Essays Books

Book SynopsisThe masterpiece that established Sarah Orne Jewett among the consummate stylists of nineteenth-century American fictionComposed in a series of beautiful web-like sketches, the novel is narrated by a young woman writer who leaves the city to work one summer in the Maine seaport of Dunnet Landing, and stays with the herbalist Mrs. Almira Todd. She writes a New England idyll rooted in friendship, particularly female friendship, weaving stories and conversations, imagery of sea, sky and earth, the tang of salt air and aromatic herbs into an organic fiction of community in which themes and form are exquisitely matched. To quote Willa Cather: The 'Pointed Fir' sketches are living things caught in the open, with light and freedom and air spaces about them. They melt into the land and the life of the land until they are not stories at all, but life itself.This edition, introduced by Alison Easton, also includes ten of Sarah Orne Jewett's short stories, among them The QueeTrade Review"Immense—it is the very life."—Rudyard Kipling

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Book SynopsisWhen Fanny Trollope set sail for America in 1827 with hopes of joining a Utopian community of emancipated slaves, she took with her three of her children and a young French artist, leaving behind her son Anthony, growing debts and a husband going slowly mad from mercury poisoning. But what followed was a tragicomedy of illness, scandal and failed business ventures. Nevertheless, on her return to England Fanny turned her misfortunes into a remarkable book. A masterpiece of nineteenth-century travel-writing, Domestic Manners of the Americans is a vivid and hugely witty satirical account of a nation and was a sensation on both sides of the Atlantic.Table of ContentsAcknowledgementsIntroductionSelected Further ReadingNote on the TextDOMESTIC MANNERS OF THE AMERICANSAppendix A: Unpublished Preface from the Rough Draft of Domestic Manners of the AmericansAppendix B: Preface to the Fifth Edition of Domestic Manners of the Americans (1839)Appendix C: 'A Fragment' Appended to the Fifth EditionNotes

