The Algerine Captive or, The Life and Adventures of Doctor Updike Underhill
Royall Tyler
Introduction and Notes by Caleb Crain
http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/display.pperl?0375760342
Modern Library | Trade Paperback | 2002
0-375-76034-2 | 304 pages
$13.95/$21.00 (Canada)
Wieland or, The Transformation: An American Tale and Other Stories
Charles Brockden Brown
Introduction and Notes by Caleb Crain
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0375759034
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Called a “remarkable story” by John Greenleaf Whittier
and described by John Keats as “very powerful,”
Wieland, Charles Brockden Brown’s disturbing 1798 tale of
terror, is a masterpiece involving spontaneous combustion,
disembodied voices, religious mania, and a gruesome murder
based on a real-life incident.
This Modern Library Paperback Classic includes Wieland’s
fragmentary sequel, Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist, as well as
several other important but hard-to-find Brockden Brown short
stories, including “Thessalonica,”
“Walstein’s School of History,” and “Death of
Cicero.” This collection also reproduces the newspaper
account of the murder that inspired Wieland.
“Brown was a man of genius.”—William Hazlitt
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Caleb Crain is the author of American Sympathy: Men, Friendship,
and Literature in the New Nation. He lives in Brooklyn.
Fiction | Modern Library | Trade Paperback | June 2002 | $11.95 |
0-375-75903-4
The American Revolution: A History
Gordon S. Wood
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0679640576
ABOUT THIS BOOK
“An elegant synthesis done by the leading scholar in the
field, which nicely integrates the work on the American
Revolution over the last three decades but never loses contact
with the older, classic questions that we have been arguing about
for over two hundred years.”
-Joseph J. Ellis, author of Founding Brothers
A magnificent account of the revolution in arms and consciousness
that gave birth to the American republic.
When Abraham Lincoln sought to define the significance of the
United States, he naturally looked back to the American
Revolution. He knew that the Revolution not only had legally
created the United States, but also had produced all of the great
hopes and values of the American people. Our noblest ideals and
aspirations-our commitments to freedom, constitutionalism, the
well-being of ordinary people, and equality-came out of the
Revolutionary era. Lincoln saw as well that the Revolution had
convinced Americans that they were a special people with a
special destiny to lead the world toward liberty. The Revolution,
in short, gave birth to whatever sense of nationhood and national
purpose Americans have had.
No doubt the story is a dramatic one: Thirteen insignificant
colonies three thousand miles from the centers of Western
civilization fought off British rule to become, in fewer than
three decades, a huge, sprawling, rambunctious republic of nearly
four million citizens. But the history of the American
Revolution, like the history of the nation as a whole, ought not
to be viewed simply as a story of right and wrong from which
moral lessons are to be drawn. It is a complicated and at times
ironic story that needs to be explained and understood, not
blindly celebrated or condemned. How did this great revolution
come about? What was its character? What were its
consequences? These are the questions this short history seeks to
answer. That it succeeds in such a profound and enthralling way
is a tribute to Gordon Wood’s mastery of his subject, and of
the historian’s craft.
"An elegant synthesis done by the leading scholar in the
field, which nicely integrates the work on the American
Revolution over the last three decades but never loses contact
with the older, classic questions that we have been arguing about
for over two hundred years."
- Joseph J. Ellis, Author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary
Generation
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Gordon S. Wood received his B.A. from Tufts University and his
Ph.D. from Harvard University. Since 1969 he has been at Brown
University, where he is a professor of
history. In 1970 his book The Creation of the American Republic
1776—1787 was
nominated for the National Book Award and received the Bancroft
and John H.
Dunning prizes. In 1993 he won the Pulitzer Prize for The
Radicalism of the
American Revolution. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island.
History | Modern Library | Hardcover | January 2002 | $19.95 |
0-679-64057-6
The Federalist: A Commentary on the Constitution of the United States
Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison
Edited by Robert Scigliano
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0375757864
ABOUT THIS BOOK
The series of essays that comprise The Federalist constitutes one
of the key texts of the American Revolution and the democratic
system created in the wake of independence. Written in 1787 and
1788 by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to
promote the ratification of the proposed Constitution, these
papers stand as perhaps the most eloquent testimonial to
democracy that exists. They describe the ideas behind the
American system of government: the separation of powers; the
organization of Congress; the respective positions of the
executive, legislative, and judiciary; and much more. The
Federalist remains essential reading for anyone interested in
politics and government, and indeed for anyone seeking a
foundational statement about democracy and America.
This new edition of The Federalist is edited by Robert Scigliano,
a professor in the political science department at Boston
College. His substantive Introduction sheds clarifying new light
on the historical context and meaning of The Federalist.
Scigliano also provides a fresh and definitive analysis of the
disputed authorship of several sections of this crucial work.
"The best commentary on the principles of government which
was ever written."
--Thomas Jefferson
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Robert Scigliano is a professor in the political science
department at Boston College and a leading authority on the
Constitution.
History; History - United States | Modern Library | Trade
Paperback |
September 2001 | $13.95 | 0-375-75786-4
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin & Selections from His Other Writings
Benjamin Franklin
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=0679641033
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Franklin’s Autobiography is one of the most famous works
in American literature. He started it as a private collection
of anecdotes for his son, but soon it was transformed into a
work of history, both personal and national, revealing
Franklin as the man who, as Herman Melville said, possessed
“deep worldly wisdom and polished Italian tact, gleaming
under an air of Arcadian unaffectedness.
