Alice's Adventures in Wonderland: Down the rabbit hole away little Alice goes. Follow her at your own peril, but beware of the world you are about to enter. One with a decapitation-crazed queen, an unintelligible duchess, a sleepy dormouse, a chronically late rabbit, a witty Cheshire cat, a blue hookah-smoking caterpillar, a Hatter and a March Hare hosting a mad tea party, and a caucus race so bewildering that the best way to explain it is just to...
A complex and profound book, The Tale of Two Cities explores the consequences of tyranny, fate and self-sacrifice. With much of the narrative played out in Paris, during the French Revolution Dickens examines the interplay between personal action, and the flow of history. Dr Manette, having travelled to Paris finds himself imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 brutal years, unable to see his kind and loving daughter Lucy. On his eventual return to London...
This curated collection of landmark speeches chronicles Barack Obama's presence on the national stage, covers his signature policy initiatives, and addresses major moments in American life and history during his eight-year term as the 44th president of the United States. Also included are speeches he made after he left the White House--most notably, his eulogy for John Lewis and his speech at the 2020 Democratic National Convention. Obama's eloquent...
"Wealthy but morally conflicted, Jane Withersteen seeks peace and freedom from the constraints of her oppressive society on the Western frontier. With the help of her loyal rider Bern Venters and the mysterious Lassiter, Jane fights back against the authorities who aim to restrict her power and happiness. Filled with thrilling horse rides, evocative descriptions of the landscapes, and tense showdowns, the story will leave the reader eager to find...
"Thomas Paine is one of history's most renowned thinkers and was indispensible to both the American and French revolutions. The three works included, Common Sense, The Rights of Man, and The Age of Reason, are among his most famous publications. Paine is probably best known for his hugely popular pamphlet, Common Sense, which swayed public opinion in favor of American independence from England. The Rights of Man and The Age of Reason further advocated...
"Widely acknowledged as the first modern novel, Miguel de Cervantes's Don Quixote features two of the most famous characters ever created: Don Quixote de la Mancha, the tall, bewildered, and half-crazy knight, and Sancho Panza, his rotund and incorrigibly loyal squire. The unforgettable comic dynamic between these two legendary figures has served as the blue-print for countless novels written since Cervantes's time. An immediate success when first...
"Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass is a clarion call to his country's people to join together in the "crowning growth of the United States". Its patriotic zeal made him a symbol of democracy in his country long before he achieved fame there as a poet. The intense emotion of Whitman's verse celebrates the regenerative power of nature and the immortal divinity of the human soul. His passionate beliefs are evident throughout this volume - in the radical...
"Les Miserables is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. First published in France in 1862, it is Victor Hugo's greatest achievement--the ultimate tale of redemption. Former prisoner Jean Valjean struggles to live virtuously after an unexpected act of forgiveness by a kindly bishop changes his life. His righteous actions change people's lives in surprising ways and culminate in romance between two young people. Now available...
A masterpiece of storytelling, this epic saga pits Ahab, a brooding and fanatical sea captain, against the great white whale that crippled him. In telling the tale of Ahab's passion for revenge and the fateful voyage that ensued, Melville produced far more than the narrative of a hair-raising journey; Moby-Dick is a tale for the ages that sounds the deepest depths of the human soul. Interspersed with graphic sketches of life aboard a whaling vessel,...
Huckleberry Finn, the best friend of Tom Sawyer, is a young boy in the 1840s, who runs away from home, and floats down the Mississippi River. It is told in the first person by Huckleberry "Huck" Finn, a friend of Tom Sawyer and narrator of two other Twain novels (Tom Sawyer Abroad and Tom Sawyer, Detective). It is a direct sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.The book is noted for its colorful description of people and places along the Mississippi...
Dutiful Newland Archer, an eligible young man from New York high society, is about to announce his engagement to May Welland, a suitable match from a good family, when May's cousin, the beautiful and exotic Countess Ellen Olenska, is introduced into their circle. The Countess brings with her an aura of European sophistication and a hint of perceived scandal, having left her husband and claimed her independence. Her worldliness, disregard for society's...
"The Art of War, attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzŭ, is a profound treatise on strategy and warfare, believed to have been composed around the fifth century BC during the turbulent Warring States period. This text is not only one of the oldest but also among the most influential military strategy books ever written, offering wisdom that extends beyond the battlefield to tactics in politics, business, and everyday life....
"Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame was written in 1831, at a time when the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris was falling into disrepair. This epic novel helped spark a preservationist movement that led to the cathedral being restored to its full glory. Set in 1482, the story tells of how four men-the hunchbacked bell-ringer, Quasimodo; the archdeacon of Notre Dame, Claude Frollo; the dashing soldier Phoebus de Chateaupers; and the poet Pierre...
Penned by English Nobel laureate Rudyard Kipling in 1894, The Jungle Book is a collection of allegorical stories that take place deep in the Indian jungle. The most famous stories of The Jungle Book are those featuring a young feral boy named Mowgli who was raised by wolves, is friends with a panther, and was educated by the animals of the jungle.
"Set in the mystical depths of the Indian jungle, where tigers roam the land and monkeys swing from...
"The Headless Horseman faces off with Ichabod Crane in "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, " a ghost story of enduring popularity that takes place at the time of the American Revolution. "Rip Van Winkle, " another traditional favorite from the same historic period, tells the tale of man who fell asleep for 20 years and found his small town in the Catskill Mountains much changed by the time he awakened. Both are included - along with many other tales - in...
"This elegant hardback edition presents Emily Dickinson's best loved work, featuring a silver-embossed cover design, gilded page edges and beautiful patterned endpapers. A deeply personal collection of poetry, the raw emotion and mastery of Emily Dickinson's poems cannot be denied. Her unique style, with its short lines, unusual punctuation and succinct nature, is quite unlike anything else. This collection of over 250 poems feature a range of subject...
The Red Badge of Courage is a compelling exploration of human emotion in the midst of battle. Revered for its pioneering style, the book explores themes of maturation, cowardice, and nature's cruelty. One of the most innovative writers of his generation, Crane's other notable works include The Open Boat, The Blue Hotel, The Brides Comes to Yellow Sky, and The Upturned Face.
"Romanticism gained traction in the late 1700s as writers moved away from the intellectualism of the Enlightenment and toward more emotional and natural themes. The major works of the movement's five most famous poets - William Wordsworth, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, William Blake, and John Keats - are represented in this handsome Word Cloud Classics volume, The Romantic Poets. One of the largest and most influential...
"A book so iconic that its title is synonymous with split personalities, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson was first released in 1886. The story of a virtuous Dr. Jekyll who mistakenly creates an alter ego of unadulterated evil serves as an examination of the duality of human nature and the battle between good and evil. Full of mystery and fright, this story has remained popular for more than a century...
