Capturing the downright agonizing ecstasy of first love, the new film Bright Star, now showing nationwide, is Jane Campion’s finest work since The Piano in 1993. The film’s focal point is on the scorching love between the young, struggling legend-to-be John Keats and his fabulous amour-next-door, Fanny Brawne (played expertly by Abbie Cornish, sure to be an Oscar front-runner in 2010).

As is expected, nothing ends well here due to a host of hurdles, including lack of cash, sickness that eventually leads to a breathtaking death (I won’t tell you whose!), and, of course, a downright conniving BFF who does his devious best to come between these two young lovers.

If this sort of thing sets off your own inner poet, why not regale your love with these specially selected titles from Cosimo Classics, where we have our very own historia amoris…

Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare: He is the greatest writer in the English language — perhaps in any language — and here, in one compact volume, is all the verse even many of those familiar with his plays have never read. In 1593 and 1594, while English theaters were closed in response to the plague, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) turned from drama to narrative poems, and published the dyad “Venus and Adonis” and “The Rape of Lucrece,” erotic meditations on lust and sexual power. Standing powerfully in opposition to each other, they also differ wildly from Shakespeare’s romantic sonnets — all 154 of them are here. Also in this hard-to-find collection are the Bard’s lesser known poems: “A Lover’s Complaint,” “The Passionate Pilgrim,” “Sonnets to Sundry Notes of Music,” and “The Phoenix and the Turtle.” Rounding out the collection are poems from his plays, featuring beloved excerpts from The Tempest, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Twelfth Night, Merry Wives of Windsor, Much Ado About Nothing, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, The Taming of the Shrew, and others. Not an academic work, this lovely volume lets Shakespeare’s words stand on their own, resounding — as ever they do — with their own unique power and beauty.

Historia Amoris: A History of Love Ancient and Modern: Not so much a chronicle of love as a reverie on eros throughout history and literature and mythology, this extraordinary 1906 volume is an all but lost work of American writer Edgar Saltus (1855-1921), an unheralded innovator of creative nonfiction and one of the most astonishingly stylish writers of the early 20th century. With the wit of Wilde, the gloominess of Poe, and a decadence uniquely his own, Saltus delves into humanity’s relationship with itself, from the barbarism of sex in prehistory to the sundering of modesty from romance in 18th-century Europe. Redolent of dark poetry, Saltus’s prose is riveting and seductive-this is a masterpiece awaiting rediscovery by adventurous 21st-century readers.

Love Letters Made Easy: This delightful 1919 book, reprinted here in a charming replica edition, is a complete guide to what one needs to know to write the perfect love letter. While the advice may be amusingly dated in some of its details — the hidden codes in the alignment of postage stamps are probably no longer appreciated today — the broad counsel would be wisely heeded by those “wounded by Cupid’s dart” and hoping to make their best written impression on a beloved. Here the lovestruck reader will find admonitions that particular kinds of thoughtfulness, like remembering birthdays and anniversaries, are always treasured; practical reminders, such as “Don’t write like the tracks of an intoxicated hen”; and guides to which gifts go best with a love letter. Some conundrums of 21st-century lovers are not, of course, here addressed — you’re on your own in deciding whether it’s appropriate to propose marriage via email — but almost every contingency a tongue-tied lover may face is addressed with assistance as useful as it is timeless.

Sylvia’s Lovers: British novelist Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810-1865) — whose books were sometimes initially credited to, simply, “Mrs. Gaskell” — is now recognized as having created some of the most complex and broadminded depictions of women in the literature of the age, and is today justly celebrated for her precocious use of the regional dialect and slang of England’s industrial North. Sylvia’s Lovers — Gaskell’s fifth novel, first published in 1863 — is the melodramatic tale of a star-crossed romantic triangle between farmgirl Sylvia Robson and the two men who love her: her cousin Philip and sailor Charlie Kinread. Though today considered one of Gaskell’s minor works, the author herself called this “the saddest story I ever wrote.” Friend and literary companion to such figures as Charles Dickens and Charlotte Brontë, Gaskell is today being restored to her rightful place alongside her. This delightful replica volume is an excellent opportunity for 21st-century fans of British literature to embrace one of its most unjustly forgotten authors.

