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The Declaration of Independence and Other Great Documents of American History

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The great documents in this important collection helped form the foundation of American democratic government. Compelling, influential, and often inspirational, they range from Patrick Henry's dramatic "Give me liberty or give me death" speech at the start of the American Revolution to Abraham Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address, issued in the closing weeks of the Civil War. Also included are:  The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson's classic rationale for rejecting allegiance to the government of King George III.  The Constitution of the United States, America's most important political and social document in structuring its government.  The Monroe Doctrine, the cornerstone of American foreign policy.  Father of the Constitution, author of the Bill of Rights, and fourth President of the United States James Madison's The Federalist, No. 10.  George Washington's First Inaugural Address and Farewell Address.  Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address.  William Lloyd Garrison's Prospectus for The Liberator. Andrew Jackson's Veto of the Bank Bill.  Abraham Lincoln's First Inaugural Address, Emancipation Proclamation, and Gettysburg Address.  An introductory note precedes the text of each document, providing fascinating background history and information about the author. An indispensable reference for students, this handy compendium will also serve as an invaluable introduction for general readers to American political writing.

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In scene after memorable scene of Sarah Orne Jewett's fictional masterpiece, The Country of Pointed Firs, the Maine-born author recorded what she felt were the rapidly disappearing traditions, manners, and dialect of Maine coast natives at the turn of the twentieth century. In luminous evocations of their lives  a happy family reunion, an old seaman's ghostly vision, a disappointed lover's self-imposed exile, and more  Jewett created startlingly real portraits of individual New Englanders and a warm, humorous, and compassionate vision of the New England character.No less a writer than Willa Cather ranked The Country of the Pointed Firs  with Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter and Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn  as one of the three American works most likely to achieve permanent recognition. Long overlooked, Sarah Orne Jewett is today widely acknowledged as an American master and The Country of the Pointed Firs as a landmark in the defining of American character and the American experience.

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First published in Latin in 1516, Utopia was the work of Sir Thomas More (14771535), the brilliant humanist, scholar, and churchman executed by Henry VIII for his refusal to accept the king as the supreme head of the Church of England. In this work, which gave its name to the whole genre of books and movements hypothesizing an ideal society, More envisioned a patriarchal island kingdom that practiced religious tolerance, in which everybody worked, no one has more than his fellows, all goods were community-owned, and violence, bloodshed, and vice nonexistent. Based to some extent on the writings of Plato and other earlier authors, Utopia nevertheless contained much that was original with More.In the nearly 500 years since the book's publication, there have been many attempts at establishing "Utopias" both in theory and in practice. All of them, however, seem to embody ideas already present in More's classic treatise: optimistic faith in human nature, emphasis on the environment and proper education, nostalgia for a lost innocence, and other positive elements.In this new, inexpensive edition, readers can study for themselves the essentials of More's utopian vision and how, although the ideal society he envisioned is still unrealized, at least some of his proposals have come to pass in today's world.

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Among the most influential books in Western civilization, Aristotle's Poetics is really a treatise on fine art. In it are mentioned not only epic and dithyrambic poetry, but tragedy, comedy, and flute and lyre playing. Aristotle's conception of tragedy, i.e. the depiction of a heroic action that arouses pity and fear in the spectators and brings about a catharsis of those emotions, has helped perpetuate the Greek ideal of drama to the present day. Similarly, his dictums concerning unity of time and place, the necessity for a play to have a beginning, middle, and end, the idea of the tragic flaw and other concepts have had enormous influence down through the ages.Throughout the work, Aristotle reveals not only a great intellect analyzing the nature of poetry, music, and drama, but also a down-to-earth understanding of the practical problems facing the poet and playwright. Now, in this inexpensive edition of the Poetics, readers can enjoy the seminal insights of one of the greatest minds in human history as he sets about laying the foundations of critical thought about the arts.

