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1Great Panjandrum Himself

By Samuel Foote

LibriVox volunteers bring you 10 recordings of <em>The Great Panjandrum Himself</em> by Samuel Foote. This was the weekly poetry project for May 31st, 2009.

2Satires and Profanities

By George William Foote and James Thomson

"Believing as I do that James Thomson is, since Shelley, the most brilliant genius who has wielded a pen in the service of Freethought, I take a natural pride and pleasure in rescuing the following articles from burial in the great mausoleum of the periodical press. There will doubtless be a diversity of opinion as to their value. One critic, for instance, has called “The Story of a Famous Old Jewish Firm” a witless squib; but, on the other hand, the late Professor Clifford considered it a piece of exquisite mordant satire worthy of Swift. Such differences are inevitable from the very nature of the subject. Satire, more than any other form of composition, rouses antipathy where it does not command applause; and the greater the satire, the more intense are the feelings it excites." (G. W. Foote in his Preface)

3In Exile and Other Stories

By Mary Hallock Foote

Six short stories by Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), an American author and illustrator. She is best known for her illustrated short stories and novels portraying life in the mining communities of the turn-of-the-century American West. She is famous for her stories of place, in which she portrayed the rough, picturesque life she experienced and observed in the old West, especially that in the early mining towns. She wrote several novels, and illustrated stories and novels by other authors for various publishers. She died at age 90. Her legacy in American history is as a stalwart of the American Old West and a teller of its stories. Her work—the numerous stories for books and periodicals, with her drawings and woodcut illustrations; the correspondence from western outposts; her novels and nonfiction—gained her notice as a skilled observer of the frontier and an accomplished writer. (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)

4Touch of the Sun and Other Stories

By Mary Hallock Foote

Four short stories by Mary Hallock Foote (1847–1938), an American author and illustrator. She is best known for her illustrated short stories and novels portraying life in the mining communities of the turn-of-the-century American West. She is famous for her stories of place, in which she portrayed the rough, picturesque life she experienced and observed in the old West, especially that in the early mining towns. She wrote several novels, and illustrated stories and novels by other authors for various publishers. She died at age 90. Her legacy in American history is as a stalwart of the American Old West and a teller of its stories. Her work—the numerous stories for books and periodicals, with her drawings and woodcut illustrations; the correspondence from western outposts; her novels and nonfiction—gained her notice as a skilled observer of the frontier (Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales)

George William Foote, a British secularist, was convicted and imprisoned on the charge of blasphemy after founding "The Freethinker", a magazine that, despite the best efforts of the 19th Century British judicial system, is still going strong. "Prisoner for Blasphemy" is a memoir of his several trials and final imprisonment in Holloway Gaol. Although Foote's was the last prominent blasphemy case in England, his hope that the blasphemy law would soon be abolished was not to be realised until almost a century after his death, in 2008. (Summary by RobBoard)

6Flowers of Freethought (First Series)

By George William Foote

A collection of 51 short essays by George William Foote, who in May 1881 founded the magazine "The Freethinker", which is still published (online) today. In the first issue, Foote writes: <em>The Freethinker is an anti-Christian organ, and must therefore be chiefly aggressive. It will wage relentless war against superstition in general, and against Christian superstition in particular.</em><br><br> The essays of this collection were previously published in "The Freethinker" over more than 10 years, and detail Foote's views on religion and Christianity. He writes about as diverse topics as specific stories from the Bible, the devil, blasphemy and heretics, miracles, the weather, and the view of Christianity on women. What unites these essays is Foote's conviction that atheism is the logical and natural position with respect to religion and gods. (Summary by Ava)

7Flowers of Freethought (Second Series)

By George William Foote

<em>The Freethinker</em>, founded in 1881 was one of the first secular humanist magazines, and also one of the oldest surviving one, moving online only in 2014. It was founded by G. W. Foote, who was its chief editor for 34 years and stated the magazine's purpose as <br> <em>The Freethinker is an anti-Christian organ, and must therefore be chiefly aggressive. It will wage relentless war against superstition in general, and against Christian superstition in particular. It will do its best to employ the resources of Science, Scholarship, Philosophy and Ethics against the claims of the Bible as a Divine Revelation; and it will not scruple to employ for the same purpose any weapons of ridicule or sarcasm that may be borrowed from the armoury of Common Sense.</em><br> Flowers of Freethought is a collection of Foote's articles for the Freethinker; this second series contains 55 of them. (Summary by Ava)

A collection of adult stories - sad, humorous, and adventurous - about Man's Best Friend. <b>NOTE</b>: Some of these selections contain violence and racial stereotypes that will be objectionable to some listeners. - Summary by TriciaG

9Arrows of Freethought

By George William Foote

In these 21 short essays, George William Foote shoots "Arrows of Freethought" in which he lays down his views on atheism, secularism, and freethought. He talks about religion and progress, explains the gospel of freethought and how literature deals with freethought. He gives a defence of Thomas Paine and explains the views of his contemporaries on atheism. Foote is known as the founder of "The Freethinker", a secular humanist magazine that started in 1881 and still exists today. (Summary by Ava)