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Book SynopsisThe Laws of Manu form a towering work of Hindu philosophy. Composed by many Brahmin priests, this is an extraordinary, encyclopaedic representation of human life in the world, and how it should be lived. Manu encompasses topics as wide-ranging as the social obligations and duties of the various castes, the proper way for a righteous king to rule and to punish transgressors, relations between men and women, birth, death, taxes, karma, rebirth and ritual practices. First translated into English in 1794, its influence spread from Nietzsche to the British Raj, and although often misinterpreted, it remains an essential work for understanding India today.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritativeTable of ContentsThe Laws of ManuAcknowledgmentsINTRODUCTIONPart I: The History of the Text1. The Importance of The Laws of Manu2. The History of the Text in Europe: the British and Nietzsche3. The Vedic Background: Food and Eaters4. The Revaluation of All Values: Violence and Vegetarianism5. The Authority of the Beda in ManuPart II: The Structure and Meaning of the Text1. The Coherence of Manu2. Law in Extremity3. Contradictions in Manu4. "Between the idea/And the reality"Part III: The Translation1. Why Buhler is Not Good Enough2. The Continuous Narrative3. Translating Against the Commentaries4. The Text and the Critical ApparatusTHE LAWS OF MANUChapter IVerses 1-4; Introducction; 5-20 Creation of the Universe; 21-30 Creation of Innate Activities; 31-5 Creation of the Social Order; 36-50 Creation of Creatures; 51-7 Brahma Sleeps and Wakes; 58-63 The Teaching of the Manus; 64-7 Time; 68-74 The Ages; 75-8 Creation of the Elements; 79-86 The Ages; 87-91 Duties of the Social Classes; 92-101 Pre-eminence of Priests; 102-10 Fruits of this Teaching; 111-19 Contents of This TeachingChapter 21-5 The Value of Desire; 6-16 Canon and Tradition; 17-24 The Sacred Geography of India; 25-9 The Transformative Rituals; 30-35 The Name-giving; 36-49 Initiation; 41-7 The Period of Vedic Study; 48-51 The Student's Begging; 52-7 The Student's Eating; 58-65 Washing; 66-7 Transformative Ceremonies for Women; 68-73 Vedic Recitation; 74-87 "Om" and the Verse to the Sun-god; 88-100 Controlling the Sensory Powers; 101-4 Chanting the Verse to the Sun-god; 105-7 Reciting the Veda; 108-16 People to whom the Veda Should and Should Not Be Taught; 117-33 Greeting People; 134-9 Showing Respect; 140-43 Teachers and Priests; 144-53 The Teacher and the Parents; 154-8 Seniority by Knowledge of the Veda; 159-63 Modest Behaviour; 164-7 Inner Heat and Veda Study; 168-72 Initiation as Birth; 173-93 Proper Conduct for the Student; 194-206 Reverence to the Guru; 207-9 Reverence to the Guru's Son; 210-17 Caution with the Guru's Wife; 218-24 More Proper Conduct for the Student; 225-37 The Guru and the Parents; 238-42 People from whom One May Learn the Veda; 243-9 The Perpetual Student Chapter 31-3 Entering the Householder Stage; 4-7 Choosing a Wife; 8-11 Qualities to Avoid in a Wife; 12-19 Wives of Various Classes; 20-35 The Eight Forms of Marraige; 36-44 Results of Good and Bad Marriages; 45-50 Begetting Children; 51-4 Against the Bride-price; 55-63 The Importance of Treating Women Well; 64-6 The Importance of Vedic Verses; 67-74 The Five Great Sacrifices; 75-9 The Importance of the Householder; 80-83 Duties of the Householder; 84-6 Offerings to the Gods; 87-93 Propitiatory Offerings; 94-8 Giving Alms; 99-115 Treatment of Guests; 116-18 Eating Leftovers; 119-21 The Honey-mixture; 122-3 The Ceremony for the Dead; 124-37 People to Invite to the Ceremony for the Dead; 138-44 People Not to Invite to the Ceremony for the Dead; 145-9 More People to Invite to the Ceremony for the Dead; 150-68 More People Not to Invite to the Ceremony for the Dead; 169-75 Types of Adulterers Not to Invite; 176-82 People who Should Not Be at the Ceremony for the Dead; 183-6 Still More People to Invite to the Ceremony for the Dead; 187-90 The Invitation to the Ceremony for the Dead; 191-200 Ancestors of the Ancestors; 201-5 The Ritual to the Gods; 206-10 Preparing the Ceremony for the Dead; 211-13 The Ritual to the Gods; 214-23 The Ceremony for the Dead; 224-30 The Meal; 231-5 The Entertainment; 236-42 Potential Pollutions at the Meal; 243-8 Feeding Uninvited Guests; 249-50 More Potential Pollutions at the Meal; 251-9 The End of the Ceremony; 260-65 Disposing of Leftovers; 266-72 Benefits of Offering Various Foods; 273-82 Auspicious Days for the Ceremony; 283-6 Fruits of the CeremonyChapter 41-12 Occupations for the Householder; 13-20 The Behaviour of the Householder; 21-4 Interior Sacrifices; 25-8 The Sacrifices of the Householder; 29-39 