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Wit and Wisdom of the American Presidents

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"I know only two tunes," said Ulysses S. Grant. "One of them is Yankee Doodle and the other isn't." Jimmy Carter observed: "Whatever starts in California unfortunately has an inclination to spread." And Warren Harding complained: "The White House is a prison. I can't get away from the men who dog my footsteps. I am in jail."This entertaining, handy little book includes over 400 other memorable quotes, expressed by America's chief executives over the past two centuries, among them Chester Arthur's blunt, "I may be President of the United States, but my private life is nobody's damn business," Calvin Coolidge's terse "The chief business of America is business," Dwight Eisenhower's "Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil, and you're a thousand miles from a cornfield," and George Herbert Walker Bush's "Read my lips, no new taxes."From George Washington to Barack Obama, these presidential declarations will not only provide public speakers and students of American history with a wealth of useful material, they'll also delight general readers.

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Wit and Wisdom from Poor Richard's Almanack

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First published in 1732 by Benjamin Franklin when he was just 26, Poor Richard's Almanack was issued annually for the next 25 years. Extremely popular with readers of the day, the Almanack was a fascinating compilation of weather predictions, recipes, jokes, and delightful aphorisms  many representing Franklin's common-sense philosophy, and others, proverbs from the past.This handy little volume presents hundreds of these charming maxims, carefully selected from a number of Franklin's "almanacks." Arranged in nearly 30 categories (eating and drinking; men, women, and marriage; friendships; money and frugality; religion; professions and occupations, etc.), they include such familiar phrases as:Early to bed and early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise.Haste makes waste.Love your Neighbour; yet don't pulldown your Hedge.He that lies down with Dogs, shall rise up with fleas.Hunger never saw bad bread.He's a Fool that makes his Doctor his Heir.He that has not got a Wife, is not yet a compleat Man.An ideal sourcebook for writers, public speakers, and students, this practical and entertaining little book will also delight general readers with its rich store of time-honored folk wisdom.

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A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

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The originality, concentrated power and "fierce indignation" of his satirical writing have earned Jonathan Swift (16671745) a reputation as the greatest prose satirist in English language. Gulliver's Travels is, of course, his world-renowned masterpiece in the genre; however, Swift wrote other, shorter works that also offer excellent evidence of his inspired lampoonery. Perhaps the most famous of these is "A Modest Proposal," in which he straight-facedly suggests that Ireland could solve its hunger problems by using its children for food. Also included in this collection are "The Battle of the Books," "A Meditation upon a Broomstick," "A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit," and "An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England." This inexpensive edition will certainly be welcomed by teachers and students of English literature, but its appeal extends to any reader who delights in watching a master satirist wield words as weapons.

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The most eloquent of American presidents, Lincoln seemed to have a comment  sagacious or humorous  on just about anything that mattered. This concise compendium offers his astute observations on a variety of subjectsfrom women to warfare. Nearly 400 quotations include such thought-provoking and memorable remarks as:Bad promises are better broken than kept.Marriage is neither heaven nor hell; it is simply purgatory.Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.Quotations are arranged chronologically within such topics as family and friends, the law, politics and the presidency, story-telling, religion, and morality. Students, writers, public speakers, and other readers will find this thought-provoking and entertaining volume an excellent introduction to the sixteenth presidents wit, common sense, and insight.

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At the Tabard Inn in Southwark, in the London of the late 1300s, a band of men and women from all walks of life have gathered to begin a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas a Becket at Canterbury. To relieve the tedium of the journey, the host of the inn proposes that each of the pilgrims tell a favorite story, promising that the best storyteller will be treated to a fi ne dinner on the group's return to Southwark.So begins one of the earliest masterpieces of English literature, a collection of stories as much prized for the portraits of its story tellers as for the stories they tell  portraits that reveal much of the rich social fabric of 14th-century England. Now three of the most popular tales  along with the charming General Prologue have been selected for this edition: The Knight's Tale, The Miller's Prologue and Tale, and The Wife of Bath's Prologue and Tale.Animated by Chaucer's sly humor, flair for characterization and wise humanity, the stories have been recast into modern verse that captures the lively spirit of the originals. Highly entertaining, they represent an excellent entree to the rest of The Canterbury Tales and to the pleasures of medieval poetry in general. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

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The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket

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A stowaway aboard the New England whaler Grampus, young Arthur Gordon Pym finds himself an unwilling passenger on an extraordinary voyage. Edgar Allan Poe's only novel, first published in 1838, recounts the incredible adventures and discoveries of Pym and his companions as they overcome violent mutineers, are set adrift in an open boat, encounter a corpse-ridden ghost ship, cannibals, and huge polar bears as they approach the icy barriers of the South Pole.An important influence on the works of Herman Melville, Jules Verne, and others, this engrossing tale  described by internationally acclaimed author Jorge Luis Borges as "Poe's greatest work"  will appeal to admirers of Poe and maritime enthusiasts alike.

