Overview
A short story of suspended fate can sit beside a meditation on education, a comic epigram, a scientific curiosity and a glimpse into a famous life. That restless variety defines this magazine-style anthology, whose scrapbook arrangement turns reading into an encounter with ideas, anecdotes and unexpected connections. Literary extracts, editorial commentary and concise nonfiction continually shift the perspective, creating a volume designed for browsing as readily as sustained reading. Recurring departments bring shape to the abundance, moving through industrial arts, journalism, literature, social conditions, food and health, travel, invention and achievement. Ambrose Bierce's "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" provides one striking fictional centrepiece, while selections from Tennyson, Poe, Longfellow, Bryant, Carlyle, Dickens and Thackeray place poetry and prose in conversation with historical sketches, biography and cultural observation. Humorous verse and epigrams interrupt weightier subjects, preserving the lively contrasts essential to the periodical's character. Elsewhere, baseball poems, discussions of fast trains and a horoscope centred on April and Aries reveal the anthology's delight in placing everyday interests beside science, history and literature. The pleasure lies not in following a single narrative, but in moving between compact pieces that inform, entertain and surprise through their juxtaposition. Its densely varied design captures a form of literary miscellany in which serious enquiry and comic diversion share the same inviting space. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.
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Details
- ISBN-13: 9789378415951
- ISBN-10: 9378415954
- Publisher: Alpha Edition
- Publish Date: November 2026
- Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.43 inches
- Shipping Weight: 0.57 pounds
- Page Count: 188
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