The Behaviour of the Householder; 40-44 Women that a Householder Should Avoid; 45-52 A Householder's Excretions; 53-81 General Comportment of a Householder; 84-91 Hells for those who Accept Gifts from Bad Kings; 92-8 Daily Rituals; 99-127 Occasions when the Veda Should Not Be Recited; 128-44 Miscellaneous Prohibitions for a Vedic Graduate; 145-9 Veda Recitation; 150-64 General Comportment of a Vedic Graduate; 165-9 Prohibitions against Harming Priests; 170-74 Avoiding Irreligion; 175-85 General Comportment of a Vedic Graduate; 186-91 Accepting Gifts; 192-200 Hypocrites; 201-4 General Comportment of a Vedic Graduate; 205-23 People whose Food One Should Not Eat; 224-8 Generosity; 229-37 Rewards for Giving Specific Gifts; 238-46 Rewards for Religious Merit after Death; 247-56 Gifts that may be Accepted; 257-60 The Meditation of a Vedic GraduateChapter 51-4 Fatal Flaws; 5-10 Forbidden Foods; 11-18 Forbidden Birds, Fish and Animals; 19-21 Restorations for Eating Forbidden Foods; 22-5 Food that May be Eaten; 26-44 Meat that May Be Eaten; 46-56 Advantages of Not Eating Meat; 57-66 Pollution after Deaths and Births; 67-73 Pollution after the Death of Children and Women; 74-8 Pollution after a Death at a Distance; 79-84 Pollution after Other Deaths; 85-92 Other Pollutions; 93-9 The Purification of Kings; 100-104 The Death of a Distant Relative; 105-9 Sources of Purification; 110-14 Purification of Metals; 15-26 Purification of Various Objects; 127-31 Things that Are Always Clean; 132-45 Purification of the Polluted Body; 146-51 The Dependence of Women; 152-60 Obedience to the Husband; 161-4 Consequences, for Unfaithful Women; 165-9 The Death of a WifeChapter 61-4 The Forest-dweller's Departure; 5-11 The Forest-dweller's Rituals; 12-21 The Forest-dweller's Food; 22-30 The Forest-dweller's Inner Heat; 31-2 The Forest-dweller's Death; 33-41 The Ascetic's Departure; 42-9 The Ascetic's Behaviour; 50-60 The Ascetic's Begging; 61-5 The Ascetic's Meditation on Transmigration; 66-72 The Ascetic's Duty and Breath-suppression; 73-5 The Ascetic's Meditation on Transmigration; 76-81 The Ascetic's Death; 82-5 The Ascetic's Veda; 86-90 Householder Ascetics; 91-4 The Ten-fold Duty; 95-7 Householder RenouncersChapter 71-8 The King as Incarnation of the Gods; 9-13 The Anger of the King; 14-19 The Rod of Punishment; 20-31 Incorrect and Correct Punishment; 32-5 The Good King; 36-42 The Humility of the King; 44-53 The Eighteen Vices; 54-62 Ministers; 63-8 The Ambassador; 69-77 Fortifications; 78-81 Other Officials; 82-6 Giving Gifts to Priests; 87-98 Warfare; 99-101 Four Ways of Accomplishing Goals; 102-6 Readiness; 107-9 The Four Expedients; 110-13 Guarding the Kingdom; 114-19 The Appointment of Officials; 120-24 Guarding against Corruption; 124-32 Wages and Taxation; 133-6 Protecting Learned Priests; 137-40 Tax Exemptions for the Poor; 141-4 Protecting the Subjects; 145-53 The King's Day; 154-8 The Circle of Enemies and Allies; 159-76 The Six Tactics; 177-80 The Essence of Political Policy; 181-8 Marching; 189-94 Deploying Troops; 195-7 Laying Siege; 198-200 The Four Expedients; 201-11 Behaviour in Victory; 212-15 Behaviour in Extremity; 216-20 The King's Food and Poision; 221-6 The King's RelaxationsChapter 81-3 The King as Judge; 4-7 The Eighteen Causes of Legal Action; 8-11 The Judges; 12-22 The Dangers of Injustice; 23-6 Investigative Techniques; 27-9 The Property of Women and Children; 30-34 Property Lost and Found; 35-9 Treasure Trove; 40-46 General Principles of Law; 47-51 Debtors and Creditors; 52-60 Debtors who Violate Court Procedures; 61-78 Witnesses in Cases of Debt; 79-88 Charging the Witnesses; 89-101 Consequences of Giving False Evidence; 103-8 Reasons and Redemptions for Giving False Evidence; 109-16 Oaths and Ordeals; 117-23 Punishments for Giving False Evidence; 124-30 Forms of Punishment; 131-9 The Measurements of Fines; 140-62 Interest Rates, Loans, and Pledges; 163-8 Contracts; 169-75 The King's Behaviour; 176-8 Debts; 179-96 Deposits; 197-202 Sale without Ownership; 203-5 Bride-price; 206-13 Sacrificial Gifts to Officiating Priests; 214-17 Failure to Pay Wages; 218-23 Breach of Contract; 224-9 Flawed and Invalid Weddings; 230-36 Responsibilities of Herdsmen; 237-44 Damage Done by Livestock; 245-66 Boundary Disputes; 267-78 Verbal Assault; 279-87 Physical Assault; 288-9 Damage to Property; 290-98 Traffic Accidents; 299-300 Corporal Punishment; 301-9 The King's Right to Tax; 310-13 The King's Duty to Punish; 314-18 The Punishment of Thieves by the King; 319-38 Punishments for Various Thefts; 339-43 Permissible Thefts; 344-51 Acts of Violence; 352-63 Sexual Misconduct; 364-8 The Corruption of Maidens; 369-70 Lesbianism; 371-3 Adultery; 374-8 