Sylvie and Bruno

Lewis Carroll

The main character is in front of 2 worlds. One is the real world. Another is a world that occurs during sleep. In real life, an ordinary man will introduce a quiet life. Communicates with friends, leads discussions. And in a dream, he dreams of meeting a ten-year-old princess Sylvie and her five-year-old brother Bruno. Sylvie and Bruno find out that their father is actually a fairytale king, and therefore they are a fairytale prince and princess. In the end, the two stories unite as Sylvie and Bruno begin to appear in the real world.

The Parowan Bonanza

B.M. Bower

B. M. Bower was the first woman to make a career of writing popular westerns. Her works, featuring cowboys and cows of the Flying U Ranch in Montana, reflected an interest in ranch life, the use of working cowboys as main characters, the occasional appearance of eastern types for the sake of contrast, a sense of western geography as simultaneously harsh and grand, and a good deal of factual attention to such matters as cattle branding and bronc busting. The Parowan Bonanza is one of her stories. This short but engaging novel contains all of the elements that made B. M. Bowers books a mainstay of the genre of classic Westerns.

Mother Goose in Prose

L. Frank Baum

None of us, whether children or adults, needs an introduction to Mother Goose. Those things which are earliest impressed upon our minds cling to them most tenaciously. Published three years before L. Frank Baum achieved fame with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, this engaging volume added an exciting new dimension to old, much-loved verses. The book contains 22 prose fables based on famous nursery rhymes: Old King Cole, Little Miss Muffet, The Cat and the Fiddle and many others. Baum gives the stories English settings and ambience, with mentions of London, the Sussex downs, and the River Dee. His tactic in the book is to take the often-nonsensical nursery rhymes and weave coherent, or at least self-consistent, stories from them. This wonderful collection of short stories is another delightful addition to anyone who is a fan of Baums work. Based on famous Mother Goose rhymes, all stories are fascinating background tales of the various characters involved.

The Wolf-Leader

Alexandre Dumas

During the absolutism in France, the young clog-maker Thibaudt has a deep desire to belong to the aristocracy. One day he saves the life of a wolf, who fled from the baron Jean de Vez and his hunting party. A while later Thibaudt imagine his amazement: the wolf transformed himself into a human and offers him a pact. The wolf promises to grant Thibaults wishes in exchange for a hair on his head. As Thibault wishes harm upon more and more people, the hairs on his head become red and wiry. Thibaults life only gets worse, however; he is able to take revenge on his enemies, but the villagers suspect him to be a werewolf. The Wolf-Leader, a novel by Alexandre Dumas, was originally published in 1857. In the lengthy but entertaining introduction, Dumas explains that the novel is based on folktales he grew up hearing in his hometown of Villers-Cotterts. This particular tale was told to him by a gamekeeper who often took him hunting as a young man. The novel contains elements of horror, fantasy, and science fiction, yet it times is also quite comic.

Die Colonie. Brasilianisches Lebensbild

Friedrich Gerstäcker

Friedrich Gerstäcker (1816 1872) führte von der Wiege bis zur Bahre ein bewegtes Leben. Gerstäcker, in Hamburg geboren, war es bereits in frühen Jahren aufgrund der Rezeption einschlägiger Literatur, wie zum Beispiel von Defoes Robinson Crusoe, ein dringendes Bedürfnis, ferne Länder zu bereisen und zu entdecken. 1837 fasste er den Entschluss, seinen Wunsch wahr zu machen und wanderte von Bremerhaven aus nach Amerika aus. Nach einigen Jahren jedoch führte ihn sein Weg zurück nach Deutschland, wo er seine Erfahrungen, die er im fremden Land gemacht hatte, niederschrieb und sehr schnell zu einem beliebten Autor avancierte. In den darauffolgenden Jahren unternahm er weitere Reisen, unter anderem nach Afrika, Südamerika und in die Goldsucher-Regionen rund um Kalifornien. Friedrich Gerstäcker veröffentlichte eine Vielzahl von Erzählungen, Romanen und vor allem Berichte über seine verschiedenen Reisen, die ihn zu einem der meistgelesenen und bekanntesten Autoren Deutschlands machten. Die Colonie erschien erstmals 1864. Gerstäcker verarbeitet in diesem Buch die Erfahrungen und Eindrücke seiner Südamerikareisen.

The Desert Pilot

Max Brand

Seattle-born author who worked as a cowhand in California, attended Berkeley, joined then deserted the Canadian Army, and finally settled down to writing full-time. He was incredibly prolific and wrote numerous books under his birth name (Frederick Faust) and a variety of pseudonyms. Today he is best known for his work published as Max Brand, including the classic Western "Destry Rides Again" and his popular series Dr. Kildare. In "The Desert Pilot", Reverend Reginald Ingram arrives in the town of Billman hoping to defeat the lawless. Then Ingram realizes he must make a choice between his peaceful ways and survival. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.

The Lookout Man

B.M. Bower

The Lookout Man is a 1917 novel by American author B. M. Bower. Fans of B. M. Bowers fast-paced Western novels will love The Lookout Man. One man discovers how the Law in the Wild West can be bent, broken, and even beaten. Set in Northern California when the region was still teetering between civilization and Old West devilry, the novel tells the tale of a young protagonist who has a good heart but a seemingly insatiable taste for danger. A Northern California story full of action, excitement and love. A fantastic example of classic Western fiction, The Lookout Man is a must-read for all fans of the genre.

Sixteen in Nome

Max Brand

Sixteen In Nome is narrated by young Joe May, an Arizonian who has come to Alaska to "make his stake for a ranch." Joe May, a starving, overgrown youth, had provided a small service for Hugh Massey, owner of the most famous husky in Alaska, in exchange for a monetary reward. Hed heard that Masseys life revolved around the dog and it was a chance to murder the man he hated with an undying rage. But he never thought he would become the bait Massey needed to lure his enemy into a deadly trap. Highly recommended, especially for those who love the Old Western genre.