- Table View
- List View
The Algerine Captive
by Royall TylerAfter the Revolutionary War, American sailors lost the protection of Britain's Royal Navy and were easy prey for the pirates of the North African coast, who captured ships and cargo, enslaved crew, and demanded ransom from the U. S. Motivated by these events, Royall Tyler, the first American-born playwright, poet, and novelist, wrote "The Algerine Captive. " Originally published anonymously in 1797, it tells the tale of fictitious Boston native Dr. Updike Underhill, his capture by Barbary pirates, and their efforts to convert him to their Muslim faith. Written in an entertaining and satiric style that predated Mark Twain, Tyler's novel reveals his patriotic pride and anti-slavery beliefs. His comments on the religious and cultural divide between Western and Islamic beliefs of the day still resonate today.
Babbitt
by Sinclair LewisIn the fall of 1920, Sinclair Lewis began a novel set in a fast-growing city with the heart and mind of a small town. For the center of his cutting satire of American business he created the bustling, shallow, and myopic George F. Babbitt, the epitome of middle-class mediocrity. The novel cemented Lewis's prominence as a social commentator. Babbitt basks in his pedestrian success and the popularity it has brought him. He demands high moral standards from those around him while flirting with women, and he yearns to have rich friends while shunning those less fortunate than he. But Babbitt's secure complacency is shattered when his best friend is sent to prison, and he struggles to find meaning in his hollow life. He revolts, but finds that his former routine is not so easily thrown over.
The Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jack ZipesEnchanting, brimming with the wonder and magic of once upon a time, the fairly tales of the Brothers Grimm are the special stories of childhood that stay with us throughout our lives. But most Americans know them only secondhand, in adaptations that greatly reduce the tales' power to touch our emotions and intrigue our imaginations. Now, in the most comprehensive translation to date, here are the classic fairy tales as the Brothers Grimm intended them to be-rich, stark, spiced with humor and violence, resonant with the rhythms of folklore and song. Volume I contains 100 unabridged tales, including those best-known around the world:Cinderella, Snow White, Rapunzel, Hansel And Gretel, andLittle Red Cap [also known asLittle Red Riding Hood ]. These wonderful tales of life, passion, and make-believe appeal not only to children-who unabashedly love them-but to readers of any age.
The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain
by Mark Twain Charles NeiderThis comprehensive volume of all of Twain's shorter works is representative of his vast humor and wit. "The Complete Short Stories of Mark Twain" includes the following tales: The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Story of the Bad Little Boy, Cannibalism in the Cars, A Day at Niagara, Legend of the Capitoline Venus, Journalism in Tennessee, A Curious Dream, The Facts in the Great Beef Contract, How I Edited an Agricultural Paper, A Medieval Romance, My Watch, Political Economy, Science vs. Luck, The Story of the Good Little Boy, Buck Fanshaw's Funeral, The Story of the Old Ram, Tom Quartz, A Trial, The Trials of Simon Erickson, A True Story, Experience of the McWilliamses with Membranous Croup, Some Learned Fables for Good Old Boys and Girls, The Canvasser's Tale, The Loves of Alonzo Fitz Clarence and Rosannah Ethelton, Edward Mills and George Benton: A Tale, The Man Who Put Up at Gadsby's, Mrs. McWilliams and the Lightning, What Stumped the Bluejays, A Curious Experience, The Invalid's Story, The McWilliamses and the Burglar Alarm, The Stolen White Elephant, A Burning Brand, A Dying Man's Confession, The Professor's Yarn, A Ghost Story, Luck, Playing Courier, The Californian's Tale, The Diary of Adam and Eve, The Esquimau Maiden's Romance, Is He Living or Is He Dead?, The 1,000,000 Bank-Note, Cecil Rhodes and the Shark, The Joke That Made Ed's Fortune, A Story Without an End, The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg, The Death Disk, Two Little Tales, The Belated Russian Passport, A Double-Barreled Detective Story, The Five Boons of Life, Was It Heaven? Or Hell?, A Dog's Tale, The $30,000 Bequest, A Horse's Tale, Hunting the Deceitful Turkey, Extract from Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven, A Fable, and The Mysterious Stranger. Nearly 500 pages of classic tales by one of America's most loved authors.
