Best of
American

1903

The Souls of Black Folk


W.E.B. Du Bois - 1903
    W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated early 20th-century black protest in America. In this collection of essays, first published together in 1903, he eloquently affirms that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to beg for those rights that belong inherently to all mankind. He also charges that the strategy of accommodation to white supremacy advanced by Booker T. Washington, then the most influential black leader in America, would only serve to perpetuate black oppression.Publication of The Souls of Black Folk was a dramatic event that helped to polarize black leaders into two groups: the more conservative followers of Washington and the more radical supporters of aggressive protest. Its influence cannot be overstated. It is essential reading for everyone interested in African-American history and the struggle for civil rights in America.

The People of the Abyss


Jack London - 1903
    I went down into the underworld of London with an attitude of mind which I may best liken to that of the explorer. I was open to be convinced by the evidence of my eyes, rather than by the teachings of those who had not seen, or by the words of those who had seen and gone before. Further, I took with me certain simple criteria with which to measure the life of the underworld. That which made for more life, for physical and spiritual health, was good; that which made for less life, which hurt, and dwarfed, and distorted life, was bad."

Optimism


Helen Keller - 1903
    At the time children who were deaf and blind were simply given up on. But Helen's mother read that a deaf blind person had been educated and decided to explore that possibility for her daughter. As a result of this Helen Keller was the first deaf blind person to earn a bachelor of Arts degree and she went on to be one of the most celebrated women of the twentieth century.

More Goops and How Not to Be Them


Gelett Burgess - 1903
    First published in 1903, this second of the well-known Goop books contains many of  the funniest and most original of Burgess's famous rhymes.Children and their parents will delight in the antics of these amusing little creatures as they scamper about on every page in hilarious drawings by the author. Eighty seven verses give the "dos and the don'ts" of justice, frankness, "ain't," walking with Papa, piano torture, how to eat soup, books, manners, cheating, visiting, picking and stealing, loyalty, indolence, exaggeration, noise, inquisitiveness, wet feet, and many more.

Poetical Works of William Cullen Bryant Household Edition


William Cullen Bryant - 1903
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.