Most unusually among major painters, Vincent van Gogh (1853-90) was also an accomplished writer. His letters provide both a unique self-portrait and a vivid picture of the contemporary cultural scene.

"In the tradition of Mark Twain and Jean Shepherd, Dave Barry and Garrison Keillor, Jerry Nelson is a humorist whose beat is the American heartland, a small-town world of pickup trucks and Sunday night pancake dinners, dropping in on neighbors and complaining to the country agent. A fourth-generation dairy farmer, Jerry Nelson discovered his voice after he wrote a tongue-in-cheek letter to his county agent for advice on what to do, after a period...

A collection of letters--to ancestors, to children five generations from now, to strangers in grocery lines, to any and all who feel weary and discouraged--written by award-winning novelists, poets, political thinkers, and activists.

In the early 1940s, Clara Breed was the children's librarian at the San Diego Public Library. But she was also friend to dozens of Japanese American children and teens when war broke out in December of 1941. The story of what happened to these American citizens is told through letters that her young friends wrote to Miss Breed during their internment. This librarian and humanitarian served as a lifeline to these imprisoned young people, and was brave...

"We are not to expect to be translated from despotism to liberty in a featherbed."Thomas Jefferson, letter to Marquis de Lafayette, 1790 Thomas Jeffersonauthor of the Declaration of Independence and third president of the United Statesvoiced the hopes of a new America with eloquence and passion. Focusing on the personal side of Jefferson, this wonderful collection explores his ideas and legacy through his letters and writings. With subjects ranging...