The Book of the Duke of True Lovers: One of Christine de Pisan’s works of romantic fiction, The Book of the Duke of True Lovers is believed to be semibiographical. There are only two original manuscripts, one belonging to the house of Bourbon, and it is believed that Jean, Duc de Bourbon, is the protagonist here, the Duke of True Lovers himself. Through Christine, the Duke tells his story of courtly love and adventure. He and his love, the unnamed Duchess, are often separated, communicating by love letters and walking a very fine line between acceptable conduct and dishonor. Anyone with an interest in medieval literature will find this book a superb example of the genre.

And for those of you who like their romance with a gothic flavor, try…

The Mysteries of Udolpho, A Romance: Interspersed with Some Pieces of Poetry: Sir Walter Scott esteemed her “the first poetess of romantic fiction.” Jane Austen borrowed prodigiously from her — and sent up the steamy overwroughtness of her writing — in Northanger Abbey. British author Ann Radcliffe (1764-1823) pioneered the Gothic romance as popular fiction with her 1789 debut novel, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne, and went on to wild success with further works of demure heroines lost in the perils of supernatural melodrama. In this 1794 thriller, perhaps the quintessential example of the genre and Radcliffe’s most popular work, the young and beautiful orphan Emily St. Aubert is imprisoned at sinister Castle Udolpho, and suffers frustrated romance and the hauntings of ghosts. A vital example of early horror and later a profound influence on pulp fiction, this is essential reading for both fans of the genre and those interested in its psychological and thematic development.

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Howard Zinn at Truthout is “dismayed” that U.S. president Barack Obama has won the Nobel Prize for Peace:

A shock, really, to think that a president carrying on wars in two countries and launching military action in a third country (Pakistan), would be given a peace prize. But then I recalled that Woodrow Wilson, Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Kissinger had all received Nobel Peace Prizes. The Nobel Committee is famous for its superficial estimates and for its susceptibility to rhetoric and empty gestures, while ignoring blatant violations of world peace.

As Zinn notes, Obama isn’t the first U.S. president to win the prize, nor is he the first one to stir debate over his win. Cosimo Classics by previous U.S. presidential Nobel Peace Prize winners:

WOODROW WILSON (Nobel Prize for Peace 1919)

A History of the American People, in five volumes: Before he served as the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921, Thomas Woodrow Wilson was a lawyer and an academic: a university professor of history and politics, and president of Princeton University. It was during his tenure at Princeton that he penned this five-volume history of the United States, and it reflects many of the biases he later brought to national politics, from racial prejudice to anti-immigration attitudes. This beautiful replica of the 1902 first edition features all the original halftone illustrations. Students of Wilson and of the ever-changing lens through which history is told and retold will find this an enlightening and illuminating work.

On Being Human: The mark of a great book is one that is meant to be read with pleasure. Written in a conversational manner that was his trademark as an author, this work is meant not only to be read but also to be pondered thoroughly. It instructs and informs, startles and provokes, arouses and amuses the reader with a keen enthusiasm for seeing and taking pleasure in the affairs of the world.

THEODORE ROOSEVELT (Nobel Prize for Peace 1906)

America and the World War: Theodore Roosevelt was still a young man when he left the Oval Office, and he remained a vigorous force on the American scene. The great influence he continued to hold over the public allowed him to contest the policies of President Woodrow Wilson, particularly Wilson’s conduct in the leadup to America’s belated entry into World War I. In this 1915 work, Roosevelt lays out the moral and political case for coming to the aid of the nation’s European allies, from the ethics of self-defense to the practicalities of preparing for war. Roosevelt’s arguments are compelling and humane, but agree with him or not, here is an essential part of the powerful basis for his place in American history as the architect of the American Century, as well as a revealing picture of the character of one of the great American personalities.

Click here for more Cosimo Classics by Roosevelt.

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With all the talk of Nobel Prizes this week, we’d like to introduce readers to five extraordinary minds who’ve produced some of world literature’s greatest works — and they just happen to be Nobel laureates! Here are a few choice authors to consider…

HENRI BERGSON (Nobel Prize for Literature 1927)

Creative Evolution: Here, Bergson anticipated not only modern scientific theories of psychology but also those of cosmology. This astonishing work sets out an impressive goal for itself: to reconcile human biology with a theory of consciousness. First published in France in 1907, and translated into English in 1911, this work of wonder was esteemed at the time in scientific circles and in the popular culture alike.

