously and soon Herakleophorbia IV is running rampant throughout England and then across the globe, creating giant plants and animals that wreak havoc on the land and then the people. Then the first giant babies are revealed and for the first time humanity has to contend with the existence of a new race of giant people. How humanity deals with this shocking new creation is revealed in The Food of the Gods and How it Came to Earth. (Summary by Alex C. Telander)...

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Science fiction

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A short look at building a rock garden, right from the rocks themselves and how to arrange them, to choosing and placing the plants, touching wall and bog gardens, too. In this little monograph, the author is trying to draw the eyes of U.S. gardeners in to the intimate beauty of this neglected hobby. (The original work has a number of attractive and useful photographs and drawings.)...

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Instruction, Nature

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Published in 1911 as part of the Harper's Library of Living Thought, this volume presents an introduction to the chemistry of cells in the context of plant physiology and gives an interesting overview of the field of biochemistry and related sciences at the time. The author, Frederick Czapek, was a Czech botanist and professor of Plant Physiology at the University of Prague. He is perhaps best known for his two-volume work on Plant Physiology, Biochemie der Pflanzen and for Czapek solution agar or Czapek-Dox medium, a culture medium for cultivation of fungus species such as Aspergillus and Penicillium molds . ( Summary by J. M. Smallheer )...

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Science