Leather-Bound Classics

A comprehensive, illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth. The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, and creatures, as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In this beautifully illustrated volume, bestselling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants’ Middle earth. Sections of this A-to-Z reference book are devoted to discussion of the battles, history, beasts, and heroes of Tolkien's stories. This comprehensive volume on Tolkien's world also includes an appendix of three primary legends that served as sources for Tolkien's creations, the “Volsunga saga”, “the Nibelungenlied”, and Richard Wagner's “Ring Cycle”-and more than 200 black-and-white illustrations.

A fine collection of classic novels, short stories, poems, and essays from distinguished women writers. Women writers have been making their voices heard for centuries, but their works were not always taken seriously. Over time, as women gained more social and political freedom, these works have reemerged as subjects that are considered to be worthy of closer study. Classic Works from Women Writers is a collection of more than thirty novels, short stories, poems, and essays by prominent and lesser-known female writers since the seventeenth century. Included in this volume are groundbreaking works such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein; Agatha Christie's The Mysterious Affair at Styles, the first Hercule Poirot novel; Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short story "The Yellow Wallpaper" and her follow-up essay; and poetry from the likes of Christina Rossetti, Amy Lowell, and Sara Teasdale. The words of these authors offer a multitude of perspectives on different issues that affect not only women but the wider world as well.

This volume features eighty-five of Obama's most impactful speeches, spanning more than a decade from his time in the Senate to his final day in the presidency. Hailed as one of the greatest orators of modern times, former President Barack Obama has inspired millions through his speeches. This collection provides a comprehensive look at how his message of hope and change evolved from his rise to the presidency to his last day in office. These speeches resonate with optimism and keen insights that people of all political viewpoints can appreciate and learn from. This volume includes: • Obama's most influential pre-presidential speeches. • Speeches from some of the most important events of his presidency. • His first and second inaugural addresses, all of his State of the Union addresses, and his moving 2017 farewell speech. Dozens of other addresses covering the greatest issues facing the United States, and the world.

From personal correspondence to presidential speeches and documents, “Monument: Four Presidents Who Sculpted America” explores the written words of the men forever remembered on the face of Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota. Originally a project to boost tourism, the sculpture received congressional approval in 1925, and construction was completed in 1941, shortly after the death of sculptor Gutzon Borglum. Canterbury Classics has gathered historic documents penned by George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt into this beautiful leather-bound volume, and added introductions by learned scholars to outline the contribution each president made to the birth, growth, development, and preservation of the United States. Also included is the story of how Mount Rushmore came to be, and a foreword written by historian Robert Dallek. With more than two million visitors annually, Mount Rushmore lives up to its status as a "Shrine of Democracy," and this rich piece of U.S. history is preserved in this timeless collectible edition.

This unabridged edition of the classic guide to western mythology covers everything from Prometheus and Pandora to the Legends of Charlemagne. Beginning in the 1850s, American author Thomas Bulfinch collected ancient and medieval legends and retold them in accessible prose that allowed the average reader to appreciate their beauty and significance. His pioneering work remains one of the most trusted English-language interpretations of Greek and Roman mythology, Arthurian legend, and medieval romance. Originally published as three separate volumes, this edition of Bulfinch's Mythology presents the complete and unabridged text of "The Age of Fable, or Stories of Gods and Heroes", "The Age of Chivalry, or the Legends of King Arthur", and "Legends of Charlemagne, or Romance of the Middle Ages."