Matter and Memory: A monumental work first issued in 1896 represents one of the great inquiries into perception and memory, movement and time, matter and mind. Bergson surveys these independent but related spheres, exploring the connection of mind and body to individual freedom of choice.

Time and Free Will: An Essay on the Immediate Data of Consciousness: Here, Bergson attempted to blend the new understandings of biological sciences with concepts of human consciousness in such books as Creative Evolution. With this extraordinary work, first published in French in 1889, Bergson anticipates Einstein’s theory of relativity and the coming revolution in theoretical physics with his exploration of free will as a function of time.

A New Philosophy: Henri Bergson, by Edouard le Roy: Bergson had only the highest praise for this presentation of his philosophy for the general public. Le Roy hoped that this volume would serve as an introduction, which would make it easier to read and understand Bergson’s works, and serve as a primer to his “new philosophy.”

RUDYARD KIPLING (Nobel Prize for Literature 1907)

From Sea to Sea: Letters of Travel: First published in 1899, this volume serves as a delightful reminder of Kipling’s genius (he would win the . It includes: an account of attending the theater in Japan and visiting Shinto shrines; an exploration of India’s “city of elephants” and a meeting with “the naughty children of Iquique”; notes on a journey to San Francisco and the taking of tea with the “natives” there; and much more.

MAURICE MAETERLINCK (Nobel Prize for Literature 1911)

The Buried Temple: With the author’s characteristic care and thoughtfulness, these insightful essays display unique insights and graceful perception into the life of the spirit. Essays included in this collection are “Mystery of Justice,” “Evolution of Mystery,” “Kingdom of Matter and The Past,” and “Luck.” Maeterlinck’s writing is characterized by clear and simple expression with a subtle suggestion rather than a direct expression of ideas and emotions, and this work is ideal for readers who see a purpose in life and value their personal ethics.
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Wisdom and Destiny: His plays and poems sing with the beauty of life, the search for happiness, the inevitability of death, and here, in this exquisite 1898 essay, Maeterlinck contemplates directly the theme that consumes his other writing: the journey toward meaning and truth. Compelling and complex, this is a classic of personal philosophy that greatly rewards close reading and appreciation.

The Life of the Bee: When Maeterlinck, with a poet’s sensibility and sensitivity, turned his attention to a bee hive, his observations turned into a masterpiece. Here, Maeterlinck illuminates the whole life and society of the bee, from the structure of the hive, to the movement and meaning of the swarm, to the role and activity of the queen. This work is for all readers curious about a brilliant thinker’s mediation on a force of nature that, ultimately, holds lessons about the human race and our universe.

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW (Nobel Prize for Literature 1925)

The Devil’s Disciple: A Melodrama in Three Acts: Shaw’s only play set in America, this is a cutting examination of honor and honesty, rebellion and irreverence. Written in 1897 and first published in the 1901, it is the story of Revolutionary War hero Richard Dudgeon, wrongly arrested by British soldiers in a case of mistaken identity who keeps the secret, fully aware he will be hanged for another man’s crimes. Like Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities, this is a historically incisive drama, highlighting the best men can achieve at the worst of times.

Mrs. Warren’s Profession: Middle-aged Mrs. Warren is a madam, proprietress of a string of successful brothels. Her daughter, Vivie, is a modern young woman, but not so modern that she’s not shocked to discover the source of her mother’s wealth. The clash of these two strong-willed but culturally constrained Victorian women is the spark that ignites the ironic wit of one of Shaw’s greatest plays, a withering critique of male domination, sexual hypocrisy, and societal convention. Initially banned after its 1893 publication with its startling frankness, it remains a powerful work of progressive theater.

George Bernard Shaw, by G.K. Chesterton: Arts critic Chesterton clashed vociferously and frequently with Shaw, his greatest intellectual “enemy,” once calling the Irish playwright “most savagely serious man of his time.” This 1909 critique of Shaw’s work and attitudes is considered one of the best works of cultural criticism ever written, and certainly the best book on Shaw. Exploring the writer’s work through the perspectives of his various personas—the Irishman, the Puritan, the Progressive, the Critic, the Dramatist, and the Philosopher—Chesterton, with brutal grace and devastating humor, shreds Shaw’s grimness and illiberalism.

