Free summaries
Journalism/Media/Writing
31 public-domain journalism/media/writing books, summarised. Page 1 of 1.
Public opinion
Walter Lippmann
We are not masters of reality, but captives of the "pictures in our heads" that dictate how we perceive a world too vast and complex to ever witness firsthand.
Crystallizing Public Opinion
Edward L. Bernays
Modern society functions not through simple consensus, but through the deliberate, strategic management of the collective mind. This foundational text argues that public opinion is not a natural occurrence, but a manufactured landscape shaped by those who understand the mechanics of human instinct.
Practical English Composition: Book II.: For the Second Year of the High School
Edwin L. (Edwin Lillie) Miller
This collection of lessons transforms the daunting task of writing into a structured, journalistic craft. It provides a clear, methodical bridge between the foundational skills of a second-year student and the practical demands of professional communication.
Types of News Writing
Willard Grosvenor Bleyer
A practical guide to early twentieth-century American reporting demonstrates how daily life, tragic accidents, and political drama are transformed into structured prose.
Elementary Guide to Literary Criticism
F. V. N. (Franklin Verzelius Newton) Painter
This guide serves as a foundational manual for students, transforming the vague experience of reading into a structured, analytical practice. It offers a systematic framework for evaluating literature through the lenses of form, content, and spirit.
Methods of Authors
Hugo Erichsen
The habits of literary giants are often as eccentric as their prose. This collection offers a rare, intimate look at the rituals, struggles, and peculiar compulsions that fueled the creation of history’s most celebrated works.
Ancient rhetoric and poetic
Charles Sears Baldwin
To interpret the ancient arts of composition is to uncover the foundational theories that shaped Western literature. By examining the essential precepts of oratory and poetry, the evolution of human expression becomes clear.
Watson's Jeffersonian Magazine, January, 1907
Various
This compilation of early twentieth-century political commentary, historical writing, literary fiction, and regional advertising captures a fiery Southern Populist worldview fighting against corporate monopolies, financial elites, and publishing betrayals.
Notes and Queries, Number 71, March 8, 1851: A Medium of Inter-communication for Literary Men, Artists, Antiquaries, Genealogists, etc
Various
A lively snapshot of mid-nineteenth-century intellectual exchange, where readers trade obscure historical facts, untangle literary puzzles, and preserve dying local customs.
The Newspaper
George Binney Dibblee
Public interest in the news creates an intricate world driven by speed, technical machinery, and human judgment.
The Fantasy Fan, January 1934: The Fans' Own Magazine
Various
This archival artifact captures the birth of organized fantasy fandom, documenting the fervent, intellectual, and occasionally acrimonious debates of enthusiasts during the Great Depression.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 05, No. 29, March, 1860: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
A rich panorama of mid-nineteenth-century thought, this issue gathers fiction, cultural commentary, poetic lament, and technical analysis into a single vibrant conversation.
The Importance of the Proof-reader: A Paper read before the Club of Odd Volumes, in Boston, by John Wilson
John Wilson
A practical printer makes the case that behind every great work of literature stands a vigilant reader correcting bad handwriting, untangling faulty grammar, and preserving the author's true meaning from ruin.
McClure's Magazine, Vol. 1, No. 2, July, 1893
Various
A collection of late-nineteenth-century literature and reportage captures a changing world through intimate portraits, scientific ambitions, regional fiction, and dramatic personal reckonings.
The Fantasy Fan, February 1934: The Fans' Own Magazine
Various
An early science fiction fanzine captures a nascent community debating cosmic horror, space exploration, and gothic scholarship.
The Fantasy Fan, October 1933: The Fan's Own Magazine
Various
This magazine captures the vibrant, fledgling energy of the early science fiction and fantasy community, documenting a time when fans and authors communicated through letters, columns, and shared obsession. It stands as a vital primary source for understanding the origins of modern genre fandom.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 17, No. 097, January, 1876
Various
This issue of Lippincott’s Magazine captures the intellectual energy of 1876, blending cultural commentary, travelogues, and serialized fiction into a singular, wide-ranging portrait of the nineteenth-century mind.
Futuria Fantasia, Summer 1939
Ray Bradbury
A passionate teenager gathers his friends, preaches economic revolution, and imagines the total collapse of civilization—all on a ten-cent mimeograph machine.
Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, Volume 12, No. 28, July, 1873
Various
This collection offers a vibrant snapshot of nineteenth-century intellectual life, blending travelogue, social commentary, and fiction into a singular, sprawling mosaic of the Victorian era’s diverse literary interests.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, February 1900: Vol. 56, November, 1899 to April, 1900
Various
A quiet skepticism runs through this turn-of-the-century science journal, tempering sudden technical euphoria with measured, careful observation.
With the movie makers
Myron M. (Myron Morris) Stearns
A early-twentieth-century guide strips away Hollywood's glamour to reveal the craft, mechanics, and economic realities powering the silent film industry.
Notes and Queries, Number 50, October 12, 1850
Various
This mid-nineteenth-century periodical serves as a vibrant, communal clearinghouse for Victorian intellectual curiosity. It captures a moment when the pursuit of obscure knowledge became a collaborative, democratic endeavor, bridging the gap between professional scholarship and the enthusiastic amateur.
The film
M. (Maurice) Jackson-Wrigley
The film, when treated with seriousness and purpose, is far more than a mere divertissement; it is a profound, untapped instrument for the enlightenment of the public and the elevation of the national character.
What's in the New York Evening Journal: America's Greatest Evening Newspaper
New York evening journal
This document serves as a historical manifesto for a dominant media powerhouse, detailing the editorial machinery and high-priced talent that secured its position as America’s most widely read evening newspaper during the late 1920s.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 12, No. 323, July 19, 1828
Various
HOOK This collection functions as an intellectual cabinet of curiosities, preserving the diverse reports, folklore, and scientific observations that captivated the nineteenth-century British imagination.
The Writer, Volume VI, April 1892.: A Monthly Magazine to Interest and Help All Literary Workers
Various
This collection of essays and columns offers a candid, professional window into the late nineteenth-century literary marketplace, serving as a practical handbook for those navigating the transition from creative ambition to commercial reality.
Washington cover-up
Clark R. (Clark Raymond) Mollenhoff
A vigorous defense of the public’s right to know, this investigation exposes how executive secrecy frequently functions as a shield for government mismanagement and corruption.
Film Truth
Anonymous
HOOK This sharp-edged, anonymous periodical offers a cynical, unvarnished look at the early motion picture industry, cutting through the glamour of silent-era stardom to expose the scams and vanity lurking behind the screen.
Notes and Queries, Number 22, March 30, 1850
Various
This mid-Victorian periodical serves as a vital clearinghouse for the curious, connecting scholars and hobbyists through a shared passion for historical investigation and literary detective work.
The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction. Volume 19, No. 541, April 7, 1832
Various
A snapshot of British curiosity in the early nineteenth century, this collection gathers the era’s diverse interests into a single, eclectic volume. It serves as a bridge between the rapid industrial progress and the enduring traditions of the age.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 08, No. 46, August, 1861: A Magazine of Literature, Art, and Politics
Various
A wartime collection of literature, political argument, and narrative fiction captures a nation grappling with its own identity at the onset of the American Civil War.