Robin Field

Among the writers to emerge during the mid-19th century transcendental movement, Henry David Thoreau is perhaps the most popular and recognizable, thanks in no small part to his book Walden. After spending two years in a self-built cabin in the woods -- on the property of fellow writer and transcendentalist Ralph Waldo Emerson -- the Massachusetts-born author, poet and philosopher put on paper his experiences among nature, listening to the sounds...

"Born the child of a poor farmer in Missouri, William Stoner is urged by his parents to study new agriculture techniques at the state university. Digging instead into the texts of Milton and Shakespeare, Stoner falls under the spell of the unexpected pleasures of English literature, and decides to make it his life. Stoner is the story of that life"--Publisher description (January 2007).

This is the first mature and persuasive work to explain how species change through the process of natural selection. A major book of the nineteenth century, it is one of the most readable and accessible of the great revolutionary works of the scientific imagination.

Pierre: or, The Ambiguities (1852) is a novel by American writer Herman Melville. Published the year after Moby-Dick-a critical and commercial failure-Pierre: or, The Ambiguities is a psychological novel in the tradition of Gothic fiction. Melville struggled to find a publisher who would pay him in advance for the book, and its appearance prompted widespread ridicule and condemnation in the press, with some critics claiming that Melville himself had...

"Winner of the 1973 National Book Award. In Augustus, the third of his great novels, John Williams took on an entirely new challenge, a[n] historical novel set in classical Rome, exploring the life of the founder of the Roman Empire, whose greatness was matched by his brutality. To tell the story, Williams also turned to a genre, the epistolary novel, that was new to him, transforming and transcending it just as he did the western in Butcher's Crossing...

Inspired by transcendentalism, Whitman's immortal collection includes some of the greatest poems of modern times, including his masterpiece, "Song of Myself." Shattering standard conventions, it stands as an unabashed celebration of body and nature. "The most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has yet contributed."--Ralph Waldo Emerson. Walt Whitman was a poetic Visionary. He published the first edition of this monumental work in 1855...

"A storm tears through rural Kansas and a young farm girl named Dorothy finds herself and her farmhouse swallowed by a cyclone and transported to a magical land called Oz. This unexpected passage into this land of wonders is not without its peril as her farmhouse has fallen on the Wicked Witch of the East. Without pause, the Good Witch of the North appears and presents Dorothy with the Wicked Witch's prized magical silver shoes. The wonders of Oz...

Step into history with Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, the captivating autobiography of one of Americas greatest military leaders and the 18th President of the United States. Written with remarkable clarity and humility, Ulysses S. Grants memoirs offer an unparalleled glimpse into the Civil War and his extraordinary life. Grant recounts his early years, his rise through the ranks of the Union Army, and the pivotal battles that shaped the nations...

Regarded by many as the most luminous example of Twain's work, this historical novel chronicles the French heroine's life, as purportedly told by her longtime friend - Sieur Louis de Conte. A panorama of stirring scenes recount Joan's childhood in Domremy, the story of her voices, the fight for Orleans, the splendid march to Rheims, and much more. An amazing record that disclosed Twain's unrestrained admiration for Joan's nobility of character, the...

Published in 1875, this generous collection of sixty-three sketches and short stories includes the classic "The Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," as well as other standouts like "To Raise Poultry," "How the Author Was Sold in Newark," and "My Bloody Massacre."