Bartleby.com publishes a diverse and intelligent nonfiction corpus, including many works of political and social history.

Nonfiction

ANTHOLOGIES

Warner, Charles D., ed. 1917. The Library of the World’s Best Literature.: With 5,550 selections and over 1,000 essays on primary authors and literary genres, this 20,000-page anthology stands as a monument of the best critique and editorial expertise of the early twentieth century.
Eliot, Charles W., ed. 1909–17. The Harvard Classics and Harvard Classics Shelf of Fiction.: The greatest anthology of the 20th century comprises 70 volumes.
Stedman, E.C., and Hutchinson, E.M., eds. 1891. A Library of American Literature: An Anthology in 11 Volumes.: The 6000 pages of the 11 volumes contain over 2500 selections by more than 1100 authors.
Strachey, Lionel, et al., eds. 1906. The World’s Wit and Humor: An Anthology in 15 Volumes.: Over 1000 selections from some 500 sources weighted toward American and English.
Bryan, William Jennings, ed. 1906. The World’s Famous Orations.: Two millennia of Western Civilization come into focus through these 281 masterpieces by 213 rhetoricians.
Sinclair, Upton, ed. 1915. The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest.: With many verse selections, these 665 annotated entries show American Progressivism at its heyday.
Bridges, Robert, ed. 1916. The Spirit of Man: An Anthology.: Created in the darkness of the Great War, Bridges collects a book of lights from the literature of his nation and its allies.
Trent and Wells, ed. 1901. Colonial Prose and Poetry.: 57 writers represent the literary and cultural trends in Early America.
Craik, Henry, ed. 1916. English Prose: An Anthology in 5 Volumes.: This comprehensive anthology with expertly written annotations comprises 978 selections from 235 authors
American Historical Documents: 1000–1904. 1909–17.: 47 works trace the United States from the settling of the continent to early twentieth-century international relations.
English Essays from Sir Philip Sidney to Macaulay. 1909–17.: Four centuries of the development of English prose are illustrated by 24 works from 17 authors.
Essays: English and American. 1909–17.: Twelve nineteenth-century authors on topics biographical, literary and philosophical.
Inaugural Addresses of the Presidents of the United States. 1989.: Illustrated and annotated edition of all Inaugural addresses from George Washington to Barack Obama.
Literary and Philosophical Essays. 1909–17.: 13 works of 7 continental authors spanning 3 centuries.
Matthews, Brander, ed. 1914. Oxford Book of American Essays.: Thirty-two essays on topics literary, political and humorous, spanning over a century of this form’s development in America.
Morley, Christopher, ed. 1921. Modern Essays.: Thirty-three personal essays by such twentieth-century greats as Milne, Kilmer, Conrad, Beerbohm and Santayana.
Smith, G. Gregory, ed. 1904. Elizabethan Critical Essays.: These early modern prose writers sought to make the Western world safe for verse against conservative religious and scholarly forces.
Scientific Papers. 1909–17.: Illustrated lectures by the fathers of the core sciences.
Voyages and Travels. 1909–17.: Seven accounts from the ancient fathers of historical prose to the great Elizabethan explorers.

Volumes

Adams, Henry. 1918. The Education of Henry Adams.: An honest and probing reflection of one man’s life in relation to the world around him.
Augustine, Saint. 1909–14. The Confessions of St. Augustine.: The autobiography of the great defender of the Church.
Bacon, Francis

1909–14. Essays, Civil and Moral. Whether turning a phrase or observing the politics of the day, the Essays epitomize Bacon as the master of English prose.

1909–14. The New Atlantis. This account of an ideal state reveals both practical methods and unique fantasy.

1857. Advancement of Learning. A powerful defense of science against religion and the advocacy of the modern university.

1857. The New Organon.

1857. Of the Wisdom of the Ancients.

1857. Apophthegms New and Old.
Berkeley, George. 1909–14. Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists.
The Bhagavad-Gita. 1909–14.
The Bible. 1999. King James Version.: The culmination of English translations of the Bible by the American Bible Society.

