Random Loyal Books Podcasts

Gilbert Keith Chesterton was a prolific writer on many topics. His views of history were always from the standpoint of men and their interactions, and it may fairly be said he saw all of history as a battle between civilization and barbarism. So it has always been, and that remains true even today.“But it is especially in the matter of the Middle Ages that the popular histories trample upon the popular traditions. In this respect there is an almost comic contrast between the general information provided about England in the last two or three centuries, in which its present industrial system was being built up, and the general information given about the preceding centuries, which we call broadly mediaeval. “As this quotation taken from the Introduction clearly shows, he is no mere pedant reciting dry dates and locations, but a profound thinker flooding new light onto those modern “myths” that have filled our historys. He is a master of paradox, and the techique of reducing his opponents arguments to the logical absurdity they have inherent in them. He often turns them upside down. All of which makes his work both a sound subject for reflection and highly entertaining all the while it remains permanently timely. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: A Short History of England, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, G. K. Chesterton, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

The Autobiography of Charles Darwin is the autobiography of the British naturalist Charles Darwin which was published in 1887, five years after his death. Darwin wrote the book, which he entitled Recollections of the Development of my Mind and Character, for his family. He states that he started writing it on about May 28, 1876 and had finished it by August 3. The book was edited by Charles Darwin’s son Francis Darwin, who removed several passages about Darwin’s critical views of God and Christianity. It was published in London by John Murray as part of The life and letters of Charles Darwin, including an autobiographical chapter. The omitted passages were later restored by Darwin’s granddaughter Nora Barlow in a 1958 edition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of The Origin. This edition was published in London by Collins under the title of The Autobiography of Charles Darwin 1809-1882, with the original omissions restored, edited and with appendix and notes by his granddaughter Nora Barlow. The original is in the public domain as its copyright has expired, but the later version remains under copyright.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Biography, Charles Darwin, ebooks, free audio books, History, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, science, The Autobiography of Charles Darwin

H Rider Haggard’s “She and Allan”, first published in 1921 is a gripping adventure about Allan Quatermain, who together with Hans, the Hottentot and, the Zulu-Chief Omslopogaas and at the bidding of the old Witch Doctor Zikali seeks out Ayesha, the daughter of Isis to find answers to their questions about life and death, and their many, sometimes strange, Adventures on their way. Written by Lars Rolander More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, H Rider Haggard, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, She and Allan

Mike’s dream of studying and playing cricket at Cambridge are thwarted as his father runs into financial difficulties. Instead, Mike takes on the job of clerk at the “New Asiatic Bank.” Luckily, school friend Psmith, with his boundless optimism and original views, soon joins his department, and together they endeavour to make the best of their new life in London.

Categories: Arts, Comedy

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Comedy, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, humor, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, P. G. Wodehouse, Psmith in the City

Mary Everest Boole (1832-1916) was born Mary Everest in England and spent her early years in France. She married mathematician George Boole. She was the author of several works on teaching and teaching mathematics in particular. This short book, Philosophy and Fun of Algebra, is meant to be read by children and introduces algebra and logic. She uses the word “algebra” broadly, defining it as a “method of solving problems by honest confession of one’s ignorance”. Using this definition, Boole introduces, in a conversational manner, the concepts of logic and algebra, illustrating these concepts with stories and anecdotes, often from biblical sources. At times, her discussion seems somewhat mystical, speaking of the imagination and angels as messengers which guide one toward the next step in a logical investigation. Boole ends the book with a reminder that algebra’s essential element is “the habitual registration of the exact limits of one’s knowledge” and a call for the public to keep this principle in mind when encountering any situation.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mary Everest Boole, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Philosophy and Fun of Algebra, science

So the parties separated and then Dorothy was free to leave her hiding place. She longed to tell her friends the strange story, but she knew that the finding of Tavia was the one and only thing to be thought of just then. “Are you sure that this is the direction in which the boys went?” asked Nat, with something like a sigh. Dorothy looked over the rough woodland. “No,” she said, “there was a swamp, for I distinctly remember that they picked their way through tall grass, and about here the grass is actually dried up.” (Extract from Chapter 26)

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Dorothy Dale's Camping Days, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Margaret Penrose

