A new selection of post-impressionist painter Vincent Van Gough's letters, The Letters of Vincent van Gogh put a human face on one of the most haunting figures in modern Western culture. In this Penguin Classics edition, the letters are selected and edited by Ronald de Leeuw, and translated by Arnold Pomerans in Penguin Classics.

Few artists' letters are as self-revelatory as Vincent van Gogh's, and this selection, spanning his artistic career, sheds light on every facet of the life and work of this complex and tortured man. Engaging candidly and movingly with his religious struggles, his ill-fated search for love, his attacks of mental illness and his relation with his brother Theo, the letters contradict the popular myth of van Gogh as an anti-social madman and a martyr to art, showing instead a man of great emotional and spiritual depths. Above all, they stand as an intense personal narrative of artistic development and a unique account of the process of creation.

The letters are linked by explanatory biographical passages, revealing van Gogh's inner journey as well as the outer facts of his life. This edition also includes the drawings that originally illustrated the letters.

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853-1890) was born in Holland. In 1885 he painted his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters, a haunting scene of domestic poverty. A year later he began studying in Paris, where he met Gauguin, Toulouse-Lautrec and Seurat, who became very important influences on his work. In 1888 he left Paris for the Provencal landscape at Arles, the subject of many of his best works, including Sunflowers.

In this exuberantly praised book — a collection of seven pieces on subjects ranging from television to tennis, from the Illinois State Fair to the films of David Lynch, from postmodern literary theory to the supposed fun of traveling aboard a Caribbean luxury cruiseliner — David Foster Wallace brings to nonfiction the same curiosity, hilarity, and exhilarating verbal facility that has delighted readers of his fiction, including the bestselling Infinite Jest.

Perhaps the most important work of philosophy written in the twentieth century, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus was the only philosophical work that Ludwig Wittgenstein published during his life. Written in short, carefully numbered paragraphs of extreme brilliance, it captured the imagination of a generation of philosophers.

For Wittgenstein, logic was something we use to conquer a reality which is in itself both elusive and unobtainable. He famously summarized the book in the following words: What can be said at all can be said clearly; and what we cannot talk about we must pass over in silence.

David Pears and Brian McGuinness received the highest praise for their meticulous translation. The work is prefaced by Bertrand Russell's original introduction to the first English edition.

Seeing Like a State: How Certain Schemes to Improve the Human Condition Have Failed, by James C. Scott, is an essential work that delves into the reasons behind the failure of states to execute large-scale social planning successfully. It presents an analysis of various disasters, from Russia to Tanzania, probing why such efforts often result in calamity.

The book argues that disasters occur when states impose oversimplified visions on complex realities that they cannot fully comprehend. Scott emphasizes the importance of recognizing local, practical knowledge alongside formal, systematic knowledge. He critiques 'development theory' and state planning that ignores the values and wishes of the people it affects. This persuasive narrative identifies four conditions common to all planning disasters: the state's administrative ordering of nature and society; a 'high-modernist ideology' that overestimates the role of science in improving human life; the use of authoritarian power to implement broad interventions; and the inability of a weakened civil society to resist such plans.

Written with clarity, Seeing Like a State brings to light the intricate nature of the world we inhabit and serves as a cautionary tale about the limits of grand societal engineering.

Death Be Not Proud chronicles Johnny Gunther's gallant struggle against the malignant brain tumor that claimed his life at the age of seventeen. This poignant memoir opens with a vivid portrait of Johnny by his father, highlighting a young man of extraordinary intellectual promise. Johnny excelled in physics, math, and chess, yet remained an active, good-hearted, and fun-loving teenager.

The heart of this memoir is the description of the agonizing months during which Johnny's parents, Gunther and his former wife Frances, tried everything in their power to halt the spread of Johnny's cancer and to make him as happy and comfortable as possible. Despite the challenges, Johnny strove to complete his high school studies, and the scene of his graduation ceremony from Deerfield Academy is one of the most powerful and heartbreaking moments in the book.

Throughout his illness, Johnny maintained his courage, wit, and quiet friendliness, leaving a lasting impact on those around him. He passed away on June 30, 1947, less than a month after his graduation.

Since its original publication, Joy of Cooking has been the most authoritative cookbook in America, the one upon which millions of cooks have confidently relied for more than sixty-five years. It's the book your grandmother and mother probably learned to cook from, the book you gave your sister when she got married.

This, the first revision in more than twenty years, is better than ever. Here's why: Every chapter has been rethought with an emphasis on freshness, convenience, and health. All the recipes have been reconceived and tested with an eye to modern taste, and the cooking knowledge imparted with each subject enriched to the point where everyone from a beginning to an experienced cook will feel completely supported.

The new Joy continues the vision of American cooking that began with the first edition of Joy. It is still the book you can turn to for perfect Beef Wellington and Baked Macaroni and Cheese. It's also the book where you can now find Turkey on the Grill, Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles, and vegetarian meals.

The new Joy provides more thorough descriptions of ingredients, from the familiar to the most exotic. For instance, almost all the varieties of apples grown domestically are described—the months they become available, how they taste, what they are best used for, and how long they keep. But for the first time Joy features a complete section on fresh and dried chili peppers: how to roast and grill them, how to store them, and how long they keep—with illustrations of each pepper.