1909–14. Job, Psalms, Ecclesiastes, Luke & Acts. From the American Standard Edition of the Revised Bible.
Bok, Edward. 1921. The Americanization of Edward Bok.: Pulitzer Prize–winning autobiography of an influential publisher and editor.
Browne, Thomas, Sir. 1909–14. Religio Medici.: A personal essay reconciling the religious and scientific life.
Buddhist Writings. 1909–14.
Burke, Edmund

1909–14. A Letter to a Noble Lord. A personal defense from the master of prosaic irony.

1909–14. On Taste. The introductory discourse to On the Sublime and Beautiful.

1909–14. On the Sublime and Beautiful. This aesthetic treatise was an advance in the uniting of philosophy with psychology.

1909–14. Reflections on the French Revolution. The prophetic warning against the pulling down of all that is good in society with the bad.
Carlyle, Thomas

1909–14. Characteristics. A seminal work of Romantic interpretation.

1909–14. Inaugural Address at Edinburgh. A clear statement of Carlyle’s moral passions.

1909–14. Sir Walter Scott. One of Carlyle’s many essays extolling great men.
Cellini, Benvenuto. 1909–14. Autobiography.: The honest if self-aggrandized life of the epitomal Renaissance man.
Chamfort, Nicolas de. 1902. The Cynic’s Breviary.
Cicero

1909–14. On Friendship & On Old Age. The master of prose exemplifies the pragmatism of the philosopher’s mind applied to the human condition.

1909–14. Letters. The epistles of the great orator and politician offer both personal insight and policy initiative.
Confucius. 1909–14. The Sayings of Confucius.: 500 verses attributed to the ancient Chinese teacher.
Dana, Richard Henry, Jr. 1909–14. Two Years before the Mast.
Darwin, Charles

1909–14. The Origin of Species. The revolutionary theory of evolution.

1909–14. The Voyage of the Beagle. Popular account of a five-year journey of geological, botanical, biological and paleontological observation.
Descartes, René. 1909–14. Discourse on Method.: The work that would sweep away accepted truths to create the foundation of modern thought.
Du Bois, W.E.B. 1903. The Souls of Black Folk.: W.E.B. Du Bois sets out to show to the reader “the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century.”
Einstein, Albert. 1920. Relativity: The Special and General Theory.: Professor Einstein follows a “train” of thought with a Socratic style that provides the reader “a few happy hours of suggestive thought.”
Eliot, T.S. 1920. The Sacred Wood.: Eliot’s collection of essays on poetry and criticism.
Emerson, Ralph Waldo

1904. The Complete Works. The twelve-volume Concord edition features voluminous footnotes painstakingly compiled by his son.

1909–14. Essays and English Traits. Epitomal works demonstrate the genius of the father of the American Renaissance.
Epictetus. 1909–14. The Golden Sayings of Epictetus.: Like those of Socrates and Christ, these aphorisms were transcribed by the disciples of the great Stoic.
Equiano, Olaudah. 1837. The Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa.
Franklin, Benjamin. 1909–14. His Autobiography: 1706–1757.: The cornerstone of the Harvard Classics and Franklin’s account of his journey of self-education.
Freud, Sigmund

1922. Beyond the Pleasure Principle.

1916. Leonardo da Vinci.

1910. Three Contributions to the Sexual Theory.

1916. Wit and Its Relation to the Unconscious.

1912. Selected Papers on Hysteria and Other Psychoneuroses.

1918. Totem and Taboo.

1918. Reflections on War and Death.

1920. A General Introduction to Psychoanalysis.

1914. Psychopathology of Everyday Life.

1913. The Interpretation of Dreams.

1917. The History of the Psychoanalytic Movement.

1917. Delusion and Dream.

1921. Dream Psychology: Psychoanalysis for Beginners.

1910. Origin and Development of Psychoanalysis.

1922. Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego.
Froissart, Jean. 1909–14. The Chronicles of Froissart.: Historical account of battles of the Hundred Year’s War
Grant, Ulysses S. 1885–86. Personal Memoirs.: Among the greatest of military memoirs, Grant wrote to the last month of life to restore his family fortunes.
Grotius, Hugo. 1901. The Rights of War and Peace.
Harrison, William. 1909–14. A Description of Elizabethan England.: Observations and comments on life in pre-Elizabethan England.
Harvey, William. 1909–14. On the Motion of the Heart and Blood in Animals.
Hippocrates. 1909–14. The Oath and Law of Hippocrates.
Hobbes, Thomas. 1909–14. Of Man, Being the First Part of Leviathan.: The analogy of the physical body to the body politic.
Holmes, Oliver Wendell. 1909–14. The Contagiousness of Puerperal Fever.
Hume, David. 1909–14. An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding.
Hutchinson, Lucy