Four Great American Classics
by Nathaniel Hawthorne Mark Twain Stephen Crane Herman MelvilleThese four landmark novels of nineteenth-century American literature have gained a permanent place in our culture as great classics. They are not only part of our national heritage, but masterpieces of world literature whose deep and lasting influence is felt to this day. The Scarlet Letter vividly records America’s moral and historical roots in Puritan New England and masterfully re-creates a society’s preoccupation with sin, guilt, and pride. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn carries readers along on Huck’s unforgettable journey down the Mississippi in America’s foremost comic epic—the first great novel in a truly American voice. The Red Badge of Courage re-creates the brutal reality of war and its psychological impact on a young Civil War soldier in one of the most moving and widely read American novels. Billy Budd, Sailor, joins the world’s great tragic literature as a doomed seaman becomes the innocent victim of a clash between social authority and individual freedom. From the Paperback edition.
Four Steps to the Altar
by Jean StoneThey say true love is priceless, but is it worth fifty million dollars? With Second Chances, their wedding planning business, starting to take off, four best friends must decide whether they’ll take some second chances of their own. Free-spirited Lily finds herself forced to choose between her sure-thing inheritance and a chance at true love; the no-longer-predictable Elaine surprises everyone–including herself–when romance comes calling from her past; Sarah, the uncompromisingly unconventional artist, finds herself contemplating the most unexpected choice of all; and the always-clear-eyed Jo suddenly finds herself second-guessing her own second chance at happily-ever-after. The choice for each of them is “I do” or “I don’t,” and the decision will change their lives. Breakups, makeups, and romance at every turn–life always offers up its best surprises to those who leave themselves open to the possibility of second chances. From the Paperback edition.
The Kill
by Emile ZolaHere is a true publishing event–the first modern translation of a lost masterpiece by one of fiction’s giants. Censored upon publication in 1871, out of print since the 1950s, and untranslated for a century, Zola’sThe Kill(La Curée) emerges as an unheralded classic of naturalism. Second in the author’s twenty-volumeRougon-Macquartsaga, it is a riveting story of family transgression, heedless desire, and societal greed. The incestuous affair of Renée Saccard and her stepson, Maxime, is set against the frenzied speculation of Renée’s financier husband, Aristide, in a Paris becoming a modern metropolis and “the capital of the nineteenth century. ” In the end, setting and story merge in actions that leave a woman’s spirit and a city’s soul ravaged beyond repair. As vividly rendered by Arthur Goldhammer, one of the world’s premier translators from the French,The Killcontains all the qualities of the school of fiction marked, as Henry James wrote, by “infernal intelligence. ” In this new incarnation,The KilljoinsNanaandGerminalon the shelf of Zola classics, works by an immortal author who–explicit, pitiless, wise, and unrelenting–always goes in for the kill.
Lara Croft: The Man of Bronze
by James Alan GardnerNEW ADVENTURES BASED ON THE WORLD'S BESTSELLING VIDEO GAMEAfter completing a near-fatal mission in the mysterious cloud forests of Peru, Lara Croft flies to Warsaw to tackle her next assignment-and finds herself in the middle of an epic battle for the ultimate power.Reuben Baptiste needs Lara Croft's help transporting precious cargo. But before Reuben can reveal any details, he is murdered-and Lara signs on with Reuben's employer, the mysterious Order of the Bronze, to avenge his death. The Order shares with Lara its greatest treasure: a bronze android, thousands of years old, with uncanny abilities. But the android is crippled, missing a leg, and whoever finds that leg will gain astonishing powers. Hot on the trail is Lara's nemesis, Lancaster Urdmann, now working for an unknown employer with strange abilities. As Lara jets from Siberia to Australia to Rio de Janiero, she is drawn into an age-old conflict of secret societies, intrigue, and death. . . .From the Paperback edition.
