Samuel Clemens, alias Mark Twain, a vécu une existence plus romanesque que ses propres romans. Ce livre retrace le parcours hors norme d’un écrivain, pilote de bateau, journaliste et humoriste, dont la plume a marqué l’Amérique.

De la petite île habitée par les Lenni-Lenape aux gratte-ciel de Manhattan, New York et son histoire retrace l’épopée fascinante d’une ville née du commerce, des migrations et des rêves.

"Le poète nous enchante en animant la nature comme un créateur, avec ses propres pensées". (- R. Emerson, Nature) Il faut rendre justice à la nature qui nous offre tout. Le poète est celui qui sait écouter la nature et parvient à traduire le murmure d'un ruisseau, le chant d'un oiseau, l'immortalité des saisons, ou le mystère de la forêt... Ce livre est une anthologie des poésies de la nature.

490 av. J.-C., Grèce antique. Sur la plaine de Marathon, une poignée de soldats athéniens et platéens affronte l’immense armée perse.

Stratège de génie, ennemi juré de Rome : découvrez la vie d’Hannibal Barca, le général carthaginois dont les exploits ont marqué l’Antiquité. Ce smartbook vous plonge au cœur des batailles, des trahisons et des choix qui ont forgé sa légende.

Quatorzième Empereur romain, poète et philosophe, Hadrien fut l'un des souverains les plus connus. Réformateur ayant perfectionné l'administration de l'Empire romain, il fut aussi celui qui a mis un terme à la politique d'expansion. « Ayant eu pour prédécesseurs Nerva et Trajan, pour successeurs Antonin et Marc-Aurèle, Hadrien doit peut-être à ce noble entourage la faveur d'être compris au nombre de ces princes dont les règnes successifs formèrent l'âge d'or de l'empire romain... Un ingénieux érudit a comparé Hadrien à Louis XI. Il a vu, avec raison, chez tous deux une bravoure personnelle qui ne les empêcha pas d'employer leurs soins à éviter la guerre ; chez tous deux, la même prédilection pour la classe plébéienne, la même haine des grands, les mêmes efforts pour protéger les communes ou les municipes, favoriser le commerce, aider le développement de l'industrie... »

Marc-Aurèle qui cultiva pendant toute sa vie la philosophie et l'emporta sur tous les Empereurs par la pureté de ses moeurs, est, comme l'écrivit Hippolyte Taine « l'âme la plus noble qui ait vécu ». Il est donc nécessaire, pour bien connaître cette âme, de connaître aussi la vie qu'elle dut mener. Cet empereur philosophe fut le premier des empereurs à mourir face à l'ennemi, au poste que lui assignait la grandeur de l'Empire qu'il avait à défendre ; mais il nous a aussi laissé une admirable somme d'expérience et de vie à travers ce manuel de conduite que constitue le livre des Pensées.

This book deals with the Telephonic and Acoustic Inventions of Thomas Edition. Some of the discoveries and inventions of Mr Edison, that were made during his researches which culminated in the invention of the carbon-telephone, have already been published. We now propose to present a more complete description of the important forms of telephone upon which he then experimented, and to describe his more recent acoustic inventions...

Achilles was the son of Peleus, king of Phthiotis in Thessaly; his mother was Thetis, a sea-goddess. Many incredible stories are told concerning the manner in which the hero was nursed in his infancy. According to one account, his mother designed to make him immortal, and for that purpose anointed him with ambrosia during the day, and laid him in the fire at night. The fears of Peleus interrupted this strange treatment, and Achilles remained subject to death. Calchas had declared that Troy could not be taken without his aid, and Thetis, who was aware that her son was destined to perish if he joined the expedition, disguised him in female attire, and concealed him among the daughters of King Lycomedes... The war in the land of Troy continued year after year. The Greeks drew up their ships upon the beach and lived in them there by the sea. Many a battle was fought and many a town was taken and burned, but the Trojans would not give up Helen, and the war still went on...

