This second Library of America volume of Washington Irving brings together for the first time three collections of his stories and sketches. Bracebridge Hall (1822) was published under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon, and centers on an English manor, its inhabitants, and the tales they tell. Interspersed with witty, evocative sketches of country life among the English nobility is the well-known tale "The Stout Gentleman" and stories based on English,...

Records Lincoln's campaigns for public office, the evolution of his stand against slavery, his debates with Stephen Douglas, and the great addresses of his presidency.

Selection of writings by philosopher, psychologist, and champion of religious pluralism William James, including "The Will to Believe and Other Essays in Popular Philosophy," "Psychology: Briefer Course," and ten other essays.

"Born a slave, Frederick Douglass educated himself, escaped, and made himself one of the greatest leaders in American history. His three autobiographical narratives, collected here in one volume, are now recognized as classics of both American history and American literature. Writing with the eloquence and fierce intelligence that made him a brilliantly effective spokesman for abolition and equal rights, Douglass shapes an inspiring vision of self-realization...

Presents five works from American writer John Steinbeck, all portraying life in rural California.