Jacob Abbott

ALEXANDER THE GREAT died when he was quite young. He was but thirty-two years of age, when he ended his career, and as he was about twenty, when he commenced it, it was only for a period of twelve-years that he was actually engaged in performing the work of his life. Napoleon was nearly three times as long on the great field of human action. Notwithstanding the briefness of Alexander's career, he ran through, during that short period, a very brilliant...

Abbott was born at Hallowell, Maine to Jacob and Betsey Abbott. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1820; He was a prolific author, writing juvenile fiction, brief histories, biographies, religious books for the general reader, and a few works in popular science. He died in Farmington, Maine, where he had spent part of his time after 1839, and where his brother, Samuel Phillips Abbott, founded the Abbott School. This book serves as an excellent introduction...

Some men are renowned in history on account of the extraordinary powers and capacities which they exhibited in the course of their career, or the intrinsic greatness of the deeds which they performed. Others, without having really achieved any thing in itself very great or wonderful, have become widely known to mankind by reason of the vast consequences which, in the subsequent course of events, resulted from their doings. Men of this latter class...

Cleopatra is probably one of the most well-known women in history, right alongside Joan of Arc and many other prominent ladies who have changed the face of history as we know it. The lesser known details of her reign, as well as her methods of seduction, philosophies and involvement in world politics, however, are seldom discussed at length. Jacob Abbott's Cleopatra is probably one of the few books that truly discusses these matters in great detail,...

In the pages of ancient history, one name stands tall among the Persian rulers, revered for his wisdom, vision, and legacy of grandeur-Darius the Great. Born into humble beginnings around 550 BCE, Darius ascended to become one of history's most influential leaders, shaping an empire that echoed his greatness for centuries to come. Darius' journey to power was a testament to his intellect and resilience. Rising from a noble background rather than...

PYRRHUS, King of Epirus, entered at the very beginning of his life upon the extraordinary series of romantic adventures, which so strikingly marked his career. He became an exile and a fugitive from his father's house when he was only two years old, having been suddenly borne away at that period by the attendants of the household, to avoid a most imminent personal danger that threatened him. The circumstances which gave occasion for this extraordinary...

Margaret of Anjou was a formidable 15th century queen who played a pivotal role in the War of the Roses, the decades-long power struggle between the houses of Lancaster and York for the English crown. Born in Lorraine in 1430, Margaret married King Henry VI of England at the age of 15. The match was politically arranged by the English, who hoped Margaret would provide strong leadership that the mentally fragile Henry VI lacked. As queen, Margaret...

If you want to learn about one of history's greatest military commanders and uncover some of his secrets of drive-drive that enabled him and his small army to first subdue all of Greece and then the mighty Persian Empire, then you want to read this book. Some people like to think that geniuses are so inherently extraordinary that they navigate their journeys with clairvoyant ease. This simply isn’t true. Greatness does not come lightly. It requires...

ABOUT five or six hundred years before Christ, almost the whole of the interior of Asia was united in one vast empire. The founder of this empire was Cyrus the Great. He was originally a Persian, and the whole empire is often called the Persian monarchy, taking its name from its founder's native land. Cyrus was not contented with having annexed to his dominion all the civilized states of Asia. In the latter part of his life, he conceived the idea...

Be transported back to ancient Rome and the turbulent rule of Emperor Nero in this gripping biography by Jacob Abbott. Though now infamous for corruption and excess, Nero's life was complex-and shaped by fortune as much as vice. Follow Nero's path from powerless youth to the peak of unlimited authority as Rome's supreme leader. Abbott charts Nero's unlikely rise, culminating with the emperor's broken promises to the Roman people. Though best known...