Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf

[gerardcarey]

Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot had stated that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf.
The publisher P. F. Collier and Son, quite appropriately, told Eliot to put his money where his mouth was.
The Harvard Classics is the result.

It initially consisted of a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature to which was added a further 20 volumes of great novels and short stories.
So, here we have a collection of the work of every major literary figure, philosopher, religion, folklore and historical subject up to the twentieth century, available as a free kindle download.
This is available from my US Amazon account, but also from my Australian Amazon account.

May I recommend my two favorite adventure books. I love reading adventure books on Camino.
The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin - IMO the greatest adventure book ever written.
Two Years before the mast - Richard Henry Dana

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K4RP1F/?tag=casaivar02-20

Regards
Gerard

 

[C clearly]

Wow! With this on my phone, I can go anywhere anytime and not be stuck without a book. Thank you.

 

[Albertagirl]

I have discovered this book for purchase on Amazon.ca for $.99 Cdn, for which price it provides a fascinating portable library.

 

[Deleted member 76633]

But you don't need to limit yourself to a 5 ft shelf.

The advantage to publishers is that the "classics" were written by dead authors and there are no royalties to pay.

 

[Kiwi-family]

Is your book on the shelf @gerardcarey ??!!!

 

[gerardcarey]

Wow! With this on my phone, I can go anywhere anytime and not be stuck without a book. Thank you.

You are quite right. This e-book really is a library of some of the worlds finest and most interesting works of literature. It is deserving of being on any pilgrims's phone.
Regards
Gerard

 

[Mary Doll]

Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot had stated that the elements of a liberal education could be obtained by spending 15 minutes a day reading from a collection of books that could fit on a five-foot shelf.
The publisher P. F. Collier and Son, quite appropriately, told Eliot to put his money where his mouth was.
The Harvard Classics is the result.

It initially included a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature to which was added a further 20 volumes of great novels and short stories.
So, here we have a collection of the work of every major literary figure, philosopher, religion, folklore and historical subject up to the twentieth century, available as a free kindle download.
This is available from my US Amazon account, but from my Australian Amazon account also.

May I recommend my two favorite adventure books. I love reading adventure books on Camino.
The Voyage of the Beagle - Charles Darwin - IMO the greatest adventure book ever written.
Two Years before the mast - Richard Henry Dana

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B089K4RP1F/?tag=casaivar02-20

Regards
Gerard

Also available free on Amazon UK.

 

[GraemeHall]

What? "Not available in your country."

 

[Chris Gi]

Also available free on Amazon UK.

Also free on Amazon in USA

 

[David Tallan]

I have discovered this book for purchase on Amazon.ca for $.99 Cdn, for which price it provides a fascinating portable library.

Interesting, I got it for free from the Canadian Amazon. Weird.

When I followed the link to Amazon.com, it said it wasn't available in my country. When I switched to Amazon Canada, it was available for free,

 

[C clearly]

Interesting, I got it for free from the Canadian Amazon. Weird.

I searched for the title on amazon.ca and found several versions - some for a dollar or two, and some free. I don't know the differences, if any, but I downloaded a free one.

 

[jsalt]

I was tempted to download it for free but the size is huge. I think I'll stick to downloading the classics one by one for free, or for a few cents, as and when I'd like to read one, and then remove it from my device once read. But thanks for the link, much appreciated!

 

[C clearly]

I was tempted to download it for free but the size is huge. I think I'll stick to downloading the classics one by one for free, or for a few cents, as and when I'd like to read one, and then remove it from my device once read. But thanks for the link, much appreciated!

Good point, considering that I am not likely to read very much of the 51 volumes! But browsing through them will provide some entertainment, and I can always delete later!

 

[Terry Callery]

Sailing Around the World-Slocum

Having Sailed my Cape Dory 19 all over the coast of Maine this book resonated with me.

The classic of its kind." —Travel World
"One of the most readable books in the whole library of adventure." —Sports Illustrated
"The finest single-handed adventure story yet written." —Seafarer
Challenged by an expert who said it couldn't be done, Joshua Slocum, an indomitable New England sea captain, set out in April of 1895 to prove that a man could sail alone around the world. 46,000 miles and a little over 3 years later, the proof was complete: Captain Slocum had performed the epic "first" single-handedly in a trusty 34-foot sloop called the "Spray." This is Slocum's own account of his remarkable adventures during the historic voyage.
Slocum writes in a fast-paced, exhilarating style. His almost matter-of-fact descriptions of hazardous episodes and his colorful, often witty observations make this book perhaps the most delightful and absorbing adventure tale in history. Across the Atlantic he sailed, but chased by Moorish pirates off Gibraltar, he decided to circle Cape Horn instead and go around the world the other way! He tells of perils on stormy seas and of numerous harrowing events: his escape from a fleet of hostile canoes; an encounter with Black Pedro, "the worst murderer in Tierra del Fuego"; foiling a nocturnal attack by savages by strewing carpet tacks on the "Spray's" deck; submerged by a great wave off the Patagonian coast; the "rain of blood" in Australia; dodging coral reefs in the South Seas. In Samoa, he was visited by Mrs. Robert Louis Stevenson; in South Africa, he talked congenially with Stanley of "Stanley and Livingstone" fame, and met "Oom Paul" Kruger, President of the Transvaal republic. Kruger was incensed when one of his officials described Slocum's voyage as "around the world," since his religious beliefs convinced him that the world was flat!
This robust classic of the sea has been widely read ever since its first publication in 1900. It has been reprinted several times and has even been required reading in many schools. This edition (complete with all of the original Thomas Fogarty illustrations) of Captain Slocum's story will prove as enjoyable and thrilling to the present generation of Americans as it was to our fathers and grandfathers.

 

[gerardcarey]

Thank you for reminding me Terry. I'm really looking forward to reading that. In fact I'm a little ashamed that I have not as yet.
Regards
Gerard

 

[Terry Callery]

Hi Gerard.

It is bit off the subject, but you mentioned the President of Harvard University.
Did you know that when "Candy Cummings" who invented the curve ball, was at Harvard,
the then President of Harvard banded the pitch because it was not "gentlemanly" to deceive to opposing batter. As a young man in 1870 he tossed clam shells into the water making them curve.

Boy I wish I could watch some baseball – Go Boston Red Sox.

This whole pandemic makes me want to reach out to smart Camino people like you.

My father bought the “Great Books” 50 volumes--- Plato, Aristotle, Kant, Virgil, Aquinas, Hobbs, and Marx. It is on my book shelf and is a constant reminder of my dad.

But for me the Camino was not about accumulating knowledge, adding more to myself.

It was and emptying out, a winnowing. To hear the: “Great Silence”. To be in the infinite moment. Not about knowing, but about being – A Zen Experience.