HARPER & BROTHERS’
LIST OF NEW BOOKS.
☞ Harper & Brothers will send any of the following books by mail, postage prepaid, to any part of the United States, on receipt of the price.
Harper’s Catalogue, with Classified Index of Contents, sent by mail on receipt of Five Cents, or it may be obtained gratuitously on application to the Publishers personally.
LOSSING’S WAR OF 1812. The Pictorial Field-Book of the War of 1812; or, Illustrations, by Pen and Pencil, of the History, Biography, Scenery, Relics, and Traditions of the Last War for American Independence. By Benson J. Lossing, Author of “The Pictorial Field-Book of the Revolution.” With 882 Illustrations, engraved on Wood by Lossing & Barritt, chiefly from Original Sketches by the Author. Complete in One Volume, 1084 pages, large 8vo. Price, in Cloth, $7 00; Sheep, $8 50; Full Roan, $9 00; Half Calf or Half Morocco extra, $10 00.
Mr. Lossing not only writes excellent history, but he collects the materials from which that history is made; and we are reminded of Herodotus, who traveled into many lands to obtain the materials from which his immortal work was composed, and whose skillfulness in acquiring knowledge, and sagacity and truthfulness in using his acquisitions, modern research and criticism are putting beyond all question, thus refuting that ignorance which would have it that the Father of History was the Father of Lies. Mr. Lossing’s industry is equaled only by his conscientiousness, which leads him to treat all parties to the War of 1812 with the utmost impartiality, and to give all the facts that throw light upon the contest, which is a novelty in writing about it, for never was the history of an important war told in a more partisan manner than that of our second conflict with England. * * * The time has come when it is possible to write of it with candor as well as with spirit, as Mr. Lossing writes its history; and the time has come, too, when we are beginning to understand its real effect on the country, and when it is possible to discuss its character and its consequences in a philosophical manner, as Mr. Lossing discusses them. * * * It is proper that the history of such a contest should be given in a sound manner; and such is the work that Mr. Lossing has placed before his countrymen, after immense exertions to make it worthy of their approbation. That they will well appreciate what he has done so thoroughly is a thing of course. For young persons who would have correct views of their country’s history, no better book can be named. Its minuteness, its liveliness, its accuracy, its high tone, and its exhaustive character, render it a fine opening work for youthful readers, whose minds are always injured by the perusal of superficial histories. * * * The volume is perfectly printed, no European or American book ever having come from the press in a more elegant state. The paper and the binding are faultless. In fact, the book pleases the eye as much as it affords food for the mind. It should be in every library, public and private, and in the hands of all persons who would understand American history, and who would acquire knowledge thereof from the highest available sources.—Boston Traveller.
Worthy of the highest praise for its full and vivid recital of the stirring events on land and sea that ended with the Battle of New Orleans, and for its valuable summary of political affairs from the close of the Revolution to the Peace of Ghent.—Evening Post.
HARTWIG’S POLAR WORLD. The Polar World: a Popular Description of Man and Nature in the Arctic and Antarctic Regions of the Globe. By Dr. G. Hartwig, Author of “The Sea and its Living Wonders,” “The Harmonies of Nature,” and “The Tropical World.” With Additional Chapters and 160 Illustrations by the American Editor. 8vo, Cloth.
Those of our readers who are acquainted with Dr. Hartwig’s former books on Physical Geography, especially his “Tropical World,” will not be disappointed by his description of man and nature in the Arctic and Antarctic regions of the globe. Whereas within the tropics the variety and abundance of nature throw man and his works into the shade, in the “Polar World” man becomes the most important and interesting animal. A great part of Dr. Hartwig’s book is taken up with the adventures and hair-breadth escapes of discoverers by land and sea—Norsemen, Finns, Cossacks, Russians, Dutch, English, and Americans. Among these, the Finn philologist Castrén is perhaps the most interesting. He wore out his life traveling across the frozen deserts of Northern Europe and Asia, from Lapland to Lake Baikal, studying the languages of the most remote tribes, and died soon after his return to the University of Helsingfors. Equally interesting is the account of the Cossack conquest of Siberia by the adventurous robber Yermak Timodajeff. The book contains several lively sketches of the natives of these inclement regions, including not only the Lapps, Samoyedes, Jakuts, etc., of Europe and Asia, but also the Esquimaux and Indians of Arctic America.—Pall Mall Gazette.
SCOTT’S FISHING-BOOK. Fishing in American Waters. By Genio C. Scott. 170 Illustrations. Crown 8vo, Cloth, $3 50.
Contains a vast amount of information concerning the sea and fresh-water fishes of our American waters, the various methods of capturing them, the tackle to be employed, etc. Important in respect of fish-culture. This book, like the author of it, is eminently practical, and every angler ought to have it. We doubt whether there is another man in America capable of writing and illustrating, as Mr. Scott has done, such a book as this.—Spirit of the Times.
The author is a skillful votary of the fascinating art, to which he has given many years of successful practice, not only with an unusual knowledge of the subject, but with a keen sense of its manifold enjoyments. * * * Describes the principal varieties of the American salt and fresh water fishes, offers minute directions for the most feasible methods of capture, and enlivens his statements by relations of personal adventures in many waters, and picturesque descriptions of nature.—N. Y. Tribune.
The book has certainly been got up with painstaking care and a devoted love of the subject, and it unquestionably contains a vast mass of valuable information and innumerable useful directions.—N. Y. Citizen.