As Malcolm Cowley says in his introduction, the first edition of Leaves of Grass 'might be called the buried masterpiece of American writing', for it exhibits 'Whitman at his best, Whitman at his freshest in vision and boldest in language, Whitman transformed by a new experience.' Mr Cowley has taken the first edition from its narrow circulation among scholars, faithfully edited it, added his own introduction and Whitman's original introduction (which never appeared in any other edition during Whitman's life), and returned it to the common readership to whom the great poet really speaks.

    Whether it be in the depiction of the complications of divorced families, grown-up daughters, estranged sisters, office friendships or fleeting love affairs, the pieces in this collection showcase Richard Yates's extraordinary gift for observation and his understanding of human frailty.

    

    The only constant in Alex's life is no-good, criminally-minded peers, who are all too ready to plant illegal ideas in an intelligent mind. Bunker writes, "His unique potential would develop into unique destructiveness."

    A selection from Creature Comforts.

    It is Nine Nations. Each has its capital and its distinctive web of power and influence. Some are still close to being raw frontiers; others have four centuries of history. Each has a peculiar economy; each commands an emotional allegiance from its citizens. Some are made topographically distinct by mountains, deserts, rivers. Others are defined by attitudes, ways of making a living, music, and language. Few are contained by lines that now describe "Canada," "Mexico," "the United States." Each of these Nine Nations has its own desires. Most important, each nation has a distinct prism through which it views the rest of the world.

    Here are enchanting tales about queens and kings and princesses in magical, timeless lands; marvelously warm and funny stories that move, amuse, and enlighten us as they probe the mysterious and profound relation between art and life." This is a hardcover edition of The Art of Living and Other Stories, written by John Gardner and published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1981. It is a self-stated First Printing, with stunning woodcuts by Mary Azarian.

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    The author of Bad Land realizes a lifelong dream as he navigates the waters of the Mississippi River in a spartan sixteen-foot motorboat, producing yet another masterpiece of contemporary American travel writing.  In the course of his voyage, Raban records the mercurial caprices of the river and the astonishingly varied lives of the people who live along its banks.  Whether he is fishing for walleye or hunting coon, discussing theology in Prairie Du Chien or race relations in Memphis, he is an expert observer of the heartyland's estrangement from America's capitals ot power and culture, and its helpless nostalgia for its lost past.  Witty, elegaic, and magnificently erudite, Old Glory is as filled with strong currents as the Mississippi itself.

    An ever popular book detailing hundreds of archaeological ruins across the American Southwest.

    

    Miles to recreate the world of the Osage during the last quarter of the Nineteenth century and first quarter of the twentieth century. Using his own experiences, Mathews stressed the spirituality, dignity, and humor of the Osages as they acculturated to the non-Indian world and adapted some of its aspects for their own use.

    Everyone's heard of old man MacDonald's farm.But, truth be told, MacDonald wasn't much of a farmer.He didn't even have animals -- at first.So he got himself some.And there went the farm.

    From breakthroughs in the sciences to breakdowns in international relations, from the heroes who mastered the playing fields to masterpieces of art and literature, The Timetables provides a comprehensive account of the march of civilization. The Timetables of American History is an invaluable resource for serious students and dabblers alike.

    294-Glimpses of Historic Seattle in photographs, laid out by the many neighborhoods and districts throughout the city from it's early beginning through this publishing- 1981.

    Lovely survey of vernacular imagery from the U.S. in the first two decades of the 20th century. Includes an essay on methods of dating photographic postcards (with 19 marks illustrated). Compiled with text by Hal Morgan and Andreas Brown; foreword by John Baskin. 192 pages; 290 actual-size sepia-toned and color reproductions; 9.25 x 8.25 inches. Appendix.