-Titulo Original : The Call Of The Wild And Selected Stories (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: The Call of the Wild is Now a Major Motion Picture Starring Harrison Ford! Out of the white wilderness, out of the Far North, Jack London, one of America’s most popular authors, drew the inspiration for his robust tales of perilous adventure and animal cunning. Swiftly paced and vividly written, the novel and five short stories included here capture the main theme of London’s work: the law of the club and the fang-man’s instinctive reversion to primitive behavior when pitted against the brute force of nature. Includes The Call of the Wild, Diable: A Dog, An Odyssey of the North, To the Man on the Trail, To Build a Fire, and Love of Lif...

-Titulo Original : Crime And Punishment (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: Dostoyevsky’s epic masterpiece, unabridged, with an afterword by Robin Feuer Miller One of the world’s greatest novels, Crime and Punishment is the story of a murder and its consequences-an unparalleled tale of suspense set in the midst of nineteenth-century Russia’s troubled transition to the modern age. In the slums of czarist St. Petersburg lives young Raskolnikov, a sensitive, intellectual student. The poverty he has always known drives him to believe that he is exempt from moral law. But when he puts this belief to the test, he suffers unbearably. Crime and punishment, the novel reminds us, grow from the same seed. “No other novelist,” wrote Irving Howe of Dostoyevsky, “has dramatized so powerfully the values and dangers, the uses and corruptions of systematized thought.” And Friedrich Nietzsche called him “the only psychologist I have anything to learn from.” With an Introduction by Leonard J. Stanton and James D. Hardy Jr. and an Afterword by Robin Feuer Mille...

-Titulo Original : It Cant Happen Here (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: “The novel that foreshadowed Donald Trump’s authoritarian appeal.”-Salon It Can’t Happen Here is the only one of Sinclair Lewis’s later novels to match the power of Main Street, Babbitt, and Arrowsmith. A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler’s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called “a message to thinking Americans” by the Springfield Republican when it was published in 1935, It Can’t Happen Here is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today’s news. With an Introduction by Michael Meyer and an Afterword by Gary Scharnhors...

-Titulo Original : The Count of Monte Cristo (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: In his rousing adventure story, Alexandre Dumas employs all the elements of compelling drama-suspense, intrigue, love, vengeance, and the triumph of good over evil-that contribute to this classic novel’s irresistible and timeless appeal. In the post-Napoleonic era, a young sailor from Marseilles is poised to become captain of his own ship and marry his beloved. But jealous enemies provoke his arrest, condemning Edmond Dantes to lifelong imprisonment in the infamous Chateau d’If. There, his sole companion reveals his secret plan to escape, as well as the location of a trove of riches hidden on a remote island. Determined to avenge himself against the men that conspired to destroy him, the newly free Edmond uses the treasure to forge a mysterious and powerful new identity: the Count of Monte Cristo...

-Titulo Original : The Anti-Federalist Papers And The Constitutional Convention Debates (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: Should the members of the government be elected by direct vote of the people? Should the government be headed by a single executive, and how powerful should that executive be? Should immigrants be allowed into the United States? How should judges be appointed? What human rights should be safe from government infringement? In 1787, these important questions and others were raised by such statesmen as Patrick Henry and John DeWitt as the states debated the merits of the proposed Constitution. Along with The Federalist Papers, this invaluable book documents the political context in which the Constitution was born.  This volume includes the complete texts of the Anti-Federalist Papers and Constitutional Convention debates, commentaries, and an Index of Ideas. It also lists cross-references to its companion volume, The Federalist Papers, available in a Signet Classic edition. ...

-Titulo Original : 1984 (Signet Classics), Book Cover May Vary-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Autobiography Of Andrew Carnegie And The Gospel Of Wealth (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Invisible Man (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Virtue Of Selfishness: Fiftieth Anniversary Edition-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Fall Of The House Of Usher And Other Tales (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Complete Poetry Of Edgar Allan Poe (Signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life In New York With The Boot Blacks-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : The Pillars Of The Earth: A Novel (Kingsbridge)-Fabricante : Signe...