Inspired by a true life story, Lady Audley’s Secret is the story of a woman’s overwhelming ambition and passion for social success. When the first book came out in 1862, Victorian readers were shocked and outraged by its portrayal of aspects like bigamy, insanity, yearning for social status and the will to commit murder to achieve one’s goals. The novel belongs to a genre that became very popular during that era. Known as “sensation novels” they can probably be equated to today’s pulp fiction. It was received with huge enthusiasm by readers and most critics of the day and the central theme of “accidental bigamy” was a popular one. But the author Mary Elizabeth Braddon took it to new heights, introducing several intriguing twists and turns to the plot. In fact the novel was so successful that it allowed the author to become financially independent for the rest of her life and its publisher to purchase a villa, which he christened Audley Lodge, with the profits gained from sales of this Victorian bestseller! In the story, the young, enchanting, doll like Lucy Graham marries a wealthy old widower, Sir Michael Audley. Not much is known about Lucy by people in the village, except that she was till recently employed as a governess. The couple enjoys a pleasant life together, with every comfort and luxury. Things take a turn when Sir Michael’s nephew and heir Robert Audley arrives with news of dear friend of his George Talboys. Talboys who had left England to seek his fortune gold prospecting in Australia is now suffering from a mental breakdown following the apparent death/disappearance of his wife whom he left behind. When Robert and George arrive at Audley Court, they’re warmly welcomed by the host, but of the hostess there is no sign. She completely avoids coming into Talboys’ presence. Her behavior begins to intrigue Robert and raise his suspicions and he sets out to uncover the mystery. But the truth is far more devastating and disturbing than anybody could imagine. Said to be based on events concerning the real life serial killer Constance Kent which had stunned the nation a few years ago, the book in fact explores many themes of Victorian morality, gender biases, stereotypes about the perfect mother and domestic goddesses who enriched the home and hearth with their innocence and purity. The author Mary Braddon’s own controversial personal life and her nonchalant attitude to prevailing morals also piqued readers’ imaginations. For modern day readers, Lady Audley’s Secret remains a gripping tale of the lust for power and wealth and of a woman’s descent into the misery of her own creation.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Historical Fiction, Lady Audley's Secret, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, MYSTERY, romance

If you’ve read and loved Alice in Wonderland, you wouldn’t want to miss reading about her further adventures, the strange and fantastical creatures she meets and the delightful style and word-play that made the first book so appealing. Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll is thematically much more structured and cleverly constructed as compared to the earlier Alice book but still retains its childhood elements of wonder, curiosity and imagination. Lewis Carroll was the pseudonym of Reverend Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, a gifted mathematics professor at Oxford during the late 19th century. He suffered from lifelong shyness, a debilitating stammer and several physical deformities including partial deafness. Awkward and uncomfortable with adults, he bloomed in the company of children and had a special insight into their world. He portrays Alice as a well-mannered child, brought up in a privileged background. Based on a real little girl whose father was also at Oxford during the time Dodgson was there, Alice and her sisters formed the inspiration for these books which went on to be ranked among the best loved in children’s literature. Through the Looking-Glass takes Alice through the mirror hanging on her nursery wall into a realm beyond. Here she finds a mirror image of her own world, but with everything reversed. Books with printing that can only be read when held up to a mirror, animated chess-pieces, memorable characters from nursery-rhymes like Humpty Dumpty, The Lion and the Unicorn, Tweedledum and Tweedledee and a host of strange creatures with even stranger names like the Jabberwock and the Bandersnatch. The Red Queen, the White Queen and the White Knight are other characters who populate the looking-glass world. Poems like Jabberwocky explore the limits of language, while the Walrus and the Carpenter are simply hilarious. Chess forms the framework of the plot, the mirror-world is made up of squares which Alice moves through sequentially in pawn-like moves, symbolizing the dominance of fate in our lives. Funny poems and delightful turns of phrase that Lewis Carroll is justly famous for, continue to sparkle in this book too. The dream-like quality is retained in Through the Looking-Glass, with abrupt changes in location and characters. In the years that followed their publication, Lewis Carroll’s books have been intensely studied by literary critics, psychologists, mathematicians and chess enthusiasts. Yet despite all the analysis and study, Through the Looking-Glass remains a charming and innocent portrayal of childhood imagination and creativity. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Comedy, Kids & Family

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fantasy, fiction, free audio books, humor, Kids, Lewis Carroll, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult, Through the Looking-Glass

