Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using the Modern History Library website (the “Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you do not agree, do not use the Service. We may revise these terms from time to time; continued use after changes constitutes acceptance. It is your responsibility to review this page periodically for updates.
Use of the Service
The Service provides access to a curated catalogue of restored classic novels, historical texts, and related editorial content. You may browse, read, and download ebooks for personal, non-commercial, educational, or research purposes. Any other use, including commercial redistribution, systematic downloading, or public display of substantial portions, requires our prior written permission. For clarity, “personal use” includes reading on personal devices, printing a copy for your own reference, and sharing occasional excerpts in scholarly or critical contexts, provided such use does not substitute for the original work.
Prohibited Conduct
You agree not to:
- Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable law.
- Attempt to interfere with, disrupt, or impair the Service, including by introducing malware, overloading servers, or engaging in denial-of-service attacks.
- Use automated tools (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to extract content, metadata, or user data without our express written consent. This prohibition does not apply to standard search engine indexing that respects our robots.txt file.
- Access or attempt to access any non-public area of the Service, or circumvent any access control measures.
- Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
Content and Copyright
The ebooks in our catalogue are primarily works that are believed to be in the public domain in many jurisdictions. However, copyright laws vary by country. You are solely responsible for verifying the legal status of any work in your jurisdiction before downloading or using it. Some texts may include editorial notes, introductions, or supplementary material that we have created or licensed; those elements are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced without permission. For example, our reading companions for works such as Reminiscences of an army nurse during the Civil War or Lawrence and the Arabs are original editorial contributions.
The editorial content—including reading guides, background essays, and commentary—is our original work and is protected by copyright. You may quote brief excerpts for non-commercial purposes with attribution to Modern History Library. Where we have included public domain images or other third-party materials, those are used in accordance with applicable licenses; you should verify their status separately if you intend to reuse them.
User Responsibility
You are responsible for your use of the Service and for any content you submit, if any. You represent that you have the legal right to use any content you contribute, and you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to display and distribute such content as part of the Service. We reserve the right to remove or modify user-contributed content at our discretion, but we are under no obligation to monitor submissions.
Third-Party Links
The Service may contain links to external websites or resources. We do not endorse and are not responsible for the content, privacy practices, or availability of those sites. You access them at your own risk. We encourage you to review the terms and privacy policies of any third-party sites you visit.
Availability and Modifications
We strive to keep the Service accessible, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We may suspend, modify, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time without notice. We may also restrict access to certain features or to all users if necessary. For instance, during maintenance or in response to legal or security concerns, access may be temporarily limited.
Disclaimer of Warranties
THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR ACCURACY. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE CONTENT IS COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE, OR ERROR-FREE. While we take care in restoring and presenting these texts, historical works may contain outdated language, biases, or factual inaccuracies that we do not endorse.
Limitation of Liability
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL MODERN HISTORY LIBRARY OR ITS EDITORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, OR USE, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. This limitation applies even if a remedy fails of its essential purpose.
Suspension and Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service if you violate these terms or engage in abusive behavior. We may also block access from specific IP addresses or regions if necessary to protect the Service. Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately, but provisions regarding disclaimers and limitations of liability shall survive.
Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms of Use at any time. Changes will be posted on this page. Your continued use of the Service after any changes indicates your acceptance of the new terms. We encourage you to review this page regularly.
Severability
If any provision of these terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be replaced with a valid one that most closely matches the original intent.
Contact
If you have questions about these terms, or if you believe any content on the Service infringes your copyright, please contact us at [email protected]. We aim to respond promptly to legitimate concerns.