-Titulo Original : Fade Out-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: Withoutthe evil vampire Bishop ruling over the town of Morganville,the resident vampires have made major concessions to the human population. With their newfound freedoms, Claire Danvers and her friends are almost starting to feel comfortable again… Now Claire can actually concentrate on her studies, and her friend Eve joins the localtheatrecompany. But when one of Eve’s castmates goes missingafter starting work on a shortdocumentary, Eve suspects the worst. Claire and Eve soon realize that this film project, whose subjectis the vampires themselves, is a wholelot bigger-andway more dangerous-than anyone suspected. About the Author Rachel Caine is the author of more than twenty novels, including the Weather Warden series. She was born at White Sands Missile Range, which people who know her say explains a lot. She has been an accountant, a professional musician, and an insurance investigator, and still carries on a secret identity in the corporate world. She and her husband, fantasy artist R. Cat Conrad, live in Texas with their iguanas, Popeye and Darwin; a mali uromastyx named (appropriately) O’Malley; and a leopard tortoise named Shelley (for the poet, of course). Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. INTRODUCTION Welcome to Morganville. Youll never want to leave. So, youre new to Morganville. Welcome, new resident! There are only a few important rules you need to know to feel comfortable in our quiet little town: Obey the speed limits. Dont litter. Whatever you do, dont get on the bad side of the vampires. Yeah, we said vampires. Deal with it. As a human newcomer, youll need to find yourself a vampire Protector-someone willing to sign a contract to keep you and yours safe from harm (especially from the other vampires). In return, youll pay taxes…; just like in any other town. Of course, in most other towns, those taxes dont get collected at the blood bank. Oh, and if you decide not to get a Protector, you can do that, too…; but youd better learn how to run fast, stay out of the shadows, and build a network of friends who can help you. Try contacting the residents of the Glass House-Michael, Eve, Shane, and Claire. They know their way around, even if they always end up in the middle of the trouble somehow. Welcome to Morganville. Youll never want to leave. And even if you do…; well, you cant. Sorry about that. 1 Eve Rossers high-pitched scream rang out through the entire house, bouncing off every wall, and, like a Taser applied to the spine, it brought Claire out of a pleasant, drowsy cuddle with her boyfriend. Oh my God, what? She half jumped, half fell off the couch. Mortal danger was nothing new around their unofficial four-person frat house. In fact, mortal danger didnt even merit a full-fledged scream these days. More of a raised eyebrow. Eve? What? The screaming went on, accompanied by thumping that sounded like Eve was kickboxing the floor. Damn, Shane Collins said as he scrambled to his feet, as well. What the hell is wrong with that girl? Was there a sale at Morbid R Us and nobody told her? Claire smacked him on the arm, but only out of reflex; she was already heading for the hallway, where the scream echoed loudest. She would have moved faster, but there wasnt panic in that scream after all. It was more like…; joy? In the hallway, their roommate Eve was having a total fit-screaming, bouncing in hoppy little circles like a demented Goth bunny. It was made especially strange by her outfit: flouncy black sheer skirt, black tights with neon pink skulls, a complicated-looking corset with buckles, and her clunky Doc Martens boots. Shed worn her hair in pigtails today, and they whipped wildly around as she jumped and spun and did a wiggling victory dance. Claire and Shane stood without saying a word, and then exchanged a look. Shane silently raised a finger and made a slow circle at his temple. Claire, eyes wide, nodde...

