The adventures of the wandering sailor Ishmael and his voyage on the whaleship Pequod, commanded by Captain Ahab. Ishmael soon learns that Ahab seeks one specific whale, Moby Dick, a white sperm whale of tremendous size and ferocity. Comparatively few whaleships know of Moby Dick, and fewer yet have encountered him. In a previous encounter, the whale destroyed Ahab's boat and bit off his leg. Ahab intends to take revenge.

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is essential to the understanding of the American soul. The recent discovery of the first half of Twain's manuscript, long thought lost, made front-page news. And this unprecedented edition, which contains for the first time omitted episodes and other variations present in the first half of the handwritten manuscript, as well as facsimile reproductions of thirty manuscript pages, is indispensable to a full understanding...

Nearly 3,000 entries and over 50 illustrations provide information on all facets of Shakespeare's life and works.

Simplified prose retellings of Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, Othello, The Tempest, King Lear, Macbeth, As You Like It, Twelfth Night, and The Winter's Tale.

Alphabetically-arranged entries cover such topics as folktales, folk remedies, customs, legendary heroes, the folklore origins of nursery rhymes and proverbs, and fabulous creatures.