An all-new "RULES" section in many chapters gives essential cooking basics at a glance: washing and storing salad greens, selecting a pasta and a matching sauce, determining when a piece of fish is cooked through, stuffing a chicken, and making a perfect souffle.

New chapters reflect changing American tastes and lifestyles: Separate new chapters on grains, beans, and pasta include recipes for grits, polenta, pilafs, risottos, vegetarian chills, bean casseroles, and make-ahead lasagnes.

New baking and dessert chapters promise to enhance Joy of Cooking's reputation as a bible for bakers. Quick and yeast bread recipes range from focaccia, pizza, and sourdoughs to muffins and coffee cakes. Separate chapters cover custards and puddings, pies and tarts, cookies, cakes, cobblers, and other American fruit desserts revived for this edition. Recipes include one-bowl cakes, gingerbread, angel and sponge cakes, meringues, pound cakes, fruitcakes, 6 different kinds of cheesecake—there's even an illustrated wedding cake recipe, which takes you through all the stages from building a stand, making and decorating the cake, to transporting it to the reception without a hitch.

Little Dishes showcases foods from around the world: hummus, baba ghanoush, bruschetta, tacos, empanadas, and fried wontons.

All new drawings of techniques, ingredients, and equipment, integrated throughout an elegant new design, and over 300 more pages round out the new Joy.

Among this book's other unique features: microwave instructions for preparing beans, grains, and vegetables; dozens of new recipes for people who are lactose intolerant and allergic to gluten; expanded ingredients chart now features calories, essential vitamins, and levels of fats and cholesterol. There are ideas for substitutions to lower fat in recipes and reduced-fat recipes in the baking sections.

From cover to cover, Joy's chapters have been imbued with the knowledge and passion of America's greatest cooks and cooking teachers. An invaluable combination of old and new, this edition of Joy of Cooking promises to keep you cooking for years to come.

Moab Is My Washpot is a number one bestseller in Britain, written by the astonishingly frank, funny, and wise Stephen Fry. This memoir is the book that fans everywhere have been eagerly waiting for.

Stephen Fry, known for his PBS television debut in the Blackadder series, has seen his American profile grow steadily, especially after his title role in the film Wilde, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination, and his supporting role in A Civil Action.

Fry has already given readers a taste of his tumultuous adolescence in his autobiographical first novel, The Liar. Now, he reveals the equally tumultuous life that inspired it. Sent to boarding school at the age of seven, Fry survived beatings, misery, love affairs, carnal violation, expulsion, attempted suicide, criminal conviction, and imprisonment.

By the age of eighteen, Fry was ready to start over in a world where he had always felt like a stranger. One of very few Cambridge University graduates to have been imprisoned prior to his freshman year, Fry emerges as a brilliantly idiosyncratic character who continues to attract controversy, empathy, and real devotion.

The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down explores the clash between a small county hospital in California and a refugee family from Laos over the care of Lia Lee, a Hmong child diagnosed with severe epilepsy. Lia's parents and her doctors both wanted what was best for Lia, but the lack of understanding between them led to tragedy. Anne Fadiman's compassionate account of this cultural impasse is literary journalism at its finest.

Lia Lee was born in 1982 to a family of recent Hmong immigrants, and soon developed symptoms of epilepsy. By 1988 she was living at home but was brain dead after a tragic cycle of misunderstanding, over-medication, and culture clash: What the doctors viewed as clinical efficiency the Hmong viewed as frosty arrogance. The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down is a tragedy of Shakespearean dimensions, written with the deepest of human feeling.

'Tuesdays with Morrie' is a poignant memoir by Mitch Albom that recounts the time spent with his former sociology professor, Morrie Schwartz, during the final stages of Schwartz's battle with ALS. This book captures the essence of their weekly meetings, every Tuesday, where Morrie imparted wisdom on various aspects of life.

Albom presents Morrie's insights on the importance of love, the value of forgiveness, and the significance of forging one's own culture against the societal currents. These lessons are presented as a final 'class' from Morrie, offering guidance on how to live a meaningful life.

The author delves into the profound impact of these conversations on his life, as Morrie's teachings helped him understand the virtues of aging and the necessity to embrace vulnerability. Mitch Albom shares these invaluable lessons with readers, allowing them to benefit from Morrie's wisdom and the transformative power of their Tuesdays together.

Jesus Freaks by dc Talk and The Voice of the Martyrs is a compelling companion volume to dc Talk's album of the same name. This book is specially crafted for teenagers and delves into the profound stories of martyrdom.

It features dozens of profiles of courageous individuals, ranging from Stephen, whose martyrdom is vividly described in the Book of Acts, to "Anila and Perveen", two teenage Pakistani girls and devout Christian believers. In 1997, Perveen tragically lost her life for fleeing an arranged marriage with a Muslim man, while Anila faced imprisonment for aiding her friend's escape.