-Titulo Original : The Federalist Papers (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: A DOCUMENT THAT SHAPED A NATIONAn authoritative analysis of the Constitution of the United States and an enduring classic of political philosophy. Written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay, The Federalist Papers explain the complexities of a constitutional government-its political structure and principles based on the inherent rights of man. Scholars have long regarded this work as a milestone in political science and a classic of American political theory. Based on the original McLean edition of 1788 and edited by noted historian Clinton Rossiter, this special edition includes: Textual notes and a select bibliography by Charles R. Kesler Table of contents with a brief precis of each essay Appendix with a copy of the Constitution cross-referenced to The Federalist Papers Index of Ideas that lists the major political concepts discussed Copies of The Declaration of Independence and Articles of Confederation About the Author Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804) was born in the West Indies and served during the War of Independence as a captain. His military brilliance was recognized, and he was sent on several important military commissions. He was George Washington’s secretary and aide-de-camp and in 1787 become a Member of the Constitutional Convention. From 1789 to 1795 he was the first Secretary of the Treasury, and in 1801 he held the casting vote against Burr and for Jefferson. He fought a duel with Burr and died the next day. James Madison (1751-1836) was the fourth President of the United States and become known as the ‘father’ of the Constitution because of his influence in planning it and drawing up the Bill of Rights. He was Secretary of State under Jefferson, and his main achievement in this role was the purchase of Louisiana from the French. He lived in Montpelier, Virginia, for eighty-five years, two of which he spent on the governor’s council. He was elected President in 1809 and again in 1812. During his terms in office he worked to abolish slavery, to disestablish the Church and to seek peace, although under his command the war against Britain resulted in a U.S. triumph. John Jay (1745-1829) served the new nation in both law and diplomacy and established important judicial precedents as first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. A New York attorney from 1768, he won a wide reputation with The Address to the People of Great Britain, which stated the claims of the colonists. He did not sign the Declaration of Independence in 1776 but helped to ensure its approval in New York. In 1789 he was appointed the first U.S. Chief Justice and shaped the Supreme Court procedures. The Jay Treaty of 1794 with Great Britain made him unpopular, and his hopes of succeeding Washington as President faded. After a spell as Governor of New York he retired to a farm, where he spent twenty-seven uneventful years. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. The Federalist No. 1: HamiltonOctober 27, 1787To the People of the State of New York. After an unequivocal experience of the inefficacy of the subsisting Federal Government, you are called upon to deliberate on a new Constitution for the United States of America. The subject speaks its own importance; comprehending in its consequences, nothing less than the existence of the Union, the safety and welfare of the parts of which it is composed, the fate of an empire, in many respects, the most interesting in the world. It has been frequently remarked, that it seems to have been reserved to the people of this country, by their conduct and example, to decide the important question, whether societies of men are really capable or not, of establishing good government from reflection and choice, or whether they are forever destined to depend, for their political constitutions, on accident and force. If there be any truth in the remark, the crisis, at which we are arrived, may with propriety be re...

-Titulo Original : As You Like It (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: The Signet Classics edition of William Shakespeares comedic play about two enduring human illusions-the dream of a simple life and the ideal of romantic love. Banished from her uncles court, young princess Rosalind disguises herself as a farmer and encounters a memorable cast of characters-including her love Orlando-in the Forest of Arden in this witty, subversive comedy. This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as: * An overview of Shakespeares life, world, and theater * A special introduction to the play by the editor, Albert Gilman * Selections from Thomas Lodges Rosalynd, the source from which Shakespeare derived As You Like It * Dramatic criticism from Arthur Colby Sprague, Helen Gardener, and others * A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions * Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text * And more... About the Author William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a poet, playwright, and actor who is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language. Often referred to as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeares vast body of work includes comedic, tragic, and historical plays; poems; and 154 sonnets. His dramatic works have been translated into every major language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright...

-Titulo Original : The Tempest (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: The Signet Classics edition of William Shakespeares fantastical play that combines elements of tragedy and comedy.Prospero-sorcerer and rightful Duke of Milan-has lived a reclusive life with his daughter Miranda in the years since his position was usurped by his brother, Antonio. Now, as Antonio’s ship passes near Prospero’s island home, the sorcerer conjures up a terrible storm that will change all of their destinies....This revised Signet Classics edition includes unique features such as:* An overview of Shakespeares life, world, and theater* A special introduction to the play by the editor, Robert Langbaum* Selections from William Strachey, Sylvester Jourdain, Montaigne, and Ovid, sources from which Shakespeare derived The Tempest* Dramatic criticism from Samuel Taylor Coleridge, E.M.W. Tillyard, Lori Jerrell, and others* A comprehensive stage and screen history of notable actors, directors, and productions* Text, notes, and commentaries printed in the clearest, most readable text* And more... About the Author William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was a poet, playwright, and actor who is widely regarded as one of the most influential writers in the history of the English language. Often referred to as the Bard of Avon, Shakespeares vast body of work includes comedic, tragic, and historical plays; poems; and 154 sonnets. His dramatic works have been translated into every major language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter 1list of partsPROSPERO, the right Duke of MilanMIRANDA, his daughterALONSO, King of NaplesSEBASTIAN, his brotherANTONIO, Prosperos brother, the usurping Duke of MilanFERDINAND, son to the King of NaplesGONZALO, an honest old councillorADRIAN and FRANCISCO, lordsTRINCULO, a jesterSTEPHANO, a drunken butlerMASTER, of a shipBOATSWAINMARINERSCALIBAN, a savage and deformed slaveARIEL, an airy spiritIRIS, CERES, JUNO, spirits commanded by Prosperoplaying roles of NYMPHS, REAPERSThe Scene: an uninhabited islandAct 1 Scene 1 running scene 1A tempestuous noise of thunder and lightning heard. Enter a Shipmaster and a BoatswainMASTER Boatswain!BOATSWAIN Here, master. What cheer?MASTER Good: speak to thmariners. Fall tot yarely, or we run ourselves aground! Bestir, bestir! ExitEnter MarinersBOATSWAIN Heigh, my hearts! Cheerly, cheerly, my hearts! Yare, yare! Take in the topsail. Tend to thmasters whistle.- Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough.Enter Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio, Ferdinand, Gonzalo and othersALONSO Good boatswain, have care. Wheres the master? Play the men.BOATSWAIN I pray now, keep below.ANTONIO Where is the master, boatswain?BOATSWAIN Do you not hear him? You mar our labour. Keep your cabins! You do assist the storm.GONZALO Nay, good, be patient.BOATSWAIN When the sea is. Hence! What cares these roarers for the name of king? To cabin! Silence! Trouble us not.GONZALO Good, yet remember whom thou hast aboard.BOATSWAIN None that I more love than myself. You are a counsellor: if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more: use your authority. If you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap.- Cheerly, good hearts!- Out of our way, I say.Exeunt [Boatswain with Mariners, followed by Alonso, Sebastian, Antonio and Ferdinand]GONZALO I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him: his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. If he be not born to be hanged, our case is miserable. ExitEnter BoatswainBOATSWAIN Down with the topmast! Yare! Lower, lower! Bring her to try with main course. (A cry within) A plague upon this howling! They are louder than the weather or our office.Enter Sebas...

