Revisit a world of conquest, exploration, and imperial adventure with this Modern Library eBook bundle that includes Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Francis Parkman’s Montcalm and Wolfe, William H. Prescott’s History of the Conquest of Mexico, and Theodore Roosevelt’s The Naval War of 1812. THE DECLINE AND FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE (ABRIDGED) Edward Gibbon’s masterpiece, which narrates the history of the Roman Empire from the second to the fifteenth centuries, is widely considered the greatest work of history ever written. This abridgment retains the full scope of the original, while emphasizing elements ignored in all other abridgments—in particular the role of religion in the empire and the rise of Islam. MONTCALM AND WOLFE The result of more than forty years of passionate research, Montcalm and Wolfe is the epic story of Europe’s struggle for dominance of the New World. Thought by many to be Francis Parkman’s greatest work, it is a riveting read and an essential part of any military history collection. HISTORY OF THE CONQUEST OF MEXICO William H. Prescott’s sweeping account of Cortés’s subjugation of the Aztec people has endured as a landmark work of scholarship and dramatic storytelling. This pioneering study presents a compelling view of the clash of civilizations that reverberates in Latin America to this day. THE NAVAL WAR OF 1812 Published when its author, Theodore Roosevelt, was only twenty-three years old, The Naval War of 1812 was immediately hailed as a literary and scholarly triumph, and it is still considered the definitive book on the subject. Roosevelt’s inimitable style and robust narrative make The Naval War of 1812 enthralling, illuminating, and utterly essential to every armchair historian.

The enduring genius of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky shines through in this special eBook collection that includes four classic Russian novels—each one recognized as a masterpiece of world literature. ANNA KARENINA “One of the greatest love stories in world literature.”—Vladimir Nabokov Anna Karenina is Tolstoy’s classic tale of love and adultery set against the backdrop of high society in Moscow and Saint Petersburg. The rich and complex story charts the disastrous course of a love affair between Anna, a beautiful married woman, and Count Vronsky, a wealthy army officer. CRIME AND PUNISHMENT “Crime and Punishment has upon most readers an impact as immediate and obvious and full as the news of murder next door.”—R. P. Blackmur The story of the murder committed by Raskolnikov and his guilt and atonement, Dostoevsky’s brilliant novel is without doubt the most gripping and illuminating account ever written of a crime of repugnance and despair and the consequences that inevitably arise from it. THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV “The Brothers Karamazov stands as the culmination of Dostoevsky’s art.”—The Washington Post Book World Dostoevsky’s crowning achievement is a tale of patricide and family rivalry that embodies the moral and spiritual dissolution of an entire society. To Dostoevsky, it captured the quintessence of Russian character in all its exaltation, compassion, and profligacy. WAR AND PEACE “There remains the greatest of all novelists—for what else can we call the author of War and Peace?”—Virginia Woolf Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic Wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy’s genius is seen clearly in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle—all of them fully realized and equally memorable.

Like no other event in our history, the Civil War divided the nation, redrew our notions of freedom and citizenship, and provided the backdrop for some of the most enduring works in the American literary canon. This Modern Library eBook bundle collects five titles that illuminate that transformative conflict: Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant, the classic novels Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Red Badge of Courage, The Essential Writings of Jefferson Davis, and The Life and Writings of Abraham Lincoln. PERSONAL MEMOIRS OF ULYSSES S. GRANT The memoirs of the legendary Union general chart the fortunes that shaped his life and character—from his frontier boyhood to his heroics in battle to the grinding poverty from which the Civil War “rescued” him. Among autobiographies of great military figures, Grant’s is considered one of the finest. UNCLE TOM'S CABIN Abraham Lincoln called Uncle Tom’s Cabin “the book that made this great war.” Langston Hughes called it “a moral battle cry.” Harriet Beecher Stowe’s classic novel offers a shockingly realistic depiction of slavery and a portrait of human dignity in the most inhumane circumstances. THE RED BADGE OF COURAGE One of the greatest works of American literature, The Red Badge of Courage gazes fearlessly into the bright hell of war through the eyes of one young soldier, the reluctant Henry Fleming. Stephen Crane’s novel imagines the Civil War’s terror and loss with an unblinking vision so modern and revolutionary that critics hailed it as a work of literary genius. JEFFERSON DAVIS: THE ESSENTIAL WRITINGS The Confederate president is one of the most complex and controversial figures in American political history. Editor William J. Cooper combs through the authoritative Papers of Jefferson Davis for this selection of letters, major speeches, and public and private writings. Collectively, they present a multifaceted portrait of a man who continues to fascinate scholars and Civil War buffs alike. THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN The greatest of all American presidents left us a vast legacy of writings, some of which are among the most famous in our history. From the plainspoken eloquence of the Gettysburg Address to the soaring rhetoric of his Second Inaugural, this marvelous volume serves as a guide to Lincoln’s life through his speeches, letters, and public remarks.