RABINDRANATH TAGORE (Nobel Prize for Literature 1913)

The Fugitive: One of India’s greatest poets and the composer of independent India’s national anthem, Tagore wrote successfully in all literary genres, but was first and foremost a poet, publishing more than 50 volumes of poetry. This is a premier example of his verse.

Stray Birds: Tagore’s ideas on nature and man come through as he explores the world outside his window as the stray birds of summer sing and fly away. These short, sometimes merely one-line poems are often just an image or the distillation of a thought, but they stay in the mind and do not fly away as easily as the birds.

WILLIAM BUTLER YEATS (Nobel Prize for Literature 1923)

The Celtic Twilight: Originally published in 1893, this is Yeats’ collection of some of the most delightful myths and folktales of Ireland, his native land. Yeats recalls stories about the devil, sorcerers, faeries, village ghosts, and unexplainable events. They illuminate a world of magical and miraculous creatures and constitute a worldview that can also be glimpsed in Yeats’ acclaimed poetry and plays.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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Cosimo celebrates Columbus Day with a look back at the life and times of Christopher Columbus.

• The Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus in two volumes: Inspired by the then recent unearthing of original documents and letters of Christopher Columbus, the American writer Washington Irving (1783-1859) set about, in the 1820s, to create the first unlimited and complete account of the great explorer and his journeys. This is that account, sweeping in its scope, as intimate as a novel, as thrilling as a grand adventure story. With a dedication to historical accuracy combined with a flair for engaging storytelling, Irving bestows upon us one of the classic works of history of the Age of Exploration.

• Voyages and Discoveries of the Companions of Columbus: Irving’s follow-up was this 1831 detailing the voyages of the men who accompanied Columbus and followed in his wake, fulfilling his dream of further exploring the land he had encountered. The dashing tales of Alonzo de Ojeda, Vincente Pinzon, Diego de Nicuesa, and Vasco Nuñez de Balboa are presented here for readers as both historical records and adventurous entertainment. History buffs will be delighted to learn about the lives of these important explorers.

• Life of Columbus: This has been called the cornerstone of the history of the American continent. The first issue of this edition, which appeared in 1910, by English scholar Sir Arthur Helps (1817-1875), vividly recreates the moral and intellectual atmosphere of Columbus’s world. A lasting biography of thoughtfulness and scope, it encompasses Columbus’s formative years including his life in Spain and a fascinating account of his earliest voyages of discovery. Helps also examines Columbus’s role as the courageous “Discoverer of America” in light of his devoted and unwavering support of the Catholic Church in Spain and its flourishing influence in the Americas.

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This weekend Sergey Brin, cofounder of Google, contributed an op-ed for The New York Times about the company’s book-scanning project. In “A Library to Last Forever,” he writes:

Because books are such an important part of the world’s collective knowledge and cultural heritage, Larry Page, the co-founder of Google, first proposed that we digitize all books a decade ago, when we were a fledgling startup. At the time, it was viewed as so ambitious and challenging a project that we were unable to attract anyone to work on it. But five years later, in 2004, Google Books (then called Google Print) was born, allowing users to search hundreds of thousands of books. Today, they number over 10 million and counting.

Last May, Brewster Kahle, chairman of the Internet Archive, a not-for-profit digital library, wrote “A Book Grab by Google” for The Washington Post attacking Google’s proposed legal settlement in obtaining the right to digitize books. A key paragraph from Kahle reads:

We’ve wrestled with high-tech monopolies in the past — IBM, AT&T, Microsoft. The lesson was that such strongholds restrict innovation and competition. In those cases, the courts stepped in to address the inequities. Now, we have a proposal for monopolies to be created by the courts.

Cosimo publisher Alexander Dake echoes Kahle:

People should consider whether they want a future where genes in our food are owned by a private company, financial services only provided by one or two mega-banks, their political choices limited to one party, and the world’s historic archives controlled by one, albeit positively intended, search engine; or rather have multi-party democracies, a truly free market where many smaller companies provide a wide variety of services and products, and public goods not monopolized by giant corporations? That is the question, and the answer seems pretty obvious.

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Mystery and magic are in the air at Cosimo Classics, so it’s time for frightening fall favorites! This month we’re featuring a series of classic mystery stories from around the world, books about the sacred mysteries of magic, and legends of gypsy sorcery.