"Some men are born to a great deal of trouble, yet bear it with so light a heart that they never seem to have a care in the world. This was the case with Hercules. His troubles began early, and they never ceased until the day he died, but he was always cheerful and strong. When he was a mere babe of a few months, he met his first great danger. His mother, Alcmena, had put him to bed one night with his twin brother, Iphicles. Their cradle was the inside of a bronze shield. The babes were healthy, and they had been given a good warm bath and plenty of milk before they were tucked in, so they were asleep in a moment. Toward midnight two huge snakes came crawling into the nursery. Marvelous snakes they were, and their eyes shone with a light which filled the room with its glare. They came gliding swiftly toward the cradle, and there might then have been an end of both of its little occupants, but at that moment the children awoke. Iphicles, like any other baby, was terribly frightened and began to cry with all his lungs, but Hercules did not seem in the least afraid. When the snakes came close to him, he seized them both about the necks and squeezed them with all his might."

Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, born of the foam of the sea, was destined to be the most far-famed of all the dwellers in Olympus. It was not long before others than the watchful Juno had seen this vision of loveliness, and she was eagerly welcomed by the gods as soon as she appeared among them. The beauty and grace of the new goddess so charmed them that all were eager to yield her homage, and she was immediately sought in marriage - even Jupiter himself becoming an enamored suitor. But "laughter-loving" Venus refused to be wed, and would not listen to any wooing. Then the ruler of the gods, finding his proffered love scorned by the proud goddess, determined to punish her by compelling her to marry Vulcan, the ugliest and most ill-favored of deities; and as Jupiter's word was law in all the universe, Venus was obliged to obey. But though married, she was by no means a devoted or faithful wife, and she caused poor Vulcan many unhappy moments; for he saw how his misshapen form repelled her, and he knew that she would soon seek for happiness elsewhere. The first to win the love of "golden" Venus was Mars, the handsome god of war, who, though delighted at being honored as the chosen one of beauty, was careful that the goddess's preference should not be known...

Emily Brontë, cette figure énigmatique de la littérature anglaise, a marqué l’histoire avec un seul roman : Les Hauts de Hurlevent.

In naming George Sand we name something more exceptional than even a great genius. Her rise to eminence in the literature of her century, is, if not without a parallel, yet absolutely without a precedent, in the annals of women of modern times. Upon no woman of the century has the public fixed its eye with a more eager interest and curiosity than upon Aurore Dudevant, known to the world as George Sand. The utmost heights of panegyric and adulation have been scaled in describing her and her work; also the lowest depths of denunciation and of calumny. Her admirers describe her as being not only the greatest genius of her time, which perhaps few will dispute, but as being the most magnificent and adorable of women as well; while her detractors can find no language in which to express the depths of their loathing both for her life and some of her works. As usual, a just estimate of such a character as this will be found between the two extremes. She was neither a monster nor a saint, but a woman of magnificent qualities and of defects upon a corresponding scale. As with her life, so with her works. Some are undoubtedly pernicious to an alarming degree, while the influence of others cannot by any stretch of imagination be called bad. The two kinds may perhaps be divided under the head of earlier and later works. When the tumultuous feelings and wild visions of youth were calmed by age, a new kind of literary product came forth. And her life in its latter years was as quiet as her books, and ran as little against the traditions and usages of mankind.

Trois géants de la philosophie réunis dans un seul ouvrage : découvrez comment Kant a révolutionné la pensée moderne, comment Schopenhauer a repensé la volonté et la représentation, et comment Spinoza a unifié mysticisme et rationalisme.

Comment un petit pays alpin est-il devenu le laboratoire vivant de la démocratie moderne ? La Suisse : une démocratie historique retrace l’épopée politique d’une nation où la volonté populaire a façonné, sans chefs charismatiques ni coups du sort.

