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  Title: Lewis and Clark Author: William R Lighton Librivox Audiobook app Read by Roger Melin (3 hr 14 min) William R. Lighton provides a comprehensive historical account of the Corps of Discovery , led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, in this detailed biography.  The narrative begins with the geopolitical climate of the early nineteenth century, specifically focusing on Thomas Jefferson's vision for the United States.  Jefferson sought to explore the vast, unknown territory acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and find a direct water route to the Pacific Ocean.  He selected Lewis, his private secretary, who then recruited his former comrade Clark to co-lead the expedition. The book describes the rigorous preparation in St. Louis and the departure in May 1804.  Lighton highlights the immense physical challenges the group faced while ascending the Missouri River , including harsh weather, navigational hazards, and the constant need for sustenance....

  Title: Poems Author: Ralph Waldo Emerson Publisher: iBooks This collection of poems serves as a poetic expression and distillation of the central tenets of his Transcendentalist philosophy , emphasizing the supremacy of the individual, the spiritual unity of the universe, and the divinity inherent in nature.  The poems challenge conventional forms and ideas, advocating for an unmediated, original relationship between the individual and the cosmos. A core theme is the concept of the Over-Soul , the universal, divine force that connects all living things and is accessible through personal intuition and introspection.  The poet, in Emerson's view, is the "saying, the namer," the one finely tuned enough to hear the " prima warblings " of this universal air and translate its beauty and truth into language.  Poetry, therefore, is not merely artifice but an organic expression, with the thought—the " metre-making argument "—being prior to the form.  This com...

  Title: The Mysterious Stranger Author: Mark Twain Librivox Audiobook app Read by John Greenman (3 hr 46 min) The Mysterious Stranger is a philosophical and satirical work that explores human nature, morality, and the meaning of existence.  Set in a small Austrian village during the Middle Ages , the story follows a group of boys who encounter a mysterious figure named Satan , a supernatural being who is not the biblical Satan but his nephew.  Satan possesses extraordinary powers, performing miracles and manipulating reality with ease, and he uses these abilities to challenge the villagers’ beliefs, exposing hypocrisy, cruelty, and ignorance.  Through his interactions, Twain critiques organized religion , superstition , and the moral contradictions of society.  The boys are fascinated by Satan’s wisdom and power, yet unsettled by his indifference to human suffering .  He demonstrates that life is governed by chance and that concepts of good and evil are...

Title: What is Man & Other Essays Author: Mark Twain Librivox Audiobook app Read by John Greenman (10 hr 37 min) What is Man & Other Essays is a collection of philosophical reflections and social commentaries that reveal his skeptical and probing mind.  The central essay, What is Man, is written in the form of a dialogue between a Young Man and an Old Man .  The Old Man argues that human beings are essentially machines, driven not by free will but by training, habit, and self-interest.  He insists that every action is motivated by the desire to satisfy personal needs, whether material or emotional, and that altruism itself is only a refined form of self-gratification.  The Young Man challenges these views, but the Old Man’s reasoning is relentless, presenting a deterministic view of human nature that questions traditional ideas of morality and freedom. Other essays in the volume expand Twain’s critique of society, religion, and politics.  He often e...

  Title: Why You Should Store Your Farts in a Jar Author: David Haviland Publisher: Tarcher/Penguin, New York Year published: 2010 262 pages Why did people believe that keeping farts in a jar could ward off the black Death ? The Black Death was one of the deadliest plagues in human history. Between 1348 and 1350 it killed around 1.5 million people in Britain, out of a population of just 4 million. The plague was characterized by unpleasant black buboes that would form in the victims' groin, neck, and armpits, oozing pus and blood. It caused fever, nausea, and vomiting, and most victims died within four to seven days of becoming infected. There were regular outbreaks of plague about once every generation, until the last major outbreak in 1665, the Great Plague of London . Medicine of this period was based upon principles that had been around since the ancient Greeks, including the simple tenet that "like cures like." Since it was believed that the plague was caused by dead...

Title: War Author: Roald Dahl Publisher: Penguin Books, London Year published: 2017 336 pages Roald Dahl’s War is a powerful, largely autobiographical collection that chronicles his intense and often harrowing experiences serving as a fighter pilot for the Royal Air Force during the early years of World War II .  The narrative begins shortly before the outbreak of conflict, depicting Dahl's comfortable but unchallenging life working for the Shell Oil Company in Tanganyika, East Africa .  This period of relative colonial calm is abruptly shattered by the declaration of war, prompting his swift journey to Nairobi to enlist in the RAF .  His initial flight training is described with a keen eye for detail, capturing the sudden, life-altering transition from civilian life to the rigors and dangers of military aviation, establishing the fundamental shift in his reality. The core of the book details his deployment to the Middle East theater . One of the most critical episodes...