A wonderful coming together of two writers who wrote their books more than half a century apart. Neither of them had ever visited the remote islands they were writing about yet they provided inspiration for a couple of exciting adventure tales. In 1838, Edgar Allan Poe published The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket. It was the only complete novel published by the American author. It was the story of a young boy who stows away on board a whaling ship and it goes on to relate the events that follow. The novel ends a trifle abruptly, with the hero and his friend Dirk Peters deciding to journey to the South Pole. In 1897, the French writer Jules Verne, who was compiling his Voyages Extraodinaires (a series of 54 books that combined science and literature) took up the threads of Arthur Gordon Pym’s story and wrote a two volume novel called An Antarctic Mystery (Le Sphinx des Glaces in French). Set eleven years after Poe leaves Pym on his way to Antarctica, the book opens with a description of a wealthy American student Jeorling, who is looking for a crew and a ship to take him back to the US after a long sojourn in the Kerguelen Islands in the extreme south of the Indian Ocean. These islands, one of the most remote places on earth, are home to rare flora and fauna, the subject of Jeorling’s study. The captain of the ship turns out to be the brother of William Guy, who had captained the Jane, the ship which carried Pym and Dirk Peters to Antarctica and was presumably lost there. A mysterious sailor joins the crew and he seems over-eager to be on board. Another sailor named Hunt is also on board and there is something strange about him too. The ship reaches the island of Tsalal which was destroyed by an earthquake recently. Here they find remains of people who seemed to have been murdered before the earthquake. They also find Pym’s dog Tiger’s collar, but there is no sign of either Pym or the dog. The rest of the tale races towards an exciting climax which explains the bizarre events. This relatively short novel was written at a time when practically nothing was known about Antarctica. It was translated into English by Frances (Cashel) Hoey an Irish novelist, journalist and translator who translated more than 27 novels from Italian and French into English. An Antarctic Mystery is an exciting and interesting read, especially when read in tandem with Poe’s earlier novel.

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, An Antarctic Mystery or The Sphinx of the Ice Fields, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Jules Verne, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Sea stories

Persuasion is the last completed novel by Jane Austen and it was published posthumously in 1818. Readers have often connected Persuasion with Northanger Abbey as the setting of both stories is in Bath, a highly fashionable health resort with which the author was well acquainted. Another interesting point to note is that the title of ‘Persuasion’ was probably not envisioned by Jane but by her brother or sister. Another theory is that her two siblings had a great role in choosing the title of the story. Persuasion opens with a brief spotlight on the Elliot family. The reader gets to know that the Elliots are a well-respected family who are landowners. Lady Elliot died a long time ago leaving behind her three daughters – Anne, Elizabeth & Mary (married). Due to mounting debts, Sir Walter decided to move to a house in Bath with far less comforts. They were lucky to find tenants for their home as Admiral & Mrs. Croft were well-mannered people from the Navy. Anne is very excited to see Mrs. Croft as she is the sister of the man whom she loves dearly. But to understand the situation we need to go back 8 years when he she was happy to be betrothed to Frederick Wentworth, a naval officer. However, Anne broke off the engagement when she was persuaded to think that the match was unworthy by the widow Lady Russell, her mother’s friend. Anne felt deep regret as a result of this decision and Wentworth too was bitter after seeing the unwanted interference of Lady Russell and the lack of fortitude on the part of Anne. Wentworth has now returned from the sea as a rich and successful captain and finds that Anne and her family are on the verge of a financial breakdown. He is also intrigued by the fact that his own sister is actually a tenant in the Elliot estate – Kellynch Hall. The tension of the story revolves around one pertinent question – will Wentworth be re-united in love? Readers of Persuasion will realize that even in her final work, Jane Austen has successfully managed to implement her skill for delicate observations on various social customs, love, marriage and the much touted English morals and manners. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, jane austen, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, persuasion, Psychology, romance

A collection of some of Hans Christian Andersen’s works. He is a Danish author and poet most famous for his fairy tales.

Categories: Arts

Tags: 1835 to 1842, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, Hans Christian Andersen, Hans Christian Andersen: Fairytales and Short Stories Volume 1, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com