Our Featured Author for October is the foremost teller of scary stories in his day and a profound influence on both the novelists and filmmakers of the 20th century. Anglo-Irish author Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) has, sadly, fallen out of scholarly and popular favor, and unfairly so: this early master of suspense fiction who pioneered the concept of “psychological horror.” Works by Le Fanu include:

The Evil Guest is one of Le Fanu’s almost-forgotten works, yet one that is still hugely enjoyable for today’s readers. Indeed, it calls to mind later books it clearly inspired, from the mysteries of Agatha Christie to the tales of Stephen King, and one that is still hugely enjoyable for today’s readers.

The Wyvern Mystery, the 1869 classic that gives us a rural estate in 1820s England, a happy new bride, and an ancient myth of a “wyvern” dragon to spoil the tranquility.

The Rose and the Key, the 1871 novel that created a sinister stew that encompasses obsessive love, a domineering mother, a menacing doctor, and a peek inside a lunatic asylum. A classic of Gothic terror, this book still horrifies readers today.

In a Glass Darkly, first published in 1872, is a collection of Le Fanu’s short fiction, and includes “Green Tea,” “The Familiar,” “Mr. Justice Harbottle,” “The Room in the Dragon Volant,” and “Carmilla.”

Each of our new editions is a wonderful example of the Victorian haunted-house tale, and to this day, contemporary readers who happen across his works praise his talent for weaving a tense literary atmosphere tinged by the supernatural and bolstered by hints of ambiguous magic.

Other spooky titles we’re featuring for the month of Halloween:

• The Lock and Key Library (in 10 volumes): Detective stories existed for centuries before the concept of the detective himself — amateur or professional — was fully formulated, and tales of mystery and intrigue have been thrilling readers since ancient times. The Lock & Key Library is the classic overview of the history of the genre, at once a rousing read for fans of the unsolved and unknown as well as an essential literary resource for anyone who seeks to understand the roots of modern pulp fiction. Here adventurous readers will find tales from ancient times, the first detective story of modern literature (it’s by Voltaire, and it’s in Volume IV), and classic and beloved — but often hard-to-find — writings by the likes of Charles Dickens, Rudyard Kipling, Robert Louis Stevenson, and other luminaries of fiction.

• The Book of the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, originally published in 1900, translated by Samuel Mathers from a 15th-century French document, was purportedly written by Abraham for his son Lamech. Within this volume are three books. The first book is Abraham’s autobiography in which he speaks to his son. The second book is an explanation of the purification rituals necessary to bring the magician’s personal demon under his control. And the third book details what feats can be accomplished once the practitioner is able to use a form of magic controlled and directed through sigils of magic words written on a grid. Anyone with an interest in the occult will find this an interesting, though perhaps impractical, guide for exploring mystic arts.

• Mysteries of Magic: This tremendously informative and entertaining sourcebook, first published in 1927, an historian of the occult introduces us to the magic traditions of the ancients, including the Babylonians, Egyptians, Celts, Arabs, Hindu, and Chinese, and then explores the many practices and powers attributed to the magician. Packed with tidbits on demonology and divination, crystal gazing, pentacles and perfumes, magical numbers, grimoires and magical manuscripts, and much more, this is a treat for fans of fantasy and students of the mysterious alike.

• Gypsy Sorcery and Fortune Telling: Illustrated by incantations, specimens of medical magic, anecdotes, and tales, this 1891 work was published when the author was nearly seventy years of age. It represents twenty years’ collecting of spells, customs, ceremonies, superstitions, fetishes, exorcisms, incantations and usages gathered from living sources throughout America, Europe and the East, as well as from the works of earlier writers, all among the Gypsies, as regards to fortune telling, witch doctoring, love philtering and other sorcery. It is illustrated by many anecdotes and instances, taken either from the works as yet very little known to the English reader, or from personal experiences.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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In 1890, James George Frazer began publishing The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion, his monumental study of myth, ritual, and religion, which would, by 1936, run to 13 volumes and establish him as a pioneer in the study of religion as an aspect of culture.

This abridged edition, assembled in 1922, condenses this fundamental work to one readable volume that is still a source for modern anthropology, thanks to its expansive discussions ancient cultish practices and their connections to the rites of modern Christianity. In eloquent prose, Frazer discusses legends of the woods, sympathetic magic, magicians as kings, the worship of trees, the concept of the sacred marriage, the links between priestly and royal power, ritual royal sacrifices, the concept of “eating the god,” the myths of Osiris, Adonis, Isis, and other ancient deities, and much more.