-Titulo Original : Life On The Mississippi (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: At once a romantic history of a mighty river, an autobiographical account of Twains early steamboat days, and a storehouse of humorous anecdotes and sketches, here is the raw material from which Mark Twain wrote his finest novel, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.Hannibal, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River, was host to riverboat travelers from around the world, providing a vigorous and variable atmosphere for the young Samuel Clemens to absorb. Clemens became a riverboat pilot and even chose his pen name-Mark Twain-from a term boatmen would call out signifying water depth at two fathoms, meaning safe clearance for travel. It was from this background that Life on the Mississippi emerged. It is an epochal record of America’s growth, a stirring remembrance of her vanished past. And it earned for its author his first recognition as a serious writer. With an Introduction by Justin Kaplanand an Afterword by John Seelye About the Author In his person and in his pursuits, Mark Twain (1835-1910) was a man of extraordinary contrasts. Although he left school at twelve, when his father died, he was eventually awarded honorary degrees from Yale University, the University of Missouri, and Oxford University. His career encompassed such varied occupations as printer, Mississippi riverboat pilot, journalist, travel writer, and publisher. He made fortunes from his writing, but toward the end of his life he had to resort to lecture tours to pay his debts. He was hot-tempered, profane, and sentimental-and also pessimistic, cynical, and tortured by self-doubt. His nostalgia for the past helped produce some of his best books. He lives in American letters as a great artist, the writer whom William Dean Howells called the Lincoln of our literature.Justin Kaplan is the author of numerous books including Mr. Clemens and Mark Twain, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award; Mark Twain and His World; Walt Whitman: A Life; and with his wife, Anne Bernays, Back Then: Two Lives in 1950s New York. In 1985, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.John Seelye is a leading American Studies scholar and Graduate Research Professor Emeritus of American Literature at the University of Florida. His books include The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain in the Movies: A Meditation with Pictures, and Beautiful Machine: Rivers and the Republic Plan, 1755-1825. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter One. The River and Its HistoryThe Mississippi is well worth reading about. It is not a commonplace river, but on the contrary is in all ways remarkable. Considering the Missouri its main branch, it is the longest river in the world--four thousand three hundred miles. It seems safe to say that it is also the crookedest river in the world, since in one part of its journey it uses up one thousand three hundred miles to cover the same ground that the crow would fly over in six hundred and seventy-five. It discharges three times as much water as the St. Lawrence, twenty-five times as much as the Rhine, and three hundred and thirty-eight times as much as the Thames. No other river has so vast a drainage-basin; it draws its water-supply from twenty-eight states and territories; from Delaware on the Atlantic seaboard, and from all the country between that and Idaho on the Pacific slope--a spread of forty-five degrees of longitude. The Mississippi receives and carries to the Gulf water from fifty-four subordinate rivers that are navigable by steamboats, and from some hundreds that are navigable by flats and keels. The area of its drainage-basin is as great as the combined areas of England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Austria, Italy, and Turkey; and almost all this wide region is fertile; the Mississippi valley, proper, is exceptionally so.It is a remarkable river in this: that instead of widening toward its mouth, it gro...