1906. Memoirs of the Life of Colonel Hutchinson. Eyewitness biography to the English Civil War.

1817. On the Principles of the Christian Religion. The seventeenth-century Puritan theology.
Jenner, Edward. 1909–14. Publications on Vaccination Against Smallox.
Joubert, Joseph. 1899. A Selection from His Thought.
Jusserand, Jean Jules. 1916. With Americans of Past and Present Days.: Seven Pulitzer Prize–winning biographical vignettes trace U.S.–French relations.
Koran, Chapters from the. 1909–14.
La Bruyère, Jean de. 1885. Characters.
La Rochefoucauld, François, duc de. 1912. The Moral Maxims and Reflections of the Duke de la Rochefoucauld.: Early English translation of the pillar of French thought.
Lincoln, Abraham. 1897. Political Debates Between Lincoln and Douglas.: The seven masterpieces of debate on the evil of slavery.
Lister, Joseph. 1909–14. On the Antiseptic Principle of the Practice of Surgery.
Locke, John

1909–14. Some Thoughts Concerning Education. At the time, the most significant work advocating educational reform.

1821. Two Treatises on Government.
Luther, Martin

1909–14. Address to the Christian Nobility of the German Nation Respecting the Reformation of the Christian Estate.

1909–14. Concerning Christian Liberty.

1909–14. The Ninety-Five Thesis.
Lyell, Charles. 1909–14. Scientific Papers.
Machiavelli, Niccolo. 1909–14. The Prince.
Mandeville, Sir John. 1895. The Marvellous Adventures of Sir John Maundevile Kt.: The fourteenth-century call to Crusade through a symbolic mapping of the world, known and unknown.
Marcus Aurelius. 1909–14. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius.: This Roman Stoic hands down the day-to-day principles on which an all-powerful Emperor ruled for the welfare of the people.
Mill, John Stuart

1909–14. Autobiography. The honest and heart-felt account of the tortured philosopher’s education.

1869. On Liberty; 1909–14. On Liberty. This timeless essay addresses points on civil liberties that resonate into our twenty-first century world.
Milton, John

1909–14. Areopagitica. Responds to attempts of the day to “license,” or ban, religious and political writings.

1909–14. Tractate on Education. A personal epistle aimed at the training of youth in the classic and poetic traditions as well as the future of scientific studies.
More, Sir Thomas. 1909–14. Utopia.
Paine, Thomas. 1776. Common Sense.: An instant bestseller, this popular pamphlet set the foundation for the “Declaration of Independence.”

1906. The Writings of Thomas Paine.
Paré, Ambrose. 1909–14. Journeys in Diverse Places.
Pasteur, Louis. 1909–14. Scientific Papers.
Penn, William. 1909–14. Fruits of Solitude.: The aphorisms of the founder of Pennsylvania published anonymously so as not to be reimprisoned for disloyalty.
Plato. 1909–14. The Apology, Phædo and Crito.: Three dialogues that epitomize the Socratic question-and-answer style turned philosophy.
Pliny the Younger. 1909–14. Letters.: A glimpse into the daily life of a Roman patrician.
Plutarch. 1909–14. Lives.: Biographies of Greeks and Romans aimed more at the kernel of a man than the facts of his life.
Reed, John. 1922. Ten Days That Shook the World.: The first-person chronicle of a legendary journalist at the flashpoint of the Russian Revolution.
Rhodes, James Ford. 1917. History of the Civil War, 1861–1865.: The Pulitzer Prize–winning chronicle for the general reader of four bloody years that stemmed from the practice of slavery.
Riis, Jacob

1890. How the Other Half Lives. Through sensationalist prose and photography, Riis reveals the appalling living conditions in the Lower East Side of turn-of-the-century New York City.