In the introduction, Michael Tait emphasizes the book's purpose: "In a world built on free will instead of God's will, we must be the Freaks. While we may not be called to martyr our lives, we must martyr our way of life. We must put our selfish ways to death and march to a different beat. Then the world will see Jesus."

The book's design is hip and easy to read, providing a thought-provoking summary of Christian persecutions that continue to this day, making it both a useful and frightening read.

A bank of clouds was assembling on the not-so-distant horizon, but journalist-mountaineer Jon Krakauer, standing on the summit of Mt. Everest, saw nothing that suggested that a murderous storm was bearing down. He was wrong. The storm, which claimed five lives and left countless more--including Krakauer's--in guilt-ridden disarray, would also provide the impetus for Into Thin Air, Krakauer's epic account of the May 1996 disaster.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye offers a fresh perspective on dating and love, especially for Christians seeking to live a life of purity and integrity. In this transformative book, Joshua Harris exposes the "Seven Habits of Highly Defective Dating" and presents a realistic outline for a biblical vision of marriage.

Harris argues for a new attitude towards love, purity, and singleness, encouraging readers to view relationships from God's perspective. The book challenges the notion of love as merely a recreational activity and instead promotes it as a selfless, biblical act.

Through insightful chapters like "Guarding Your Heart" and "What Matters at Fifty", readers are guided to focus on character rather than infatuation. Harris refutes the idea that falling in love is beyond our control, advocating for guidance from scriptural truth over fleeting feelings.

His sincere belief is that purposeful singleness and integrity in dating can lead to a fulfilled marriage, in God's timing. This book is not just theory; it is a compelling call to remap romantic lives according to God's Word and provides solid, biblical alternatives to societal norms.

The Apology of Socrates is Plato's version of the speech given by Socrates as he unsuccessfully defended himself in 399 BCE against the charges of corrupting the young and not believing in the gods in whom the city believes, but in other daimonia that are novel.

"Apology" here has its earlier meaning (now usually expressed by the word "apologia") of speaking in defense of a cause or of one's beliefs or actions.

The revised edition of this popular textbook features revised vocabulary and grammatical notes that now appear on the same page as the text, sentence diagrams, principal parts of verbs listed both by Stephanus page and alphabetically, word frequency list for words occurring more than twice, and complete vocabulary.

The epoch-making theories of linguist Noam Chomsky maintain that the human brain has an innate language faculty, and that part of this biological endowment is a universal grammar, a theory of principles common to all languages. Thus, all human languages and the ways in which children learn them are similar.

Introducing Chomsky traces Chomsky's understanding of the cognitive recognition involved in the use of language, and the technical apparatus needed to represent it. The book also describes Chomsky's radical critique of the institutions of power and the pathways of oppression, and his commitment to freedom and justice.

In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandless. After donating $25,000 in savings to charity, he abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. Four months later, his decomposed body was found by a moose hunter.

Immediately after graduating from college in 1991, McCandless roamed through the West and Southwest on a vision quest akin to those of his heroes Jack London and John Muir. In the Mojave Desert, he left his car, removed its license plates, and burned all of his cash. He adopted the name Alexander Supertramp and, without money and belongings, he set off to experience nature in its purest form. Disregarding maps, McCandless sought a blank spot on the map to truly vanish into the wild.

Author Jon Krakauer constructs a narrative that examines the stirring facts of McCandless's short life. Admitting an interest that borders on obsession, Krakauer searches for the clues to the drives and desires that propelled McCandless into the wilderness. Krakauer reveals the allure of the American wilderness, the thrill of high-risk activities to certain young men, and the complex relationships between fathers and sons. When McCandless's innocent mistakes prove fatal, he becomes the center of media scrutiny. Krakauer brings McCandless's intense journey out of the shadows with deep understanding, devoid of sentimentality, and illuminates the provocative questions McCandless's story raises about nature, adventure, and the human spirit.

In their 200+ combined years, Sadie and Bessie Delany have seen it all. They saw their father, who was born into slavery, become America's first black Episcopal bishop. They saw their mother—a woman of mixed racial parentage who was born free—give birth to ten children, all of whom would become college-educated, successful professionals in a time when blacks could scarcely expect to receive a high school diploma.

They saw the post-Reconstruction South, the Jim Crow laws, Harlem's Golden Age, and the Civil Rights movement—and, in their own feisty, wise, inimitable way, they've got a lot to say about it.

More than a firsthand account of black American history, Having Our Say teaches us about surviving, thriving, and embracing life, no matter what obstacles are in our way.

Thomas S. Kuhn's classic book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions is a landmark in intellectual history. It reshaped our understanding of the scientific enterprise and human inquiry in general. Kuhn challenged long-standing assumptions about scientific progress, arguing that transformative ideas don’t arise from the gradual process of experimentation and data accumulation, but instead occur outside of "normal science."

His ideas on how scientific revolutions bring order to the anomalies that amass over time in research experiments are still instructive in today’s biotech age. This essential work includes an insightful introduction by Ian Hacking, which clarifies terms popularized by Kuhn, including "paradigm" and "incommensurability," and applies Kuhn’s ideas to the science of today.

This edition is newly designed with an expanded and updated index, providing important background information as well as a contemporary context.

