| | Page |
| Introduction | [ix] |
| Comfort Found in Good Old Books | [xi] |
| Nothing Soothes Grief Like Sterling Old Books—How theSudden Death of an Only Son Proved the Value of theReading Habit. |
| The Greatest Book in the World | [3] |
| How to Secure the Best that is in the Bible—MuchComfort in Sorrow and Stimulus to Good Life maybe Found in its Study. |
| Shakespeare Stands Next to the Bible | [14] |
| Hints on the Reading of Shakespeare's Plays—Howto Master the best of these Dramas, the Finest ofModern Work. |
| How to Read the Ancient Classics | [29] |
| Authors of Greece and Rome One Should Know—Masterpiecesof the Ancient World that may beEnjoyed in Good English Versions. |
| The Arabian Nights and Other Classics | [39] |
| Oriental Fairy Tales and German Legends—The AncientArabian Stories and the Nibelungenlied amongWorld's Greatest Books. |
| The Confessions of St. Augustine | [48] |
| An Eloquent book of Religious Meditation—The Ablestof Early Christian Fathers Tells of His Youth, HisFriends and His Conversion. |
| Don Quixote, One of the World's Great Books | [56] |
| Cervantes' Masterpiece a Book for All Time—IntenselySpanish, it Still Appeals to All Nations by its DeepHuman Interest. |
| The Imitation of Christ | [64] |
| Features of Great Work by Old Thomas à Kempis—Meditationsof a Flemish Monk which have notLost their Influence in Five Hundred Years. |
| The Rubá'iyát of Omar Khayyám | [74] |
| Popularity of an Old Persian's Quatrains—SplendidOriental Imagery Joined to Modern Doubt Found inthis Great Poem. |
| The Divine Comedy by Dante | [83] |
| Influence of One of the World's Great Books—TheExiled Florentine's Poem has Colored the Life andWork of Many Famous Writers. |
| How to Get the Best Out of Books | [92] |
| Is the Higher Education an Absolute Necessity?—Desireto gain Knowledge and Culture will make oneMaster of All the Best Books. |
| Milton's Paradise Lost and Other Poems | [100] |
| A Book that Ranks Close to the English Bible—ItTells the Story of Satan's Revolt, the Fall of Manand the Expulsion from Eden. |
| Pilgrim's Progress the Finest of all Allegories | [108] |
| Bunyan's Story full of the Spirit of the Bible—TheSimple Tale of Christian's Struggles and TriumphAppeals to Old and Young. |
| Old Dr. Johnson and His Boswell | [116] |
| His Great Fame Due to His Admirer's Biography—Boswell'sWork makes the Doctor the best knownLiterary Man of his Age. |
| Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels | [124] |
| Masterpieces of Defoe and Swift Widely Read—TwoWriters of Genius whose Stories have DelightedReaders for Hundreds of Years. |
| Bibliography | [133] |
| Notes on the Historical and best Reading Editions ofGreat Authors. |
| Index | [159] |