Audiobook: Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 081

“There has always been a tendency on the part of men of brains to look with contempt on women’s work in the arts.” Screenwriter and novelist Anita Loos’ acerbic opinion is part of “Women in Film Speak Their Minds (1925).” Ida Tarbell’s “Women as Inventors” showcases female accomplishment. Vol. 081 contains commentary on a variety of human concerns: fame (The Approaching Epidemic); scandal (The Reynolds Pamphlet); religion (Infant Baptism; Christianity and Culture; John Huss; Hussites); education (Flourishing Mediocrity); entrepreneurship (The Telephone: Building the Business and Patent Disputes); patriotism (Our Union and Its Defenders); and books (Melville’s Whale; Old-Time Librarians). Technical ingenuity is highlighted in “Pompeian Surgical Instruments” and “Submarines.” Local history is the subject of “The French and British at Three Rivers.” Two readings about seagulls focus on the natural world. Finally, “Coffee, Tea & Cocoa Recipes” brings quiet comfort to the weary. Summary by Sue Anderson Women in Film Speak Their Minds (1925) is a compilation of remarks on “the feminine mind in picture making” by nine 1920’s female screenwriters, script builders, and title writers: Mary Pickford, Jane Murfin, Marion Fairfax, Anita Loos, Clara Beranger, Josephine Lovett Robertson, Eve Unsell, June Mathis, and Leah Baird.