-Titulo Original : The Story Of My Life (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: Helen Kellers triumph over her blindness and deafness has become one of the most inspiring stories of our time. Here, in a book first published when she was young woman, is Helen Kellers own story-complex, poignant, and filled with love.With unforgettable immediacy, Helen’s own words reveal the heart of an exceptional woman, her struggles and joys, including that memorable moment when she finally understands that Anne’s finger-spelled letters w-a-t-e-r mean the fluid rushing over her hand. Helen Keller was always a compassionate and witty advocate for the handicapped, and her sincere and eloquent memoir is deeply moving for the sighted and the blind, the deaf and the hearing. “Her spirit will endure,” said Senator Lister Hill at her funeral, “as long as man can read and stories can be told of the woman who showed the world there are no boundaries to courage and faith.” Through movies and plays, most notably The Miracle Worker, which portrayed her relationship with her teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller’s life has become an emblem of hope for people everywhere. With an Introduction by Jim Knipfel and an Afterword by Marlee MatlinThis Signet Classic edition includes a facsimile of the Braille alphabet, a sign-language alphabet, and a full selection of Helen Keller’s letters. Review “The greatest woman of our age.” -Winston Churchill“Helen Keller is fellow to Caesar, Alexander, Napoleon, Homer, Shakespeare, and the rest of the immortals. . . . She will be as famous a thousand years from now as she is today.” -Mark Twain About the Author Helen Adams Keller (1880-1968) was born in Tuscumbia, Alabama in 1880. As a result of an illness, she became deaf and blind at the age of nineteen months. In 1887, her learning began with her teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, and at the age of nineteen, she entered Radcliffe College, from which she graduated in 1904. A well-known lecturer and writer, she published her autobiography, The Story of My Life, in 1902. Her other works include Optimism (1903), The World I Live In (1908), and The Song of the Stone Wall (1910). Marlee Matlin received worldwide critical acclaim for her film Children of a Lesser God, for which she received the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the youngest recipient of the Best Actress Oscar and only one of four actresses to receive the honor for her film debut. Since then she has gone on to star in numerous film and television roles. In 1994, she was appointed by President Clinton to the Corporation for National Service and she currently serves as spokesperson for The American Red Cross as well as on the boards of a number of charitable organizations, continuing to advocate on behalf of children and people with disabilities. She has authored three novels for children, Deaf Child Crossing, Nobody’s Perfect and Leading Ladies and in 2009, published her New York Times bestselling autobiography I’ll Scream Later. Jim Knipfel is a staff writer at New York Press, as well as the author of Slackjaw and Quitting the Nairobi Trio. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter IIt is with a kind of fear that I begin to write the history of my life. I have, as it were, a superstitious hesitation in lifting the veil that clings about my childhood like a golden mist. The task of writing an autobiography is a difficult one. When I try to classify my earliest impressions, I find that fact and fancy look alike across the years that link the past with the present. The woman paints the childs experiences in her own fantasy. A few impressions stand out vividly from the first years of my life; but the shadows of the prison-house are on the rest. Besides, many of the joys and sorrows of childhood have lost their poignancy; and many incidents of vital importance in my early education have been forgotten in the excitement of great discoveries. In order, therefore, not to be tedious I shall try to present in...