In the long history of philosophy and literature, few have been so widely read and admired as the great thinkers of Greece and Rome. For modern audiences, this eBook bundle—which collects the Modern Library editions of three classics: Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations, Selected Dialogues of Plato, and The Basic Works of Aristotle—is the perfect introduction to the foundation of modern knowledge. Accompanied by insightful, accessible commentary from some of today’s top scholars, including Gregory Hays, Hayden Pelliccia, and C.D.C. Reeve, this is a collection of ideas that changed the world—and have truly stood the test of time. MEDITATIONS Marcus Aurelius succeeded his adoptive father as emperor of Rome in A.D. 161—and Meditations remains one of the greatest works of spiritual and ethical reflection ever written. The Meditations have become required reading for statesmen and philosophers alike, while generations of readers have responded to the straightforward intimacy of the leader’s style. In Gregory Hays’s seminal translation, Marcus’s thoughts speak with a new immediacy: Never before have they been so directly and powerfully presented. SELECTED DIALOGUES OF PLATO In this volume, Hayden Pelliccia has revised five of Benjamin Jowett’s translations of Plato—classics in their own right—to produce a fresh, modern take that Library Journal calls “a needed and welcome addition to the translations of the Dialogues.” Here are Ion, Protagoras, Phaedrus, and the famous Symposium, which discuss poetry, the Socratic method, rhetoric, psychology, and love. Most dramatically, Apology puts Socrates’ art of persuasion to the ultimate test—defending his own life. THE BASIC WORKS OF ARISTOTLE Preserved by Arabic mathematicians and canonized by Christian scholars, Aristotle’s works have shaped Western thought, science, and religion for nearly two thousand years—and Richard McKeon’s edition has long been considered the best available one-volume Aristotle. Here are selections from the Organon, On the Heavens, The Short Physical Treatises, Rhetoric, among others, and On the Soul, On Generation and Corruption, Physics, Metaphysics, Nicomachean Ethics, Politics, and Poetics in their entirety.

“A California classic . . . California, it should be remembered, was very much the wild west, having to wait until 1850 before it could force its way into statehood. so what tamed it? Mr. Starr’s answer is a combination of great men, great ideas and great projects.”—The Economist From the age of exploration to the age of Arnold, the Golden State’s premier historian distills the entire sweep of California’s history into one splendid volume. Kevin Starr covers it all: Spain’s conquest of the native peoples of California in the early sixteenth century and the chain of missions that helped that country exert control over the upper part of the territory; the discovery of gold in January 1848; the incredible wealth of the Big Four railroad tycoons; the devastating San Francisco earthquake of 1906; the emergence of Hollywood as the world’s entertainment capital and of Silicon Valley as the center of high-tech research and development; the role of labor, both organized and migrant, in key industries from agriculture to aerospace. In a rapid-fire epic of discovery, innovation, catastrophe, and triumph, Starr gathers together everything that is most important, most fascinating, and most revealing about our greatest state. Praise for California “[A] fast-paced and wide-ranging history . . . [Starr] accomplishes the feat with skill, grace and verve.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review “Kevin Starr is one of california’s greatest historians, and California is an invaluable contribution to our state’s record and lore.”—MarIa ShrIver, journalist and former First Lady of California “A breeze to read.”—San Francisco