By the American novelist, essayist and poet, widely esteemed as one of the most important figures in American literature and best remembered today for... his masterpiece Moby-Dick (1851). His short story "Bartleby, the Scrivener" (1856) is among his most important pieces, and has been considered a precursor to Existentialist and Absurdist literature.

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This is a short history of the age of exploration and the conquest of the Americas told through the experience of Bartolomé de las Casas, a Dominican... friar who fervently defended the American Indians, and the single most important figure of the period after Columbus. Explores the period known as the Encounter, which was characterized by intensive conflict between Europeans and the people of the Americas following Columbus’s voyagesArgues that Las Casas, ‘protector of Indians,' was primarily motivated by Scripture in his crusade for justice and equality for American IndiansDraws on the 14 volume Complete Works of Las Casas as a window into his mind and actionsEncourages students to understand history through the viewpoint of individuals living it

Bartolomé de Las Casas was a Dominican priest--a missionary who fought relentlessly for justice for the Native Americans and even for their status as... human beings. He was fearless in standing up to the political and ecclesiastical powers of his time, and a tireless chronicler of events. In Bartolomé de las Casas: Great Prophet of the Americas, Paul S. Vickery not only brings these aspects of this extraordinary man to life--but does so against the background of his own two conversion experiences in which he recognized his own hypocrisy as a seeker of wealth and owner of Indian slaves. The author richly describes Bartolomé's journey to the New World in search of wealth and prestige--and his outrage upon seeing the cruel treatment of the Native Americans. He soon acquired a reputation as the "Defender of the Indians" as he tirelessly preached, wrote, and lobbied to defend these indigenous people from those who sought to exploit and enslave them. More than a cleric, political activist, or simple chronicler of events, Las Casas became the very conscience of Catholic Spain, a nation grappling with the spiritual mandate to save souls and the human desire to accumulate wealth. His quest for social justice is as relevant for us today as it was in his own time. And this fascinating book reminds readers that, just as Las Casas changed his entire life's focus through the power of reading the Scripture, so too can we.

Victorian Fashion Accessories takes the reader on a fascinating tour of the world of women's accessories and, in doing so, gives a sweeping view of... nineteenth-century British cultural history.A woman's accessories were always much more than incidental finishing touches to elaborate dress. For example, the color and material makeup of a pair of gloves indicated her class aspirations. A "language of the fan" evolved so a lady could secretly communicate with potential lovers. The Sun reflecting through rose-colored parasols gave the illusion that a woman of a certain age looked young again. Even the vanity set on a woman's bedroom dresser indicated her affinity for the Orient and her approval of colonial expansion. This engaging study reveals the beliefs, values, attitudes, and assumptions embedded in women's accessories, unraveling the complexities and contradictions of the women who used these artifacts and the Victorian society which created them. Victorian Fashion Accessories is essential reading for students and scholars of fashion studies, history, costume, cultural studies and related disciplines, and anyone interested in the history of dress.

In this third edition of his lively history of America's game--widely recognized as the best of its kind--Benjamin G. Rader expands his scope to include... commentary on Major League Baseball through the 2006 season: record crowds and record income, construction of new ballparks, a change in the strike zone, a surge in recruiting Japanese players, and an emerging cadre of explosive long-ball hitters.

“Football is force and fanatics, basketball is beauty and bounce. Baseball is everything: action, grace, the seasons of our lives. George Vecsey’s... book proves it, without wasting a word.”–Lee Eisenberg, author of The NumberIn Baseball, one of the great bards of America’s Grand Old Game gives a rousing account of the sport, from its pre-Republic roots to the present day. George Vecsey casts a fresh eye on the game, illuminates its foibles and triumphs, and performs a marvelous feat: making a classic story seem refreshingly new. Baseball is a narrative of America’s can-do spirit, in which stalwart immigrants such as Henry Chadwick could transplant cricket and rounders into the fertile American culture and in which die-hard unionist baseballers such as Charles Comiskey and Connie Mack could eventually become the tightfisted avatars of the game’s big-money establishment. It’s a celebration of such underdogs as a rag-armed catcher turned owner named Branch Rickey and a sure-handed fielder named Curt Flood, both of whom flourished as true great men of history. But most of all, Baseball is a testament to the unbreakable bond between our nation’s pastime and the fans, who’ve remained loyal through the fifty-year-long interdict on black athletes, the Black Sox scandal, franchise relocation, and the use of performance-enhancing drugs by some major stars. Reverent, playful, and filled with Vecsey’s charm, Baseball begs to be read in the span of a rain-delayed doubleheader, and so enjoyable that, like a favorite team’s championship run, one hopes it never ends.“Vecsey possesses a journalist’s eye for detail and a historian’s feel for the sweep of action. His research is scrupulous and his writing crisp. This book is an instant classic—— a highly readable guide to America’s great enduring pastime.” — The Louisville Courier Journal From the Hardcover edition.