Punishments for Inter-class Sexuality; 379-81 Priests Exempt from Capital Punishment; 382-5 More Punishments for Inter-class Sexuality; 386-97 Miscellaneous Rules; 398-403 Duties and Fixed Prices; 404-9 Ferry-fares and Boat-fares; 410-20 The Work of Commoners and ServantsChapter 91-4 The Dependence of Women; 5-18 Why Women Should Be Guarded; 19-21 Restorations for Women's Errors; 22-5 The Dependence of Women on Husbands; 26-30 The Importance of Women; 31-40 The Son Born in the Husband's Field; 41-55 The Danger of Sowing in Another Man's Field; 56-70 Producing Male Heirs by Appointment; 71-3 Rejection of a Bride; 74-9 Separation from or Hatred of a Husband; 80-84 Rejection of a Wife; 85-7 Wives of Various Classes; 88-92 The Father's Duty to Give his Daughter; 93-100 Against the Bride-price; 101-2 Fidelity: Marriage in a Nutshell; 103-10 Inheritance of the Eldest Son; 111-19 Inheritance of the Other Sons and Daughters; 120-21 Inheritance of the Son Born in the Field; 122-6 Inheritance of Sons of Various Wives; 127-36 Inheritance through Appointed Daughters; 137-9 Salvation through Sons; 140-2 Sons' Roles in the Funeral Ritual; 143-7 Disinheritance of Sons of Appointed Daughters; 148-57 Inheritance of Sons of Wives of Various Classes; 158-81 Twelve Kinds of Sons; 182-91 Miscellaneous Heirs; 192-200 Inheritance of the Mother's Estate; 201-6 Inheritance of Defective Sons and Educated Sons; 207-19 Inheritance of Divided and United Brothers; 220-28 The Evils of Gambling; 229-34 Miscellaneous Punishments Inflicted by the King; 235-42 Punishments by the King for Major Crimes; 243-7 Fines Not to Revert to the King; 248-9 Corporal and Capital Punishment by the King; 250-55 Duties of a King; 256-71 Detection and Punishment of Thieves; 272-93 More Miscellaneous Punishments by the King; 294-297 The Elements of the Kingdom; 298-302 The King's Behaviour, like the Ages; 303-12 The King's Behaviour, like the Gods'; 313-25 The King's Deference to Priests; 326-36 The Duties of Commoners and ServantsChapter 101-4 The Four Classes; 5-10 Sons and Outcasts Born "with-the-grain"; 11-19 Outcasts Born "against-the-grain"; 20-23 Outlaws and their Offspring; 24-31 Excluded Classes Born "against-the-grain"; 32-40 The Offspring of Excluded Classes and Aliens; 41-4 Risen and Fallen Degraded Castes; 45-9 The Occupations of Aliens and Outcasts; 50-56 The Treatment of Outcasts; 57-61 The Character and Behaviour of Outcasts; 62-8 Rising in Caste through Virtue; 69-73 The Seed and the Field; 74-80 The Occupations of the Twice-born; 81-94 Priests Living as Rulers or Commoners; 95-100 Rulers, Commoners, and Servants Living as Other Classes; 101-4 Priests in Adversity; 105-8 Famous Priests in Adversity; 109-17 Three Courses and Seven Ways for Priests in Adversity; 118-20 Rulers in Extremity; 121-5 Servants in Adversity; 126-31 The Duties of ServantsChapter 111-4 Vedic Graduates who Beg; 5-10 Supporting Dependants; 11-26 Obtaining Sacrificial Materials from Others; 27-30 Sacrificing in Extremity; 31-5 The Priest's Right to Punish; 36-43 People who Should Not Give the Daily Fire Sacrifice; 44-7 Restorations; 48-54 Physical Results of Unrestored Crimes; 55-9 The Major Crimes; 60-67 The Minor Crimes; 68-71 Crimes that Cause Loss of Caste; 72-90 Restorations for Killing a Priest; 91-8 Restorations for Drinking Liquor; 99-102 Restorations for Stealing Gold; 103-7 Restorations for Killing a Cow; 118-24 Restorations for Shedding Semen; 125-6 Restorations for Loss of Caste; 127-31 Restorations for Killing People other than Priests; 132-46 Resorations for Killing Animals; 147-50 Restorations for Drinking Intoxicating Drinks; 151-61 Restorations for Eating Forbidden Foods; 162-9 Restorations for Theft; 170-79 Restorations for Having Sex with Forbidden Women; 180-91 Restorations for Associating with Fallen Men; 192-7 Reentering the Community; 198-204 Miscellaneous Restorations; 205-10 Restorations for Insulting Priests; 211-20 Descriptions of Vows of Restoration; 221-6 General Restorations; 227-33 Remorse; 234-45 Inner Heat as Restoration; 246-8 Veda as Restoration; 249-61 Particular Vedic Verses as Restorations; 262-6 Veda as RestorationChapter 121-2 The Fruits of Actions; 3-11 Acts of Mind, Speech, and Body; 12-15 The Knower of the Field; 16-23 Construction of the Body for Hell; 24-38 The Three Qualities of the Self; 39-53 Transmigrations according to Qualities; 54-72 Transmigrations according to Crimes; 73-81 The Torments of Hells and Transmigrations; 82-5 Acts that Bring about the Supreme Good; 86-90 Vedic Activity; 91-3 Knowledge of the Self; 94-106 The Value of Knowing the Veda; 107-15 Authorities and Legal Assemblies; 116-26 Meditation on the SelfBibliographyIndex and Glossary

