Milton Rugoff

> A rich collection of the tales men have told for nearly 4000 years, from ancient Egypt and Peru to the new America of mining- and logging-camp days. The selection is balanced between familiar stories and those which will be fresh discoveries to all but the specialists. Many are from rare and unusual sources; some were first written down by anthropologists making studies of primitive societies; others stem from the Brothers Grimm and Andersen and other well-known authorities. The editor has weighed all existing versions and in each case picked the most readable--many translations are by distinguished authors. The book is divided into nineteen representative world areas: African, American, American Indian, Arabian and Turkish, Chinese, Egyptian, English, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Indian, Irish, Italian, Jewish, Latin American, Russian, Scandinavian, Spanish. All categories of folk tales are included: Märchen, legends, myths, jests and drolls, fabliaux, fairy tales, fables, tall tales; romantic and fantastic tales; ghost stories and animal stories; moral tales and mystery stories. >>"This is an unusually comprehensive and thoughtfully selected collection... distinguished from most of its kind by Mr. Rugoff's informative commentaries." -The New York Times - from back cover

Traces the evolution of America's sexual code from its Puritan origins, focusing on the mores of the nineteenth century.

Recounts the adventures of Marco Polo who, with his father and uncle, journeyed to the court of Kublai Khan in China from 1271 to 1295.

Bring[s] the characters, convictions, and styles of the Beechers to the fore in a lively and richly detailed narrative...Exhaustively researched...as a study of the family itself The Beechers stands as the definitive biography. Mary Kelley, Journal of American History.