Originally published in 1898. Contents Include: I. How the Brigadier came to the Castle of Gloom, II. How the Brigadier slew the Brothers of Ajaccio, III. How the Brigadier held the King, IV. How the King held the Brigadier, V. How the Brigadier took the field against the Marshal Millefleurs, VI. How the Brigadier played for a Kingdom, VII. How Brigadier Gerard won his medal, VIII. How the Brigadier was Tempted by the Devil.... Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

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"Playing at Chess is the most ancient and the most universal game among men, for its original is beyond the memory of history." Benjamin Franklin penned these words as an introduction to his famous essay "The Morals of Chess." Franklin's approach to the game was in distinct contrast to his predecessors, who seriously advocated all the subtle treacheries of the art of poor sportsmanship with the sole end of attaining victory. To Franklin, however, the game of chess was not mere idle amusement but a sport reflective of life itself—"for life is a kind of chess, in which we have often points to gain and competitors or adversaries to contend with"—which requires the utilization of all the finest mental and moral qualities of which man is capable. This volume reproduces Franklin's celebrated essay and includes an analysis of everything Franklin ever had to say about chess. The second part of the book contains an extensive bibliography of chess in America to the year 1859. The two sections of the volume combine to form an essential sourcebook for the historian of American chess.

This book traces how and why the secession of the South during the American Civil War was accomplished at ground level through the actions of ordinary men. Adopting a micro-historical approach, Lawrence T. McDonnell works to connect small events in new ways - he places one company of the secessionist Minutemen in historical context, exploring the political and cultural dynamics of their choices. Every chapter presents little-known characters whose lives and decisions were crucial to the history of Southern disunion. McDonnell asks readers to consider the past with fresh eyes, analyzing the structure and dynamics of social networks and social movements. He presents the dissolution of the Union through new events, actors, issues, and ideas, illuminating the social contradictions that cast the South's most conservative city as the radical heart of Dixie.