Open Road: 9207 books

The book that made Mark Twain famous and introduced the****world to that obnoxious and ubiquitous character: the American tourist Based on a series of letters first published in American newspapers, The Innocents Abroad is Mark Twain’s hilarious and insightful account of an organized tour...

Masterful essays by one of the most distinctive voices in broadcast journalism In his Letter from America reports for the BBC and as the host of PBS’s Masterpiece Theatre, Alistair Cooke addressed millions of people all over the world every week. The fourteen essays collected here, each...

A brilliant and thought-provoking collection of articles, profiles, and opinions from one of the twentieth century’s most acclaimed African American writers A journalist, novelist, and educator, John A. Williams was never afraid to rock boats or take aim at society’s most sacred institutions,...

A collection of dazzling and thought-provoking essays from lauded author Mary Gordon Much acclaimed for her novels, Mary Gordon is also a brilliant and wide-ranging essayist. Gathering together twenty-eight of her forays into nonfiction, Good Boys and Dead Girls provides a richly autobiographical...

Mary McCarthy, one of our most brilliant and beloved authors, serves up wit, insight, and her unique worldview in this diverse collection of essays In provocatively titled pieces such as “The Contagion of Ideas,” “Tyranny of the Orgasm,” and “No News, or,What Killed the Dog,” Mary...

The opening salvo in G. K. Chesterton’s war against vagueness, affectation, and group think in life and art Part literary criticism, part jeremiad, and part metaphysical inquiry, Heretics is G. K. Chesterton’s groundbreaking attempt to cull the values, belief systems, and moral peccadilloes...

The first collection of nonfiction from the author Tony Kushner calls “one of the best novelists writing in the world today” Over a thirty-year period, novelist Christopher Bram witnessed, and lived through, the powerful experiences of coming out, the AIDS epidemic, gay marriage, and the...

Letters that appear in this volume cover only the last two decades of Spinoza’s life and represent a mere fraction of the immense correspondence he carried on during his lifetime.

Guy Davenport demonstrates his unparalleled critical vision as he interprets art, literature, and culture In this collection of 20 essays, Guy Davenport applies his insightful gaze and critical wisdom to topics including modern art and the effects of the automobile on contemporary society....

Jane Rule’s fourth book explores lesbianism as portrayed by authors from Gertrude Stein to Colette, from Vita Sackville-West to May Sarton and Willa Cather Lesbian Images opens with a disclaimer from the author: “This book is not intended to be a comprehensive literary or cultural history...

Ned Rorem explores the state of contemporary classical music in a magnificent collection of personally selected essays and critiques of masterworks, lesser works, and their legendary creators Pulitzer Prize–winner Ned Rorem’s musical compositions are considered some of the finest produced...

May Sarton’s lifetime of work as a poet, novelist, and essayist inform these illuminating reflections on the creative life   In “The Book of Babylon,” May Sarton remarks that she is not a critic—except of her own work. The essay addresses questions that have haunted Sarton’s own creative...

With one act of kindness, the fate of a Manhattan family is forever altered in this New York Times–bestselling novel by the author of Rich Man, Poor Man. The Strands are a happy family, save for the occasional financial struggle. Allen, the father, has a decent job as a schoolteacher, a lovely...

This saga of war and family from a New York Times–bestselling author is “sheer, wonderful storytelling” (Chicago Tribune). Spanning six decades, these three novels follow a man and his family as they struggle to adapt to life in a new world. From the death of Queen Victoria through the...