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 12 include: . selections from Denis Diderot's Rameau's Nephew . Diogenes Laertius' writings on philosophers . political and cultural commentary from Isaac D'Israeli . excerpts from Mary Mapes Dodge's Hans Brinker . the poetry of John Donne . selections from Feodor Mikhailovitch Dostoévsky's Crime and Punishment . the writings of Arthur Conan Doyle . the science philosophy of John Wiliam Draper . poems by Michael Drayton . travel writing by Henry Drummond . selections from the Dumas père and fils . poems by William Dunbar . and much, much more.