The story of the ill-fated voyage of a whaling ship led by the fanatical Captain Ahab in search of the white whale that had crippled him. AA masterpiece of storytelling, this epic saga pits Ahab, a brooding and fanatical sea captain, against the great white whale that crippled him. In telling the tale of Ahab's passion for revenge and the fateful voyage that ensued, Melville produced far more than the narrative of a hair-raising journey; Moby-Dick...

Peter Rabbit is the most adventurous of his siblings. He runs into trouble, however, when he ignores his mother's request that he stay out of Mr. McGregor's garden.

From the moment of his adoption by the Earnshaws, the foundling boy Heathcliff devotes himself to their young daughter Catherine. Growing up together, the two share a love that blossoms into romance, until Catherine's hurtful betrayal. But Heathcliff's emotions know no bounds and acknowledge no limits--not even death. Determined to secure the family estate of Wuthering Heights as his own, the tyrannical Heathcliff vents his bitterness on his and Catherine's...

This is Mark Twain's humorous and poetic evocation of the history of the river. He recounts his years as a boy during the heyday of the steamboat era, the fulfillment of his dream of becoming a steamboat pilot, and above all, his love for the river. It also records his return to the Mississippi two decades later, to a way of life that had all but passed.

GENERAL & LITERARY FICTION. Nathaniel Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables is a classic of American literature, written by one of the country's greatest writers. First published in 1851, the book is set in a mansion not unlike his cousin's many-gabled home in Salem, Massachusetts, which Hawthorne visited regularly. Caroline O. Emmerton's introductory note to this 1913 edition details the history of the house, from its construction circa 1668...

Bored with farm life and anxious for excitement, Henry Fleming joins the Union troops fighting the Civil War to prove his patriotism and courage; but when suddenly thrust into the slaughter, he is overcome with blind fear and runs from battle. In an effort to redeem himself, he later begins to fight and, in the heat of battle, seizes the regiment's colors in a daring charge that proves him truly courageous.

Pearl S. Buck's epic Pulitzer prize-winning novel of a China that was now in a contemporary classics edition. Though more than sixty years have passed since this remarkable novel won the Pulitzer prize, it has retained its popularity and become one of the great modern classics. "I can only write what I know, and I know nothing but China, having always lived there," wrote Pearl Buck. In the Good Earth she presents a graphic view of a China when the...

"Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales brings together an unforgettable group of pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, pilgrims who came from all ranks of society, from the crusading Knight and burly Miller to the worldly Monk and the famously lusty Wife of Bath. Their tales are as various as the tellers, including romance, bawdy comedy, beast fable, learned debate, parable, and Eastern adventure. The resulting collection gives us a set of characters so vivid...

"Mrs. Tittlemouse likes her house neat and clean. But when a group of pestering bees sneaks in, she needs some help to get them out"--Amazon.com.