Books with author Richard Wilford

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Excerpt from The Chinese Fairy BookOnce upon a time there were two brothers, who lived in the same house. And the big brother listened to his wife's words, and because of them fell put with the little one. Summer had begun, and the time for sowing the high-growing millet had come. The little brother had no grain, and asked the big one to loan him some, and the big one ordered his wife to give it to him. But she took the grain, put it in a large pot and cooked it until it was done. Then she gave it to the little fellow. He knew nothing about it, and went and sowed his field with it. Yet, since the grain had been cooked, it did not sprout. Only a single grain of seed had not been cooked; so only a single sprout shot up. The little brother was hard-working and industrious by nature, and hence he watered and hoed the sprout all day long. And the sprout grew mightily, like a tree, and an ear of millet sprang up out of it like a canopy, large enough to shade half an acre of ground. In the fall the ear was ripe. Then the little brother took his ax and chopped it down.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

One of the best examples of satirical scientific fiction written during the Golden Age of the genre, Richard Wilson’s and Then the Town Took Off is an excellent and entertaining piece, a light-weight story that will make the reader laugh out loud with its simple-minded characters and the absurd situations they get into.The town referenced by the title is called Superior and it is in Ohio. In the beginning, nothing seems to be superior about the settlement, but then all of a sudden the place just picks itself up and rises some two miles above the surface of the Earth. The news of the rise is featured in the radio as well, but not even that alarms the town’s humble inhabitants. It is only after a certain amount spent floating high up that a man called Don Cort realizes there is something wrong, namely that the professor who has caused the town to rise has, in fact, no idea how to get the town back down on the surface and safely anchored again. The second part of the novel is about Cort’s quest to find a way either to anchor the town or to get it to settle, thus preventing Superior from becoming the tiniest planet to orbit Earth.The story was first published in 1960, in Ace-Double, one of the most popular science fiction magazines of the time. It was positively received by readers, partly because of the entertaining style and the great, funny situations that the citizens of Superior, including Cort and the professor go through, partly because the story does not feature any weapons or violence, therefore it is suitable for both young and adult readers as well. All in all, And Then the Town Took Off is a funny, old-fashioned story based on a creative idea that is explored by the author to the fullest – an excellent read, indeed.

The fairy tales and legends of olden China have in common with the “Thousand and One Nights” an oriental glow and glitter of precious stones and gold and multicolored silks, an oriental wealth of fantastic and supernatural action. And yet they strike an exotic note distinct in itself. The seventy-three stories here presented after original sources, embracing “Nursery Fairy Tales,” “Legends of the Gods,” “Tales of Saints and Magicians,” “Nature and Animal Tales,” “Ghost Stories,” “Historic Fairy Tales,” and “Literary Fairy Tales,” probably represent the most comprehensive and varied collection of oriental fairy tales ever made available for American readers. There is no child who will not enjoy their novel color, their fantastic beauty, their infinite variety of subject. Yet, like the “Arabian Nights,” they will amply repay the attention of the older reader as well.

Excerpt from The Russian Story Book: Containing Tales From the Song-Cycles of Kiev and Novgorod and Other Early SourcesThis book might have been written by a Russian who thoroughly understands our language, or by an English author who has Spent the best part Of a lifetime in studying Russia and the Russians, illustrated by a native artist, and decorated by a Russian designer. When such a volume does appear, it will have a great interest for me. Meanwhile, I submit that there is some artistic unity, also, in a volume Of Russian stories, written by an Englishman, illustrated by an English artist, and decorated by an English designer, the whole production being for an English child.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.