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Book SynopsisThe four works collected in this volume reveal the fascinating preoccupations of the German Romantic movement, which revelled in the inexplicable, the uncanny and the unknown and, especially, the mysterious world of the fairy tale. Goethe's richly imaginative Fairy Tale (1795) depicts an ethereal underground realm and the marriage of a beautiful man and woman, whose union heralds a new age. In Tieck's Eckbert the Fair (1797) two outsiders seek refuge in the solitude of dark woods to conceal their incestuous passion from the world, while in Fouque's Undine (1811) a water nymph falls in love and acquires a soul, and so discovers the reality of human suffering. And Brentano's Tale of Honest Casper and Fair Annie (1817) portrays the tragedy of a young couple, destroyed by a false sense of honour and pride.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titl

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Book SynopsisA poet whose verse inspired music by Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn and Brahms, Heinrich Heine (1797-1856) was in his lifetime equally admired for his elegant prose. This collection charts the development of that prose, beginning with three meditative works from the Travel Pictures, inspired by Heine's journeys as a young man to Lucca, Venice and the Harz Mountains. Exploring the development of spirituality, the later On the History of Religion and Philosophy in Germany spans the earliest religious beliefs of the Germanic people to the philosophy of Hegel, and warns with startling force of the dangers of yielding to 'primeval Germanic paganism'. Finally, the Memoirs consider Heine's Jewish heritage and describe his early childhood. As rich in humour, satire, lyricism and anger as his greatest poems, together the pieces offer a fascinating insight into a brilliant and prophetic mind.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic lit