An old carpenter carves a little wooden puppet from a mysterious piece of wood that seems to have the ability to talk! He begins to love the little creature like his own son and names him Pinocchio. But the mischievous fellow runs away from his loving father as soon as he learns to walk. The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi follows the misadventures and naughty exploits of this delightfully “human” puppet who in his heart of hearts longs only to become a real boy. Carlo Collodi was the pen name of a gifted writer of children’s books, Carlo Lorenzini who lived in Florence, Italy, during the late 19th century. He was also a political activist and author of several novels, short novels, articles and sketches for adults. He began writing for children in 1876 and translated children’s literature from other languages into Italian. The Adventures of Pinnochio is meant to be an allegory and a cautionary tale for children. Through the adventures of this playful and headstrong puppet, Collodi provides many valuable lessons for young children. Wonderful characters like the Talking Cricket, the Fox and the Cat, the Fairy with the Turquoise Hair and old Gepetto himself are colorful, memorable and each one contributes to Pinnochio’s final transformation. With plenty of magical moments, fantasy and thrills, the plot provides enough excitement for children of all ages. Since it first appeared in 1883, the book has enjoyed immense fame and popularity. There have been innumerable translations into more than 250 major world languages, making it the most translated book in the world. There have been plenty of adaptations for stage, radio, television and film, including cartoons and merchandise. Pinnochio’s long nose has even become a metaphor for people who tell lies. As a pioneer in the field, Collodi’s works became instantly popular, as children’s literature as a genre was not very prevalent before the 19th century. His easy and engaging style caught the imagination of children instantly and became a benchmark for children’s writers ever since. There are some very endearing and thought-provoking moments and incidents in the story, which make it very memorable for both children and adults. Enduring values of love and loyalty, the essential contradictions that make us human and the transformation of a rebellious, thoughtless, uncaring and self-indulgent youngster into a mature young person are what makes this story so beloved and treasured the world over.

Categories: Arts

Tags: audio books, audiobook, Carlo Collodi, ebooks, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, The Adventures of Pinocchio

Zane Grey (Pearl Zane Gray) born in 1872 in Zanesville, Ohio was best known for his western stories, most notably Riders Of The Purple Sage which has been filmed four times, the last in 1996 starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan. Among his other interests was baseball. He attended the University of Pennsylvania on a baseball scholarship where he earned a degree in dentistry. Grey later played minor league baseball with a team in Wheeling, West Virginia. According to the Internet Movie Data Base he is credited with 110 films made from his stories and books. Grey died from a heart attack in 1939 in Altadena, California. In The Shortstop (1909) drawing on his baseball experience Grey follows the adventures of seventeen year-old Chase Alloway on his quest to make his fortune as a baseball player and lift his family out of poverty. Along the way young Chase encounters hardship and set-back. But with perseverance he discovers not only himself but friendship and love.

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Teen/Young adult, The Shortstop, Zane Grey

Machiavelli has created a ruthless guide on how to rule the country in his volume “The Prince”. The book is dedicated to Lorenzo De Medici, the ruler of Florence. The author explains in simple language about the nature of great men and the characters of the government. The first chapter gives an outline of the book discussing various styles of ruling as a prince, character traits that a ruler should have and the political situation of Italy in the 16th century. The book is composed of 26 chapters which fall into four major sections. In part one Machiavelli discusses the four types of principalities. The first type is hereditary princedoms meaning they are inherited by the ruler. There are also mixed principalities which are seized by force, civic principalities which are acquired by various criminal methods and finally ecclesiastical principalities influenced by the church. Machiavelli outlines how to maintain a newly acquired territory as these various types of principalities. The author details the characters of a prince for example paying close consideration to the armed forces so that they help him keep his power. There are four types of armies that are identified by the author beginning with mercenaries who are the hired soldiers and tend to be unreliable and dangerous. There are also auxiliaries which are the soldiers lent by other rulers, native troops which are the soldiers in their own country and lastly the mixed troops which will have soldiers from native troops, auxiliaries and mercenaries. Machiavelli also takes a chapter to put forth the character and behavior of a prince. In an ideal world a virtuous prince would do well. Additionally Machiavelli considers it better to be economical than to be generous, pitiless than amorous and sneaky rather than sincere. Reading “The Prince” will take you into the ruthless and cunning mind of Machiavelli as he systematically describes how to conquer and rule in the 16th century Italy. The astute reader will find that Machiavelli’s principals apply just as much in today’s world as they did hundreds of years ago. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education

Tags: advice, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, Essay/Short nonfiction, fiction, free audio books, instruction, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Niccolò Machiavelli, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Politics, science, The Prince

Awaiting his trial on charges of impiety and heresy, Socrates encounters Euthyphro, a self-proclaimed authority on matters of piety and the will of the gods. Socrates, desiring instruction in these matters, converses with Euthyphro, but as usual, the man who professes to know nothing fares better than the man who claims to be an expert. One of Plato’s well-known Socratic Dialogues, Euthyphro probes the nature of piety, and notably poses the so-called Euthyphro Dilemma: Do the gods love a thing because it is holy, or is a thing holy because it is loved by the gods? More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Education, Society & Culture