In Cold Blood is a seminal work of modern prose by Truman Capote that delves into the chilling true story of the murder of the Clutter family in Holcomb, Kansas. On November 15, 1959, the Clutters were brutally killed, with no apparent motive and scant clues left behind. Capote's reconstruction of the crime, the ensuing investigation, and the eventual capture, trial, and execution of the killers, Perry Smith and Dick Hickcock, is both suspenseful and empathetically narrated.

The narrative draws a vivid and humanizing portrait of the killers, depicting them as reprehensible yet frighteningly human. Through Capote's skilled journalistic approach combined with a powerfully evocative narrative, readers are offered a gripping and poignant insight into the nature of violence in America.

The Complete Maus, a Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel by Art Spiegelman, is a profound narrative that recounts the chilling experiences of the author's father, Vladek Spiegelman, a Jewish survivor of Hitler's Europe. This volume includes both Maus I: A Survivor's Tale and Maus II, presenting the complete story.

Through the unique medium of cartoons—with Nazis depicted as cats and Jews as mice—Spiegelman captures the everyday reality of fear and survival during the Holocaust. This artistic choice not only shocks readers out of any sense of familiarity but also draws them closer to the harrowing heart of the Holocaust.

More than just a tale of survival, Maus is also an exploration of the author's complex relationship with his father. The narrative weaves together Vladek's harrowing story with the author's own struggles, framing a life of small arguments and unhappy visits against the backdrop of a larger historical atrocity. It is a story that extends beyond Vladek to all the children who bear the legacy of their parents' traumas.

Maus is not only a personal account of survival but also a broader examination of the impact of history on subsequent generations. It is an essential work that studies the traces of history and its enduring significance.

Hamlet: Screenplay, Introduction And Film Diary offers an insightful glimpse into the creative process of bringing Shakespeare's greatest play to the silver screen. Kenneth Branagh, often credited with creating a popular movie audience for Shakespeare, shares his journey to present the complete, full-length version of Hamlet as a film.

This volume is a treasure trove for film enthusiasts and Shakespeare fans alike. It features Branagh's introduction and screenplay adaptation of Shakespeare's text, accompanied by color and black-and-white stills that capture the essence of the production. Additionally, a production diary provides a day-to-day look behind the scenes, offering a unique perspective on the filmmaking process.

The film, much like the play, is a multifaceted masterpiece. It is a ghost story, a thriller, an action-packed murder mystery, and a moving tragedy. With a remarkable cast, including Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Julie Christie as Gertrude, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Charlton Heston as the Player King, Robin Williams as Osric, and Gerard Depardieu as Reynaldo, Branagh's version is destined to make its mark in film history.

Sleepers (colloq.):

1. Out-of-town hit man who spends the night after a local contract is completed.
2. A juvenile sentenced to serve any period longer than nine months in a state-managed facility.

This is the story of four young boys. Four lifelong friends. Intelligent, fun-loving, wise beyond their years, they are inseparable. Their potential is unlimited, but they are content to live within the closed world of New York City's Hell's Kitchen. And to play as many pranks as they can on the denizens of the street.

They never get caught. And they know they never will. Until one disastrous summer afternoon.

On that day, what begins as a harmless scheme goes horribly wrong. And the four find themselves facing a year's imprisonment in the Wilkinson Home for Boys. The oldest of them is fifteen, the youngest twelve. What happens to them over the course of that year—brutal beatings, unimaginable humiliation—will change their lives forever.

Years later, one becomes a lawyer. One a reporter. And two have grown up to be murderers, professional hit men. For all of them, the pain and fear of Wilkinson still rages within. Only one thing can erase it. Revenge.

To exact it, they will twist the legal system. Commandeer the courtroom for their agenda. Use the wiles they observed on the streets, the violence they learned at Wilkinson. If they get caught this time, they only have one thing left to lose: their lives.

Sleepers is the extraordinary true story of four men who take the law into their own hands. It is a searing portrait of a system gone awry and of the people—some innocent, some not so innocent—who must suffer the consequences. At the heart of Sleepers is a sensational murder trial that ultimately gives devastating, yet exhilarating, proof of street justice and truly defines the meaning of loyalty and love between friends.

Told with great humor and compassion, even at its most harrowing, Sleepers is an unforgettable reading experience.

An Unquiet Mind is a deeply powerful memoir about bipolar illness that has both transformed and saved lives. Dr. Kay Redfield Jamison, one of the foremost authorities on manic-depressive (bipolar) illness, has also experienced it firsthand.

Throughout her life, even while she was pursuing her career in academic medicine, Jamison found herself succumbing to the same exhilarating highs and catastrophic depressions that afflicted many of her patients. Her disorder launched her into ruinous spending sprees, episodes of violence, and an attempted suicide.

In this memoir, Jamison examines bipolar illness from the dual perspectives of the healer and the healed, revealing both its terrors and the cruel allure that at times prompted her to resist taking medication.

Angela's Ashes begins with a stark reflection: "When I look back on my childhood I wonder how I managed to survive at all. It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood."

