Essay
An essay is a non-fiction work making arguments or setting out opinions on any topic.
Books
The Busy Blue Jay: True Bird Stories from My Notebooks
by Olive Thorne Miller
A story about a blue jay named Jakie. This chapter focuses on his mischevious behavior.
A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics
by George Berkeley
An essay/argument for Sir Isaac Newton and the author’s mathematical beliefs and philosophies. The full title is "A Defence of Free-Thinking in Mathematics: In answer To a Pamphlet of Philalethes Cantabrigiensis, intitled, Geometry no Friend to Infidelity, or a Defence of Sir ISAAC NEWTON, and the BRITISH Mathematicians. Also an Appendix concerning Mr. WALTON’s Vindication of the Principles of Fluxions contained in the ANALYST."
History
by Ralph Waldo Emerson
History is within everyone, so living life is the best way to know history/people/life. History books should be written from this more open, organic perspective. Someone experiencing life is closer to true knowledge than someone who reads about it.
Selected Essays of Robert Louis Stevenson
by Robert Louis Stevenson
This book collects essays of Robert Louis Stevenson, including selections from Across the Plains (1892) and Essays of Travel (1911).
The Souls of Black Folk
by W. E. B. Du Bois
The Souls of Black Folk is a classic work of African–American literature by activist W.E.B. Du Bois. The book, published in 1903, contains several essays on race, some of which had been previously published in Atlantic Monthly magazine. Du Bois drew from his own experiences to develop this groundbreaking work on being African–American in American society. Outside of its notable place in African–American history, The Souls of Black Folk also holds an important place in social science as one of the early works to deal with sociology.
Passages
What Christmas is as We Grow Older
Dickens' Christmas Stories
by Charles Dickens
The speaker compares the feelings and hopes of youth at Christmastime with the changes that occur with age.
From Mandarin to St. Augustine
Florida: Essays and Poems
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The author discusses the many wonders of nature that can be witnessed while traveling between Mandarin and St. Augustine, Florida.
The Grand Tour Up River
Florida: Essays and Poems
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Author gives a detailed description of the vegetation and wildlife that surrounds the St. Johns River.
Spanish-American War: The Rough Riders in Tampa
Florida: Essays and Poems
by Theodore Roosevelt
The Rough Riders’ time in Tampa is filled with misunderstandings which they deal with as best they can.
St. Augustine
Florida: Essays and Poems
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
The Author describes the scenery in St. Augustine, Florida.
Philosophy of Furniture
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
The author discusses the different presentations of wealth in European and American culture, focusing on the concept of "a well furnished apartment".
The Poetic Principle
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
The author presents his opinion on poetry and the ultimate goal of art.
The Philosophy of Composition
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
The author presents his theory on the subject of compositiion.
Old English Poetry
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
by Edgar Allan Poe
The author presents his opinion of English poetry.