Short Nonfiction Collection, Vol. 108

There are few books that go with midnight, solitude, and a candle. This collection was made for exactly those hours. Bed-Books and Night-Lights opens the collection with a charming meditation on the intimate pleasure of reading by lamplight, and the rest follows in that quiet, curious spirit. Here are voices from another century: a naturalist watches a whale rise from the waves off the New England coast, a soldier recalls his service in distant lands, a writer argues against socialism with earnest conviction, and a scientist explains what the sun's heat has to do with the color of the sky. These fifteen pieces span journalism, memoir, essay, and oratory from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some are polished classics; others carry the rough energy of immediate address. Together they form a cabinet of curiosities, a record of what educated people once thought and felt and wondered about. Dip in at random. Read by candlelight. This is a book for anyone who believes the past still has things to say.