The Gardener's Year is a charismatic product of Karel Capek's genius: amusing, informative, and full of a quizzical interest in people, animals and plants.In this new version, Geoffrey Newsome -the highly acclaimed translator of Capek's witty Letters from England -has captured the grace and irony of the original Czech, to produce a volume that will be treasured equally by those who love gardening as a relaxation, by those who loathe it as a chore, and by those who have no interest in it whatsoever.

    Wildly popular when first produced, they are if anything even more popular today. The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan provides the complete text of all thirteen of the Gilbert and Sullivan operas still being performed today, including H.M.S. Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, and The Mikado. Each work is thoroughly annotated, with the text, including stage directions, given on the right-hand page, and the notes on the left. The annotations provide a wealth of information--everything from the identity of real-life people mentioned in the opera, to clear explanations of obscure words and phrases (such as legal terms) and other literary references, to comments from first-night critics, and much more. In addition, Bradley has written a marvelously informative introduction to the book as well as superb introductions to each piece, describing the genesis of the work, its performance history, and other fascinating tidbits. A goldmine of information, The Complete Annotated Gilbert & Sullivan will delight the hearts of Savoyards everywhere.

    Originally published in the Strand, in September 1929.

    Lamb, an ordinary man who leads an ordinary life, until a chance encounter leads to him experiencing the world through the eyes of various animals. Thorne Smith again shows his mastery of the comic fantasy tale as Lamb lurches from one mishap to another, reeling from his wife's abandonment and the actions of his headstrong daughter and reveling in the new opportunities that his excursions into animal form provide.

    3 of the most uproariously amusing, irresistably gay novels ever written by Thorne Smith, which is the same as saying ever written. The Stray LambThe hilarious story of Mr. T. Lawrence Lamb, a solid citizen, who was transmuted into a succession of creatures usually met only in menageries. TurnaboutA comedy in which the great God Ram does a little malicious mixing of drinks and sexes. Rain In The DoorwayA mad saga of repressed desires in a world where triple martinis are served in steins.

    When sent to sell a tractor to an English lord, he reveals himself as a man of culture and innate refinement who realizes that a cutaway and all the etceteras are necessities when dealing with the titled nobility. Although in general he tries to cultivate a polite and ingratiating manner, Botts on a collecting job is a hard-boiled bozo, in a very softhearted way. Whether it means diving into a well for a drowned cat, promoting a beauty contest, or riding into a swamp, Alexander Botts always makes his sale, and even if you're not interested in a tractor, you're sure to be interested in and delighted by Botts. Share this book with someone in uniform.

    Gilfillan was an anomaly. An Ivy League scholar with a broad knowledge of classical literature and a talent for writing, he nonetheless chose to herd sheep from 1916 to 1934 in a lonely, isolated part of the West. Out of this strange juxtaposition of expertise and experience, Gilfillan produced this classic narrative of American sheepherding.First published in 1929, Sheep: Life on the South Dakota Range provides a personal, informative, and entertaining account of the western sheepherder. From blizzards to predatory wolves, from grass-crazed sheep in the springtime to penny-pinching bosses, Gilfillan misses nothing. He also volunteers his trenchant opinions on modern women, cowboys, and homesteaders—many of whom were his neighbors.In his introduction, Richard W. Etulain, director of the Center for the American West at the University of New Mexico, describes Gilfillan’s life and discusses the appeal of the wide-open West to an urban-industrial nation.

    Lardner, American humorist and short-story writer, is known for his mordant wit, exemplified in satirical stories and sketches of American life in the early 20th century told in the language of athletes, stockbrokers, secretaries, chorus girls, etc. Contents: The Maysville Minstrel; I Can't Breathe; Haircut; Alibi Ike; Liberty Hall; Zone of Quiet; Mr. Frisbie; Hurry Kane; Champion; Contract; Dinner; Women; A Day with Conrad Green; Old Folks' Christmas; Harmony; The Love Nest; Ex Parte; The Golden Honeymoon; Now and Then; Horseshoes; There are Smiles; Anniversary; Reunion; Travelogue; Who Dealt? My Roomy; Rhythm; Some Like Them Cold; Nora; Man Not Overboard; A Caddy's Diary; Mr. and Mrs. Fix-It; A Frame-Up; Sun Cured; and The Facts. See other titles by this author available from Kessinger Publishing.