The Japanese Devil Fish Girl and Other Unnatural Attractions


Book Description

The pickled Martian's tentacles are fraying at the ends and Professor Coffin's Most Meritorious Unnatural Attraction (the remains of the original alien autopsy, performed by Sir Frederick Treves at the London Hospital) is no longer drawing the crowds. It's 1895; nearly a decade since Mars invaded Earth, chronicled by H.G. Wells in THE WAR OF THE WORLDS. Wrecked Martian spaceships, back-engineered by Charles Babbage and Nikola Tesla, have carried the Queen's Own Electric Fusiliers to the red planet, and Mars is now part of the ever-expanding British Empire. The less-than-scrupulous sideshow proprietor likes Off-worlders' cash, so he needs a sensational new attraction. Word has reached him of the Japanese Devil Fish Girl; nothing quite like her has ever existed before. But Professor Coffin's quest to possess the ultimate showman's exhibit is about to cause considerable friction amongst the folk of other planets. Sufficient, in fact, to spark off Worlds War Two.




The Story of the Exposition


Book Description

Series of volumes describe the Panama-Pacific International Exposition from idea to inception.




THE SEA - Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril & Heroism


Book Description

The book "The Sea: Its Stirring Story of Adventure, Peril, & Heroism" is an exciting review of the history of sea travels from the earliest times to the XIX century. It includes the first mentions of sea travel, the history of shipbuilding, mentions the greatest men who pursued geographical discoveries like Columbus and his contemporaries, and the deeds of pirates like Sir Francis Drake. The author revises the history of the most significant shipwrecks and concludes with poetry dedicated to sea and ship travel. The author spent his life traveling on a steamship and collected numerous stories and illustrations of interesting distant places. The book is the culmination of his lifetime interest in sea, travel, history, and art.







Forest and Stream


Book Description




The Book of Fishes


Book Description

Excerpt from The Book of Fishes: Presenting the Better Known Species of Food and Game Fishes of the Coastal and Inland Waters of the United StatesThese same fresh and salt water areas, in addition to being reservoirs of food, provide unending recreational Opportunity and healthful out-of-door sport to people in every walk Of life, young and Old. The thrill of search and contest between man and fighting fish, be it angled for with bent pin or giant hook of steel, has few equals. The Book of Fishes, it is hoped, will be of interest and value to expert fisherman and layman alike because it presents an illuminating life story of the more important Of the fishes to be found in North American waters. These species not only are a Vital factor in the Nation's food supply, but also, through the sport and commercial fisheries they support, provide em ployment for many thousands Of men and women. SO rich are American coastal waters, rivers, and bays in variety Of fishes that to describe comprehensively every known species would necessitate a dozen encyclopedic volumes, too costly for general ownership. Therefore, out Of the great treasure Of ichthyological material gathered by the National Geographic Society, the chapters, photographic illustrations, and original color plates of this volume have been selected, and the most famous fishes Of the diverse regions of the country, of the East and West coasts and the inland waters between them, are described and pictured.







Mysteries and Sea Monsters


Book Description

The sea realm has ever been mysterious: strange happenings upon it, an unfathomable abyss of 'The Great Unknown' below. Before the scrutiny of scientific Enlightenment and Age of Reason, in the eighteenth century, ghost ships and oceanic monsters were the stuff of superstition, myth and legend to explain the inexplicable, to enthral the imagination – and enliven the unimaginable. Narratives of phantom ships manned by ghostly (sometimes skeletal) crews, or damned like the Flying Dutchman to roam the seas forever; of sinister, sinuous sea serpents; and the lore of the terrible multi-tentacled kraken. Accounts inspired spirited controversy amongst believers and sceptics, in the awestruck thrill of such frightful enigmas.




Willie K. Vanderbilt II


Book Description

The Vanderbilts were one of the great American families of the industrial era. This book explores the life of one of its lesser-known scions of the fourth generation, William Kissam Vanderbilt II, known simply as Willie K. An inheritor, not a builder, Willie K. lacked the drive and ambition necessary for furthering the Vanderbilt dynasty, especially in the political atmosphere of bank failures, the dawn of progressivism, and the First World War. This biography, while the story of one man, is also an exploration of the burden of enormous wealth, the danger of inherited dreams, and the struggle for self-actualization regardless of wealth or social status.




The Boy Scouts Book of Stories


Book Description

So much of my time is given to reading boys' books that, when I read books for grown-ups, now and again I find myself saying, "What a bully story for boys to read!" Latterly, I have been putting down the titles of such stories. When the list began to lengthen, it occurred to me, why not make a book for boys containing stories like that: stories written for grown-ups but also of interest to boys in their early teens. Such a collection of stories could not be made, however, without the consent of the authors and publishers, but since everybody loves a boy, I didn't have much trouble in convincing them they ought to grant permission to use their stories for such a purpose and, as a result, I am pleased to present to the boy readers of our country the Boy Scouts Book of Stories. Looking over the list, I find it covers pretty well the reading interests of boys. There are stories about boy scouts, school stories, stories of the sea and "wild west" stories, detective and mystery stories; most of all, though, a goodly number of humorous stories, and I am willing to hazard the guess there will be no regrets on the part of readers because the selections happen to abound in stories of the latter sort. How about it, boys?