This book deals with the life and history of Leonardo Da Vinci, known as one of the greatest painters of the world. The Mona Lisa (La Gioconda) is his best known work, the world's most famous painting. "Leonardo da Vinci seems to present in his own person a résumé of all the characteristics of the age in which he lived. He was the miracle of that age of miracles. Ardent and versatile as youth; patient and persevering as age; a most profound and original thinker; the greatest mathematician and most ingenious mechanic of his time; architect, chemist, engineer, musician, poet, painter-we are not only astounded by the variety of his natural gifts and acquired knowledge, but by the practical direction of his amazing powers... "We call the "Mona Lisa" a portrait, and we have been told how La Gioconda sat for the picture, and how the artist invented ways of amusing her, by stories, recitations, the luring strain of hidden lutes, and strange flowers and rare pictures brought in as surprises to animate and cheer. That Leonardo loved this woman we are sure, and that their friendship was close and intimate the world has guessed..."

The works of Charlotte Brontë are regarded as evidences of exceptional intellectual power. Charlotte Brontë wrote three great books: "Jane Eyre," "Shirley" and "Villette." From the lonely, bleak parsonage on that stony hillside she sent forth her swaying filament of thought and lassoed the world. She lived to know that she had won. Money came to her, all she needed, honors, friends and lavish praise. She was the foremost woman author of her day. Her name was on every tongue. She had met the world in fair fight; without patrons, paid advocates, or influential friends she made her way to the very front. Her genius was acknowledged. She accomplished all that she set out to do and more, far more. The great, the learned, the titled, the proud - all those who reverence the tender heart and far-reaching mind - acknowledged her as queen. This book presents the life and the history of Charlotte Brontë.

Jules Verne was the prophet, the foreseer and foreteller of our great mechanical age. This great writer belongs today not to his country France, but to the world. Widely as his works have been read in his own country, their popularity has been yet wider in America and England. Much as he has been honored at home, even higher glory has been accorded him, we are told, in far Japan. His books have been translated not only into all the usual languages, but into Hebrew, Japanese, Polish and even Arabic. Verne was a universal teacher, both of youth and age. From him the whole world garnered knowledge without effort; for all listened with pleasure while he spun his tales. He was a supreme master of imagination, and without imagination man is nothing; for all greatness is but a phase of imagination. It is the creative force of the world. Under Verne's guidance his readers travel in every land, examine every mode of life and labor, view all the strangest wonders of the universe.

For the larger part, in North America, the people of our own country are mainly Europeans or of European descent. In the northmost part of the continent live the Eskimo. We shall speak about the Eskimos. This book deals with the history of their habits and religious beliefs. The mythological explanation of all the prevailing customs in regard to sea-mammals is contained in a tale which describes their origin: "A girl named Avilayuk refused all her suitors, and for this reason she was also called 'She who does not want to marry.' There was a stone near the village where she lived. It was speckled white and red. The stone transformed itself into a dog and took the girl to wife. She had many children, some of whom became the ancestors of various fabulous tribes. The children made a great deal of noise, which annoyed Avilayuk's father, so that he finally took them across the water to a small island. Every day the dog swam across to the old man's hut to get meat for his family. His wife hung around his neck a pair of boots that were fastened to a string. The old man filled the boots with meat, and the dog took them back to the island. One day, while the dog was gone for meat, a man came to the island in his kayak and called the young woman. 'Take your bag and come with me,' he shouted..."

This book deals with the history of Cleopatra, the famous queen of Egypt; and her conquest of Caesar and Antony. Several Egyptian princesses of the line of the Ptolemies bore the name of Cleopatra, but history, romance, and tragedy are all illumined with the story of one: Cleopatra the daughter of Ptolemy Auletes who (dying in 51 B.C.) bequeathed his crown to his eldest son and daughter, ordering them to be married according to the usage of their family, and jointly govern the kingdom. Cleopatra the eldest, not being above seventeen; and therefore he committed them to the tuition of the Roman senate... Cleopatra ruled jointly with her brother Ptolemy from 51 to 48. Being then expelled by her colleague, she entered upon the performance of her part in Roman history when her cause was espoused by Julius Cæsar, whom she had captivated by her charms. Her reinstatement by the help of Cæsar, as well as all that followed in her relations with Roman rulers, was due primarily to personal considerations, rather than political or military causes; and among women whose lives have vitally influenced the conduct of great historic leaders, and thereby affected the course of events, Cleopatra holds a place at once the most conspicuous and most unique. Like Cæsar, Mark Antony, at his first interview with Cleopatra, succumbed to the fascinations of the "Rare Egyptian," and he never after ceased to be her slave. Not long after Cæsar's death Antony had married Fulvia, whom he deserted for the "enchanting queen." From this point to its culmination in overwhelming disaster and the tragic death of this celebrated pair of lovers, the romantic drama of Cleopatra's conquests becomes even more important in literature than in history...

