At the beginning of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln sought to bind important political leaders to the Union by appointing them as generals. The task was formidable: he had to find enough qualified officers to command a military that would fight along a front that stretched halfway across the continent. West Point hadn't graduated enough officers, and many of its best chose to fight for the Confederacy. Lincoln needed loyal men accustomed to organization, administration, and comman...

The only mushrooming book that will introduce you safely and with confidence to the not-so "underground" hobby of mushroom hunting and gathering.Gathering edible wild food is a wonderful way to forge a connection to the earth. Mushrooms are the ultimate local food source; they grow literally everywhere, from mountains and woodlands to urban and suburban parks to your own backyard. The Complete Mushroom Hunter will enrich your understanding of the natural wo...

This extraordinary “eye-witness” account of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey’s rise and fall from power was written between 1554 and 1558 by his gentleman-usher, George Cavendish, who was privy to so much of the Cardinal’s ambitious endeavors. However, Cavendish prudently waited a long time before chronicling his observations for fear of his life, as there were those who may have take his memoirs the wrong way.Cavendish describes in great detail the daily life of Wolsey, listing his huge hou...

David Wilson has earned the unfortunate nickname "Pudd'nhead" from his fellow townspeople, who fail to understand his combination of wisdom and eccentricity. However, he is eventually able to redeem himself by simultaneously solving a murder mystery and a case of transposed identities.Two children, a white boy and a mulatto, are born on the same day. Roxy, mother of the mulatto and a slave, is given charge of the children; in fear that her son will be sold, she switches the babies....

Nathaniel Hawthorne masterfully grabs the imagination of children with these timeless tales of adventure based on the incomparable Greek mythological heroes’ escapades. Children will enter a world of magic and intrigue as they face ferocious beasts, clever enchantresses, and tricky gods, alongside the greatest heroes of all time. Will Theseus escape from the maze that is guarded by the awful Minotaur? Can Jason steal the Golden Fleece from under the nose and claws of a vicious dragon? Can ...

The story opens in the country parsonage of Dr. Primrose, a kindly man who has a good heart, a good family, and a good income. Suddenly, his idyllic life is cruelly devastated by a series of misfortunes, and he ends up in prison. Yet, despite all this calamity and injustice, the vicar never loses sight of Christian morality, a conviction which lends him genuine nobility and, in the end, also brings justice and the restoration of his family and fortune.Through this simple, almost fa...

With one small chess piece, the game begins…For archaeologist and TV host Annja Creed, a late-night phone call from the NYPD means one thing: there's been a murder and the police need her expertise. The only link between a dead body and the killer is a small elephant of white jade. An artifact that's gone missing.Once belonging to Catherine the Great of Russia, the elephant was key in a risky political gambit all those years ago. But there is another story attached to the a...

Once she was Adrienne Satti. An orphan of Davillon, she had somehow escaped destitution and climbed to the ranks of the city's aristocracy in a rags-to-riches story straight from an ancient fairy tale. Until one horrid night, when a conspiracy of forces--human and other--stole it all away in a flurry of blood and murder. Today she is Widdershins, a thief making her way through Davillon's underbelly with a sharp blade, a sharper wit, and the mystical aid of Olgun, a foreign god with no othe...

The colorful characters from Greek mythology come alive in exciting adventures captured by the author of The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter. Ride Pegasus, open Pandora’s Box, slay Medusa with her head of many snakes, join Hercules as he flexes his muscles and King Midas as he turns his daughter into gold. The stories, moral in tone, are totally riveting.A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys includes:The Gorgon’s Head The Golden Touch ...

In one of the first novels in the English language, we follow the picaresque adventures of Joseph Andrews, a virtuous young man who is keen to maintain his innocence, despite being coerced into bed by nearly every woman he encounters. The episodic journey sees him head home to London with his tutor, Parson Adams, with the aim of finding his sweetheart, Fanny. Much mayhem ensues along the way as they become embroiled in a series of escapades and slapstick brawls. Fielding is an expert satir...

In April 1878, Mark Twain and his family traveled to Europe. Overloaded with creative ideas, Twain had hoped that the sojourn would spark his creativity enough to bring at least one of the books in his head to fruition. Instead, he wrote of his walking tour of Europe, describing his impressions of the Black Forest, the Matterhorn, and other attractions. Neglected for years, A Tramp Abroad sparkles with Twain’s shrewd observations and highly opinionated comments on Old World cultur...

Hank Morgan is a mechanic, an engineer, and a foreman at the Colt Arms Factory. One day he gets into an argument, "conducted with crowbars," with an employee known as "Hercules." A blow to Hank's head sends him back to King Arthur's England in the Sixth Century. Quickly becoming a newspaper tycoon, an inventor, a showman, politician, and one-man military industrial complex, Hank rises to a position of power second only to King Arthur himself, ultimately challenging all of knight errantry a...