Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 049

A curious cabinet of wonders from the early twentieth century. This collection gathers sixteen short nonfiction pieces that wander from the practical (how to train a horse, the surprising intelligence of dogs) to the philosophical (medieval thinkers Roger Bacon and Nicholas of Cusa) to the wryly observational (Dorothy Parker dissecting bad short stories, a satirical take on cinema as "stupies"). Natural history gets its due too: carnivorous plants, tadpoles, tent caterpillars, the flight of birds, trees in winter, the sounds of the woods at night. There's an intimate portrait of Abraham Lincoln's early life in Illinois and an appraisal of Conrad Aiken's poetry. These readers chose pieces that capture a particular moment in American letters, when serious curiosity about the world could sit alongside sharp wit and personal narrative. For the reader who likes to dip into something different each time they sit down, this collection offers sixteen small doors into the past.