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Franklin wrote his autobiography in the form of an extended letter to his son. While recording the events of his life, he adds instructions for good living which makes this work America’s first “How to Succeed” book. Edited by Frank Woodworth Pine (1869-1919).

"The expedition of Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, for exploring the river Missouri, and the best communication from that to the Pacific Ocean, has had all the success which could be expected. They have traced the Missouri nearly to its source; descended the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, ascertained with accuracy the Geography, of that interesting communication across the continent; learned the character of the country, its commerce and inhabitants; and it is but justice to say that Messrs. Lewis and Clarke, and their brave companions, have, by this arduous service, deserved well of their country." This volume is the 1840...

Our Founding Fathers left us many wonderful works with which to learn more about their lives and beliefs, many of which are in the form of a multitude of letters written to other people or specific-topic-based works. Perhaps the best well-known topic-based work of the Founders is the Federalist Papers, produced by three Founders over the course of some months. Benjamin Rush did something different though, producing a short autobiography about his own life. I do believe there are others who had autobiographies as well but I think they were exceedingly rare among the Founding generation. I suspect very few...

I'm looking for a service or app that will take a book in text form and make an audiobook of it. I know there are some quality voice generators now days. I'm just looking for one that is legit and not too expensive. I reread a large number of books I loved from years ago but many aren't in audio format. More are getting converted all the time but I'd use a good app for some others if it had good feedback.

Today I would like to highlight the release of a book written by Charles A. Goodrich: Great Events in the History of North and South America https://librivox.org/great-events-in-the-history-of-north-and-south-america-by-charles-goodrich/This book ought to be highly useful for home schoolers, it is nearly 90 sections of audio covering a much more generalized education than a deep-dive into one single person or historical event. Many of the audio sections are short in length in the 5-10 minute range, and while the book mentions both North America and South America, 75%~ of the book is North America and almost half of it is the American Revolution...

What an important release this one is. Today, Benson Lossing's "Biographical Sketches of the Signers of the Declaration of American Independence" is ready for a listen. This book has some really important sections in it which are not biographies at all, but a 1-by-1 explanation of what each grievance in the Declaration is in reference to. That makes this audio book surely one of a kind in that regard. As for the biographies, most as audio are inbetween 5 to 10 minutes, giving a brief overview of all of these wonderful people. Some Founding Fathers never received a major biographical...

I feel like we're actually leading a sort of a revival here. There comes a time when a vision is seen, and then only later on can that vision be shown to others because it has materialized in some meaningful way. Today I'm very happy to announce that Lorenzo Sears' biography of Founding Father John Hancock has been released for general use! John Hancock: The Picturesque PatriotNow be honest, how many of you actually know much at all about John Hancock, other than that he's that one guy who lived somewhere in a northern state and his autograph on the...

Recently I discovered totally by accident that Robert's Rules of Order was completed at LibriVox. I know many of you will appreciate having this alternate way of accessing this material. Here's the summary: "Originally written in 1876 by Major Henry M. Robert of the US Army Corps of Engineers, Robert's Rules of Order is the most widely used authority in the United States today for "parliamentary law, based...upon the rules and practice of Congress" for "organizing and conducting the business of societies, conventions, and other deliberative assemblies.""Enjoy! https://librivox.org/roberts-rules-of-order-by-henry-m-robert/#

Some people don't like it when I'm activist. But if I was just sitting around and only complaining, how would things like this get completed? Today, a "big fish" has arrived. For many, Patrick Henry is the GOAT. All I can say is please download and please share. This work is free to access, it is open source in the public domain. Patrick Henry; life, correspondence and speeches

Ludwig von Mises is a man who needs no introduction, with ideas that need no introduction. Today I'm happy to point out that The Ultimate Foundation of Economic Science is now ready to go as a freely downloadable open source audio book. If you're a fan of either classical economics or Friedrich Hayek, an author we recently released for, then Mises is right up your alley.