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What is music? "God's best gift to man," as Walter Savage Landor said? "The moonlight in the gloomy night of life," as Jean Paul Richter put it? Or perhapsas Carl Maria von Weber and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow agree "the universal language of mankind"? Whatever it is, it certainly "hath charms to soothe the savage breast," as William Congreve famously observed. And it "expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent" (Victor Hugo).These and more than 400 other striking quotes about music, from musicians, authors, poets, historical figures, and other celebrities, fill the pages of this entertaining, practical little book. Not all are on the serious side; many are deliciously witty: "Her singing was mutiny on the high C's" (Hedda Hopper); "I can hold a note as long as the Chase National Bank" (Ethel Merman); "Donny Osmond has van Gogh's ear for music" (Orson Welles). The quotations are arranged alphabetically according to author, from Fred Allen ("When Jack Benny plays the violin, it sounds as if the strings are still back in the cat") to Florian Zabach ("A musical talent is like having six fingers on one hand. You're born with it, you're different because of it, you can't do a thing about it except put it to use"). They constitute a collection that will not only be an indispensable reference for public speakers but will also delight general readersespecially music loverswith its enduring wisdom and humor.

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"A peculiarly thrilling and vigorous tale of adventure."  Andrew Lang "It goes and it grips and it moves with all the freshness of youth."  Rudyard KiplingWhen Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island was first published, H. Rider Haggard made a five-shilling bet that he could write a better adventure tale. In 1885, he created King Solomon's Mines, a story in which Allan Quatermain, a gentleman adventurer, is hired to locate a man who had disappeared into the heart of Africa while hunting for the legendary lost diamond mines of King Solomon. The book became an instant sensation and has remained popular ever since.Tales of adventure in exotic settings were the hallmark of Haggard's art; and King Solomons Mines was no exception. Here were all the elements for which his novels were famous: a gripping tale in a foreign setting, supernatural adventures, terror, passion, and discovery. Praised as "the most amazing story ever written," the book went on to become one of the bestselling novels of the 19th century.

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Rich with wisdom and gentle irony, Oliver Goldsmith's only novel is a charming comedy that tells of an unworldly and generous vicar who lives contentedly with his large family until disaster strikes. When his idyllic life is brutally interrupted by bankruptcy and his daughter's abduction, he lands in prison. Yet these misfortunes fail to conquer the vicar's spirit or cause him to lose sight of Christian morality.A delightful lampoon of such literary conventions of the day as pastoral scenes, artificial romance, and the hero's stoic bravery, The Vicar of Wakefield has remained a classic since its first publication in 1766.

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Renowned for his poetry, plays, essays, and conversational skills, Oscar Wilde also wrote scintillating works of short fiction. This volume includes four fine examples, including The Canterville Ghost, the comical tale of a spirit who terrorized the residents of Canterville Chase for three centuries. When the manor is acquired by a no-nonsense American family with no use for the supernatural, hilarity ensues.Three other stories feature "The Sphinx Without a Secret," a tale of an enigmatic woman who carries a mystery's key to her grave; "The Model Millionaire," recounting the exploits of a "delightful, ineffectual young man with a perfect profile and no profession"; and "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime," in which an aristocrat learns that he is destined to commit murder. Rounding out the volume are Wilde's lyrical Poems in Prose: "The Artist," "The Doer of Good," "The Disciple," "The Master," "The House of Judgment," and "The Teacher of Wisdom."

