Category: Genre

“That Which is Seen, and That Which is Not Seen: Bastiat and the Broken Window (1853)” by Frédéric Bastiat

Frédéric Bastiat is well known for his ‘broken window’ parable.  While other economists were looking at how maintaining a standing army, launching public works projects,

“The New-England Primer : The Original 1777 Edition” by John Cotton

John Cotton penned his primer and catechesism in the 1600s, but the Puritans brought it with them when they came to America, where it it flourished.  Indeed, one of our earliest copies available is this facsimile version from 1777, which was sub-titled, “Improved for

“The Waste Land: The Original 1922 Edition” by T. S. Eliot

Modernity has not managed to erase the restlessness that seems to be intrinsic to what it means to be human. T.S. Eliot’s disillusionment with modern civilization is timelessly encapsulated in his famous 1922 poem, “The Waste Land.” The book is laced with allusions, like, for example, some that reference the Grail legend and others informed by Fraser’s “Golden Bough.” Eliot would dedicate the piece to Ezra Pound.

The Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

“The Beautiful and Damned” was F. Scott Fitzgerald’s second major novel, in which he explored the angst of a handful of Americans

“The Bahutu Manifesto” edited by Anthony Horvath

The Bahutu Manifesto was penned at a volatile moment in the history of Rwanda. Though the genocide of the 1990s was still far off, the Manifesto reveals that the seeds were already sown. In 1957, the Hutus were enjoying a

“The Sorrows of Young Werther” by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“The Sorrows of Young Werther” is the brooding tale of a young man in love with a woman who cannot, or will not, love him back. To this day, this is probably Goethe’s best known work. Originally written in German, this edition was translated into the English by Bayard Taylor, and updated for contemporary readers by Benjamin Strycker.