George Washington Sears, who many know better by his pen name "Nessmuk", was an outdoor writer during the last half of the 19th century, writing most often for the magazine "Field and Forest", the predecessor of today's "Field and Stream". "Woodcraft" is his book for "outers" with his tips on how to "smooth it" rather than rough it in the woods. Although some of his methods, equipment and mores may be out of date or objectionable to modern readers, his stories of true wilderness travel tinged with his subtle humor still have messages for those venturing out of doors. His small stature and compromised health made him a proponent of lightweight backpacking and canoe travel with only essential gear, a lesson still relevant today. There is a reason why "Woodcraft" and the slightly abridged, "Woodcraft and Camping", have been continuously in print since its original publication. - Summary by Fritz
10 episodes
An overview of the positions, tactics, and history of association football written by one of the game's early stars. John Cameron was a most interesting figure who played for both Everton and Tottenham, was a P.O.W. during the First World War and a mighty contributor to the organization of football among his fellow prisoners, and made his living as a journalist in later life. - Summary by Ben Adams
7 episodes
A miscellany of poetry and short works of fact and fiction on the topic of sports from North America, Great Britain and Australasia. The collection includes pieces on baseball, cricket, lacrosse, cycling, athletics, fishing, polo, fencing, marbles and three kinds of football, by authors including Arnold Bennett, Zane Grey, Banjo Paterson, and P. G. Wodehouse. (Summary by Phil Benson)
20 episodes
The Boy Scouts of America was founded over a hundred years ago to serve the young men of the United States of America and give them the same oppurtunities that Boy Scouts all over the world were receiving. Modeled after Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys, the Boy Scouts Handbook of the Boy Scouts of America gave the original american Boy Scouts a taste of adventure, excitement, and values for them to use for the rest of their life, and is still good reading for the modern age.
This is the first edition, published in 1911. - Summary by Kangaroo692
49 episodes
Guides to the Belle Vue Zoological Gardens from the Chetham's Library Virtual Belle Vue Collection. The Belle Vue gardens opened in 1836 as a place of genteel entertainment for the middle classes of industrial Manchester, but soon became one the most popular attractions in the north of England. The 1891 guide details the animals on view and the features of the amusement park. The 1917 guide notes the addition of new snake and ape houses, attractions such as Laughterland and a Figure of 8 Toboggan, and the Kings Hall, which hosted major concerts and sporting events through to the 1970s. The addition of a car park to the stabling for visitors who arrived with their own horse and carriage marked the passing of the years, yet the price of a cup of tea remained the same. Evening entertainments, featuring tableaux and firework displays against the backdrop of a painting erected on a 60 by 100 foot frame on the Picture Lake, were a popular feature. In the 1890s these entertainments documented military exploits from the heyday of British imperialism. In 1917 war was closer at hand. The evening entertainment of that year, commemorating the tank battle of the Ancre, was evidently a sombre affair that reflected the uncertainties of popular entertainment in the final years of the 1914-18 war. (Phil Benson)
4 episodes
Advice on camp gear, clothing, cooking, hiking, and other topics. Much of the book remains good and sensible advice today, but modern readers may be amused by Maj. Gould's few remarks on ladies, who "must be cared for more tenderly than men." - Summary by Sarah Jennings
14 episodes
"In this little book, the writer, looking back to his own days of inexperience in cycling, has endeavored to furnish some useful information and advice to those who intend joining the army of wheelmen, or who, in their first season on the road, are beginning to appreciate the healthy pleasure which cycling brings. The book [is] especially intended to aid the amateur rider of the safety bicycle in the intelligent use of his wheel. Further, the writer has attempted, perhaps too emphatically as some may think, to commend the merits of bicycling as a means towards innocent enjoyment and healthy living." Written in 1895, one year before Henry Ford invented his first "quadricycle", this book presents an idyllic picture of cycling before the era of cars. (Summary modified from the preface)
9 episodes