Mosses from an Old Manse
by Nathaniel HawthorneThis is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words. This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book.
Romola
by George EliotOne of George Eliot's seven classic novels. She is best known for Middlemarch, Silas Marner, and The Mill on the Floss. According to Wikipedia: "Mary Ann (Marian) Evans (22 November 1819 â " 22 December 1880), better known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist. She was one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. Her novels, largely set in provincial England, are well known for their realism and psychological perspicacity. She used a male pen name, she said, to ensure that her works were taken seriously. Female authors published freely under their own names, but Eliot wanted to ensure that she was not seen as merely a writer of romances. An additional factor may have been a desire to shield her private life from public scrutiny and to prevent scandals attending her relationship with the married George Henry Lewes. "
The Rose and the Warrior
by Karyn MonkIn the breathtaking tradition ofOnce a WarriorandThe Witch and the Warriorcomes Karyn Monk's passionate new tale of a distant time, a proud people--and a forbidden love. She was an infamous thief. . . When the ruthless MacTiers destroyed Melantha's clan, she vowed to do whatever was necessary to keep her people alive. It was a daring risk to disguise herself as "the Falcon," a mysterious horseman who stole food and gold from the enemy, always slipping away unscathed. But when Melantha captured the MacTier warrior who was sent to kill her, the danger she faced was the desire aroused by this enigmatic stranger. . . . . . . until one man stole her heart. Roarke had known only battle for far too long. With his family gone, he had proved his loyalty to his laird in countless conflicts, fighting with the fearless arrogance of a man who had nothing to lose--and untold rewards to gain. But murdering the enchanting spitfire who had waged her own maddening war against his clan was unthinkable. Torn between fealty to his lord and the dictates of his conscience, Roarke would look for an answer in the emerald eyes of a woman who dared to show him the meaning of honor, the bonds of family--and the power of love.
The Squatter and the Don
by Maria Amparo Ruiz de Burton“The Squatter and the Don,like its author, has come out a survivor,” notes Ana Castillo in her Introduction. “The fact that it has resurfaced after more than a century from its original publication is a testimony to its worthiness. ” Inviting comparison toUncle Tom’s Cabin, María Amparo Ruiz de Burton’s illuminating political novel is also an engaging historical romance. Set in San Diego shortly after the United States’ annexation of California and written from the point of view of a nativeCalifornio, the story centers on two families: the Alamars of the landed Mexican gentry, and the Darrells, transplanted New Englanders–and their tumultuous struggles over property, social status, and personal integrity. This Modern Library Paperback Classic is set from the first edition of 1885. Ana Castillois a poet, essayist, and novelist whose works includethe recent poetry collectionI Ask the Impossibleand the novelPeel My Love Like an Onion. She lives in Chicago and teaches at DePaul University. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Supernatural: The Unholy Cause
by Joe SchreiberA Supernatural novel that reveals a previously unseen adventure for the Winchester brothers, from the hit CW series!Way back in April 1862, Confederate Captain Jubal Beauchamp leads a charge across a Georgia battleground... Fast forward to 2009 and a civil war re-enactment becomes all too real. When Sam and Dean head down south to investigate they find that history has got somewhat out of hand...
The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings
by Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe remains the unsurpassed master of works of mystery and madness in this outstanding collection of Poe's prose and poetry are sixteen of his finest tales, including "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Murders in the Rue Morgue," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Pit and the Pendulum," "William Wilson," "The Black Cat," "The Cask of Amontillado," and "Eleonora. " Here too is a major selection of what Poe characterized as the passion of his life, his poems - "The Raven," "Annabel Lee," Ulalume," "Lenore," "The Bells," and more, plus his glorious prose poem "Silence - A Fable" and only full-length novel, "The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym,"
The Trail to Crazy Man
by Louis L'AmourA word from Louis L'Amour:"Almost forty years ago, when my fiction was being published exclusively in 'pulp' western magazines, I wrote several novel-length stories, which my editors called 'magazine novels'. In creating them, I became so involved with my characters that their lives were still as much a part of me as I was of them long after the issues in which they appeared became collector's items. Pleased as I was about how I brought the characters and their adventures to life in the pages of the magazines, I still wanted the reader to know more about my people and why they did what they did. So, over the years, I revised and expanded these magazine works into fuller-length novels that I published in paperback under other titles."These particular early magazine versions of my books have long been a source of great speculation and curiosity among many of my readers, so much so of late, that I'm now pleased to collect three of them into book form for the first time."I hope you enjoy them."From the Paperback edition.
