“Though a narrative of literal, prosaic truth, Two Years Before the Mast possesses something of the romantic charm of Robinson Crusoe. Few more interesting chapters of the literature of the sea have ever fallen under…
“The Library of America here makes available an unparalleled resource for the study of our nation’s politics, history, and enduring values.”—Daniel Walker Howe
“The Library of America has just released a volume devoted to Bradbury’s short stories. Its fraternal twin, published last year, collected his longer fiction. Together, the two books—also available as a box set, The Ray Bradbury…
“[The virtues of The Guns of August] are almost Thucydidean: intelligence, concision, weight, detachment.”—Clifton Fadiman
“A splendid reminder of how good a poet Karl Shapiro could be. One of the first things to be said about Shapiro’s poetry is that, various though it is, it is never gloomy. A pleasure in life, in its richness, variety, and oddity, inform…
“Hearn’s writing about New Orleans exposed thousands of Americans to the Crescent City and Louisiana at large. We’re happy to know that even today, Hearn’s work promises to acquaint new fans with the city’s…
“For freshness of voice, firmness of purpose (if a firmness always subject to scruples and second thoughts), and general delight on the page, the memoirs are fully alive to the contemporary reader. . . . James’s memoirs have a shimmer, a…
“Can one diagnose the state of a nation through its attitude toward its aviary? This new volume from the Library of America makes such a project seem possible, assembling a centuries-long archive of U.S. bird writing that claims to act as…
“In his journals, Emerson focused on a wide range of topics, from moral truth to domestic gossip, from Concord to European travels, from solitude to democracy, slavery, and the US economy. His frame of reference oscillates between nature and…
“Combines Porter’s short stories collections — Flowering Judas and Other Stories; Pale Horse, Pale Rider; and The Leaning Tower and Other Stories — with a large dose of her short prose (reviews, criticism, essays…