by Mason Long

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Mason Long was born on September 10, 1842 in Luray, Ohio. He had a very difficult childhood, and then went on to serve in the Union Army during the Civil War. He spent three years in the service, and discusses drinking and gambling, and their popularity among soldiers during the War. Afterwards, he drifted among various occupations, including running variety and minstrel shows, and much time in and out of jail. He was by his own account a degenerate gambler. Later, he turned to religion, went sober and wrote this book to help others avoid going down the same path as him, as well as to support the Temperance Movement.

This new edition is dedicated to Bruce Rich, by no means drifter, gambler or teetotaler, but certainly an explorer of human nature and human folly.

by George Preston Mains

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James Monroe Buckley was born in Rahway, NJ on December 16, 1836. He became a Methodist Church minister in 1858. He worked in Delaware, New York and Michigan. He also became the editor of The Christian Advocate in 1881 and served until 1912. In 1872, he received the degree of D. D. from Wesleyan University, and then later an LL. D. from Emory and Henry College in Virginia. He was highly regarded in the Methodist denomination and served in many important roles. In addition, he wrote a great deal, including ‘Two Weeks in the Yosemite Valley’ (1872); ‘Oats or Wild Oats’ (1885); ‘The Land of the Czar and the Nihilist’ (1886); ‘Travels in Three Continents.’

by Oliver Johnson, Introduction by John G. Whittier

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William Lloyd Garrison was born on December 10, 1805. Despite the title of this work, he was certainly not the founder of the Anti-Slavery Movement in America, which had long preceded him. However, he made many notable contributions to the fight for the end of the barbarous practice. He founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, initially the New England Anti-Slavery Society, and was the editor of The Liberator. He also supported women’s suffrage, which actually split the abolitionist movement to split into various factions. Garrison never joined politics however, considering it against his morals. In 1879, Garrison passed away from kidney disease after a long and meaningful life.This work was written by Garrion’s friend, Oliver Johnson. There is much focus on Garrion’s role in the abolitionist movement, with limited and static portrayals of his family. Garrison felt he was central to the abolitionist movement, which is reflected in this biography. Fellow friend, John G. Whittier also wrote a glowing introduction to this book, which was released the year that Garrison died.

John Greenleaf Whittier was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts on December 17, 1807. His family farmed, although he was able to have access to some schooling, roughly 12 weeks annually. Whittier was motivated to learn, and became self-educated, so much so that he moved from farming to becoming an editor. Unfortunately, he was of poor health, and the occupational change suited his health needs as well. He worked for a variety of publications, including Haverhill Gazette, the New England Weekly Review, American Manufacturer in Boston, and the Pennsylvania Freeman. He gained a solid reputation through his work as an editor, and then became a politician. In 1833, William Lloyd Garrison contacted Whittier for assistance with the abolitionist movement. Whittier was dedicated to the cause, and advocated tirelessly against slavery. After the close of the Civil War, he gained fame for his narrative poem, Snowbound, which reflected both Whittier’s personal mourning the loss of his family within the turmoil of the United States during the Civil War. Whittier wrote a great deal of poetry in particular, but other content regarding the horrors and incredible injustice of slavery. This work highlighting the life and experiences of William Lloyd Garrison is an excellent example. Whittier’s life is well preserved in The Whittier Home Museum, which is a National Historic Landmark located in Amesbury, MA.

by Daniel Halévy, Translated by J. M. Hone, Introduced by T. M. Kettle

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Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) has had a profound impact on our way of life. Among other things, he was a philosopher, a poet, and a scholar. Unfortunately, he suffered from poor health, which caused him to resign from his position as the Chair of Classical Philology, which he held at the age of 24. At 44, he was so ill that his mother, and then his sister, had to care for him until his death at the age of 55. Nietzsche wrote on numerous subjects, but is commonly associated with nihilism, critiques of Christian morality, and his strong opposition to anti-Semitism and nationalism. There was a brief time when his sister reworked his manuscripts to favor Nazi ideology, but the correct manuscripts were uncovered. Many scholars have written about Nietzsche.Daniel Halévy was a French historian born in December 1872. One of his most well regarded works was Essay on the Acceleration of History. However, in the 1930s Halévy found himself to be a “man of the extreme right” and his questionable politics led to his work falling to the wayside.This is a reprinted work, with minor text defects as a result of age.

by Francis James Child

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On February 1, 1825, Francis James Child was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Although his family lived in poverty, Child benefited from the public school system in Boston. His dedication and intelligence while in school was recognized with a scholarship to attend Harvard. Child was a bit shy because of his working class background, but he became popular because of his excellent work, speech and character. In 1848, he was again recognized by a benefactor, who encouraged and paid for Child to move to Germany where he could attend graduate school. The fledgling United States did not have postgraduate institutions at the time. Child had many interests, and it was his passion for mathematics and literature that moved him to focus on speech and writing. He served for 25 years as a Professor of Rhetoric, and then Professor of English, at Harvard University. He wrote a great deal on ballads, class consciousness and composition. He also was the President of the American Folklore Society for two terms, built an incredible folklore collection at Harvard University Library.

This new edition is dedicated to Professor Guillermo De Los Reyes.

by Victor Rine

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In this work, Victor Rine takes a comedic approach to life at Harvard during World War I. The war figures fairly distantly in the background, as Rine highlights his experiences at Harvard. Rine ruminates on the nature of conflict, peace, and one’s role in the world. He was very interested in the experiences of soldiers and wrote several works centered around war, including My Eloquent Corpse, Where are you running to, America?, Soldier! Soldier! The Citizen, The Patriot, and The War of Two Giant Ghosts.