In 22 wonderfully articulate essays, Kingsolver raises her voice in praise of nature, family, literature, and the joys of everyday life while examining the genesis of war, violence and poverty in the world. Illustrations.

"Kent Russell's essays take us to society's ragged edges, the junctures between savagery and civilization, where solitary, philosophical, troubled men yearn for a more heightened form of existence. We meet a self-immunizer in small-town Wisconsin who has conditioned his body to withstand the bites of the most venomous snakes; NHL enforcers who build their careers on violence and intimidation; a former mogul who has retreated to a crocodile-infested...

Scope and content: Book of essays, presumably written by Calvin L. Ewing and believed to be part of his lessons at an unidentified school. The book appears to date from 1858 to 1860. The back of the book includes a table of contents to the essays and also contains a record of personal expenses. A single document is inside the back cover, concerning a labor agreement between Nathaniel Ewing and William Simmons, dated 1840.