The Crisis


Winston Churchill - 1901
    The story is set in the author's home town of St. Louis, Missouri, the site of pivotal events in the western theater of the Civil War, with historically prominent citizens having both Northern and Southern sympathies.

The Young Man's Guide


William A. Alcott - 1834
    Now, in this unique rendition of his classic work, you, too, can use his wisdom to unlock your greatest potential and live a happy and prosperous life. From refining your appearance and handling social interactions to managing your finances and business matters, each of the aphorisms and quotes in this book reveals simple yet revelatory techniques that will empower you to redefine your future and fill it with love, joy, and abundance.With William Alcott's guidance, you will strengthen your character, harness purposeful thoughts, and create the life you've always wanted.

Seek: Reports from the Edges of America and Beyond


Denis Johnson - 2001
    And not an obliging, easygoing world either; but rather one in which horror and beauty exist in such proximity that they might well be interchangeable. Where violence and poverty and moral transgression go unchecked, even unnoticed. A world of such wild, rocketing energy that, grasping it, anything at all is possible.Whether traveling through war-ravaged Liberia, mingling with the crowds at a Christian Biker rally, exploring his own authority issues through the lens of this nation's militia groups, or attempting to unearth his inner resources while mining for gold in the wilds of Alaska, Johnson writes with a mixture of humility and humorous candor that is everywhere present.With the breathtaking and often haunting lyricism for which his work is renowned, Johnson considers in these pieces our need for transcendence. And, as readers of his previous work know, Johnson's path to consecration frequently requires a limning of the darkest abyss. If the path to knowledge lies in experience, Seek is a fascinating record of Johnson's profoundly moving pilgrimage.

Boy Scout Handbook


Boy Scouts of America - 1911
    Scouts past and present will be fascinated to see how scouting has changed, as well as what has stayed the same over the years.

Strenuous Life


Theodore Roosevelt - 1899
    Teddy Roosevelt lived a full and accomplished life and shared many of his beliefs in this book, in which he tells how to live life to its most productive and fullest.

Essential Manners for Men: What to Do, When to Do It, and Why


Peter Post - 2003
    Peter Post, great-grandson of Emily Post, distills the essential information men need for all the important roles they play in life.Organized into three parts -- "Daily Life," "Social Life," and "On the Job" -- Essential Manners for Men resolves situations that can stump even the savviest. Peter Post's advice is sharp-witted and sensible, with tips, boxes, and candid anecdotes about his own etiquette blunders. Topics include:The most important behaviors to avoid and emulate at the gym, at work, on the golf course, at home, out with friends, at a business social event, and a child's ball gameTipping, driver's "ed-iquette," introductions, sportsmanship, and parentingSuccessfully sharing living spaces with a roommate, significant other, or spouse -- from the toilet seat to the remote control to the kitchen sinkHow to throw a great party or be the perfect guestHow to successfully navigate the business dinnerThings men do wrong that make women wince, and things men do right that women loveThe five-step process to resolve any situation where there is no etiquette "rule"Short and shoot-from-the-hip honest, Essential Manners for Men is a book no man can afford to be without.

Self Control - Its Kingship and Majesty


William George Jordan - 1907
    This title is one of a number of religious books he wrote, which can be thought of as precursors to today's self-help book. Contents Include: The Kingship of Self-control; The Crimes of the Tongue; The Red Tape of Duty; The Supreme Charity of the World; Worry, the Great American Disease; The Greatness of Simplicity; Living Life Over Again; Syndicating our Sorrows; The Revelations of Reserve Power; The Majesty of Calmness; Hurry, the Scourge of America; The Power of Personal Influence; The Dignity of Self-Reliance; Failure as a Success; Doing Our Best at All Times; The Royal Road to Happiness. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

The Boys of Summer


Roger Kahn - 1972
    It is a book by and about a sportswriter who grew up near Ebbets Field, and who had the good fortune in the 1950s to cover the Dodgers for the Herald Tribune. This is a book about what happened to Jackie, Carl Erskine, Pee Wee Reese, and the others when their glory days were behind them. In short, it is a book about America, about fathers and sons, prejudice and courage, triumph and disaster, and told with warmth, humor, wit, candor, and love.