Lovers of mythology will be enraptured by this book, which draws all of human belief under one unifying umbrella, celebrating myth and ritual as part of the basis of all human culture.

Mothman and Other Curious Encounters is an intriguing look at the legend behind The Mothman Prophecies, the 2002 motion picture featuring Richard Gere, Debra Messing, Will Patton, and Laura Linney.

A Hollywood blockbuster, an amazing companion documentary, and thousands of web pages in its honor: what’s all the fuss about? On November 15, 1966, a huge, red-eyed creature with wings — the Mothman — appeared over Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Thus began thirteen months of otherworldly mystery, madness, and mayhem for the people of Point Pleasant, culminating in the collapse of the Silver Bridge, which left 46 dead. But contrary to popular belief, Mothman is not unique. Here for the first time, investigator Loren Coleman looks at the precursors of Mothman, like the Flatwoods Monster of 1952, then details the sightings of the spawn of Mothman, some as recent as November 2001. Coleman also examines the impact on investigations into the unknown by John Keel, the newsman who spend a year in Point Pleasant looking into the Mothman story and lived to write about it.

The Cosimo Kindle of the month is The Key of Solomon the King. How to make a magic carpet, become invisible, and find love are among the useful procedures detailed in this famous book of magic. Reputedly written by King Solomon himself, this major text of Western ritual magic contains chants, prayers, and general instructions on trafficking with the spirit world.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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The U.S. Supreme Court is now in session for the autumn — it always opens on the first Monday in October — with newly sworn-in Associate Justice Sonya Sotomayor on the bench.

In honor of the occasion, Cosimo invites readers to explore the history of American jurisprudence and its European roots with a selection of classic works:

• The Law: French political libertarian and economist Claude Frédéric Bastiat (1801-1850) was one of the most eloquent champions of the concept that property rights and individual freedoms flowed from natural law. Here, in this 1850 classic, a powerful refutation of Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto, published two years earlier, Bastiat discusses: what is law?; why socialism constitutes legal plunder; the proper function of the law; the law and morality; “the vicious circle of socialism”; the basis for stable government; and more.

• The Common Law: Before he became U.S. Supreme Court justice in 1902, American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. (1841-1935) was already famous as the most influential proponent for and teacher of the common law. In this collection of lectures, originally delivered at the Lowell Institute in Boston and first gathered in book form in 1881, Holmes introduces us to basic concepts of the common law — form liability to criminal law and beyond — and explains his reasoning of them. One of the most widely cited members of the Supreme Court, Holmes continues to dramatically impact the U.S. legal system to this day.

• The Federalist Papers: The Federalist papers — 85 essays written by Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, and James Madison in support of the adoption of the U.S. Constitution — began appearing in New York newspapers beginning in the autumn of 1787. And though controversy still swirls around authorship of certain individual essays, and the impact the papers had on the public opinion of the time remains open to debate, it’s clear that the dramatic impact on global civilization of these spirited defenses of the nation’s founding document cannot be exaggerated. As masterful examinations of the fundamental principals of the U.S. system of government, they are unrivaled — as works of political philosophy, they have moved and influenced peoples and nations around the world in their battles toward freedom and democracy. This edition also includes The Articles of Confederation of the United States, and The Declaration of Independence.

• A History of the American Bar: Not a book of law but a book about how the American system of law came to be, this 1911 classic is essential reading for anyone who practices the law or is fascinated by its quirks and intricacies. In brisk, readable prose, American legal historian Charles Warren (1868-1954) delves into the law as it was practiced in the British colonies in America prior to the Revolutionary War and the growth of the American Bar from the foundation of the Supreme Court to the opening of the Civil War, including the leading cases heard by SCOTUS. Featuring numerous historical documents, from legislation to letters and newspaper accounts, this is a fascinating history of the law and lawyers in America.

