The titles featured here (by American authors) have had a profound effect on American life. Introduction Ask a group of people to name the most influential books that shaped America and they are likely to give a wide variety of responses. We all bring a different set of experiences to a book, and those experiences[…]
Beginning with a small psalm book that filled a basic need in the devotional lives of colonists, landmark printings across the colonies captured moments in American thought. Introduction With a bit of verve, luck, and ingenuity, printing was brought to British North America in 1638. Stephen Daye, a locksmith by trade, was under contract to[…]
In addition to the numerous pioneering works of science fiction by which he made his name, H. G. Wells also published a steady stream of non-fiction meditations, mainly focused on themes salient to his stories: the effects of technology, human folly, and the idea of progress. As Peter J. Bowler explores, for Wells the notion[…]
In the late 1800s, a U.K. scheme lured lonely bachelors with newspaper advertisements supposedly placed by wealthy women. By Livia Gershon The potential for fraud casts a constant shadow on online dating, from deceptive profiles to outright catfishing. But, as historian Angus McLaren writes, fraudulent matchmaking efforts are nothing new. In nineteenth-century Britain, one bold scheme[…]