The American Boy's Handy Book


Daniel Carter Beard - 1880
    An 1890 manual of pasttimes which includes instructions for making kites, fishing poles, a blow gun, boats, and theatrical costumes, and for raising dogs, stuffing animals, stocking an aquarium, and camping.

Parallel Lives


Plutarch
    Surviving Lives contain 23 pairs, each with a Greek & a Roman Life, & 4 unpaired Lives. As explained in the opening of his Life of Alexander, he wasn't concerned with history so much as the influence of character on life & destiny. Whereas sometimes he barely touched on great events, he devoted much space to anecdote & incidental triviality, this often telling more about his subjects than their famous accomplishments. He sought to provide rounded portraits, likening his craft to painting. Indeed, he went to great (often tenuous) length to draw parallels between physical appearance & character. He's amongst the earliest moral philosophers. Some of the Lives, like those of Heracles, Philip II of Macedon & Scipio Africanus, are lost. Many remaining Lives are truncated, contain lacunae or have been tampered with. Extant are those on Solon, Themistocles, Aristides, Pericles, Alcibiades, Nicias, Demosthenes, Pelopidas, Philopoemen, Timoleon, Dion of Syracuse, Alexander the Great, Pyrrhus of Epirus, Romulus, Numa Pompilius, Coriolanus, Theseus, Aemilius Paullus, Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Gaius Marius, Sulla, Sertorius, Lucullus, Pompey, Julius Caesar, Cicero, Cato the Younger, Mark Antony & Marcus Junius Brutus.

The Frontier in American History


Frederick Jackson Turner - 1920
    historian, who is best known for his "frontier thesis," which proposed that American democracy was profoundly shaped by the existence of an undeveloped frontier area from the founding through the 1880s. He originally put forth his idea in the essay "The Significance of the Frontier in American History," published just three years after the frontier was "officially closed" in 1890. He continued to elaborate on the frontier thesis as well as the influence of sectionalism, and the unique contributions of the Midwest to American democracy. His theory and other writings are still debated by modern day historians. This work, The Frontier in American History, collects a number of Turner's essays and speeches, including "The Significance of the Frontier in American History."The 100 Greatest Masterpieces of American Literature a limited edition collection is published under the auspices of The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration

Education of a Wandering Man


Louis L'Amour - 1989
    Like classic L'Amour fiction, Education of a Wandering Man mixes authentic frontier drama--such as the author's desperate efforts to survive a sudden two-day trek across the blazing Mojave desert--with true-life characters like Shanghai waterfront toughs, desert prospectors, and cowboys whom Louis L'Amour met while traveling the globe. At last, in his own words, this is a story of a one-of-a-kind life lived to the fullest . . . a life that inspired the books that will forever enable us to relive our glorious frontier heritage.

A River Runs Through It


Norman Maclean - 1976
    There are thirteen two-color wood engravings.Norman Maclean (1902-90), woodsman, scholar, teacher, and storyteller, grew up in the Western Rocky Mountains of Montana and worked for many years in logging camps and for the United States Forestry Service before beginning his academic career. He retired from the University of Chicago in 1973.

Oil!


Upton Sinclair - 1926
    Bribery of public officials, class warfare, and international rivalry over oil production are the context for Sinclair's story of a genial independent oil developer and his son, whose sympathy with the oilfield workers and socialist organizers fuels a running debate with his father. Senators, small investors, oil magnates, a Hollywood film star, and a crusading evangelist people the pages of this lively novel.

The Art of War


Niccolò Machiavelli
    The Art of War is far from an anachronism—its pages outline fundamental questions that theorists of war continue to examine today, making it essential reading for any student of military history, strategy, or theory. Machiavelli believed The Art of War to be his most important work.