As the Grandson of President John Quincy Adams and the Great Grandson of President John Adams, Henry Brooks Adams saw himself as a failure by comparison to the lofty accomplishments of his ancestors. This inferiority complex is quite visible in «The Education of Henry Adams», the autobiography of the author and an important document of 19th century American history and political life. Adams, a historian, journalist, and novelist shows in this gr ...
A Venetian adventurer, author, and lifelong womanizer, the name of Casanova has become interchangeable with the art of seduction since the 18th century. In his most notable book, «Story of My Life,» Casanova narrates countless tales of the people with whom he interacted: lovers, European royalty, clergymen, and artists such as Goethe, Voltaire, and Mozart. His writing demonstrates his talent for dialogue, while his life seems an inadvertent test ...
One of the most important sources of information on Alfred the Great (King of Wessex from 871 to 899) is Asser's «The Life of King Alfred». Asser was a Welsh monk who accepted a position in the court of King Alfred around 886. His work is both a translation of part of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (for the years 851-887), as well as eyewitness accounts and opinions of Alfred's kingship. Although the only copy of the manuscript was destroye ...
Written in 1821, «The Autobiography of Thomas Jefferson» is not as intimate of a look at the life of one of America's founding fathers as we might have hoped for, however it provides some interesting insights into the life of America's third President. Jefferson begins the work thusly, «At the age of 77, I begin to make some memoranda and state some recollections of dates & facts concerning myself, for my own more ready reference & ...
As a reporter for the «New York Evening Post» during the time of New York's Tammany Hall Machine, William Riordan compiled and published this work in 1905 from a series of articles he wrote on George Washington Plunkitt, the millionaire ward boss of New York's 15th District. Plunkitt is best remembered as a streetwise politician who practiced what he called «honest graft,» or what is otherwise known today as «machine politics.» Of the ...
Written during the reign of Hadrian, by Hadrian personal secretary, Suetonius, «The Twelve Caesars» was the most popular and longest of Suetonius's surviving works. Beginning with the life of Julius Caesar and continuing with the first eleven emperors of Rome who followed him, «The Twelve Caesars» is one of the most important historical bibliographical works of the Roman Empire and discusses the critical period in Roman history known as the ...
Charles Alexander Eastman (1858-1939), of Santee Sioux and Anglo-American heritage, was a passionate advocate for the rights of American Indians. He took an active role in national politics, in addition to his work as a physician, writer and lecturer. He served on the founding committee of the YMCA, establishing 32 Native American chapters, worked as agency physician for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and represented the American Indian at ...
Frances Anne Kemble, (1809-1893) referred to as Fanny, was a famous British actress and author in the early to mid nineteenth century. As a member of the famous Kemble theatrical family, she first appeared on stage as Juliet at Covent Garden. She played many principal women's parts, notably Portia, Beatrice and Lady Teazle. She retired from the stage in 1834 to marry Pierce Butler, grandson of the Founding Father, Pierce Butler. He had inhe ...