1902. The Battle with the Slum. Sequel to How the Other Half Lives.

1904. Theodore Roosevelt, the Citizen. Biography by Roosevelt’s lifelong friend and co-worker.
Roosevelt, Theodore

1899. The Rough Riders. Roosevelt’s memoir of his adventures, triumphs and defeats in the Spanish-American War.

1885. Hunting Trips of a Ranchman. Roosevelt’s ode to the beauty, vigor and challenges of the Dakota Badlands and the frontier life.

1919. Letters to His Children. This endearing collection contains more than twenty years of Roosevelt’s loving correspondence with his children.

1896. Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail. Roosevelt records the joyous experiences on his ranch in the Dakota Territories, with over ninety unique illustrations by Frederic Remington.

1913. An Autobiography. The life that formed one of the greatest and outspoken Presidents in American history.

1913. History as Literature. Covers such topics as modern art, the pursuit of scholarship, science and history, and the poetry of Dante.

1916. A Book-Lover’s Holidays in the Open. Essays encouraging the average person to cross the line of comfortable and traditional travel to discover the vitality of outdoor life.

1900. The Strenuous Life. Commentaries and public addresses on what is necessary for a vital and healthy political, social and individual life.

1906. New York. “A sketch of the city’s social, political, and commercial progress from the first Dutch settlement to recent times.”

1914. Through the Brazilian Wilderness. Biographical account of hunting, camping and “zoogeographical reconnoissance” with his son Kermit.

1919. Theodore Roosevelt. An “intimate biography” by Charles Roscoe Thayer.

1920. A Bibliography of Theodore Roosevelt. John Wheelock’s comprehensive bibliography of Theodore Roosevelt’s writings to 1920.
Roper, William. 1909–14. The Life of Sir Thomas More.
Rousseau, Jean Jacques

1909–14. On the Inequality among Mankind. The movers of the French Revolution would embrace the ideas elaborated herein.

1909–14. Profession of Faith of a Savoyard Vicar. One statement of Rousseau’s principles of religious faith.

1913. Social Contract & Discourses. Includes the Discourses on the Arts and Sciences and on the Inequality of Mankind.
Sanger, Margaret. 1920. Woman and the New Race.: Manifesto and chronicle of the crusader for women’s reproductive rights.
Smith, Adam. 1909–14. Wealth of Nations.: The first complete system of political economy by the articulator of laissez-faire capitalism.
Strachey, Lytton. 1918. Eminent Victorians.: Four artful “Victorian visions” that revolutionized the biography.
Thayer, Charles Roscoe. 1919. Theodore Roosevelt.
Thomas à Kempis. 1909–14. The Imitation of Christ.: This pastiche of biblical and Catholic passages remains the most influential of Christian devotional writings.
Van Doren, Carl. 1921. The American Novel.: Historical treatment of the development of the “Great American Novel.”
Vauvenargues, Marquis de. 1903. Selections.
Voltaire. 1909–14. Letters on the English.: An examination of the English free thinkers, scientists, religion and government.
Walton, Izaak. 1909–14. The Lives of John Donne and George Herbert.: Two of a handful of short biographies by the subjects’ fellow divine and fishing companion.
Washington, Booker T. 1901. Up from Slavery.: This autobiographical work reveals a forceful and potent voice in the fight for African-American equality from a century ago.
Wells, H.G. 1922. A Short History of the World.: Wells’s tribute to “the needs of the busy general reader who wishes to refresh and repair his faded or fragmentary conceptions of the great adventure of mankind.”
Wheelock, John. 1920. A Bibliography of Theodore Roosevelt.
Whitman, Walt. 1892. Prose Works.: The Good Gray Poet also contributed to the greatest prose of American letters with his war diaries, Prefaces and Democratic Vistas.
Wollstonecraft, Mary. 1792. A Vindication of the Rights of Woman.: The first great feminist treatise.
Woolman, John. 1909–14. The Journal of John Woolman.: Exemplifies the inner life of the Society of Friends and the first crusade against slavery in the Americas.