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman (Vintage International)
by Haruki MurakamiA young man accompanies his cousin to the hospital to check an unusual hearing complaint and recalls a story of a woman put to sleep by tiny flies crawling inside her ear; a mirror appears out of nowhere and a nightwatchman is unnerved as his reflection tries to take control of him; a couple's relationship is unbalanced after dining exclusively on exquisite crab while on holiday; a man follows instructions on the back of a postcard to apply for a job, but an unknown password stands between him and his mysterious employer. In each one of these stories Murakami sidesteps the real and sprints for the surreal. Everyday events are transcended, leaving the reader dazzled by this master of his craft. Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman is Murakami's most eclectic collection of stories to date, spanning five years of his writing. An introduction explains the diversity of the author's choice.
Bran Mak Morn
by Robert E. HowardFrom Robert E. Howard’s fertile imagination sprang some of fiction’s greatest heroes, including Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull, and Solomon Kane. But of all Howard’s characters, none embodied his creator’s brooding temperament more than Bran Mak Morn, the last king of a doomed race. In ages past, the Picts ruled all of Europe. But the descendants of those proud conquerors have sunk into barbarism . . . all save one, Bran Mak Morn, whose bloodline remains unbroken. Threatened by the Celts and the Romans, the Pictish tribes rally under his banner to fight for their very survival, while Bran fights to restore the glory of his race. Lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Gary Gianni, this collection gathers together all of Howard’s published stories and poems featuring Bran Mak Morn–including the eerie masterpiece “Worms of the Earth” and “Kings of the Night,” in which sorcery summons Kull the conqueror from out of the depths of time to stand with Bran against the Roman invaders. Also included are previously unpublished stories and fragments, reproductions of manuscripts bearing Howard’s handwritten revisions, and much, much more. Special Bonus: a newly discovered adventure by Howard, presented here for the very first time. From the Trade Paperback edition.
A Breath of Fresh Air
by Amulya MalladiOn the night of December 3, 1984, Anjali waits for her army officer husband to pick her up at the train station in Bhopal, India. In an instant, her world changes forever. Her anger at his being late turns to horror when a catastrophic gas leak poisons the city air. Anjali miraculously survives. Her marriage does not. A smart, successful schoolteacher, Anjali is now remarried to Sandeep, a loving and stable professor. Their lives would be nearly perfect, if not for their young son’s declining health. But when Anjali’s first husband suddenly reappears in her life, she is thrown back to the troubling days of their marriage with a force that impacts everyone around her. Her first husband’s return brings back all the uncertainty Anjali thought time and conviction had healed–about her decision to divorce, and about her place in a society that views her as scandalous for having walked away from her arranged marriage. As events unfold, feelings she had guarded like gold begin to leak away from her, spreading out into the world and challenging her once firm beliefs. Rich in insight into Indian culture and psychology,A Breath of Fresh Airresonates with meaning and the abiding power of love. In a landscape as intriguing as it is unfamiliar, Anjali’s struggles to reconcile the roles of wife and ex-wife, working woman and mother, illuminate both the fascinating duality of the modern Indian woman and the difficult choices all women must make.
The Bridegroom
by Ha JinThese twelve short stories vividly bring to life the daily dramas of Chinese men and women who are starting to feel the influence of the West while still immersed in a society that attempts to control their every move and thought. As his characters wrestle with the petty injustices and deeper heartbreaks of their constricted lives, Ha Jin celebrates their irrepressible humanity with the understated humour and disarmingly simple narrative voice that have won him widespread acclaim.