Today I am happy to highlight that William Cabell Bruce's work Benjamin Franklin: Self-Revealed (v1) has been completed. https://librivox.org/benjamin-franklin-self-revealed-vol1-wc-bruce/This is an example of good things that just drop into your lap. Many moons ago I asked people "Which Founding Father is the most popular who isn't George Washington, isn't Benamin Franklin, isn't Thomas Jefferson, and isn't George Washington?", because in part this small handful of Founders is going to naturally have coverage. These are the Founders that the school systems cannot cover up. So from that standpoint these books are just going to get done anyways. There's no reason to...

Hauling in a big fish here folks. Today, the audiobook release has been completed for Friedrich Hayek's intellectual essay The Use of Knowledge in Society, which can be downloaded here: https://librivox.org/the-use-of-knowledge-in-society-by-friedrich-hayek/I have a lot of goals I wish to accomplish, but seeing the completion of this Hayek book as well as the Mises book that should be done soon, brings our Librivox books into view of a much more diverse crowd of consumers and that has a lot of value. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Use_of_Knowledge_in_SocietyI am so happy and excited that this has been completed and is now available, I can't wait to go...

We have an amendment, the Second Amendment, because in part when the colonists had no say in how their own societies should be run and what they wanted most was self-government, Britain though it a good idea to confiscate. Mostly the confiscation centered around gunpowder, but there were along with it plots and schemes to take away actual weapons such as guns and cannons. Today we have the story of The Capture of Fort William and Mary, which details a unique and fun chapter in pre-U.S. history in which the colonists said we are going to disarm you before you...

In life, sometimes things just drop into your lap. This is one of those times. Today I am very happy to announce the full release of Major General Ethan Allen's work A Narrative of Colonel Ethan Allen's CaptivityWhat is cool about this is that it is a solo work, meaning it is IMHO higher quality and easier to follow. Moreover, most of my personal efforts to try to recruit others have admittedly been a failure. But this one, it was just some random person who I don't have any association with saw it and recorded it. From my view, its...

The Life of Frederick William Von Steuben: Major General in the Revolutionary Army - tells the story of Baron Steuben, who had been an officer in the Prussian army. Considered one of the fathers of the United States Army, he had a leading role in improving the Continental Army during the American Revolution and turning them into a professional fighting force. https://librivox.org/the-life-of-frederick-william-von-steuben-by-friedrich-kapp/

Today, with great enthusiasm I can let everybody know that the audiobook recording for America's Retreat from Victory; The Story of George Catlett Marshall, by Senator Joseph McCarthy, (as of yesterday) has been completed! It is high quality, great care was put into its creation, and since this is a free and open source item I would encourage all to give this to as many people as you can think of. If you have X/Twitter, Facebook, email, snail mail, whatever you have. Make sure you give it to others. What astounds me is how quickly this was strong-armed to completion....

I happened to notice that a biography of Benjamin Franklin was produced and published at Librivox. Thought you all might enjoy this. Benjamin Franklin, Robin McKown (1907 - 1975)This biography of Franklin was written for young people, but can be enjoyed by anyone. The author Robin McKown, is known for her young adult historical fiction and historical biographies. - Summary by Ciufi GaleazziThis audiobook is a solo, which means it is of a much higher quality than group books and yes, this reader did a fantastic job. However, it's free and open source so I would encourage you to give...

This is the first volume of Thomas Jefferson's public and private writings edited and compiled by his oldest grandson Thomas Jefferson Randolph and published three years after the president's death. There are a total of four volumes in Randolph's set. Summary by Joel Kindrick.

Departing from the usual third person narratives of biographies, this account is told in the first person as the reminiscences of a now retired George Washington. Reflecting on his days as a youth, he relates his family history, education, and military life up to the age of about 26 when he was a colonel. Naturally the author takes much liberty in filling in the details of Washington’s life, but largely remains true to history and the spirit of the man. The result is an engaging story that flows naturally, entertaining as it informs.

In 1864, Robert Dale Owen (A congressman from Indiana) published the book "The Wrong of Slavery, the Right of Emancipation, and the Future of the African Race in the United States", which traces the beginning of slavery from its roots in the British Empire(with in-depth statistics) up through the colonies and the days just prior to the Civil War. The audio can be downloaded from here.(text here) This audio is free and open source in the public domain. I have a lot to say about this book, and I want to warn everybody that this book is not what it...