Popular American essayist, novelist, and journalist CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER (1829-1900) was renowned for the warmth and intimacy of his writing, which encompassed travelogue, biography and autobiography, fiction, and more, and influenced entire generations of his fellow writers. Here, the prolific writer turned editor for his final grand work, a splendid survey of global literature, classic and modern, and it's not too much to suggest that if his friend and colleague Mark Twain-who stole Warner's quip about how "everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it"-had assembled this set, it would still be hailed today as one of the great achievements of the book world. Highlights from Volume 8 include: . John Calvin on predestination and free will . poems of Thomas Campbell and Campion . political and culutral criticism by Thomas Carlyle . excerpts from Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland . excerpt from Casanova's adventures . verse by Catullus . songs and poems from Celtic literature . selections from Cervantes' Don Quixote . and much, much more.