Tags: Ancient Texts, audio books, audiobook, Classics (antiquity), ebooks, Euthyphro, free audio books, Languages, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction, Philosophy, Plato

“Call me Ishmael” is one of the most famous opening lines in American literature. With these words, opens one of the strangest and most gripping stories ever written about the sea and sea-faring. Moby Dick by Herman Melville is today considered one of the greatest novels written in America but paradoxically, it was a miserable failure when it first made its debut in 1851. Entitled Moby Dick or The Whale the book finally got its due after the author’s death and is now regarded as a classic portrayal of mania and fatal obsession. The narrator, Ishmael, travels to New Bedford, Massachusetts, to find a place on a whaling ship. He lodges at a seedy inn where he is forced to share a room with a strange old character, Queequeg, who was a harpooner. Despite his initial revulsion of Queequeg, Ishmael decides to join him in looking for work together. They reach Nantucket, the traditional center of whaling, where they find a berth on the Pequod, a bizarre vessel adorned with the skeletons and teeth of whales. The captain, Ahab, a mysterious figure, does not appear immediately. Later, they come to know that he is on board, recovering from losing a leg on his last voyage having escaped death narrowly following an encounter with a massive sperm whale. As the ship sails past Africa, Ahab’s sinister motives begin to emerge. His agenda is to hunt and destroy a legendary whale named Moby Dick, whom he has unsuccessfully pursued several times. He has smuggled his own private harpooners on board and he accosts every whaling ship he meets and demands information about sightings of Moby Dick. One of the ships has a maniacal passenger called Gabriel, who claims to be a prophet and he predicts doom for anyone who seeks Moby Dick. The peg leg captain finally encounters Moby Dick and a trail of destruction follows. The obsessed Ahab refuses to give up. The novel then races towards a brilliant and dramatic climax. As an example of the Great American Novel, Moby Dick is unrivaled in its structure, language and style. Melville amalgamates a fabulous mix of Biblical, Shakespearean and mythical elements along with wonderful seafaring atmosphere sourced from his own nautical experiences on board whaling schooners. Whaling stories from contemporary sources in Nantucket’s local grapevine was another rich fountainhead of material. Moby Dick has been adapted for stage, radio, screen, television, comics and graphic novels. It remains a strange and unforgettable classic which no reader should miss. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts

Tags: Adventure, audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, herman melville, Literature, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, moby dick, Sea stories

The title, “History of Holland,” given to this volume is fully justified by the predominant part which the great maritime province of Holland took in the War of Independence and throughout the whole of the subsequent history of the Dutch state and people.

Categories: Arts, Society & Culture

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, free audio books, George Edmundson, History, History of Holland, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Non-fiction

Mary Mapes Dodge created an instant bestseller with “Hans Brinker or The Silver Skates.” She wanted the book to be partly a book of travels and partly a domestic story. It is a tale written for children that adults also find interesting and uplifting. Dodge writes as if she is sending a series of letters from Holland to children in America, and her you-are-there perspective is aided by a nice attention to detail and vivid imagery.The Brinkers are a poor but stoic family under a dark cloud – Raff, the man of the house, fell from the dikes while reinforcing them during a bad storm, and for ten years he has been in a vegetative state. With no steady income, the family’s lot is grinding poverty. Despite their unfortunate circumstances, Hans and Gretel are cheerful children, yet always attentive to the needs of their mother and their present-but-not-really-there father. Their social standing is very low, but they both attract firm friends, even among the gentry, for their honesty, industry, and good-heartedness.Then a glorious skating race is proposed for the town of Broek, with the prize a pair of silver skates for both the winning boy and girl. In the weeks leading up to the race, we follow the adventures of five of the local boys who are showing a visiting relative from England the sights of the Netherlands. Hans improbably meets the one man who might be able to heal his father, and somehow Hans finds a way to afford some skates so that he and Gretel can enter the race.This all leads up to a dramatic, moving, and entirely satisfactory conclusion. “Hans Brinker” hits a series of high notes and encourages children to cultivate and display their finer qualities. More great books at LoyalBooks.com

Categories: Arts, Kids & Family

Tags: audio books, audiobook, ebooks, fiction, free audio books, Hans Brinker, Kids, Loyal Books, loyalbooks.com, Mary Mapes Dodge, Teen/Young adult