William Irwin has taken philosophy out of the academy and put it on the bestseller list. The series has been featured in The New York Times and People,... and on NPR's All Things Considered. Now philosophy finds its real home — in the dugout. In Baseball and Philosophy, 18 professors — some from the new field devoted to the philosophy of sport, others unapologetic baseball fans — explore the sport's deeper aspects. How can Zen be applied to hitting? Do you play to win or play by the rules? Is it ethical to employ deception in sports? Can a game be defined by its written rules or are there also other constraints? What can the U.S. Supreme Court learn from umpiring? Why should baseball be the only industry exempt from antitrust laws? These are some of the questions addressed in this witty, provocative blend of two major American pastimes: watching baseball and thinking about it.

The acclaimed nationwide best seller and companion volume to Ken Burns’s grand-slam PBS documentary—updated and expanded to coincide with the... broadcast of a new, two-part Tenth Inning that lokos back on the age of steroids, home-run records, the rise of Latino players, and so much more.With a narrative by Geoffrey C. Ward, a preface to the new edition by Ken Burns and Lynn Novick, a new chapter by Kevin Baker, and an introduction by Roger AngellEssays by Thomas Boswell, Robert W. Creamer, Gerald Early, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Bill James, David Lamb, Daniel Okrent, John Thorn, George F. WillAnd featuring an interview with Buck O’Neil

It may be America’s game, but no one seems to know how or when baseball really started. Theories abound, myths proliferate, but reliable information... has been in short supply—until now, when Baseball before We Knew It brings fresh new evidence of baseball’s origins into play. David Block looks into the early history of the game and of the 150-year-old debate about its beginnings. He tackles one stubborn misconception after another, debunking the enduring belief that baseball descended from the English game of rounders and revealing a surprising new explanation for the most notorious myth of all—the Abner Doubleday–Cooperstown story. Block’s book takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the centuries in search of clues to the evolution of our modern National Pastime. Among his startling discoveries is a set of long-forgotten baseball rules from the 1700s. Block evaluates the originality and historical significance of the Knickerbocker rules of 1845, revisits European studies on the ancestry of baseball which indicate that the game dates back hundreds, if not thousands of years, and assembles a detailed history of games and pastimes from the Middle Ages onward that contributed to baseball’s development. In its thoroughness and reach, and its extensive descriptive bibliography of early baseball sources, this book is a unique and invaluable resource—a comprehensive, reliable, and readable account of baseball before it was America’s game.

This is the ultimate guide to the new statistical thinking that's revolutionizing the game of baseball. In the numbers-obsessed sport of baseball,... statistics don't merely record what players, managers and owners have done. Properly understood, they can tell us how the teams could employ better strategies, put more effective players on the field, and win more games. The 1970s saw a revolution in baseball statistics, and it's a controversial subject that professionals and fans alike argue over without end. Despite this fundamental change in the way the sport is watched and understood, no-one has ever written the book that reveals, across every area of strategy and management, how the best practitioners of statistical analysis in baseball think about the game. "Baseball Between the Numbers" is that book. In separate chapters covering every aspect of the game - such as hitting, pitching and fielding - the experts at Baseball Prospectus examine the subtle, hidden aspects of the game, bring them out into the open, and show us how various teams could win more games.

Here is a comprehensive, practical resource that makes building a successful baseball program considerably easier for both the new and the experienced... coach. Included are proven techniques and ready-to-use materials for virtually every aspect of the coach s job, from recruiting to training talent for each position.

Baseball History from Outside the Lines gathers the best recent historical literature about the game. These well-written essays describe developments in... the game's past, assess their impact, and explain how they reflect the period in which they occurred. The essays also explore baseball's influences outside the field of play as well as the effect of external factors on the game. The contributors discuss such key issues as demographics, communities, social mobility, race and ethnicity, baseball as a business, player-management relations, amateurs, women, and international play.

The Mexican American author Gary Soto draws on his own experience of growing up in California’s Central Valley in this finely crafted collection of... eleven short stories that reveal big themes in the small events of daily life. Crooked teeth, ponytailed girls, embarrassing grandfathers, imposter Barbies, annoying brothers, Little League tryouts, and karate lessons weave the colorful fabric of Soto’s world. The smart, tough, vulnerable kids in these stories are Latino, but their dreams and desires belong to all of us. Glossary of Spanish terms included. Awards: ALA Best Book for Young Adults, Booklist Editors’ Choice, Horn Book Fanfare Selection, Judy Lopez Memorial Honor Book, Parenting Magazine’s Reading Magic Award, John and Patricia Beatty Award