On ne s'intéresse guère en France à ce qui se passe dans les îles de la Manche, et on y voit flotter le drapeau anglais avec autant d'indifférence que s'il s'agissait d'une station navale de l'Océan-Pacifique. Mais les touristes français commencent à les visiter, Jersey au moins, la plus voisine du groupe ; c'est l'occasion de faire une partie sur mer, de « voyager à l'étranger », d'admirer des sites qu'on dit pittoresques. Les Anglais, oublieux de l'histoire, se laissent volontiers aller à regarder l'archipel de la Manche comme une « possession » au même titre, par exemple, que Gibraltar ou Malte. Une de leurs géographies scolaires dit naïvement : « Les îles de la Manche sont tout ce qui nous reste de nos possessions en France.... » C'est le contre-pied de l'histoire, car l'Angleterre a été conquise par un duc de Normandie ; on pourrait plutôt dire que l'Angleterre, avec l'empire britannique tout entier, est une dépendance de ce dernier fragment du duché de Normandie. Jusqu'aux derniers siècles du moyen âge, l'histoire de cet archipel ne se sépare pas de celle de la Normandie et, plus particulièrement, du Cotentin, auquel il fait face. Comme l'histoire authentique des îles ne commence qu'au milieu du moyen-âge, l'imagination de maints écrivains s'est donné libre carrière dans leurs origines historiques.

The public is familiar with the record of Thomas Edison, who is considered the greatest inventor the world has ever known. How did he succeed? "On February 11th, 1845, was born at Milan, Ohio, Thomas A. Edison... At eight or nine years of age he began to earn his own living, selling papers. When twelve years old his enterprise, pushed by ambition, secured him a position as newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railroad. Here his inventive genius manifested itself. Arranging with station agents along the line, he caused the headings of news to be telegraphed ahead, the agents posting the same in some conspicuous place. By this means the profits of his business were greatly augmented. He next fitted up a small printing press in one corner of a car, and when not busy in his regular work as newsboy, successfully published a small paper."

Diogenes was a famous Greek philosopher, known as one of the founders of Cynicism. Banished from his native country and without any resource, Diogenes was reduced to great indigence. He perceived one day, a mouse running briskly up and down, without any fear of being surprised by the approach of night, without any anxiety about a lodging-place, and even without thinking of food. This reconciled him to his misery. He resolved to live at his ease, without constraint, and to dispense with everything which was not absolutely necessary for the preservation of life.

This book deals with the history of Cervantes, the author of Don Quixote, regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language. "Cervantes, the Shakespeare of Spain, led a life of the most romantic and adventurous kind. In fact, no novelist has ever invented a story as fascinating and varied as the bare facts of his most extraordinary career. He was a soldier, a dramatist, a patriot, a slave; and after producing, perhaps, the greatest novel ever written, a work which is the glory of Spanish literature and a delight to the civilized world, he died poor and neglected."

