Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 090

A fascinating time capsule of turn-of-the-century curiosity, this collection gathers eighteen public domain essays on subjects ranging from the practical to the peculiar. Booker T. Washington reflects on intellectuals and civic responsibility; other writers examine rugby's origins, the social politics of church bells, the intersection of superstition and crime, and the art of marking historic places. Nature enthusiasts will appreciate essays on birds as flying machines and weather-predicting animals, while history buffs can explore the Iroquois missions, Cornwall's Caerhays Castle, and a curious Pirates Who's Who. These are essays written when educated readers still delighted in knowing how glass was melted, what folk poetry revealed about a culture, and how divorce law shaped society. They reflect an era that believed knowledge itself was a worthy pursuit. For readers who want to step outside their own time and discover what intelligent people found worth writing about a century ago.