" ... Tells the story of Franklin's life from his humble beginnings to his emergence as a leading figure in the American colonies. In the process, it creates a portrait of Franklin as the quintessential American. Because of the book, Franklin became a role model for future generations of Americans, who hoped to emulate his rags-to-riches story. The Autobiography has also become one of the central works not just for understanding Franklin but for understanding...

The first novel by Mary Roberts Rinehart, America's queen of crime This is the story of how a middle-aged spinster lost her mind, deserted her domestic gods in the city, took a furnished house for the summer out of town, and found herself involved in one of those mysterious crimes that keep our newspapers and detective agencies happy and prosperous. So says Rachel Innes, the spinster in question and one of the most remarkable heroines in American...

In this book, the author lays out a detailed account of Alexander's spectacular life and supplies a vivid reconstruction of all the major battles Alexander fought in his short but successful march of conquest. The author amply illustrates, through his detailed history of the nature of warfare in the ancient world, why both his contemporaries and later historians and soldiers held up Alexander as being one of the greatest commanders of all time.

Francis Bacon once wrote, "Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested..." This is a book to be chewed and digested, and these essays make as satisfying a meal today as when the first edition was published in 1597. Indeed, the present-day reader is amply rewarded for the effort of taking in the old-fashioned English and peeking at the back of the volume for translations of the Latin quotations sprinkled...

The Myths of Mexico and Peru conjures images of far-off places in warm and humid countries, invokes names of unimaginable power, and chronicles times of bloody conquest and deeds much larger than life. Lewis Spence embeds the Latin-American mythology in history and recasts it in description informed by the lore of living peoples and by the most knowledgeable scholars of the time.

The will to believe.--Is life worth living?--The sentiment of rationality.--Reflex action and theism.--The dilemma of determinism.--The moral philosopher and the moral life.--Great men and their environment.--The importance of individuals.--On some Hegelisms.--What psychical research has accomplished.

A travelogue detailing Charles Dickens's tour of North America. In January of 1842, Charles Dickens and his wife, Kate, traveled from Liverpool to Boston. At the time, Dickens had already attained a tremendous level of literary success and fame, and the author hoped his travels would help him gain insight into the New World that had captivated the English imagination. Over the ensuing 6 months, Dickens explored the East Coast and Great Lakes regions...

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. The Covered Wagon tells the epic story of a wagon train on the Oregon Trail. First published in 1922, this historical novel offers something for everyone-action, intrigue, humor, and a classic love triangle. It is based on actual firsthand accounts of the grueling four-month overland journey, featuring cameos by famous frontiersmen Kit Carson and Jim Bridger. Both...

First published in 1799, Charles Brockden Brown's "Edgar Huntly, Or Memoirs of a Sleep Walker" is the story of its title character, who upon learning of the death of the brother of his friend and love interest, Mary Waldegrave, visits where he died in the woods in rural Pennsylvania. There he discovers a man, Clithero, a servant from a nearby farm, suspiciously lurking about near the scene of Waldegrave's murder. Suspecting Clithero, Edgar begins...