LITMIR.BIZ

Thornton W. Burgess was an important and influential American conservationist and a prolific author of entertaining and witty children’s stories. For over 50 years, Burgess published numerous popular books on the flora and fauna of the natural world and wrote a regular newspaper column called “Bedtime Stories”. Often affectionately referred to as the “Bedtime Story-Man”, Burgess celebrated his love for the natural world through humorous and educational stories for children in both his books and in his column. First published in 1914, “The Adventures of Peter Cottontail” features one of Burgess’ most popular characters. In this charming tale, Peter is up to his usual silliness as he tries to change his name, gets into constant mischief, and even tries unsuccessfully to hibernate with the woodland creatures. Peter’s adventures are comical and fun and are accompanied by important lessons in being true to oneself and kind to others. Burgess had a special ability to combine an educational story about the behaviors, habitats, and characteristics of the creatures of the natural world while also captivating audiences both young and old. This edition includes a biographical afterword and the original illustrations by Harrison Cady.

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Thornton W. Burgess was an important and influential American conservationist and a prolific author of entertaining children’s stories. For over 50 years, Burgess published numerous popular books on the flora and fauna of the natural world and wrote a regular newspaper column called “Bedtime Stories”. Often affectionately referred to as the “Bedtime Story-Man”, Burgess celebrated his love for the natural world through humorous and educational stories for children in both his books and in his popular column. First published in 1913, “The Adventures of Reddy Fox” is an exciting tale of the naughty little Reddy Fox. When he foolishly steals a hen and is chased by the farmer’s son and Bowser the Hound, Reddy must rely on his wits and the help of Granny Fox and his friends to escape a dangerous fate. Burgess had a special ability to combine an educational story about the behaviors, habitats, and characteristics of the creatures of the natural world while also captivating audiences both young and old. This edition includes a biographical afterword and the original illustrations by Harrison Cady.

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First published in 1941, “The Mask of Sanity: An Attempt to Clarify Some Issues About the So-Called Psychopathic Personality” by Hervey M. Cleckley, an American psychiatrist, is considered to be the most important work on psychopathology of the twentieth-century. Cleckley based his work on clinical interviews with patients in mental institutions and continued to edit and revise his seminal work throughout the years. The title “The Mask of Sanity” refers to Cleckley’s description of the psychopath as living behind a mask of normalcy, which makes the disorder very difficult to recognize and diagnosis. They may appear engaging, intelligent, charming, and sincere but behind this façade of a normal, functioning person they are severely mentally disordered and chaotic. Cleckley was the first to recognize the psychopath’s lack of genuine emotion that stems from a serious and uncontrolled neuropsychiatric defect. Cleckley’s work is startlingly insightful and his outline of the basic elements of psychopathology remains relevant nearly eighty years later. While highly controversial when it was first published, Cleckley’s exhaustive research and the fascinating case studies he explores in detail make “The Mask of Sanity” an indispensable guide for both professionals and lay people alike who wish to better understand psychopathology.

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First Published in 1924 and awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1925, Edna Ferber’s “So Big” is the fascinating tale of Selina Peak De Jong and her resilience in the face of a difficult marriage, widowhood, and single parenthood, set in the Dutch farming community of South Holland, Illinois near Chicago. Ferber based her courageous and resourceful heroine on the story of Antje Paarlberg, who was a Dutch immigrant and an enterprising farmer and widow in her Midwestern community. In the beginning, Selina is a school teacher in a rural community and she works hard to foster a love of art and beautiful things in her students. Soon she marries a Dutch farmer named Pervus and they have a son named Dirk, whom she nicknames “So Big”. Pervus falls ill and dies and Selina is left alone to try and keep the farm afloat. Selina struggles to preserve her dignity in a community that is often stern and judgmental and never loses her love of beauty and art. Ferber’s novel is full of complex and nuanced characters and her themes of ambition, sexism, and poverty continue to resonant with readers.

