Penguin Putnam

? The Master of Irony Readers the world over recognize O. Henry as the best short story writer of the early twentieth century. Widely known as a master of irony, O. Henry also displays here dazzling wordplay and a wry combination of pathos and humor.

From the author of The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum, and The Murders in the Rue Morgue . . .Although best known for his short stories, Edgar Allan Poe was by nature and choice a poet. This edition of his complete poetry illustrates the transcendent world of unity and ultimate beauty he created in his verse. From his exquisite lyric To Helen to his immortal masterpieces Annabel Lee, The Bells, and The Raven, Poe stands beside the celebrated English Romantic poets Shelley, Byron, and Keats, and his haunting, sensuous poetic vision profoundly influenced the Victorian giants Swinburne, Tennyson, and Rossetti. Today his dark side speaks eloquently to contemporary readers in his poems, such as The Haunted Palace and The Conqueror Worm, with their powerful images of madness and the macabre. But even at the end of his life, Poe reached out to his art for comfort and courage, giving us in Eldorado a talisman to hold during our darkest moments a timeless gift from an American writer. With an Introduction by Jay Pariniand an Afterword by April Bernard"

Over 175 years ago, Alexis de Tocqueville, a young French nobleman and an astute political scientist, came to the United States to evaluate the meaning and actual functioning of democracy. His brilliant discussion of majority rule is still vitally relevant today.

Leo Tolstoy combined detailed physical description with perceptive psychological insight to sweep aside the sham of surface appearances and lay bare man s intimate gestures, acts, and thoughts. Murder and sacrifice greed and devotion lust and affection vanity and love one by one, in this volume of great stories, Tolstoy dissects the basic drives, emotions, and motives of ordinary people searching for self-knowledge and spiritual perfection. Chekhov said, Of authors my favorite is Tolstoy. And Turgenev marveled at the strength of his huge talent It sends a cold shudder even down my back He is a master, a master. Now with a new introduction by Regina Marler and an afterword by Hugh McLean."

Set against the background of the Black Death of 1348, Giovanni Boccaccio's undisputed masterpiece recaptures both the tragedies and comedies of medieval life and is surely one of the greatest achievements in the history of literature.

Some call him a Russian Mark Twain. And with his special blend of comedy, social commentary, and fantasy, Nikolai Gogol paved the way for his countrymen Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. This sampling of Gogol s works includes the increasingly fantastic entries of The Diary of a Madman, followed by the wonderfully surrealistic The Nose, in which the title character embarks on some unlikely activities when separated from its owner s face. In The Carriage, a pompous landowner gets his comeuppance when he attempts to impress a general. Rounding out the collection are the woefully comic tale of a clerk s acquisition of The Overcoat and the celebrated novella Taras Bulba about the Ukrainian mythic hero said to have led a bloody Cossack revolt against the Poles. Translated by Priscilla Meyer and Andrew R. McAndrewWith a New Introductionand an Afterword by Priscilla Meyer"

The classic Elizabethan play, with new material From the Elizabethan period's second-biggest dramatist comes the story of Faustus, a brilliant scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for limitless knowledge and powerful black magic.

Belonging in the company of the works of Homer and Virgil, "The Inferno" is a moving human drama, a journey through the torment of Hell, an expression of the Middle Ages, and a protest against the ways in which men have thwarted the divine plan. "

"It Can t Happen Here" is the only one of Sinclair Lewis s later novels to match the power of "Main Street, " "Babbitt," and "Arrowsmith." A cautionary tale about the fragility of democracy, it is an alarming, eerily timeless look at how fascism could take hold in America. Written during the Great Depression, when the country was largely oblivious to Hitler s aggression, it juxtaposes sharp political satire with the chillingly realistic rise of a president who becomes a dictator to save the nation from welfare cheats, sex, crime, and a liberal press. Called a message to thinking Americans by the" Springfield Republican" when it was published in 1935, "It Can t Happen Here "is a shockingly prescient novel that remains as fresh and contemporary as today s news. With an Introduction by Michael Meyer and a New Afterword"

n "The Paradiso," Dante explores the goal of human striving: the merging of individual destiny with universal order. One of the towering creations of world literature, this epic discovery of truth is a work of mystical intensity? an immortal hymn to God, Nature, Eternity, and Love.

In "The Purgatorio," Dante describes his journey to the renunciation of sin, accepting his suffering in preparation for his coming into the presence of God. This brilliant translation of Dante's canticle crystallizes the great poet's immortal conception of the aspiring soul.

Impressed into service aboard the seal-hunting "Ghost," Humphrey Van Weyden becomes an unwilling participant in a tense shipboard drama. With a wary eye, he watches the vessel s abusive captain, Wolf Larsen, an enigma who can abandon two sailors on the open water, then return to reading the moral philosophers. One of the best sea novels ever written, "The Sea-Wolf" tells of mutiny, shipwreck, and a desperate confrontation. Also in this volume, The Law of Life, The One Thousand Dozen, All Gold Canyon, and Moon-Face offer more riveting action and adventure. In these tales, London s descriptions of the natives, the northern dogs, and even the tundra capture the essence of the exuberant life he experienced firsthand."

150th Anniversary Edition Praised by Tolstoy as an "incomparable artist," Chekov is considered one of the masters of the short story. This collection features twenty of his most noted stories, including "The Confession, Ninotchka, " and "The Cure for Drinking."

bution to the literature of philosophy, religion, and mysticism. Tao Te Ching contains the time-honored teachings of Taoism and brings a message of living simply, finding contentment with a minimum of comfort, and prizing culture above all else. This is the lauded translation of the eighty-one poems constituting an Eastern classic, the mystical and moral teachings of which have profoundly influenced the sacred scriptures of many religions and the lives and happiness of countless men and women through the centuries. Translated and with an Introduction by R. B. Blakney and an Afterword by Richard John Lynn "Tao Te Ching is ancient China s great contribution to the literature of philosophy, religion, and mysticism. Tao Te Ching contains the time-honored teachings of Taoism and brings a message of living simply, finding contentment with a minimum of comfort, and prizing culture above all else. This is the lauded translation of the eighty-one poems constituting an Eastern classic, the mystical and moral teachings of which have profoundly influenced the sacred scriptures of many religions and the lives and happiness of countless men and women through the centuries. Translated and with an Introduction by R. B. Blakney and an Afterword by Richard John Lynn "

The celebrated master of the macabre, Edgar Allan Poe brought his nightmare imaginings to life in his classic stories told in his signature dark and vibrant style. This volume gathers together fourteen of his richest and most influential tales, including: The Pit and the Pendulum, his reimagining of Inquisition tortures; The Tell-Tale Heart, an exploration of a murderer s madness, which Stephen King called the best tale of inside evil ever written; The Fall of the House of Usher, Poe s tour de force about a family doomed by a grim bloodline curse; and his pioneering detective stories, The Purloined Letter and The Murders in the Rue Morgue, featuring a rational investigator with a poetic soul. Also included is Poe s only full-length novel, "Narrative of A. Gordon Pym." With an Introduction by Stephen Marlowe and an Afterword by Regina Marler"