Thus starts the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir of Frank McCourt, born in Depression-era Brooklyn to Irish immigrants and raised in the slums of Limerick, Ireland. Frank's mother, Angela, struggles to provide for her children as Frank's father, Malachy, rarely works, and his wages usually end up at the pub.

Despite Malachy's flaws—his exasperating nature and irresponsibility—he instills in Frank an appetite for the one thing he can offer: a story. Frank becomes enthralled with his father's tales of Cuchulain, who saved Ireland, and the Angel on the Seventh Step, who brings his mother babies.

Enduring poverty, near-starvation, and the casual cruelty of relatives and neighbors, Frank's narrative is one of resilience and survival, told with eloquence, exuberance, and a remarkable capacity for forgiveness. His story is one that touches on the universal truths of the human spirit, underscored by a persistent sense of humor and compassion.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea is a groundbreaking and accessible book by Daniel C. Dennett, a renowned philosopher and cognitive scientist. Dennett focuses his unerringly logical mind on the theory of natural selection, demonstrating how Darwin's great idea transforms and illuminates our traditional view of humanity's place in the universe.

Dennett vividly describes the theory itself and extends Darwin's vision with impeccable arguments to their often surprising conclusions. He challenges the views of some of the most famous scientists of our day, offering a powerful defense of evolutionary thinking.

This work explores every aspect of evolutionary theory, showing why it is fundamental to our existence and affirms our convictions about the meaning of life. Dennett's engaging style makes the complex subject matter accessible and compelling for any thinking person.

Widely respected and admired, Philip Fisher is among the most influential investors of all time. His investment philosophies, introduced almost forty years ago, are not only studied and applied by today's financiers and investors, but are also regarded by many as gospel.

This book is invaluable reading and has been since it was first published in 1958. The updated paperback retains the investment wisdom of the original edition and includes the perspectives of the author's son Ken Fisher, an investment guru in his own right, in an expanded preface and introduction.

Common Stocks and Uncommon Profits and Other Writings is the updated edition of the 1958 original publication, presenting Fisher's ideas to a new generation of investors. It contains all the investment wisdom of the original edition, along with an expanded foreword and introduction by Ken Fisher.

Could the story of mankind be far older than we have previously believed? Using tools as varied as archaeo-astronomy, geology, and computer analysis of ancient myths, Graham Hancock presents a compelling case to suggest that it is.

In Fingerprints of the Gods, Hancock embarks on a worldwide quest to put together all the pieces of the vast and fascinating jigsaw of mankind’s hidden past. In ancient monuments as far apart as Egypt’s Great Sphinx, the strange Andean ruins of Tihuanaco, and Mexico’s awe-inspiring Temples of the Sun and Moon, he reveals not only the clear fingerprints of an as-yet-unidentified civilization of remote antiquity, but also startling evidence of its vast sophistication, technological advancement, and evolved scientific knowledge.

Fingerprints of the Gods contains the makings of an intellectual revolution, a dramatic and irreversible change in the way that we understand our past—and so our future. As we recover the truth about prehistory, and discover the real meaning of ancient myths and monuments, it becomes apparent that a warning has been handed down to us, a warning of terrible cataclysm that afflicts the Earth in great cycles at irregular intervals of time—a cataclysm that may be about to recur.

Salvation on Sand Mountain offers a haunting exploration of faith, delving into the mysterious and captivating world of holiness snake handling in Southern Appalachia. The book begins with a journalistic assignment that quickly transforms into a profound journey.

Dennis Covington, a New York Times reporter, initially covers the trial of an Alabama pastor convicted of attempting to murder his wife with poisonous snakes. However, this assignment leads him deep into the heart of a world characterized by unshakable faith, where participants handle deadly snakes, drink strychnine, and perform acts of healing and resurrection.

Set against the backdrop of Appalachia, this narrative is not only a chilling account of religious extremity but also an introspective journey, as Covington finds himself drawn into the practices he set out to observe.

Undaunted Courage is a riveting tale of adventure and exploration, chronicling the epic journey of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his expedition across the uncharted American frontier.

In 1803, under the directive of President Thomas Jefferson, Lewis embarked on a pioneering voyage across the Great Plains and into the Rockies. This was not just any expedition; it was a military mission into hostile territory, a land vast and wild, ruled by Native American tribes.

Charismatic and brave, Lewis was the perfect choice for this daring journey. He experienced the savage North American continent in its pristine beauty, encountering vast herds of buffalo and indigenous tribes who had never seen a white man before.

The book vividly portrays colorful characters such as William Clark, the rugged frontiersman; Sacagawea, the young Indian girl who accompanied the expedition; and Drouillard, the skilled French-Indian hunter.

This story is not only about heroism but also tragedy. Despite receiving a hero's welcome in Washington in 1806, Lewis felt his expedition was a failure, as it did not fulfill the president's dreams of fertile lands and easy passageways. This disappointment led to his tragic downfall, marked by debts and depression.

Undaunted Courage combines drama, suspense, danger, and diplomacy, making it an outstanding work of scholarship and a thrilling adventure that captures the spirit of exploration and the complexities of the human spirit.

