Henry George (1839 97) was an American journalist and newspaper editor. In Progress and Poverty, his most famous work (1879), he seeks to explain the apparent paradox that the gulf between rich and poor in a developed city (or nation) is much less that that in a less developed community: 'Like a flash it came over me that there was the reason of advancing poverty with advancing wealth. With the growth of population, land grows in value, and the men who work it must pay more for the privilege.' His economic ideas were widely debated, and this volume also contains a response to the 1881 English edition of the book from Isaac B. Cooke, a cotton broker from Liverpool, and Andrew Mearns's The Bitter Cry of Outcast London (1883), a short but telling description of the reality of the poverty then to be found in the world's richest city.

Henry George Atkinson (c.1812 c.1890), a free thinker and supporter of naturalism, published extensively on phrenology, mesmerism, and spiritualism. He became acquainted with the professional writer, political activist and radical philosopher Harriet Martineau (1802 76) in the 1840s, when she attributed her recovery from a long illness to mesmerism. Their correspondence was published in 1851, and promotes a radical form of atheistic naturalism, more extreme than that found in George Combe's best-selling Constitution of Man (also published in this series). It ranges widely over topics including the brain and the nervous system, matter and causation, superstition, theology and science. The book promotes the purity of natural law as superior to social customs and institutions, and reflects many concerns of the intelligentsia of the time, amongst whom it stirred up much controversy.

In this book, first published in 1890, the author endeavours to determine whether protectionism or free trade better accords with the interests of labour - particularly with regards to the raising of wages. He analyses the popularity of protection in the face of the evidence of its fallacies, and examines the principle of free trade and its consequences.

In 1812 a number of slave traders were prosecuted in Sierra Leone, the focus of Britain's efforts to eradicate the trade. First published in 1813, this report is believed to have been written by the presiding judge, Robert Thorpe. The trials provoked debate as Thorpe found one trader guilty, but commuted his sentence on the condition that other traders were persuaded to cease their business. Another was dealt with severely as he displayed complicity in evading the laws. Thorpe's judgments relied upon not only the application of the anti-slavery laws, but also the notion of natural laws transcending those of nations, a notion which came under consideration in the landmark Somerset v. Stewart case of 1772, concerning an escaped slave. Published in 1876, a report on this case is also reissued here. Taken together, these two texts provide valuable source material on the history of the slave trade's abolition.

Henry George Bonavia Hunt (1847 1917) is best remembered as the founder of Trinity College of Music, London, which had grown out of the Church Choral Society he had established in 1872. A talented preacher and choirmaster, he also edited several popular journals, composed, and served as a lecturer in music history for the University of London between 1900 and 1906. This popular textbook, first published in 1878 and reissued here in its revised third edition of 1879, is a systematic study of musical history for easy assimilation by students. It presents an overview of musical epochs, with each paragraph classified according to nationality, thus allowing the musical history of specific countries to be followed. In addition to chronological tables covering major composers and musical events, the work also includes a summary of the development of music as an art. This is followed by more than 200 sample examination questions.

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859) was an intellectual giant: an explorer who helped lay the foundations of biogeography, a naturalist who influenced Charles Darwin, and a botanist who developed a model of the Earth's climate zones. He travelled extensively in Europe, carried out scientific explorations across the Russian Empire and in Latin America, and devoted much energy to seeking a unified view of the different branches of scientific knowledge. Ansichten der Natur, published in 1808 with a second edition in 1826, aimed to 'engage the imagination' as well as to communicate new ideas, and was translated into many European languages. This authorised translation of the third and final 1849 edition, dating from Humboldt's eightieth year, was published in 1850, though another English translation (by Mrs Sabine) had appeared the previous year. The wide coverage, including geology, geography and biology, is typical of Humboldt, as is the precise and engaging style.

In this book, first published in 1890, the author endeavours to determine whether protectionism or free trade better accords with the interests of labour - particularly with regards to the raising of wages. He analyses the popularity of protection in the face of the evidence of its fallacies, and examines the principle of free trade and its consequences.

This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.