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Book SynopsisIn his most famous and controversial book, Utopia, Thomas More imagines a perfect island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and all property is communal. Through dialogue and correspondence between the protagonist Raphael Hythloday and his friends and contemporaries, More explores the theories behind war, political disagreements, social quarrels, and wealth distribution and imagines the day-to-day lives of those citizens enjoying freedom from fear, oppression, violence, and suffering. Originally written in Latin, this vision of an ideal world is also a scathing satire of Europe in the sixteenth century and has been hugely influential since publication, shaping utopian fiction even today.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout histo

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Book SynopsisFirst recorded 1500 years ago, but taking its origins from a far earlier oral tradition, the Pancatantra is ascribed by legend to the celebrated, half-mythical teacher Visnu Sarma. Asked by a great king to awaken the dulled intelligence of his three idle sons, the aging Sarma is said to have composed the great work as a series of entertaining and edifying fables narrated by a wide range of humans and animals, and together intended to provide the young princes with vital guidance for life. Since first leaving India before AD 570, the Pancatantra has been widely translated and has influenced a cast number of works in India, the Arab world and Europe, including the Arabian Nights, the Canterbury Tales and the Fables of La Fontaine. Enduring and profound, it is among the earliest and most popular of all books of fables.

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Book SynopsisA thought-provoking collection of searing prose from a Dakota Sioux woman that covers race, identity, assimilation, and perceptions of Native American cultureZitkala-Sa (also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin) wrestled with the conflicting influences of American Indian and white culture throughout her life. Raised on a Sioux reservation, she was educated at boarding schools that enforced assimilation and was witness to major events in white-Indian relations in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Tapping her troubled personal history, Zitkala-Sa created stories that illuminate the tragedy and complexity of the American Indian experience. In evocative prose laced with political savvy, she forces new thinking about the perceptions, assumptions, and customs of both Sioux and white cultures and raises issues of assimilation, identity, and race relations that remain compelling today.Table of ContentsAmerican Indian Stories, Legends, and Other Writings - Zitkala-Sa Introduction and Notes by Cathy N. Davidson and Ada NorrisAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingChronologyA Note on the TextsI. Old Indian LegendsPrefaceIktomi and the DucksIktomi's BlanketIktomi and the MuskratIktomi and the CoyoteIktomi and the FawnThe Badger and the BearThe Tree-BoundShooting of the Red EagleIktomi and the TurtleDance in a Buffalo SkullThe Toad and the BoyIya, the Camp-EaterManstin, the RabbitThe Warlike SevenII. American Indian StoriesImpressions of an Indian ChildhoodThe School Days of an Indian GirlAn Indian Teacher Among IndiansThe Great SpiritThe Soft-Hearted SiouxThe Trial PathA Warrior's DaughterA Dream of Her GrandfatherThe Widespread Enigma Concerning Blue-Star WomanAmerica's Indian ProblemIII. Selections from American Indian MagazineThe Indian's Awakening (January-March 1916)A Year's Experience in Community Service Work Among the Ute Tribe of Indians (October-December 1916)The Red Man's America (January-March 1917)Chipeta, Widow of Chief Ouray (July-September 1917)A Sioux Woman's Love for Her Grandchild (October-December 1917)Editorial Comment (July-September 1918)Indian Gifts to Civilized Man (July-September 1918)Secretary's Report in Brief (July-September 1918)Editorial Comment (Winter 1919)America, Home of the Red Man (Winter 1919)The Coronation of Chief Powhatan Retold (Winter 1919)Letter to the Chiefs and Headmen of the Tribes (Winter 1919)Editorial Comment (Spring 1919)Editorial Comment (Summer 1919)An Indian Praying on the Hilltop (Summer 1919)Address by the Secretary-Treasurer, Society of American Indians Annual Convention (Summer 1919)IV. Poetry, Pamphlets, Essays, and SpeechesSide by Side (March 1896)A Ballad (January 1897)Iris of Life (November 1898)A Protest Against the Abolition of the Indian Dance (August 1902)The Menace of Peyote (ca. 1916)Americanize the First American (1921)Bureaucracy Versus Democracy (1921)A Dakota Ode to Washington (1922)California Indian Trails and Prayer Trees (1922)Lost Treaties of the California Indians (1922)The California Indians of Today (1922)Heart to Heart Talk (1922)Explanatory Notes

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Book SynopsisA Penguin ClassicWidely considered the greatest work by the foremost Brazilian author of the twentieth century, The Double Death of Quincas Water-Bray comes to Penguin Classics in a new translation by the dean of Portuguese-language translators, Gregory Rabassa. It tells the story of Joaquim Soares da Cunha, who drops dead after he abandons his life of upstanding citizenship to assume the identity of Quincas Water-Bray, a “champion drunk” and bum who is whisked along on a postmortem journey that climaxes in his loss at sea.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-toTrade Review"Raucous . . . Rowdy . . . Outrageous!" —The New York Times“Swift, funny, and occasionally even slapstick.” —Rivka Galchen, from the Introduction“Part Virginia Woolf, part Weekend at Bernie’s . . . [An] excellent example of the particular mixture of folkloric elements and high-literary storytelling for which Amado is often paired with Gabriel García Márquez.” —The Wall Street Journal"Hilarious... Deftly constructed... Hugely entertaining... Amado, like Quincas, is a hoaxer who loves to trick his readers.... [His] version of Brazil is seductive." —The Times Literary Supplement“[A] comic masterpiece . . . Darkly hilarious . . . With brilliant sleight of hand and deceptive simplicity, Amado’s defiance of death in this frothy, heartfelt tale reveals the Brazilian master at his earthy, big-hearted best.” —Shelf Awareness

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Book SynopsisAnother spellbinding trip around the globe with some of today's most celebrated writers and journalistsCondé Nast Traveler is the preeminent travel magazine in the United States, boasting a readership of 3.5 million. This second collection of the award-winning magazine's best travel writings, includes essays by luminaries such as, Robert Hughes, Russell Banks, E. L. Doctorow, André Aciman, Pico Iyer, and Edna O'Brien.As the world becomes smaller and ever more accessible, interest in travel writing is only growing greater. So whether readers are preparing for their own journeys or just indulging in an armchair adventure, this new volume of The Condé Nast Traveler Book of Unforgettable Journeys will open their eyes to the world.