After years of soul-searching, Jeanne Safer made the conscious decision not to have children. In this book, Safer and women across the country share insights that dispel the myth of childless women as emotionally barren or incomplete, and encourage all women to honestly confront their needs—whether they choose motherhood or not.

This book was first published in 1898 in a highly edited version and quickly became a modern spiritual classic, read by millions and translated into over fifty-five languages. John Clarke's acclaimed translation, first published in 1975, is now accepted as the standard throughout the English-speaking world.

Two and a half years before her death in 1897 at the age of 24, Thérèse Martin began writing down her childhood memories at the request of her blood sisters in the Lisieux Carmel. Few could have guessed the eventual outcome. Yet, this "story of my soul" became a beacon of confidence and love, the "little way," and abandonment to God's merciful love. Discover her "mission" in the church and world today.

The Golden Bough is a monumental study in comparative folklore, magic, and religion. It offers a detailed examination of the rites and beliefs, superstitions, and taboos of early cultures, drawing intriguing parallels to those of Christianity. Sir James George Frazer's work is a seminal piece in the fields of anthropology, comparative religion, and mythology.

This classic study explores our ancestors' primitive methods of worship, sex practices, and strange rituals and festivals. Frazer disproves the popular notion that primitive life was simple, revealing instead a complex web of magic, taboos, and superstitions. Witness the evolution of humanity from savagery to civilization, from the modification of bizarre and often bloodthirsty customs to the inception of lasting moral, ethical, and spiritual values.

Discover how this work has profoundly impacted psychology, literature, and modern anthropology, influencing many twentieth-century writers including D H Lawrence, T S Eliot, and Wyndham Lewis. The Golden Bough remains an early classic anthropological resource, offering fresh pertinence in its exploration of magical types, the sacrificial killing of kings, the dying god, and the scapegoat.

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life is a partial autobiography by C.S. Lewis that describes his conversion to Christianity. Unlike typical autobiographies, this book contains less detail about specific events because Lewis's primary aim was not historical documentation. Instead, he sought to identify and describe the events surrounding his accidental discovery of, and consequent search for, the phenomenon he labeled "Joy." This word was the best translation he could make of the German idea of Sehnsucht, or longing.

Although the book is not devoid of information about Lewis's life, the principal theme is Joy as he defined it. This Joy was a longing so intense for something so good and so high up that it couldn't be explained with words. Throughout his life, he was struck with "stabs of joy" and finally finds what it's for at the end.

Lewis recounts his early years with a mix of amusement and pain, including his experiences at Malvern College in 1913, aged 15. He described the school as "a very furnace of impure loves" but defended the practice as "the only chink left through which something spontaneous and uncalculating could creep in."

The book's last two chapters cover the end of his search as he moves from atheism to theism and then from theism to Christianity, ultimately discovering the true nature and purpose of Joy and its place in his life.

It is important to note that the book is not connected with his unexpected marriage later in life to Joy Gresham. The marriage occurred long after the period described, though not long after the book was published. His friends were quick to notice the coincidence, remarking that he'd really been "Surprised by Joy."

The title also alludes to Wordsworth's poem, "Surprised by Joy - Impatient As The Wind," which relates an incident when Wordsworth forgot the death of his beloved daughter.

Worry, doubt, confusion, depression, anger and feelings of condemnation: all these are attacks on the mind. If readers suffer from negative thoughts, they can take heart! Joyce Meyer has helped millions win these all-important battles. In her most popular bestseller ever, the beloved author and minister shows readers how to change their lives by changing their minds. She teaches how to deal with thousands of thoughts that people think every day and how to focus the mind the way God thinks. And she shares the trials, tragedies, and ultimate victories from her own marriage, family, and ministry that led her to wondrous, life-transforming truth--and reveals her thoughts and feelings every step of the way. This special updated edition includes an additional introduction and updated content throughout the book.

Dave Pelzer's remarkable journey from a child who lived in terror of his unstable, violently unpredictable mother's every move, to his emergence as an inspiration the world over is a remarkable tale of survival and the triumph of the human spirit over adversity.

Dave Pelzer's three volumes of memoirs - A Child Called 'It', The Lost Boy and A Man Named Dave - brought this story of courage and triumph against all odds to the world, becoming global bestsellers.

My Story brings these volumes together, following Dave from a childhood spent in fear, his tempestuous teenage years haunted by the spectre of his mother, through to his adulthood, and his great achievement of not only understanding and reconciling the story of his own life, but his dedication to helping others overcome similar adversity.

It is a remarkable story of courage and survival, already embraced by millions and destined to inspire millions more.

Amazing Grace is Jonathan Kozol’s classic book on life and death in the South Bronx—the poorest urban neighborhood of the United States. He brings us into overcrowded schools, dysfunctional hospitals, and rat-infested homes where families have been ravaged by depression and anxiety, drug-related violence, and the spread of AIDS.

But he also introduces us to devoted and unselfish teachers, dedicated ministers, and—at the heart and center of the book—courageous and delightful children. The children we come to meet through the friendships they have formed with Jonathan defy the stereotypes of urban youth too frequently presented by the media. Tender, generous, and often religiously devout, they speak with eloquence and honesty about the poverty and racial isolation that have wounded but not hardened them.