This book deals with a study of neurosis in relation to the war and writings on assistance during the Great War. "I'm not fond of telling this story, said the General, because each time, like the old fool I am, it brings tears to my eyes ... It's about two boys, astonishingly gifted, full of heart and brains, that nobody could meet without liking. I knew them when they were tiny little fellows. At the time war broke out, the younger one, François, had just passed his examinations for St. Cyr. He had no time to enter; he was rushed along in the wholesale promotion and made second lieutenant then and there. Fancy what it meant to him-epaulettes and battles at nineteen! His elder brother, Jacques, a boy of twenty,-a really remarkable fellow in his studies, was hard at work in the Law School, where he had taken honors. He went off to the front as second lieutenant, too... The two brothers were thrown together for the first time in the same brigade of the "iron division," as it was called-the younger in the 26th of the line, the other in the 27th. They were quartered in a ruined village, and each day they met, making themselves liked everywhere and enjoying a great popularity with the soldiers on account of their youth and friendliness. It soon got round that the St. Cyr boy's regiment was going to get some hot fighting. Jacques said nothing, but he went to his colonel and asked for permission to take the place of his brother, whom he considered too little prepared for what promised to be a violent engagement. The colonel recognized the generosity of this request, but he cut the young man short. "An officer can't be transferred from his own corps to another," he said. The day fixed for the attack came. The first company-François' company-was sent ahead to skirmish. It was simply mowed down. Another followed, and then another. They finally had to fall back, leaving their dead and part of the wounded on the field. The little second lieutenant was not among those who returned. Two days later our men took the offensive again. The elder brother, storming the German trenches with his regiment, passed close by the body of his little François as it lay there all shot to pieces. A bit farther on, a bullet caught him in the shoulder. His captain ordered him back to have the wound dressed; he refused, kept on, and was hit full in the forehead. The bodies were taken up and carried back to the ruins of the village. The sappers of the 26th said: "He was a fine fellow, that little second lieutenant. He shan't go underground without a coffin, at any rate. Let's make one for him."...

De tous les sages de la Grèce, Pythagore est celui dont le nom a été le plus entouré de légendes merveilleuses. Une tradition généralement adoptée le fait naître dans l'île de Samos, vers l'an 580 avant Jésus-Christ. Il avait pour père Mnésarque, riche commerçant, qui lui fit donner une éducation distinguée. On dit que, non content des maîtres qu'il put trouver dans sa patrie, il se rendit à Milet, pour y suivre les cours de mathématiques d'Anaximandre, puis en Crète et à Sparte où il étudia les législations de Minos et de Lycurgue. Après avoir parcouru la Grèce où il assiste aux jeux olympiques où il eut de longs entretiens avec la prêtresse du temple de Delphes, il visita l'Égypte où il séjourna plusieurs années, s'initiant auprès des prêtres à la connaissance de la religion et des sciences du pays. Ce ne fut pas sans peine qu'il y parvint. Pour y réussir, il dut avoir recours à l'autorité du roi Amasis, qui aimait les Grecs, et auquel il avait été recommandé par Polycrate, tyran de Samos ; « Ce roi, nous dit Porphyre, le recommanda à son tour aux prêtres ; ceux d'Héliopolis l'envoyèrent aux prêtres de Memphis, comme étant les plus anciens ; de leur côté les prêtres de Memphis, se servant du même prétexte, l'adressèrent aux prêtres de Thèbes. Ceux-ci n'osant le renvoyer par crainte du roi et espérant, à force de tribulations, lui faire abandonner son projet, lui imposèrent un noviciat bien dur. Pythagore subit ses épreuves avec tant de courage que les prêtres eux-mêmes s'en étonnèrent et l'admirent aux cérémonies de leur culte, ce qui n'avait encore été accordé à aucun étranger. »