-Titulo Original : The Autobiography And Other Writings (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: A comprehensive and insightful compilation of Benjamin Franklin’s The Autobiography and other essays which offers an in-depth look into the life of America’s most fascinating Founding Father.Benjamin Franklin was a true Renaissance man: writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, diplomat, and politician. During his long life, he offered advice on attaining wealth, organized public institutions, contributed to the birth of a nation, and negotiated with foreign powers to ensure his country’s survival. Through the words of the elder statesman himself, The Autobiography and Other Writings presents a remarkable insight into the man and his accomplishments. Additional writings from Benjamin Franklin’s wife and son provide a more intimate portrait of the husband and father who became a legend in his own time. Edited by L. Jesse Lemich With an Introduction by Walter Isaacson and an Afterword by Carla Mulford About the Author Benjamin Franklin (1706-90) was born in Boston. When he was twelve, his father apprenticed him to his half brother James as a printer. James was later the publisher of the New England Courant, where Franklin’s first articles, “The Dogood Papers,” were published before he was seventeen. He went to Philadelphia in 1723, where he was befriended by William Keith, Governor of Pennsylvania, who offered to help Franklin get started in business. They went to England, where he hoped to purchase printing equipment, but he was soon deserted by Keith and again turned to printing for a livelihood. His privately printed “A Dissertation on Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain” (1725) introduced him to leading Deists and other intellectuals in London. A year later, he returned to Philadelphia, and by 1730, he had been appointed public printer for Pennsylvania. In 1731, he established the first circulation library in the United States and, in 1743-44, the American Philosophical Society. As a publisher, his greatest success was Poor Richard’s Almanack, which went through numerous editions and was translated into many languages. Over the next thirty-five years, he devoted himself largely to politics and diplomacy, by serving in the Continental Congress, signing the Declaration of Independence, and becoming Minister to France. On his return in 1785, he was elected President of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Still concerned with the rights of the individual, he published papers encouraging the abolition of slavery. He died in Philadelphia. L. Jesse Lemisch is Professor Emeritus of History at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York. Among his notable works is The American Revolution Seen from the Bottom Up. Walter Isaacson, the CEO of the Aspen Institute, has been chairman of CNN and the managing editor of Time. He is the author of Steve Jobs; Einstein: His Life and Universe; Benjamin Franklin: An American Life; and Kissinger: A Biography, and is the coauthor of The Wise Men: Six Friends and the World They Made. He lives in Washington, DC. Carla Mulford has been teaching early American literature and culture and Native American studies at Pennsylvania State University, University Park, since 1986. The Founding President of the Society of Early Americanists, she has published books related to Franklin’s associates and contemporaries John Leacock, Annis Stockon, William Hill Brown, and Hannah Webster Foster. She has also compiled (with Amy E. Winans and Angela Vietto) two collections: a biographical dictionary, American Women Prose Writers to 1820, and an anthology of readings, Early American Writings. She has published several essays on Benjamin Franklin and is working on two book-length studies of Franklin called Benjamin Franklin and the Arts of Science and Benjamin Franklin and the Ends of Empire. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Part OneTwyford, at the Bishop of St. Asaphs, 1771.Dear son:I have ever had pleasure in ob...

-Titulo Original : Two Years Before The Mast (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: About the Author John Seelye is a graduate research professor of American literature at the University of Florida. He is the author of The True Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain at the Movies, Prophetic Waters: The River in Early American Literature, Beautiful Machine: Rivers and the Early Republic, Memorys Nation: The Place of Plymouth Rock, and War Games: Richard Harding Davis and the New Imperialism. He is also the consulting editor for Penguin Classics in American literature. Tracing an awe-inspiring oceanic route from Boston, around Cape Horn, to the California coast, Two Years Before the Mast is both a riveting story of adventure and the most eloquent, insightful account we have of life at sea in the early nineteenth century. Richard Henry Dana is only nineteen when he abandons the patrician world of Boston and Harvard for an arduous voyage among real sailors, amid genuine danger. The result is an astonishing read, replete with vivid descriptions of storms, whales, and the ships mad captain, terrible hardship and magical beauty, and fascinating historical detail, including an intriguing portrait of California before the gold rush. As D. H. Lawrence proclaimed, Danas small book is a very great book. Review Possesses . . . the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe.--Ralph Waldo Emerson Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. Chapter II am unwilling to present this narrative to the public without a few words in explanation of my reasons for publishing it. Since Mr. Cooper’s Pilot and Red Rover, there have been so many stories of sea-life written, that I should really think it unjustifiable in me to add one to the number without being able to give reasons in some measure warranting me in so doing.With the single exception, as I am quite confident, of Mr. Ames entertaining, but hasty and desultory work, called “Mariner’s Sketches,” all the books professing to give life at sea have been written by persons who have gained their experience as naval officers, or passengers, and of these, there are very few which are intended to be taken as narratives of facts.Now, in the first place, the whole course of life, and daily duties, the discipline, habits and customs of a man-of-war are very different from those of the merchant service; and in the next place, however entertaining and well written these books may be, and however accurately they may give sea-life as it appears to their authors, it must still be plain to every one that a naval officer, who goes to sea as a gentleman, “with his gloves on,” (as the phrase is,) and who associates only with his fellow-officers, and hardly speaks to a sailor except through a boatswain’s mate, must take a very different view of the whole matter from that which would be taken by a common sailor.Besides the interest which every one must feel in exhibitions of life in those forms in which he himself has never experienced it; there has been, of late years, a great deal of attention directed toward common seamen, and a strong sympathy awakened in their behalf. Yet I believe that, with the single exception which I have mentioned, there has not been a book written, professing to give their life and experiences, by one who has been of them, and can know what their life really is. A voice from the forecastle has hardly yet been heard.In the following pages I design to give an accurate and authentic narrative of a little more than two years spent as a common sailor, before the mast, in the American merchant service. It is written out from a journal which I kept at the time, and from notes which I made of most of the events as they happened; and in it I have adhered closely to fact in every particular, and endeavored to give each thing its true character. In so doing, I have been obliged occasionally to use strong and coarse expressions, and in some instances to give scenes which may be painful to nice feelings; but I hav...

