Audio Books

Little Wars (A Game for Boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books) With an Appendix on Kriegspiel

Wells, H. G.
Miniature wargaming got its start with the publication in 1913 of this thoroughly entertaining little account of how H.G. Wells, with certain of his friends, took their childhood toys and turned play into acceptable middle-aged sport by subjecting the exercise to the civilizing influence of actual rules.
While wargaming progressed far past these beginnings, Wells observes how "little wars" with even his elementary rules can suggest the wholesale crudity of the real thing.
"You have only to play at Little Wars three or four times to realise just what a blundering thing Great War must be. Great War is at present, I am convinced, not only the most expensive game in the universe, but it is a game out of all proportion. Not only are the masses of men and material and suffering and inconvenience too monstrously big for reason, but--the available heads we have for it, are too small. That, I think, is the most pacific realisation conceivable, and Little War brings you to it as nothing else but Great War can do."
Wells leaves almost hanging the tantalizing concept that we might someday simulate war, as an instrument of international decision-making, rather than practice actual combat.
But most of this book is just the fun of evicting the boys from the playroom and spending happy days there, away from the "skirt-swishers", developing the framework under which two gentlemen might meet and accumulate boastable victories!

How to Camp Out

John Mead Gould
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."

Floor Games

Wells, H. G.
H.G. Wells had so much fun playing with his children on the floor of their playroom, he decided to write a jovial little book to inspire other parents in their pursuit of quality time with the kids. While the raw materials available from hobby stores of his day were woefully short of the variety and quality of what can be bought easily now, he and his sons created their own worlds to rule. This short work describes two games of imagination played out upon the floor of his home - an archipelago of islands, and a thoroughly integrated city, conveniently organized with two mayoral positions for his sons “G.P.W.” and “F.R.W.” While the toy people appearing in their worlds were often of martial nature, Wells decided to leave decription of military games to a later book: “Little Wars.”

Ascent of Denali

Hudson Stuck
The story of the First Ascent of Denali by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper and Robert Tatum in 1913, recorded in celebration of the restoration of the mountain's original name. ( summary by Fritz)

Amid the High Hills

Sir Hugh Fraser
A regular contributor to magazines and periodicals on outdoor pursuits, in this work, Fraser discusses salmon fishing, deer stalking, fauna in the forest, high hills and more.

Pitching in a Pinch

Christy Mathewson
In this book Mathewson is telling the reader of the game as it is played in the Big Leagues.... It’s as good as his pitching and some exciting things have happened in the Big Leagues, stories that never found their way into the newspapers. Matty has told them. This is a true tale of Big Leaguers, their habits and their methods of playing the game, written by one of them.

Boy Scouts Handbook

Boy Scouts of America
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.

Compleat Angler

Izaak Walton
The Compleat Angler is a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse. Walton did not profess to be an expert with the fly, but in the use of the live worm, the grasshopper and the frog "Piscator" could speak as a master. There were originally only two interlocutors in the opening scene, "Piscator" and "Viator"; but in the second edition, as if in answer to an objection that "Piscator" had it too much in his own way in praise of angling, he introduced the falconer, "Auceps," changed "Viator" into "Venator" and made the new companions each dilate on the joys of his favourite sport.

Football Days: Memories of the Game and of the Men behind the Ball

Edwards, William Hanford
A book reminiscent of the days when football was gaining popularity in America by MHAIJH85

American Big-Game Hunting

George S. Anderson
The first book published by The Boone and Crockett Club founded by Theodore Roosevelt and George Grinnell, who declared in their Editors Note: "Hunting big game in the wilderness is, above all things, a sport for a vigorous and masterful people. The rifle-bearing hunter, whether he goes on foot or on horseback, whether he voyages in a canoe or travels with a dog-sled, must be sound of body and firm of mind, and must possess energy, resolution, manliness, self-reliance, and capacity for hardy self-help. In short, the big-game hunter must possess qualities without which no race can do its life-work well; and these are the very qualities which it is the purpose of this Club, so far as may be, to develop and foster."

A bit outdated as to the equipment they used, this book is nevertheless an intense look at the west in early days, and at the beginnings of the conservationist movement in America. Each chapter focuses on a different animal, from buffalo, mountain goat, elk, pronghorn sheep, grizzlies, etc., indigenous peoples, different areas like the Rockies and Yellowstone, and it still captures the essence of the spirit of the hunt.

The book ends with a list of the club's original 100 members, a veritable Who's Who of Generals, Colonels, Doctors, Senators and Representatives, amongst them that most illustrious Gen'l William T. Sherman. ( ~ Michele Fry, read by LibriVox Volunteers)

Association Football and How to Play It

John Cameron
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.

Diversions in Sicily

Jones, Henry Festing
Samuel Butler's biographer dedicates his urbane account of the culture and entertainments of rural Sicily to the unborn son of his guide to them.

Games for Hallow-e'en

Mary E. Blain
This charming book starts with a brief history of Hallowe'en. There are sample invitations for a Halloween (or Hallowe'en) party, decorations, and then many party games. A number of them have to do with who your future mate might be, although there are games and activities for younger children as well. All games seem to utilize common household objects, like sewing needles, pencils and paper, apples, and pumpkins. There is also a long list of riddles!

Base-Ball: How to Become a Player

John Montgomery Ward
Base-Ball: How to Become a Player is a brief history of the game of baseball, with an explanation of the rules and positions. During the audio, reference is made to the "cuts" -- pictures of players, the baseball field, and balls.

Greek Athletics

Frederick Adam Wright
The history of Greek athletics as it pertains to the Olympics. Describes various activities such as boxing, wrestling, etc. and accounts from witnesses, the Iliad, etc. as they pertain to famous Greeks and events. He discusses Greek views of physical appearance and fitness as they pertain to the games and society and also how and why individual city-states chose to participate (or not) in the Olympics.

English Audio Books

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