One of the most influential books ever published in America, W.E.B. Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk is an eloquent collection of fourteen essays that describe the life, the ambitions, the struggles, and the passions of African Americans at the transition from the nineteenth to the twentieth century. The first African American to receive a Ph. D. from Harvard University, Du Bois was a sociologist, historian, novelist, and activist whose astounding...

An award-winning historian presents an absorbing account of the French mind, shedding light on France's famous tradition of intellectual life. Why are the French such an exceptional nation? Why do they think they are so exceptional? The French take pride in the fact that their history and culture have decisively shaped the values and ideals of the modern world. French ideas are no less distinct in their form: while French thought is abstract, stylish...

"The history of a generation of artists, writers, activists, and dreamers who created a Bohemian utopia on the windblown shores of Cape Cod"--

A young man from the provinces a man without wealth, connections, or university education₇moves to London. In a remarkably short time he becomes the greatest playwright not just of his age but of all time. His works appeal to urban sophisticates and first-time theatergoers; he turns politics into poetry; he recklessly mingles vulgar clowning and philosophical subtlety. How is such an achievement to be explained? How did Shakespeare become Shakespeare?...

Dinesen, whose real name is Karen Blixen, tells her story of the 17 years she ran a coffee farm in Kenya, Africa.