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Book SynopsisA collection of reviews and essays by David Orr, the New York Times poetry columnist and one of the most respected critics in America today, his best work of the past fifteen years in one place   Poetry is never more vital, meaningful, or accessible than in the hands of David Orr. In the pieces collected here, most of them written originally for the New York Times, Orr is at his rigorous, conversational, and edifying best. Whether he is considering the careers of contemporary masters, such as Louise Glück or Frederick Seidel, sizing up younger American poets, like Matthea Harvey and Matthew Zapruder, or even turning his attention to celebrities and public figures, namely Oprah Winfrey and Stephen Fry, when they choose to wade into the hotly contested waters of the poetry world, Orr is never any less than fully persuasive in arguing what makes a poem or poet great—or not. After all, as Orr points out in his introduction, “Poetry is

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Book SynopsisAn irresistible new volume of affectionate missives about our feline companions from Charles Dickens, Anne Frank, Raymond Chandler, Elizabeth Taylor, and more, from the author of the bestselling Letters of Note collectionsFlorence Nightingale sends care instructions to the woman who has just adopted her angora tomcat Mr. White. T. S. Eliot issues a rhyming birthday party invitation to all Jellicle cats for his four-year-old godson. Jack Kerouac's mother grieves at the death of the family cat. Jack Lemmon winkingly suggests to Walter Matthau that they go in on a cat ranch in Mexico. This utterly charming collection offers a warm and friendly look at the place that cats occupy in our hearts and lives. These thirty letters capture the profound delight of having or observing a cat, and they reveal a keen insight into feline nature as well as our own.

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Book SynopsisAs the author takes us on a wise and whimsical journey through a cabinet of curiosities, she shows the mysterious human impulse to collect and how these items can map a people?s past and future, their fears and obsessions, in this poetic tribute to the museums of the otherworldly island nation of Iceland. Illustrations.

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Book SynopsisReveals the extraordinary lives and times of remarkable explorers and scientistsTrade Review"The book is destined to become part of the standard readings for students of modern China." -- Jared M. Phillips * IIAS Newsletter *"Scholarly and multifaceted. Recommended." * Choice *"As a collection of biographies, the authors have included the sort of details, first-person accounts, and photographs that make biography such a wonderful form of historical writing…Specialists and general readers with an interest in China’s borderlands will find this book of value, above all, as a history of Western inquiry and adventure in the region." -- Gregory Rohlf * Asian Highlands Perspectives, Vol. 28 *"….a very valuable contribution that advances our understanding of an unfairly neglected topic in the study of China’s borderlands." -- Fa-Ti Fan * Journal of Asian Studies *Table of ContentsPreface, Denise M. Glover Introduction, Stevan Harrell 1. The Eyes of Others, Erik Mueggler 2. At Home in Two Worlds, Denise M. Glover 3. Searching for the "Lolos", Tamara Wyss 4. Classifying Joseph Rock, Alvin Yoshinaga et al. 5. Franc-Catholic Modernizer Paul Vial, Margaret B. Swain 6. David Crockett Graham, Charles F. McKhann and Alan Waxman 7. David Crocket Graham in Chinese Intellectual History, Jeff Kyong-McClain and Geng Jing 8. Science across Borders, Johan Gunnar Andersson and Ding Wenjiang Gazetteer References Contributions Index

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Book SynopsisA new edition of the New York Times bestsellerBailey Whites classic collection of essays featuring the unusual characters of her Georgia hometownTrade ReviewTucson Citizen, 3/26/09 "Pass the corn pone and enjoy." Columbia State, 4/19/09 "Funny essays...and White's mama...is amusing enough all on her own." Augusta Metro Spirit, 5/20/09 "A stunning display of Southern hilarity...Those in search of heart, humor, and intriguing characters could do a lot worse than the life of White." Bookviews.com, July 2009 "A celebration of the South...For fellow Southerners it will resonate with many memories of this unique region." Option,8/15/11 "A trip back to Flannery O'Connor territory, with perhaps a side route to Capote-land."

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