Thread: Harvard Classics

Has anyone read through the whole set? I just started, there are some phenomenal books I look forward to. There are 50 some odd volumes, I just bought the books that were in Volume I to get started.

the first volume is

The Autobiography of Ben Franklin (Ben Franklin)

The Journal of John Woolman and his Death (John Woolman)

Fruits of Solitude (William Penn)

Never heard of the collection, and to be honest I've never heard of the last two books you listed.

If you get through the first three volumes I'll be amazed and impressed.

I bet John Woolman's journal didn't mention his death.

Only Moses has pulled that feat off.

I bet the autobiography of Ben Franklin would be a great read....I was very interested when Mark Twain's autobiography came out but it's 2 or 3 volumes and just looooong as hell so I'm kind of intimidated by even buying it as it's a big investment of not just money but time and I do like finishing the books I start.


Right now I'm reading 'Charlatan' by Pope Brock...it's an extremely interesting yet very grotesque book. I think both miles and Bilbo would enjoy reading it but for different reasons of course. Miles because of the liberals involved and the regulations that came from what happens in the book (which is a very real, very true story) and Bilbo out of a morbid curiosity...the plot is grotesque as I said before but it's also very intriguing it's like a train wreck or something you just can't turn away from once you start looking at it.

I've got to figure out what I'm reading next...between books I'm reading parts of Dasheil Hammet's short stories classic stuff there.

Originally Posted by El Kabong

I bet the autobiography of Ben Franklin would be a great read....I was very interested when Mark Twain's autobiography came out but it's 2 or 3 volumes and just looooong as hell so I'm kind of intimidated by even buying it as it's a big investment of not just money but time and I do like finishing the books I start.


Right now I'm reading 'Charlatan' by Pope Brock...it's an extremely interesting yet very grotesque book. I think both miles and Bilbo would enjoy reading it but for different reasons of course. Miles because of the liberals involved and the regulations that came from what happens in the book (which is a very real, very true story) and Bilbo out of a morbid curiosity...the plot is grotesque as I said before but it's also very intriguing it's like a train wreck or something you just can't turn away from once you start looking at it.

I've got to figure out what I'm reading next...between books I'm reading parts of Dasheil Hammet's short stories classic stuff there.

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the roots of the American dream, starting with nothing and then making it big. If you're interested I can mail it to you when I'm done.

Originally Posted by CFH

Never heard of the collection, and to be honest I've never heard of the last two books you listed.

"The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1910.[1]
Eliot had stated in speeches 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. (Originally he had said a three-foot shelf.) The publisher P. F. Collier and Son saw an opportunity and challenged Eliot to make good on this statement by selecting an appropriate collection of works, and the Harvard Classics was the result.
Eliot worked for one year with William A. Neilson, a professor of English; Eliot determined the works to be included and Neilson selected the specific editions and wrote introductory notes.[1] Each volume had 400-450 pages, and the included texts are "so far as possible, entire works or complete segments of the world's written legacies."[2] The collection was widely advertised by Collier and Son, in Collier's Magazine and elsewhere, with great success."

Harvard Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Originally Posted by killersheep

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the roots of the American dream, starting with nothing and then making it big. If you're interested I can mail it to you when I'm done.

That would be awesome man...I'm very interested in learning about the Founding Fathers whether it's their political views or just their overall outlook on life. I'm also quite interested in the Founders that were Freemasons as well as I'm currently trying to join that group.

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by killersheep

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the roots of the American dream, starting with nothing and then making it big. If you're interested I can mail it to you when I'm done.

That would be awesome man...I'm very interested in learning about the Founding Fathers whether it's their political views or just their overall outlook on life. I'm also quite interested in the Founders that were Freemasons as well as I'm currently trying to join that group.

I should be done with it in a few weeks, I'll get your address somewhere around then.

The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith) is probably the most influential book on American style capitalism.

Originally Posted by killersheep

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by killersheep

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the roots of the American dream, starting with nothing and then making it big. If you're interested I can mail it to you when I'm done.

That would be awesome man...I'm very interested in learning about the Founding Fathers whether it's their political views or just their overall outlook on life. I'm also quite interested in the Founders that were Freemasons as well as I'm currently trying to join that group.

I should be done with it in a few weeks, I'll get your address somewhere around then.

The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith) is probably the most influential book on American style capitalism.

Yeah I've heard about Adam Smith, I may have to try and read that as well.

I've got a biography on Andrew Jackson that I need to read and a 2 volume set on Churchill as well as 'Shop Class as Soul Craft' which is a book about how psychologically pleasing it is to work with your hands as opposed to sitting behind a desk.

I may also re-read 'Born in Blood' which was the first book to trace the lineage of the Knights Templar to the Freemasons....very interesting book.

Originally Posted by killersheep

Originally Posted by CFH

Never heard of the collection, and to be honest I've never heard of the last two books you listed.

"The Harvard Classics, originally known as Dr. Eliot's Five Foot Shelf, is a 51-volume anthology of classic works from world literature, compiled and edited by Harvard University president Charles W. Eliot and first published in 1910.[1]
Eliot had stated in speeches 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. (Originally he had said a three-foot shelf.) The publisher P. F. Collier and Son saw an opportunity and challenged Eliot to make good on this statement by selecting an appropriate collection of works, and the Harvard Classics was the result.
Eliot worked for one year with William A. Neilson, a professor of English; Eliot determined the works to be included and Neilson selected the specific editions and wrote introductory notes.[1] Each volume had 400-450 pages, and the included texts are "so far as possible, entire works or complete segments of the world's written legacies."[2] The collection was widely advertised by Collier and Son, in Collier's Magazine and elsewhere, with great success."

Harvard Classics - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Funny, I've actually read some of those books...Pliny The Younger I read for one of the classes I took on the Roman Empire. Very interesting read especially about the Vesuvius eruption.

A saddo book club!!!!

Originally Posted by killersheep

Originally Posted by El Kabong

Originally Posted by killersheep

Ben Franklin's autobiography is the roots of the American dream, starting with nothing and then making it big. If you're interested I can mail it to you when I'm done.

That would be awesome man...I'm very interested in learning about the Founding Fathers whether it's their political views or just their overall outlook on life. I'm also quite interested in the Founders that were Freemasons as well as I'm currently trying to join that group.

I should be done with it in a few weeks, I'll get your address somewhere around then.

The Wealth of Nations (Adam Smith) is probably the most influential book on American style capitalism.

Overall one of the most important book in the history and understanding of economy as well. There are a few concepts of Smith that doesn,t work (like the invisible hand) but overall, this is a deep and quite lucid look at how modern economy operate in many ways.

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

A saddo book club!!!!

Quilts are next, I'll get you in on that one.

Originally Posted by killersheep

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

A saddo book club!!!!

Quilts are next, I'll get you in on that one.

I have tons of print-out patterns for you guys.

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

Originally Posted by killersheep

Originally Posted by boozeboxer

A saddo book club!!!!

Quilts are next, I'll get you in on that one.

I have tons of print-out patterns for you guys.

Do you have a mighty mike pattern?