Books in Time reading program special edition series

In this book, the author of Seven Gothic Tales gives a true account of her life on her plantation in Kenya. She tells with classic simplicity of the ways of the country and the natives: of the beauty of the Ngong Hills and coffee trees in blossom: of her guests, from the Prince of Wales to Knudsen, the old charcoal burner, who visited her: of primitive festivals: of big game that were her near neighbors--lions, rhinos, elephants, zebras, buffaloes--and of Lulu, the little gazelle who came to live with her, unbelievably ladylike and beautiful.The Random House colophon made its debut in February 1927 on the cover of a little pamphlet called "Announcement Number One." Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, the company's founders, had acquired the Modern Library from publishers Boni and Liveright two years earlier. One day, their friend the illustrator Rockwell Kent stopped by their office. Cerf later recalled, "Rockwell was sitting at my desk facing Donald, and we were talking about doing a few books on the side, when suddenly I got an inspiration and said, 'I've got the name for our publishing house. We just said we were go-ing to publish a few books on the side at random. Let's call it Random House.' Donald liked the idea, and Rockwell Kent said, 'That's a great name. I'll draw your trademark.' So, sitting at my desk, he took a piece of paper and in five minutes drew Random House, which has been our colophon ever since." Throughout the years, the mission of Random House has remained consistent: to publish books of the highest quality, at random. We are proud to continue this tradition today.This edition is set from the first American edition of 1937 and commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of Random House.

Written by the renowned naval historian Samuel Eliot Morison, this Pulitzer prize-winning book is widely recognized as the only authoritative, modern biography of the naval officer frequently referred to as the father of the U.S. Navy. It vividly portrays the illustrious career of John Paul Jones, from his early training at sea in the British West Indian merchant trade to his exploits in the newly independent American navy and his appointment as an admiral in the Russian navy and command of a squadron in the Black Sea. With compelling detail and remarkable insight, the dramatic narrative captures Jones's tenacity and fierce dedication and loyalty to his men and country, despite ill treatment and only begrudged recognition from his superiors. Jones's incredible victories at sea form an important part of the book. Morison's description of the battle between Jones's Bonhomme Richard and HMS Serapis is considered one of the most vivid accounts of a naval battle in the English language.

The Big Sky is the first of A.B. Guthrie's epic adventure novels of America's vast frontier. It is a story as great as the land that inspired it, sweeping westward from Kentucky, up the Missouri River into Indian Country. Towering above the novel is Guthrie's unforgettable hero, Boone Caudill, a true mountain man driven by a raging hunger for life and a longing for the blue sky and brown earth of the big, wild places. A legend before he turns 20, Boone becomes a powerful White Savage, an untamed life force that only one woman, the beautiful daughter of a Blackfoot chief, would dare to love. It is this magnificent spirit that Guthrie celebrates with his vivid storytelling--the glory of the bigness, the wildness, the freedom and undying dream of the West.