-Titulo Original : Travels Of Marco Polo (signet Classics)-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: About the Author Marco Polo (1254-1324) was the son of a Venetian merchant and traveler. In 1271, Marco, with his father and uncle, began a journey that four years later led to their being accepted at the court of Kublai Khan. During these years, they traveled extensively in Persia and China, through regions almost totally unknown to the Western world. In service to the Khan, Marco explored Tibet and Burma and many of the remote provinces of China; it is possible that he went to the southern parts of India as well. Participating in a military conflict between Genoa and Venice, he was taken prisoner in 1298. While in captivity, he dictated the Travels of Marco Polo to a fellow prisoner.Milton Rugoff was a longtime editor for several publishing houses. He is the author of a number of books, including A Harvest of World Folk Tales, Marco Polo’s Adventures in China, The Great Travelers, and The Beechers: An American Family in the Nineteenth Century, which was nominated for an American Book Award in 1982.Howard Mittelmark is an editor, book critic, and coauthor of How Not to Write a Novel. He lives in New York City. His journey through the East began in 1271-when, still a teenager, he set out of Venice and found himself traversing the most exotic countries. His acceptance into the court of the great emperor Kublai Khan, and his service to the vast and dazzling Mongol empire, led him to places as far away as Tibet and Burma, lands rich with gems and gold and silk, but virtually unknown to Europeans.Later, as a prisoner of war, Marco Polo would record the details of his remarkable travels across harsh deserts, great mountain ranges, and dangerous seas, as well as of his encounters with beasts and birds, plants and people. His amazing chronicle is both fascinating and awe-inspiring-and still serves as the most vivid depiction of the mysterious East in the Middle Ages.Edited and with an Introduction by Milton Rugoff and an Afterword by Howard Mittelmark Review A timeless addition to any travel collection...

-Titulo Original : Capitalism The Unknown Ideal-Fabricante : Signet-Descripcion Original: In this series of essays, Ayn Rand presents her stand on the persecution of big business, the causes of war, the default of conservatism, and the evils of altruism.The foundations of capitalism are being battered by a flood of altruism, which is the cause of the modern worlds collapse. This is the view of Ayn Rand, a view so radically opposed to prevailing attitudes that it constitutes a major philosophic revolution. Here is a challenging new look at modern society by one of the most provocative intellectuals on the American scene. This edition includes two articles by Ayn Rand that did not appear in the hardcover edition: “The Wreckage of the Consensus,” which presents the Objectivists’ views on Vietnam and the draft; and “Requiem for Man,” an answer to the Papal encyclical Progresso Populorum. Review “One of the most revolutionary and powerful works on capitalism-and on politics-that has ever been published.”-Professor Leonard Peikoff, Barron’s magazine About the Author Born February 2, 1905, Ayn Rand published her first novel, We the Living, in 1936. Anthem followed in 1938. It was with the publication of The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957) that she achieved her spectacular success. Rand’s unique philosophy, Objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. The fundamentals of her philosophy are put forth in three nonfiction books, Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology, The Virtues of Selfishness, and Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal. They are all available in Signet editions, as is the magnificent statement of her artistic credo, The Romantic Manifesto...