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Joseph Andrews refuses Lady Booby's advances, she discharges him, and Joseph  in the company of his old tutor, Parson Adams (one of the great comic figures of literature)  sets out from London to visit his sweetheart, Fanny. Along the way, the two travelers meet with a series of adventures  some hilarious, some heartstopping  in which through their own innocence and honesty they expose the hypocrisy and affectation of others. Joseph Andrews started out as a parody of Richardson's Pamela, but soon left that purpose behind and now is regarded as the first English realistic novel.

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A group of Utopians, dispirited by a mid-19th-century America they view as dissolute, takes to the pastoral life, but finds little satisfaction in its socialist living experiments. Little by little, the members' hypocrisies, contradictions, and ideological and economic paradoxes are exposed  even as they attempt to create the ideal community. Among the group are Hollingsworth, an idealistic but egotistical reformer; Zenobia, an ardent feminist and exotic beauty; Priscilla, her frail and mysterious sister; Old Moodie, the sisters' manipulative father; Westervelt, a demonic mesmerist; and Miles Coverdale, whose narrative of the Blithedale experiment reveals the sexist and classist oppression permeating the Utopian group. First published in 1852, The Blithedale Romance was based in part on Hawthorne's disillusioning experiences with the Brook Farm experimental community near Boston in 1841. An engrossing novel about love, idealism, and politics tragically gone amiss, this captivating work bristles with the author's perceptive wit and intelligence.

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Children will love this wonderful tale of Blacky the Crow, who has very sharp eyes, and who is often getting into trouble because he sees things he shouldn't. One day Blacky notices two fresh eggs in a nest belonging to Hooty the Owl and Mrs. Hooty. The eggs are a prize too delicious to pass up and Blacky devises a plan to snatch them. But does he succeed? Young readers will enjoy finding out in this charming tale by master storyteller Thornton W. Burgess.Reset in large, easy-to-read type, this book is filled with gentle humor and important lessons about nature and wildlife, and is further enhanced by four original Harrison Cady illustrations. Blacky the Crow is sure to captivate youngsters discovering the joy of reading and the pleasures of storytelling at its finest.

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A captured colonial leader, condemned to death by Indians, is saved by the brave and dramatic act of a lovely Indian princess. That exciting and memorable scene comes to life once more in this engrossing story of Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, who persuaded her father to spare the life of Captain John Smith.Also here are many other incidents and episodes in the short but eventful life of Pocahontas  her encounters with the settlers of Jamestown, her captivity on a British ship and her efforts to help the English.This newly illustrated edition, set in large, easy-to-read type, invites youngsters to relive the drama, adventure, and romance that characterized the life and times of an extraordinary Native American woman.

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When Poor Folk was first published in 1846, Dostoyevsky  one of nineteenth-century Russia's most important authors  was just twenty-four years old. The novel brought him immediate critical and public acclaim. A poignant societal and physiological sketch, Dostoyevsky's masterpiece is written in the form of letters of correspondence between two characters, both trapped within the poverty and circumstance of St. Petersburg's slums. Makar is a writer struggling to survive; Varvara, a low-paid seamstress. The two are in love, but too poor to marry. They long for respect, but can't even muster enough for themselves.Written during the initial stirrings of the Russian realism movement, Poor Folk is a vivid portrait of society's "everyman." A work that is both beautiful and tragic, it unravels an unforgettable tale of the human condition.

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A Pair of Silk Stockings and Other Short Stories

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Known for her vivid portrayals of Creole life in Louisiana, Kate Chopin (18511904) wrote, during her brief literary career, poignant and perceptive stories about the emotional lives of women. Bypassing many of the conventions of 19th-century realism, she won praise for her realistic portraits of the inhabitants of bayou and urban areas.This collection of nine stories contains one of her most famous works, "Desiree's Baby"  a haunting and ironic tale of miscegenation. Additional stories include "Madame Celestin's Divorce," "A Gentleman of Bayou Teche" and "At the 'Cadian Ball," from Bayou Folk; "A Respectable Woman," "A Night in Acadie" and Azelie" from A Night in Acadie; "The Dream of an Hour" and the title story. Written with grace, delicate humor and a keen understanding of the human  especially the female  psyche, these stories are a superb introduction to an important American writer whose literary career was cut short by the harsh criticism directed at her novel The Awakening (1899).