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First published in 1909, E. M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” is a fascinating story of dystopic science fiction which has been heralded as one of the greatest of the twentieth century. The tale is set in a vague future time when humans are no longer able to live on the surface of the planet and must instead survive underground where all their needs are taken care of by the ever-present Machine. The visionary work was far ahead of its time as Forster envisioned a world where people’s main form of communication and entertainment was dependent on machines and done through a video and messaging apparatus. In this bleak future, the lives of two people, Vashti and Kuno, collide and the cruelty and indifference of the Machine is exposed. “The Machine Stops” remains a thought-provoking and harrowing story of the dangers of human dependence on technology and the resilience of the human spirit. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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Originally published in sixteen separate booklets in 1928 before consolidated into a single volume, “The Law of Success” is the first work by famed American self-help author Napoleon Hill, well-known for his widely read classic “Think and Grow Rich”, which remains one of the best-selling self-help books of all time. “The Law of Success” was based upon interviews with and studies of successful people over the course of several years. Hill discovers that these self-made leaders of industry and innovation have several things in common, including a mindset and work ethic that help them succeed at whatever they apply themselves to. Hill distills these insights into sixteen lessons that anyone can use in their own lives to be more successful, both personally and financially. In this practical and encouraging guide, Hill discusses how an individual mindset must be changed and the will focused in order to create the proper foundation necessary for success in business and relationships. “The Law of Success” can help anyone find the path to a happier and more fulfilling life and the skills to turn their failures and set-backs into positive advantages.

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First published in German in 1816, “The Nutcracker and the Mouse-King” is the children’s fairy tale by Prussian composer and romantic author E. T. A. Hoffman that inspired Tchaikovsky’s famous ballet. Popularized by a French retelling by Alexandre Dumas in 1844 and immortalized in 1892 in the ballet that has become a part of the Christmas season tradition, Hoffman’s original tale is a magical story of imagination and love. It begins on Christmas Eve as the young Marie and her brother Fritz receive their Christmas gifts, including a beautiful nutcracker that immediately catches Marie’s interest. She begins to have fantastical dreams of her brave nutcracker leading all of her dolls in battle against the cruel and greedy Mouse-King and his army of mice. Her parents do not believe her dreams are real, but Marie is certain that the nutcracker is indeed her magical hero. She continues to dream of dramatic battles, the nutcracker’s eventual victory over the wicked Mouse-King, and a trip to the beautiful Land of Toys. Hoffman’s fairy tale of magic and devotion continues to captivate audiences and inspire adaptations around the world.

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“Expert Card Technique” by Jean Hugard and Frederick Braue is a detailed and instructive guide on how to master the manipulation of cards. Jean Hugard, born John Gerard Rodney Boyce in Queensland, Australia in 1872, began his professional career as a magician in 1896 and eventually moved to America in 1915 where he worked in vaudeville and as a stage magician. He retired from performing professionally around 1930 and began a prolific and successful career writing books on magic. As he became older and lost his eyesight, the magician Frederick Braue began co-writing several books with Hugard on the art of card magic. Braue was a journalist and semi-professional magician who specialized in card tricks and was viewed as a master at this skill. In their book “Expert Card Technique”, these magical geniuses show even the most novice beginner how to learn to manipulate cards in basic ways and then moves on to teach more advanced flourishes, such as forces, fans, and prearranged decks. This guide is indispensable to anyone who wishes to handle cards with impressive dexterity and for those studying magic, as these are skills that must be mastered before complicated card tricks can be performed with ease.

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Noted German polymath Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz was one of the most important philosophers of the Enlightenment era. A contemporary of Isaac Newton, Leibniz is today best remembered for independently developing a system of differential and integral calculus. As a philosopher he ranks as one of three great proponents of rationalism, along with Rene Descartes and Baruch Spinoza. Unpublished until the middle of the 19th century, Leibniz’s “Discourse on Metaphysics” is a philosophical work in which the author argues that “God is an absolutely perfect being” and therefore our world is the best possible one in which a perfect being could create. Also included in this volume is the “Monadology”. Written near the end of Leibniz’s life and published posthumously, the “Monadology” is a collection of elementary principles or “monads”, in which the philosopher seeks answers to the nature of reality and tries to address the problems that arise from mind-body dualism. Both admired and ridiculed by his contemporaries, Leibniz’s works remain as an important part of the canon of Enlightenment era philosophy. This edition follows the translation of George R. Montgomery.

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Collected in this edition are forty stories by Guy de Maupassant, the 19th century French author considered by many as one of the masters of the modern short story. Maupassant was a prolific author during his short life, writing six novels, 300 short stories, and three travel books before dying at age 42. Maupassant was influenced by the style of Gustave Flaubert and his stories are noted for their efficient prose and his seemingly effortless ability to reach satisfying conclusions. Many of his tales are set during the Franco-Prussian conflict and are an unflinching portrayal of war’s brutality and senselessness. Maupassant’s works have been hugely influential to authors, playwrights, and film makers in the decades since their first publication and are frequently adapted for stage and screen. Collected here are such classics as “Ball of Tallow”, often considered one of the best short stories ever written, the cruelly ironic “The Diamond Necklace”, the shockingly brutal “Mademoiselle Fifi”, and many more unforgettable and evocative tales. This edition includes a biographical afterword.

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