Amidst all of the despair, it is the very young whose luminous capacity for love and transcendent sense of faith in human decency give reason for hope.

Nelson Mandela is one of the great moral and political leaders of our time: an international hero whose lifelong dedication to the fight against racial oppression in South Africa won him the Nobel Peace Prize and the presidency of his country. Since his triumphant release in 1990 from more than a quarter-century of imprisonment, Mandela has been at the center of the most compelling and inspiring political drama in the world. As president of the African National Congress and head of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental in moving the nation toward multiracial government and majority rule. He is revered everywhere as a vital force in the fight for human rights and racial equality.

The foster son of a Thembu chief, Mandela was raised in the traditional, tribal culture of his ancestors, but at an early age learned the modern, inescapable reality of what came to be called apartheid, one of the most powerful and effective systems of oppression ever conceived. In classically elegant and engrossing prose, he tells of his early years as an impoverished student and law clerk in a Jewish firm in Johannesburg, of his slow political awakening, and of his pivotal role in the rebirth of a stagnant ANC and the formation of its Youth League in the 1950s. He describes the struggle to reconcile his political activity with his devotion to his family, the anguished breakup of his first marriage, and the painful separations from his children. He brings vividly to life the escalating political warfare in the fifties between the ANC and the government, culminating in his dramatic escapades as an underground leader and the notorious Rivonia Trial of 1964, at which he was sentenced to life imprisonment. Herecounts the surprisingly eventful twenty-seven years in prison and the complex, delicate negotiations that led both to his freedom and to the beginning of the end of apartheid. Finally he provides the ultimate inside account.

A Child Called "It" is a memoir by Dave Pelzer that recounts the harrowing details of his childhood, marked by extreme abuse at the hands of his alcoholic mother. The story is a testament to one child's resilience in the face of unimaginable adversity. Dave's mother subjected him to a series of tortuous and unpredictable games that almost cost him his life. Stripped of his identity, he was regarded not as her son, but as a slave, and he was referred to as an "it" rather than a boy.

With his bed being an old army cot in the basement and his clothes nothing but tattered rags, Dave's existence was a living nightmare. Food was a luxury, often just spoiled scraps that even dogs would refuse. Isolated and alone, Dave's dreams and determination to find a loving family kept him alive. This memoir is not just a tale of suffering, but also a story about the power of hope and the will to survive.

Schoolgirls: Young Women, Self Esteem, and the Confidence Gap is a groundbreaking book by Peggy Orenstein that explores the decline in confidence among young girls as they reach adolescence.

Inspired by an American Association of University Women survey, Orenstein investigates the obstacles girls face in school, at home, and within our culture. Through months of observation and interviews with eighth-graders from diverse communities, she uncovers the causes behind traditional patterns of self-censorship and self-doubt.

Orenstein brings to life the struggles of real young women dealing with eating disorders, sexual harassment, and declining academic achievement. She skillfully highlights the adolescent roots of issues that remain significant throughout the lives of American women.

This book challenges us to rethink how we raise and educate girls, making it a must-read for anyone interested in empowerment and social change.

Here for the first time, in rich, human, political, and scientific detail, is the complete story of how the bomb was developed, from the turn-of-the-century discovery of the vast energy locked inside the atom to the dropping of the first bombs on Japan.

Few great discoveries have evolved so swiftly — or have been so misunderstood. From the theoretical discussions of nuclear energy to the bright glare of Trinity, there was a span of hardly more than twenty-five years. What began as merely an interesting speculative problem in physics grew into the Manhattan Project, and then into the Bomb with frightening rapidity, while scientists known only to their peers — Szilard, Teller, Oppenheimer, Bohr, Meitner, Fermi, Lawrence, and von Neumann — stepped from their ivory towers into the limelight.

Richard Rhodes takes us on that journey step by step, minute by minute, and gives us the definitive story of man's most awesome discovery and invention.

In this lyrical, unsentimental, and compelling memoir, the son of a black African father and a white American mother searches for a workable meaning to his life as a black American.

It begins in New York, where Barack Obama learns that his father—a figure he knows more as a myth than as a man—has been killed in a car accident. This sudden death inspires an emotional odyssey—first to a small town in Kansas, from which he retraces the migration of his mother’s family to Hawaii, and then to Kenya, where he meets the African side of his family, confronts the bitter truth of his father’s life, and at last reconciles his divided inheritance.

Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison is a brilliant work by Michel Foucault, one of the most influential philosophers since Sartre. This provocative study explores the evolution of the justice system, focusing primarily on France.

Foucault challenges existing ideas surrounding prison reforms from the late 1700s and early 1800s, even into the twentieth century. He suggests that the shift away from public executions towards incarceration was a means of reframing the power dynamics between society and the individual.

The book delves into how the focus of punishment has shifted from the prisoner's body to the soul. It provides a highly provocative account of how penal institutions have become integral to societal control.

Through this work, Foucault offers an in-depth analysis of how modern penitentiaries emerged and how they reflect broader social structures and power relations.

Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod is an exhilarating tale of endurance and adventure. Join Gary Paulsen and his team of dogs as they face the brutal challenges of the Iditarod race. This gripping story immerses you in a world where snowstorms, frostbite, and dogfights are just the beginning.

Experience the thrill of moose attacks, the struggle against sleeplessness, and the surreal nature of hallucinations as Paulsen pushes himself and his dogs to their limits. This journey is filled with moments of humor, unexpected camaraderie, and the relentless push to go on.

Winterdance is not just a story about a race; it's a testament to the bond between humans and animals, and the sheer willpower required to survive in the harshest conditions.

Personality Plus offers a fascinating journey into the world of personality types. Florence Littauer provides valuable insights into understanding your unique, God-given personality traits. This book includes a personality profile self-test that reveals the hidden traits influencing your emotions, work performance, and relationships.

Through amusing anecdotes and direct advice, this book guides you to enhance your strengths and address your weaknesses. It's an insightful read for anyone looking to improve their personal and interpersonal skills.

Long before environmental consciousness became popular, a young nature writer named Opal Whiteley captured America's heart. Opal's childhood diary, published in 1902, became an immediate bestseller, one of the most talked-about books of its time.

Wistful, funny, and wise, it was described by an admirer as the revelation of the life of a feminine Peter Pan of the Oregon wilderness—so innocent, so intimate, so haunting, that I should not know where in all literature to look for a counterpart.

But the diary soon fell into disgrace. Condemning it as an adult-written hoax, skeptics stirred a scandal that drove the book into obscurity and shattered the frail spirit of its author.

Discovering the diary by chance, bestselling author Benjamin Hoff set out to solve the longstanding mystery of its origin. His biography of Opal that accompanies the diary provides fascinating proof that the document is indeed authentic—the work of a magically gifted child, America's forgotten interpreter of nature.

How We Die offers a profound meditation and portrait of the experience of dying. It elucidates the decisions that can be made to allow each person an understanding of death, as well as their own choice of death.

This definitive resource on perhaps the single most universal human concern—death—addresses contemporary issues in end-of-life care. It includes an all-embracing and incisive afterword that examines the current state of health care and our relationship with life as it approaches its terminus.

Sherwin Nuland's masterful work is even more relevant today, discussing how we can take control of our own final days and those of our loved ones.

The Woman Warrior: Memoirs of a Girlhood Among Ghosts is a disturbing and fiercely beautiful account of growing up Chinese-American in California. The young Kingston lives in two worlds: the America to which her parents have immigrated and the China of her mother's "talk stories."

Her mother tells her traditional tales of strong, wily women warriors - tales that clash puzzlingly with the real oppression of women. Kingston learns to fill in the mystifying spaces in her mother's stories with stories of her own, engaging her family's past and her own present with anger, imagination, and dazzling passion.

As a girl, Kingston lives in two confounding worlds: the California to which her parents have immigrated and the China of her mother’s “talk stories.” The fierce and wily women warriors of her mother’s tales clash jarringly with the harsh reality of female oppression out of which they come. Kingston’s sense of self emerges in the mystifying gaps in these stories, which she learns to fill with stories of her own. A warrior of words, she forges fractured myths and memories into an incandescent whole, achieving a new understanding of her family’s past and her own present.

An Anthropologist on Mars: Seven Paradoxical Tales by Oliver Sacks is a fascinating exploration of the human mind through seven detailed and captivating portraits of neurological patients.

Oliver Sacks, renowned for his blend of scientific rigor and human compassion, takes us into the uncanny worlds of his subjects. These include a surgeon consumed by the compulsive tics of Tourette's syndrome unless he is operating, and an artist who loses all sense of color in a car accident but finds new creative power in black and white.

Among the stories is an autistic professor with a Ph.D. in animal science, who finds the complexity of human emotion so bewildering that she feels "like an anthropologist on Mars."

Through these extraordinary individuals, Sacks explores what it is to feel, to sense, to remember, and to be a coherent self in the world. This book is not just an observation of interesting cases but a profound insight into the nature of human identity and resilience.

Join Oliver Sacks on a journey that challenges our understanding of the human condition and reveals the infinite complexities of the human mind.

Billy Milligan can be anyone he wants to be... except himself. Out of control of his actions, Billy Milligan was a man tormented by twenty-four distinct personalities battling for supremacy over his body—a battle that culminated when he awoke in jail, arrested for the kidnap and rape of three women.

In a landmark trial, Billy was acquitted of his crimes by reason of insanity caused by multiple personality—the first such court decision in history—bringing to public light the most remarkable and harrowing case of multiple personality ever recorded.

Twenty-four people live inside Billy Milligan. Among them are:

• Philip, a petty criminal
• Kevin, who dealt drugs and masterminded a drugstore robbery
• April, whose only ambition was to kill Billy's stepfather
• Adalana, the shy, lonely, affection-starved lesbian
• David, the eight-year-old “keeper of pain”
• and the Teacher, the only one who can put them all together.

You will meet each in this often shocking true story. And you will be drawn deeply into the mind of this tortured young man and his splintered, terrifying world.