Based on an 1839 boat trip Thoreau took with his brother from Concord, Massachusetts, to Concord, New Hampshire, and back, this classic of American literature is not only a vivid narrative of that journey, it is also a collection of thought-provoking observations on such diverse topics as poetry, literature and philosophy, Native American and Puritan histories of New England, friendship, sacred Eastern writings, traditional Christianity, and much...

Thoreau's classic account of his meditative, beach-combing walking trips to Cape Cod in the early 1850s, reflecting on the elemental forces of the sea, with an introduction by Paul Theroux
Cape Cod chronicles Henry David Thoreau’s journey of discovery along this evocative stretch of Massachusetts coastline, during which time he came to understand the complex relationship between the sea and the shore. He spent his nights in...

A self-made American goes to Europe to enjoy his fortune and becomes engaged to a French widow from a noble family. Depicts the contrast between American and European culture.

Cabbages and Kings (1904) is a novel by American writer O. Henry. Inspired by his experiences as a fugitive in Honduras, the interconnected stories that make up Cabbages and Kings-the title refers to a line from Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass-address themes of revolution, imperialism, exploitation, and greed. The novel is significant not only for launching O. Henry's career as a successful professional writer, but for coining the term "banana...

Originally published in 1908, this is a collection of fourteen short stories by O. Henry, most focusing on two "grafters" (that is, confidence men), who have a certain code of ethics by which they operate. They try to hoodwink the wealthy, never the poor. Includes illustrations for several stories by H.C. Greening, a cartoonist and friend of Henry's. "A Tempered Wind" is illustrated by May Wilson Preston, one of the few women in the Society of Illustrators...

A copy of Shakespeare's The Tempest pulls a bookseller into a murder case in this mystery by Agatha Christie's favorite American author.
The hospital sees nothing to question about the death of the reclusive Mr. Crenshaw, and it's not as though he had any friends to press the issue. He did, though, have one casual acquaintance, who happens to pick up Mr. Crenshaw's battered old edition of The Tempest—and happens to pass...