eBooks we're working on

[nrapallo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

All my Dickens books have cover images, to the best of my knowledge. Which ones do you believe they are missing from? You've got me a bit worried now . The last batch of revisions were the books which had been created from text files incorrectly, with paragraph breaks in the wrong place. All the books were already (as far as I'm aware) in "proper" MobiPocket format with cover images.

No, just those first 9 .imp conversations I did in mid March 2008 do not include the cover image (my choice back then); your .prc versions all have cover images.

[HarryT]

Thanks for clarifying that, Nick!

[HarryT]

Recreated the former two-volume version as a single volume, with improved layout and formatting. Uploaded for Sony and MobiPocket.

The complete works of Plato, in a single (very large!) volume.

Plato (approx. 424 BC - 348 BC) was a student of Socrates and, in turn, Aristotle was a student of his. These three philosophers can rightly to be said to have laid the cornerstones of western philosophy, and to have asked many of the fundamental questions that philosophers today are still seeking the answers to.

Plato was not only a great philosopher, but a great author, and his works (especially the early works) can be enjoyed as literature even by those with no interest in philosophy.

Plato's works are conventionally divided into three broad categories: early, middle, and late, although there is considerable disagreement about precisely which works should go into which category. They cover more than 50 years of his writings, and form the basis of the teachings at, the "Academy", the philosophical school which he founded in Athens.

Plato's early works mainly reflect the teachings of his teacher, Socrates, and are almost all in the form of Socratic Dialogues, in which Socrates asks somebody what appears at first glance to be a straightforward question, such as "what is beauty?" or "can virtue be taught?". The person gives an answer, but Socrates, by asking further questions, shows that the person really doesn't know the answer after all. The key feature of the early works is that they never give "the answer" - their purpose is to make the reader think for himself and come to his own conclusions about the subject being asked. These dialogues are beautifully portrayed "dramas" in their own right, and often feature real historical figures. They probably give a reasonably accurate picture of what Socrates (who left no writings of his own) was really like (an astonishingly irritating man to try to have a conversation with!). Several of these works are attacks on the "sophists" - professional teachers of rhetoric who made a living by teaching aristocratic young men who wanted to learn the art of public speaking (an extremely important skill in Athens). Socrates considered the sophists to be completely "amoral" because they taught how to argue anything from both sides, without reference to which was "right" or "wrong".

In the "middle" dialogues, Plato's Socrates actually begins supplying answers to some of the questions he asks, or putting forth positive doctrines. This is generally seen as the first appearance of Plato's own views. What becomes most prominent in the middle dialogues is the idea that knowledge comes of grasping unchanging forms or essences, paired with the attempts to investigate such essences. The immortality of the soul, and specific doctrines about justice, truth, and beauty, begin appearing here. The Symposium and the Republic are considered the centrepieces of Plato's middle period.

In the "late" dialogues, Plato looks more at the "big picture" - how was the world created; what are the ideal characteristics of the good ruler; what laws should the state have, etc. These are difficult and challenging philosophical works, and represent Plato's mature thoughts on the subjects raised in his earlier works. These are not, it must be said, anything like as enjoyable to read as his early works.

The works contained in this book are:

Early works:

Apology
Crito
Charmides
Euthyphro
First Alcibiades (*)
Greater Hippias (*)
Lesser Hippias
Ion
Laches
Lysis

Middle works:

Cratylus
Euthydemus
Gorgias
Menexenus (*)
Meno
Phaedo
Protagoras
Symposium
Republic
Phaedrus
Parmenides
Theaetetus

Late works:

Timaeus
Critias
Sophist
Statesman
Philebus
Laws

Pseudonymous works (traditionally attributed to Plato, but considered by virtually all modern authorities not to have been written by him):

Epinomis
Second Alcibiades
Hipparcus
Rival Lovers
Theages
Cleitophon
Minos
Demoducus
Axiochus
On Justice
On Virtue
Sisyphus
Eryxias
Halcyon
Letters

(*) The authorship of these works is disputed by some authorities.

There are also a number of essays relating to various aspects of Plato's works.

These are mainly the late 19th century translations of Benjamin Jowett. Each dialog has an introductory essay by Jowett discussing the issues raised in it; these are fascinating to read.

Enjoy!

[Patricia]

On Sunday afternoon BBC Radio 4 are starting a dramatisation of Robert Tressell's 'The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists.'
This has inspired me to convert the book.
It is a quarter of a million words long, and is taking a bit of time to format properly. I hope to finish it sometime tomorrow or on Sunday morning.

[Patricia]

- Now uploaded.

[HarryT]

Recreated the "Queen's Own FBI Trilogy" both to improve the layout and formatting, and to take advantage of improved versions of the source file on PG. This is an excellent trilogy - well worth reading if you've not previously done so.