Biography & Autobiography - Historical | Modern Library |
Hardcover |
April 2001 | $21.95 | 0-679-64103-3
Wit and Wisdom from
Poor Richard's Almanack
Benjamin Franklin
http://www.randomhouse.com/modernlibrary/catalog/display.pperl?isbn=067964038X
ABOUT THIS BOOK
Franklin’s Autobiography is one of the most famous works
in American literature. He started it as a private collection
of anecdotes for his son, but soon it was transformed into a
work of history, both personal and national, revealing
Franklin as the man who, as Herman Melville said, possessed
“deep worldly wisdom and polished Italian tact, gleaming
under an air of Arcadian unaffectedness.
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), diplomat, scientist, writer,
inventor, and printer,
was one of the drafters and signers of the Declaration of
Independence. In his
spare time, he founded the University of Pennsylvania and the
first American public
library.
Humor | Modern Library | Trade Paperback | May 2000 |
$10.95 |
0-679-64038-X
The First American The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin
H. W. Brands
Pulitzer Prize Finalist
http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/display.pperl?0385495404
A groundbreaking scientist, leading businessman,
philosopher, bestselling author, inventor, diplomat,
politician, and wit, Benjamin Franklin was perhaps the
most beloved and celebrated American of his age, or
indeed of any age. Now, in a beautifully written and
meticulously researched account of Franklin's life and
times, his clever repartee, generous spirit, and earthy
wisdom are brought compellingly to the page.
His circle of friends and acquaintances extended around
the globe, from Cotton Mather to Voltaire, from Edmund
Burke to King George III, from Sir Isaac Newton to
Immanuel Kant. Franklin was gifted with a restless
curiosity, and his scientific experiments with electric
currents and the weather made him the leading pioneer in
the new field of electricity on both sides of the Atlantic;
among his many inventions were the lightning rod, the
Franklin stove, and the harmonica, a musical instrument
that became the rage of Europe.
From his humble beginnings in Boston as a printer's
apprentice, he became, within two decades, the leading
printer and one of the most important businessmen in the
Colonies. A longtime Philadelphia civic leader, he created
Philadelphia's first fire department, wrote the bestseller
Poor Richard's Almanac, served as Postmaster General
for the Colonies, and in the process, completely
modernized the mail service. A bon vivant and ladies' man
throughout his life, he matched wits with Parliament and
the Crown during the decade leading up to the Stamp Act;
and as the official agent to Parliament, representing
several of the Colonies, he helped push the Colonies into
open rebellion.
Tracing Franklin's gradual transformation from reluctant
revolutionary to charismatic leader in the fight for
independence, Brands convincingly argues that on the
issue of revolution, as Franklin went, so went America.
During the Revolutionary War, Franklin was charged by
Congress with wooing the King of France to the American
cause, and it was the diplomatic alliances he forged and
funds he raised in France that allowed the Continental
Army to continue to fight on the battlefield. In his final
years, as president of the Constitutional Convention, it
was Franklin who held together the antagonistic factions
and persuaded its members to sign the Constitution.
Drawing on previously unpublished letters to and from
Franklin, as well as the recollections and anecdotes of
Franklin's contemporaries, H. W. Brands has created a
rich and compelling portrait of the eighteenth-century
genius who was in every respect America's first
Renaissance man, and arguably the pivotal figure in
colonial and revolutionary America. A fascinating and
richly textured biography of the man who was perhaps
the greatest of our Founding Fathers, The First
American is history on a grand scale, as well as a major
contribution to understanding Franklin and the world he
helped to shape.
“[A] skillfully written biography...[A] truly inspired work
by
one of America’s best historians.”—Douglas
Brinkley,
Director of the Eisenhower Center for American Studies
and professor of history at the University of New Orleans
Anchor | Trade Paperback | 2002
0-385-49540-4 | 784 pages
$17.00/$26.00 (Canada)
America's Jubilee: A Generation Remembers the Revolution After 50 Years of Independence
Andrew Burstein
http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/display.pperl?0375709185
In America’s Jubilee noted historian Andrew
Burstein presents an engrossing narrative of life in the
year 1826–a pivotal year in our nation’s history.
Burstein reveals a nation full of ambition as the reins of
democracy are passed from the last Revolutionary War
heroes to the first new generation of leaders. We follow
an aged Lafayette on his triumphant tour of the country,
and learn of the nearly simultaneous deaths of Adams and
Jefferson on the fourth of July. We also see the year
through the eyes of a minister's wife, a romantic novelist,
and even an intrepid wheel of cheese. Here is a moving
and lively portrait of a self-aware people at a major
crossroads in American history.
Vintage | Trade Paperback | 2002
0-375-70918-5 | 384 pages
$15.00/$23.00 (Canada)
Crucible of War: The Seven Years' War and the Fate of Empire in British North America, 1754-1766
Fred Anderson
Winner of the Mark Lynton History Prize
http://www.randomhouse.com/acmart/display.pperl?0375706364
In this vivid and compelling narrative, the Seven
Years'
War—long seen as a mere backdrop to the American
Revolution—takes on a whole new significance. Relating
the history of the war as it developed, Anderson shows
how the complex array of forces brought into conflict
helped both to create Britain?s empire and to sow the
seeds of its eventual dissolution.
Beginning with a skirmish in the Pennsylvania backcountry
involving an inexperienced George Washington, the
Iroquois chief Tanaghrisson, and the ill-fated French
emissary Jumonville, Anderson reveals a chain of events
that would lead to world conflagration. Weaving together
the military, economic, and political motives of the
participants with unforgettable portraits of Washington,
William Pitt, Montcalm, and many others, Anderson brings a
fresh perspective to one of America's most important
wars, demonstrating how the forces unleashed there
would irrevocably change the politics of empire in North
America.
Vintage | Trade Paperback | 2001
0-375-70636-4 | 912 pages
$20.00/$30.00 (Canada)
May 9, 2002