The Life of John Marshall (in 4 volumes): John Marshall (1755-1835) became the fourth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court despite having had almost no formal schooling and after having studied law for a mere six weeks. Nevertheless, Marshall remains the only judge in American history whose distinction derives almost entirely from his judicial career. During Marshall’s nearly 35-year tenure as chief justice, he wielded the Constitution’s awe-inspiring power aggressively and wisely, setting the Supreme Court on a course for the ages by ensuring its equal position in the triumvirate of the federal government of the United States and securing its role as interpreter and enforcer of the Constitution. This four-volume life of Marshall received wide acclaim upon its initial publication in 1920, winning the Pulitzer Prize that year, and makes fascinating reading for the lawyer, historian, and legal scholar.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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One of the key figures of the Indian indepedence movement and an originator of the concept of passive resistance to govermental oppression, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born on this day in 1869. In honor of the anniversary of his birth, Cosimo invites readers to walk the paths of peace with thinkers who anticipated the great man’s philosophies.

In The Way of Peace, British author and pop philosopher JAMES ALLEN (1864-1912) — one of the most popular writers in the fields of inspiration and spirituality at the turn of the 20th century — discusses his search for the universal principles both spiritual and practical that empower the individual. With an emphasis on personal responsibility and finding inner power in selflessness and discipline, he here covers, in a book first published in 1907, such topics as the Power of Meditation, Self and Truth, Selfless Love, and the Realization of Perfect Peace. This is truly self-help for the inner self, from a man who believed that we alone can master our own destinies.

Perpetual Peace, by German metaphysician IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804), examines war and human nature and concludes, bracingly, that global peace is inevitable. This 1795 essay — from one of the most influential thinkers of the Western civilization, a man who profoundly shaped the mind-set of the modern world — lays out the requirements for peace, including republican governments, freedom of movement for citizens, and, prophetically, the formation of a league of nations. In this era of imperialistic ambitions and preemptive wars, Kant’s insight is a profound reminder that peace is possible but must be actively pursued.

American New Thought pioneer CHRISTIAN DAA LARSON (b. 1874) gracefully guides the reader to a better understanding of the basic principles of the early New Age movement of New Thought in Mastery of Self. From the marriage of mind and spirit and of science and religion to the belief that each person is born with the full potential of transcending mundane existence and achieving spiritual enlightenment and communion with God, Larson provides practical instruction on how to both open and rein in one’s self, to ensure the individual continues moving ever forward and is building always toward the fulfillment of that potential, gaining a healthier, happier life along the way.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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Ken Burns is exploring America’s national parks, the trail westward in early America, and Teddy Roosevelt’s influence on it all in his new PBS series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Numerous classic books from the era Burns is covering can expand and deepen our understanding of the time and the drive to perserve the wild spaces of the United States. Cosimo recommends:

• Our National Parks, John Muir. A key founder of the modern conservation movement, Muir (1838-1914) was a champion of the preservation of the unspoiled wilderness and of the careful guardianship of the environment. This 1901 work, a collection of essays first published in the Atlantic Monthly, is Muir’s valentine to the national parks of the American West. He introduces us to the glacier meadows and wild geysers of Yellowstone; the “magnificent mirror for the woods and mountains and sky” that is Yellowstone Lake; the coniferous forests of the Sierra Nevada, including the beautiful giant sequoia; the grizzly bears of the mountain ranges, and much more.

• Theodore Roosevelt’s Ranch Life and the Hunting Trail, by Theodore Roosevelt. Before he ascended to the highest office in the land as the United States’ youngest president, Roosevelt (1858–1919), though a New York City man born and bred, was a devotee of the Old West. In 1888, he published this charming ode to the American frontier, from the rewarding hard work of a rancher on the open plains to the pleasures of hunting the big game of mountains high. Today, the inimitable prose and infectious enthusiasm of Roosevelt’s writing here serves as much to limn a unique aspect of the character of the nation as it sings an elegy for a disappearing way of life. This edition includes numerous illustrations by Frederic Remington.

• The Prairie Traveler, A Handbook for Overland Expeditions. This was the indispensable handbook for American pioneers traveling west in the mid 19th century. Commissioned and published by the U.S. government and written in a straightforward and helpful voice by U.S. Army officer Randolph Barnes Marcy (1812-1887), it offers all the useful and necessary advice overland travelers to the far West needed to ensure a safe journey: the different routes to California and Oregon; how to pack a wagon for the journey; finding and purifying water; repairing broken wagons; weathering storms; how to handle saddle wounds; the best way to make a fire on the prairie; interacting with Indians; hints on the best methods of hunting; and much more. Complete with all the original maps and illustrations, this replica edition is a remarkable artifact of one of the most exciting and dangerous eras in American history.

Cosimo books are available at Amazon.com and from other online booksellers.

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