Description from FictionWise:

The Legendary Hugo Nominee SF Trilogy in One Volume! All the FBI needed to save America was a telepath. Then agent Kenneth Malone found one. Only she was crazy and thought she was Queen Elizabeth I. To get that sweet little old lady's help he and the FBI would have to dress up in 16th century court costumes and pretend to be her nobles. Malone need her help again when teen age gang members can escape police and payment for their crimes by teleporting away and vanishing--appearing to simply wink out like a light. Finally Malone and the FBI must adopt their 16th century guise again when they enlist that sweet little old lady again to help find the psionic with the negative energy field whose every thought is an occasion for disaster. This classic trilogy is filled with flights of daring imagination and laughter. Written as by Mark Phillips, this was a triple AnLab Poll winner when it appeared in Astounding/Analog as That Sweet Little Old Lady, Out Like a Light, and Occasion for Disaster.

[Elsi]

I'm working on the Bobbsey Twins books. Only the first 15 books in the series are in the public domain; 13 of the 15 are available at Project Gutenberg.

1. The Bobbsey Twins, or Merry Days Indoors and Out, 1904
2. The Bobbsey Twins in the Country, 1907
3. The Bobbsey Twins at the Seashore, 1907
4. The Bobbsey Twins at School, 1913
5. The Bobbsey Twins at Snow Lodge, 1913
6. The Bobbsey Twins on a Houseboat, 1915
7. The Bobbsey Twins at Meadow Brook, 1915
8. The Bobbsey Twins at Home, 1916
9. The Bobbsey Twins in a Great City, 1917
10. The Bobbsey Twins on Blueberry Island, 1917
11. The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea*, 1918
12. The Bobbsey Twins in Washington, 1919
13. The Bobbsey Twins in the Great West, 1920
14. The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp**, 1921
15. The Bobbsey Twins at the County Fair, 1922

* The Bobbsey Twins on the Deep Blue Sea -- not on Project Gutenberg, but found at books.google.com
** The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp -- not on Project Gutenberg; still looking for a copy.

I'll get the versions from Project Gutenberg converted to the various eBook formats first, then work on a transcription of the Deep Blue Sea episode.

EDIT: I successfully bought a copy of The Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp from somone on eBay. I guess I'll be figuring out how to scan and OCR a book.

[RWood]

I dug out the old files I had on Mencken's The American Language and I still need to finish the scans. The book is in three sections: main text, appendixes, and bibliography. There is also an extensive index that I am not converting. There are extensive footnotes throughout the book.

Of course the main text is included and the appendixes are worthwhile to (I feel) a critical part of the book. While the bibliography is very dated (most references are over 100 years old) I believe that they are critical to providing a complete book. It may be a while before it is posted as I still have to scan some parts, OCR a bit, and proof a lot. Since there are extensive footnotes I will link them.

There are extensive tables in the book that are a major problem in BookDesigner so I am making this book in html with calbrie in mind. It will also be my first trek into the wilds of Mobi creation tools outside of BD.

[vivaldirules]

Books I wish I was working on. I'd even be willing to scan and OCR (that's a verb, you know) them.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

Books I wish I was working on. I'd even be willing to scan and OCR (that's a verb, you know) them.

""Text I" of Seven Pillars of Wisdom - a 250,000 word manuscript by T. E. Lawrence lost at Reading railway station in December 1919."

I'm sure he saw the funny side.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by Sparrow

""Text I" of Seven Pillars of Wisdom - a 250,000 word manuscript by T. E. Lawrence lost at Reading railway station in December 1919."

I'm sure he saw the funny side.

However, the second version can be found here.

[vivaldirules]

I posted Vol. 52 of the Harvard Classics, the 15 min. a day reading guide, and then discovered that the links in the TOC of the LRF version didn't work. This has happened to me a lot and I think I have finally discovered the cause: BD appears to need a blank line between a page break and any title which is a "note" (e.g., a chapter title which is the target location of a link from the TOC). If that blank line does not exist, then the TOC in LRF file that BD produces won't work (even though the PRC file will work just fine). One frustration with BD finally solved. Anyway, I have just posted a repaired copy of the LRF file of Vol. 52.

By the way, I have received Karma and thank you's for this post but I have to say it was absolutely trivial compared to the incredibly massive effort that it must have taken RWood to do the other 51 volumes. I still bow in great admiration and thanks for that effort, sir!

[zelda_pinwheel]

i am working on Cervantes' Don Quixote (illustrated). hopefully in english and in french (not in the same volume though, my god, that thing is long enough in one language). it's going to take me a while.

[RWood]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

i am working on Cervantes' Don Quixote (illustrated). hopefully in english and in french (not in the same volume though, my god, that thing is long enough in one language). it's going to take me a while.

Don Quixote in English has already been posted as Volume 14 of the Harvard Classics. It was not; however, the illustrated version. I look forward to your version.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RWood

Don Quixote in English has already been posted as Volume 14 of the Harvard Classics. It was not; however, the illustrated version. I look forward to your version.

ah good to know... i guess it's ok if i don't finish it tomorrow then