Ce livre rassemble des récits historiques sur Pompéi, cette ville étrange qui renaît au jour après avoir été ensevelie dix-huit siècles sous la terre et les cendres dont la couvrit le Vésuve dans sa terrible éruption de l'année 79. Après la découverte par hasard des restes d'Herculanum cachés sous la lave, Charles III, qui était alors roi de Naples, avant d'aller occuper le trône d'Espagne, fit commencer les fouilles en 1748. Mais, bien qu'elles eussent été couronnées d'un plein succès, ces fouilles furent bientôt abandonnées. Elles étaient trop difficiles et trop coûteuses, car Herculanum gît sous un bloc durci de lave de soixante pieds d'épaisseur. L'ancienne Pompéi, au contraire, n'est recouverte que par une couche de cendres et de terre qui n'a pas plus de quinze à vingt pieds, et qui n'offre à la pioche aucune résistance. Ce fut donc sur Pompéi que se tournèrent tous les efforts... On arrive à Pompéi par une plaine fertile, bien cultivée, qui n'indique aucun désastre, aucune catastrophe ; car, sur toute la couche qui recouvre et enferme les débris de cette ville, s'étendent de beaux champs de blé et de maïs traversés par des allées d'oliviers où pendent, d'un arbre à l'autre, des festons de pampres et de raisins. Le premier édifice, si l'on peut employer ce mot, que rencontre le voyageur en arrivant à Pompéi, c'est l'amphithéâtre, ou local destiné aux spectacles en plein air, les combats de gladiateurs, les chasses, les naumachies, etc. Cet amphithéâtre n'est ni vaste ni riche. Pouvant tout au plus contenir douze à quinze mille personnes, il est simplement creusé dans la terre, et ses gradins de pierre sont appuyés sur un talus de gazon. Quand on a vu le Colysée de Rome, ce gigantesque monument où cent mille spectateurs, introduits par d'innombrables vomitoires, pouvaient s'asseoir autour de l'arène sur des gradins adossés à quatre étages de portiques, on comprend, à l'aspect de son humble amphithéâtre, que Pompéi n'était qu'une petite ville, une vraie bourgade, où nous logerions à peine une sous-préfecture...

Experimental study of the physiological needs of the body for food  has indicated that the real requirements of the system, especially for proteid foods, are far below the amounts called for by existing dietary standards, and still farther below the customary habits of the majority of mankind. The ability of the body to maintain a condition of physiological equilibrium, with a true nitrogen balance, etc., on a relatively small amount of nitrogenous food, would seemingly imply that the large surplus so generally consumed constitutes an entirely uncalled-for drain upon the system, as well as upon the pocket of the individual, and without any compensatory gain. In our experimental study of this question, observations on many individuals have extended over such long periods of time that there is apparently perfect safety in the conclusion that the new dietary standards which aim to conform to the true needs of the body are perfectly adapted to maintain health, strength and vigor indefinitely.

Avant de parvenir à être éclairées chaque soir, nos villes ont longtemps vécu dans les ténèbres. Elles n'en sont sorties qu'avec effort et par une série de tâtonnements qu'il est intéressant de faire connaître. Il est d'un intérêt supérieur pour la bonne police des villes que les rues soient éclairées pendant la nuit, afin qu'on puisse y circuler sans peine, et que les gens de mauvais aloi y soient surveillés. L'idée si simple d'allumer des lanternes ou des flambeaux pour combattre l'intensité des ténèbres et répandre quelque clarté sur la voie publique est relativement moderne...

The first voyage to America, of which we have any account, was performed by Northmen. But who were the Northmen? Northmen, Norsemen, Scandinavians, are different names applied in a general way to the early inhabitants of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. These people formed the northern branch of the Teutonic family. America was reached by the Northmen as early as the beginning of the eleventh century... This books deals with the discovery of America by the Northmen before Columbus.

Experimental study of the physiological needs of the body for food  has indicated that the real requirements of the system, especially for proteid foods, are far below the amounts called for by existing dietary standards, and still farther below the customary habits of the majority of mankind. The ability of the body to maintain a condition of physiological equilibrium, with a true nitrogen balance, etc., on a relatively small amount of nitrogenous food, would seemingly imply that the large surplus so generally consumed constitutes an entirely uncalled-for drain upon the system, as well as upon the pocket of the individual, and without any compensatory gain. In our experimental study of this question, observations on many individuals have extended over such long periods of time that there is apparently perfect safety in the conclusion that the new dietary standards which aim to conform to the true needs of the body are perfectly adapted to maintain health, strength and vigor indefinitely.

Plongez dans la vie tumultueuse et l’œuvre monumentale de Dostoïevski, cet écrivain russe dont le destin romanesque a inspiré des générations.