Classic Books

This book, dealing with our great inventors, their origins, hopes, aims, principles, disappointments, trials, and triumphs, their daily life and personal character, presents just enough concerning their inventions to make the story intelligible. The history is often a painful one. When poor Goodyear, the inventor of vulcanized rubber, was one day asked what he wanted to make of his boys, he is said to have replied: “Make them anything but inventors; mankind has nothing but cuffs and kicks for those who try to do it a service.”

Every head of a corporation, every business man, in fact everyone employed in a responsible position and upon whose judgment the success of an enterprise largely depends, should provide himself with a general knowledge of the problem of investments and speculation.

First published in the year 1920, ‘Irish Fairy Tales’ is a collection of enchanting, magical and mystical Irish folk tales. It is collected by James Stephens.

The first part of this pamphlet was written early as 1969 for an All-India Essay Competition held in the observation of the Gandhiji’s Birth Centenary year. Though it was judged as best it has been lying with me and since Mumbai Sarvodaya Mandal was prepared to publish I touched it only here and there and left practically in its original form, though it bears the impress of the times.

First published in the year 1880, the present book ‘Island Life; Or, The Phenomena and Causes of Insular Faunas and Floras’ by the British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace presents to the readers the phenomena and causes of insular faunas and floras including a revision and attempted solution of the problem of geological climates.

First published in the year 1919, the present book ‘Isle of Wight; A Sketch-Book’ is a compilation of twenty four of Dorothy E.G. Woollard’s sketches.

First published in the year 1855, the present novel ‘Israel Potter’ by American writer Herman Melville is loosely based on a 108-page long pamphlet autobiography that he acquired in the 1840s, ‘Life and Remarkable Adventures of Israel R. Potter’.

Written by by American author Sinclair Lewis, ‘It Can’t Happen Here’ is a semi-satirical political novel. It was first published in the year 1935, during the rise of fascism in Europe. It describes the rise of Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip, a politician who defeats Franklin Delano Roosevelt and is elected President of the United States, after fomenting fear and promising drastic economic and social reforms while promoting a return to patriotism and “traditional” values.

Here in Vermont the affair was not so picturesque as it might have been on the Western prairies. Oh, it had its points: there was a skit in which Medary Cole (grist mill & feed store) and Louis Rotenstern (custom tailoring—pressing & cleaning) announced that they were those historic Vermonters, Brigham Young and Joseph Smith, and with their jokes about imaginary plural wives they got in ever so many funny digs at the ladies present. But the occasion was essentially serious. All of America was serious now, after the seven years of depression since 1929. It was just long enough after the Great War of 1914-18 for the young people who had been born in 1917 to be ready to go to college… or to another war, almost any old war that might be handy.

“There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.” That is one of the main lessons to be learned from the strange story of the Gunpowder Plot. The narrative here given, so far as its historical portion is concerned, is taken chiefly from original and contemporaneous documents. It has been carefully kept to facts—in themselves more interesting than any fiction—and scarcely a speech or an incident has been admitted, however small, for which authority could not be adduced. Those of my Readers who have made the acquaintance of Lettice Eden, and Joyce Morrell’s Harvest, will meet some old friends in this tale.

Italian Hours is a book of travel writing by Henry James published in 1909. The book collected essays that James had written over nearly forty years about a country he knew and loved well. James extensively revised and sometimes expanded the essays to create a more consistent whole. (courtesy: wikipedia)

A work of cultural importance to Italy, Edith Wharton’s ‘Italian Villas and Their Gardens’ is a collection of artifacts and historical photographs that records the rich and aesthetic brilliance of the architects and planners of Italy in 19th century.

Ivanhoe’ is a 1820 historical novel by Sir Walter Scott. At the time it was written it represented a shift by Scott away from fairly realistic novels set in Scotland in the comparatively recent past, to a somewhat fanciful depiction of medieval England.

They picked up the young man called “Snow” Gregory from a Lambeth gutter, and he was dead before the policeman on point duty in Waterloo Road, who had heard the shots, came upon the scene.

He had been shot in his tracks on a night of snow and storm and none saw the murder.

When they got him to the mortuary and searched his clothes they found nothing except a little tin box of white powder which proved to be cocaine, and a playing card—the Jack of Clubs!

Mason and seven others were new-comers to Brincliffe School, and when the luncheon interval was heralded by the entrance of the loaf and the exit of the masters, it did not occur to them to join in the general rush that was made at the basket. And this was the sorry reward of good manners!

The fact of the matter is that they were not merely new boys, and therefore lawful game, but day-pupils. That was a grievance at Brincliffe—a great grievance. It was only last term that the first day-boy was admitted into Mr. West’s establishment. More than one young wiseacre had gloomily prophesied that Jim Bacon was the thin end of the wedge. And now they gloated, “Didn’t we say so?”

It is not easy to see at once what objection there could be to certain boys attending the school and yet sleeping in their own homes. But a rooted objection there undoubtedly was—all the stronger, perhaps, because no valid reason for it could be stated.

Now for a few moments words took the place of missiles.

“I was shocked this morning when I saw in my newspaper a paragraph announcing his sudden death. I do not say that the shock was very disagreeable. One reads a newspaper for the sake of news. Had I never met James Pethel, belike I should never have heard of him: and my knowledge of his death, coincident with my knowledge that he had existed, would have meant nothing at all to me. If you learn suddenly that one of your friends is dead, you are wholly distressed. If the death is that of a mere acquaintance whom you have recently seen, you are disconcerted, pricked is your sense of mortality; but you do find great solace in telling other people that you met “the poor fellow” only the other day, and that he was “so full of life and spirits,” and that you remember he said—whatever you may remember of his sayings. If the death is that of a mere acquaintance whom you have not seen for years, you are touched so lightly as to find solace enough in even such faded reminiscence as is yours to offer. Seven years have passed since the day when last I saw James Pethel, and that day was the morrow of my first meeting with him.” -an excerpt

First published in the year 1908, the present book ‘Janet of the Dunes’ by famous American author Harriet T. Comstock is a typical European novel written in a style similar to the 19th century novels.

This is a reproduction of a book published before 1923. Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts – the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print.

“This collection of Japanese fairy tales is the outcome of a suggestion made to me indirectly through a friend by Mr. Andrew Lang. They have been translated from the modern version written by Sadanami Sanjin. These stories are not literal translations, and though the Japanese story and all quaint Japanese expressions have been faithfully preserved, they have been told more with the view to interest young readers of the West than the technical student of folk-lore.” -Preface

Famous American novelist and journalist of the naturalist school – Theodore Dreiser’s present novel ‘Jennie Gerhardt: A Novel’ was first published in the year 1911. The protagonist of the novel – Jennie Gerhardt is a destitute young woman. While working in a hotel in Columbus, Ohio, Jennie meets George Brander, a United State Senator, who becomes infatuated with her. He helps her family and declares his wish to marry her. Jennie, grateful for his benevolence, agrees to sleep with him. He dies before they marry, and Jennie is pregnant.

This books is about Jesus, His words and His deeds as told and recorded by those who knew Him.

The Jewish people did not cease to live and grow when the New Testament was written. The two thousand years since have seen a steady expansion and development of its inner life. New religious concepts were advanced, the old were elaborated, and always the effort has been to make these something more than concepts, to weave them into the pattern of daily life, so that the Jew might live his religion.