He came out of Malpais, the terrible volcanic badlands where nothing can live, riding a giant red stallion no other man could put a hand to. His boots were polished, his speech was gentle, but his guns were quick and smooth as silk. He shot first and talked later.

Robert Louis Stevenson originally wrote "Dr. Jekyll And Mr Hyde" as a " chilling shocker." He then burned the draft and, upon his wife's advice, rewrote it as the darkly complex tale it is today. Stark, skillfully woven, this fascinating novel explores the curious turnings of human character through the strange case of Dr. Jekyll, a kindly scientist who by night takes on his stunted evil self, Mr. Hyde. Anticipating modern psychology, "Jekyll And...

An unmanageable, but lovable, eleven-year-old misfit learns to believe in himself when he gets to know the new school counselor, who is a sort of misfit, too.

On a May afternoon in 1943, an American military plane crashed into the Pacific Ocean and disappeared, leaving only a spray of debris and a slick of oil, gasoline, and blood. Then, on the ocean surface, a face appeared. It was that of a young lieutenant, the plane���s bombardier, who was struggling to a life raft and pulling himself aboard. So began one of the most extraordinary sagas of the Second World War. The lieutenant���s name...

The Age of Innocence centers on an upper-class couple's impending marriage, and the introduction of a woman plagued by scandal whose presence threatens their happiness. Though the novel questions the assumptions and morals of 1870's New York society, it never devolves into an outright condemnation of the institution. In fact, Wharton considered this novel an "apology" for her earlier novel, The House of Mirth, which was more brutal and critical. Not...

Marilynne Robinson's mythical world of Gilead, Iowa -- the setting of her novels Gilead, Home, and Lila, and now Jack -- and its beloved characters have illuminated and interrogated the complexities of American history, the power of our emotions, and the wonders of a sacred world. Jack is Robinson's fourth novel in this now-classic series. In it, Robinson tells the story of John Ames Boughton, the prodigal son of Gilead's Presbyterian minister, and...

Louis L’Amour said the West was no place for the frightened or the mean. It was a “big country needing big men and women to live in it.” The two stories in this collection provide a good sample of the kinds of people he had in mind. “Ride, You Tonto Raiders” “War Party” A boy on the brink of manhood, a resourceful frontier woman who has beauty as well as fortitude, and a strong male character who is single and therefore marriageable...

SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL-You can imagine the confusion at Wayside School when the builder made a terrible mistake. Instead of building 30 classrooms side-by-side, he built them one on top of another. Maybe that accounts for the wacky goings-on in Mrs. Jewls' class. Where else will you find children being turned into apples, dead rats wearing raincoats, and little girls who try to sell their toes? WAYSIDE SCHOOL IS FALLING DOWN- The teacher...

Dr. Henry Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are the same person. The townspeople do not know this, but inside Dr. Jekyll's laboratory, a serum has been concocted that enables the doctor to transform into a much darker person. The doctor struggles with this transformation and is torn between continuing to drink the serum and trying to recover into normality.This audio classic novel has been carefully abridged and adapted into 10 short easy to understand chapters....

From Alexander von Humboldt to Charles and Anne Lindbergh, these are stories of people of great vision and daring whose achievements continue to inspire us today, brilliantly told by master historian David McCullough.The bestselling author of Truman and John Adams, David McCullough has written profiles of exceptional men and women past and present who have not only shaped the course of history or changed how we see the world but whose stories express...