"Great Expectations is among the most masterful of Charles Dickens's novels. Displaying extraordinary tragicomic range, Dickens blends an atmosphere of brooding violence and guilt with sharp and often disturbing humor to create a drama charged with the thrilling intensity of a detective story and the poignancy of a spiritual autobiography. Much of the novel's power comes from Dickens's unequaled skill at making even the most wildly eccentric of characters...

The Last of the Mohicans is the second and most popular of James Fenimore Cooper's five Leatherstocking Tales. Set in 1757 during the fierce French and Indian wars, Cooper's classic novel of adventure follows an adroit scout and his companion as they weave through the lush and spectacular wilderness of upstate New York, fighting to save the beautiful daughters of a fort commander from a treacherous Huron renegade. With its death-defying chases and...

At the age of five, little orphan Heidi is sent to live with her grandfather in the Alps. Everyone in the village is afraid of him, but Heidi is fascinated by his long beard and bushy gray eyebrows. She loves her life in the mountains, playing in the sunshine and growing up among the goats and birds. But one terrible day, Heidi is collected by her aunt and is made to live with a new family in town. Heidi can't bear to be away from her grandfather;...

Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are swept away in a cyclone to the strange and magical land of Oz. There she meets the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman and the Cowardly Lion. Join Dorothy as she and her friends travel down the Yellow Brick Road to the Emerald City to visit the Wonderful Wizard of Oz who can help Dorothy return home to Kansas.

"A Victorian scientist and inventor creates a machine for propelling himself through time, and voyages to the year AD 802701, where he discovers a race of humanoids called the Eloi. Their gently indolent way of life, set in a decaying cityscape, leads the scientist to believe that they are the remnants of a once great civilization. He is forced to revise this assessment when he comes across the cave dwellings of threatening ape-like creatures known...

Traces the history of roads from the first animal and Indian trails and Roman roads to modern freeways. Also discusses the development of highway planning and roadbuilding techniques and materials.

Traces the history of housing and describes the variety of homes built by man.

Examines the characteristics of light and shadow.

Explains the use of picture signs and symbols as a form of communication.

A simple history of government emphasizing the democracy of the United States.