A literary alchemist, Ann Patchett plumbs the depths of her experiences to create gold: engaging and moving pieces that are both self-portrait and landscape, each vibrant with emotion and rich in insight. Turning her writer's eye on her own experiences, she transforms the private into the universal, providing us all a way to look at our own worlds anew, and reminds how fleeting and enigmatic life can be.

A collection of stories, comics, and poems about the power of joy and the wonders of Black boyhood.

Framed in the doorway of Hercule Poirot's bedroom stands an uninvited guest, coated from head to foot in dust. The man stares for a moment, then he sways and falls. Who is he? Is he suffering from shock or just exhaustion? Above all, what is the significance of the figure 4, scribbled over and over again on a sheet of paper? Poirot finds himself plunged into a world of international intrigue, risking his life--and that of his 'twin brother'--to uncover...

A collection of poems, stories, and humor with a dog theme.

One of the most influential and compelling books in American literature, Walden is a vivid account of the years that Henry D. Thoreau spent alone in a secluded cabin at Walden Pond. This edition-introduced by noted American writer John Updike-celebrates the perennial importance of a classic work, originally published in 1854. Much of Walden's material is derived from Thoreau's journals and contains such engaging pieces from the lively "Where I Lived,...

Well-known works including fables, folklore, fiction, drama, and more, by such authors as Aesop, Dickens, Tolstoy, Shakespeare, and Baldwin, are presented to teach virtues, including compassion, courage, honesty, friendship, and faith.

Born a free man in New York State in 1808, Solomon Northup was kidnapped in Washington, D.C., in 1841. He spent the next 12 years as a slave on a Louisiana cotton plantation, and during this time he was frequently abused and often afraid for his life. This is his detailed description of slave life and plantation society.

"Author Ross Gay spent a year writing almost-daily essays about the things, large and small, that delight him"--

This early work by Lebanese-American Poet Kahlil Gibran is both expensive and hard to find in its first edition. It contains a collection of beautiful verse and prose in the romantic style for which he is famed. This fascinating work is thoroughly recommended for all those interested in the poetry of the human condition and the wonders of being alive.

A collection of stories, poems, and songs about Thanksgiving Day, by such authors as Aileen Fisher, Jack Prelutsky, Eve Merriam, and Yoshiko Uchida.