Christmas in My Soul
by Joe WheelerFrom the man who compiled the cherished Christmas In My Heart series comes Christmas In My Soul -- the perfect gift book for the holiday season.
The Confidence-Man
by Herman MelvillePoorly received when first published in 1857, The Confidence Man is now considered Herman Melville's most nearly perfect work, and one that occupies a central place in the American literary tradition of masquerade and trickery. Set on April Fool's Day aboard a Mississippi steamer, this powerful and engaging novel, through the conversations of the confidence man (who may be looked on as the Devil or God), explores America and American values. Part satire, part hoax, The Confidence Man is also a dark look at the nothingness lurking beneath our beliefs and assumptionsa look at a universe in which neither God nor the Devil exists, and where Christianity is only a comforting fiction little better than an April Fool's prank.
The Crazed
by Ha JinIn his luminous new novel, the author of Waiting deepens his portrait of Chinese society while exploring the perennial conflicts between convention and individualism, integrity and pragmatism, loyalty and betrayal. Professor Yang, a respected teacher of literature at a provincial university, has had a stroke, and his student Jian Wan -who is also engaged to Yang's daughter -has been assigned to care tor him. What initially seems a simple if burdensome duty becomes more problematic when the professor begins to rave: pleading with invisible tormentors, denouncing his family, his colleagues, and a system in which a scholar is 'just a piece of meat on a cutting board. 'Are these just manifestations of illness, or is Yang spewing up the truth? In a China convulsed by the Tiananmen uprising, those who listen to the truth are as much at risk as those who speak it. At once nuanced and fierce, earthy and humane, The Crazed is further evidence of Ha Jin's prodigious narrative gifts.
Crazy
by Benjamin LebertThis autobiographical coming-of-age novel, written when the author was 16-years-old, tells the story of Benni, who is partially paralyzed and a serial failure, who finds other strange boys to hang with, and together they set out to experience what they can: Girls, booze, sex, and philosophy among other things.
The Darts of Cupid
by Edith TempletonWhen Edith Templeton’s stories began appearing inThe New Yorkerin the late 1950s, she quickly became a favorite of the magazine’s discerning readers. Her finely honed writing, honestly drawn heroines, and distinctive themes secured her reputation. The Dart’s of Cupidcollects seven of Templeton’s stories for the first time and reintroduces one of the truly great writers of the twentieth century. In settings ranging from a decrepit Bohemian castle between the wars to London during World War II to the Italian Riviera in the 1990s, the heroines of these stories often find themselves confronting unfathomable passsions and perplexing actions by others, but they seldom feel regret.
Demon Rumm
by Sandra BrownIt was the publicity stunt from hell as far as Kirsten Rumm was concerned. She may have been writing the book about her late husband, aeronautical daredevil Demon Rumm, but she didn’t see the need to play host to the arrogant bad-boy actor starring in the film version’s title role. Still, for the good of the project, Kirsten agreed to share her beachfront home with the impossibly sexy screen idol. Any other woman would do anything to be in her sandals, but Kirsten wasn’t falling for Rylan North, even if he did play his role of male lead to perfection. His down-home charm, his gentleness and virile charisma, might be seducing her in every sense of the word, but he was an actor, after all. Seducing an audience was his job. Rylan could have any woman he wanted. So why was he so desperately pretending to want her? From the moment he saw her, Rylan North knew that Kirsten Rumm was the woman he’d been waiting all his life to cast as the star in his real-life love story. What did it matter if he was every woman’s fantasy if he couldn’t get Kirsten to so much as glance his way? He’d caught the look of past hurt behind her sky-blue eyes–a dark secret that shadowed the sparkle. Rylan was determined to find out what tragedy held this passionate woman back from a second chance at love even if it cost him his reputation, his career, and his life. But first he’d have to get Kirsten to act on her instincts . . . and to trust the flesh-and-blood man behind the fantasy.