The train was packed with men. Men lying as still as if they were already dead. Men shaking with pain. One man raving, jabbering, yelling, in delirium. Everywhere bandages . . . bandages . . . bandages . . . and blood. Those words describe the moment when Private John Lewis Barkley first grasped the grim reality of the war he had entered. The rest of Barkley's memoir, first published in 1930 as No Hard Feelings and long out of print, provides a vivid ground-level look at World War I through the eyes of a soldier whose exploits rivaled those of Sergeant York. A reconnaissance man and sniper, Barkley served in Company K of the 4th Infantry Regiment, a unit that participated in almost every major American battle. The York-like episode that earned Barkley his Congressional Medal of Honor occurred on October 7, 1918, when he climbed into an abandoned French tank and singlehandedly held off an advancing German force, killing hundreds of enemy soldiers. But Barkley's memoir abounds with other memorable moments and vignettes, all in the words of a soldier who witnessed war's dangers and degradations but was not at all fazed by them. Unlike other writers identified with the "Lost Generation," he relished combat and made no apology for having dispatched scores of enemy soldiers; yet he was as much an innocent abroad as a killing machine, as witnessed by second thoughts over his sniper's role, or by his determination to protect a youthful German prisoner from American soldiers eager for retribution. This Missouri backwoodsman and sharpshooter was also a bit of a troublemaker who smuggled liquor into camp, avoided promotions like the plague, and had a soft heart for mademoiselles and fruleins alike. In his valuable introduction to this stirring memoir, Steven Trout helps readers to better grasp the historical context and significance of this singular hero's tale from one of our most courageous doughboys. Both haunting and heartfelt, inspiring and entertaining, Scarlet Fields is a long overlooked gem that opens a new window on our nation's experience in World War I and brings back to life a bygone era.

Seventy five years after the Battle of Gettysburg on Little Round Top, John Alexander tells his story to his great-grandson. As a young man in Bath Maine he falls in love with Southern Belle Annabelle DeMaret. Civil war causes their separation, and this epic story follows her experiences in the South and his in the North. He joins the 2nd Maine Volunteer Regiment, is wounded, and mustered out. Later, he re-enlists with the 20th Maine. Before the Battle of Gettysburg, 120 mutineers of the 2nd Maine are impressed to serve with the 20th which has been reduced to about 280 men. Strengthened to 386 soldiers, the 20th Maine went on to glory at Little Round Top, considered the turning point in the Battle of Gettysburg and the Civil War. In this the maligned and little known 2nd Maine Regiments' contribution is recognized. The characters are fictional, but the underlying history is true. A moving epic romance story, it speaks of devotion one to another and to our Nation...

The first biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe in over fifty years tells the absorbing story of this gifted, complex and contradictory woman. Hedrick takes readers into the world of 19th century morals, exploring the influence of then-popular ideas of "true womanhood" on Stowe's upbringing as a member of the outspoken Beecher clan, and her eventful life as a writer and shaper of public opinion.

Venture to the magical land of Oz with Dorothy Gale and Toto, and their friends the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodsman, the Cowardly Lion, and the Wonderful Wizard. This ultimate Oz bundle includes all fourteen of L. Frank Baum’s beloved Oz stories. Meet Dorothy and Glinda the Good Witch for the first time in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, find the missing princess Ozma in The Marvelous Land of Oz, and rescue Ozma and the magical instruments of Oz in The Lost Princess of Oz. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and its thirteen sequels have enchanted audiences since their publication. Many of Baum’s works have been adapted for the stage and film, most notably the 1939 Technicolour movie The Wonderful Wizard of Oz featuring Judy Garland and Margaret Hamilton, and the 2013 adaption Oz the Great and Powerful starring James Franco, Michelle Williams and Rachel Weisz. HarperPerennial Classics brings great works of literature to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Look for more titles in the HarperPerennial Classics collection to build your digital library.