Museum Collections

Stoicism, a school of Hellenistic thought founded in Athens in the third century BC, was one of the most sublime philosophies in the history of Western civilization. It is a way of living that focuses on reality instead of fantasy or idealism. According to its teachings, the path to peace and happiness is found in accepting the moment as it presents itself, by not allowing oneself to be ruled by the desire for pleasure or by the fear of pain.

The pioneering advocate of wilderness preservation, John Muir (1838-1914) was influential in the creation of many national parks.

Anarchism claims that there's no need for a state and that it would be better to have a society without central government. Anarchists dislike the authority of the state, but the dream of the stateless society is not a simple matter.

Andrew Murray (1828-1917) was a South African writer, teacher, and Christian pastor. This Best Of collection comprises seven of his most trenchant books.

The saints, the heroes of the Roman Catholic faith, lived lives of holiness, dedicated to serving God. The saints lived at different times in different places throughout history, but they all shared a love of God that has been documented through the teachings of the Church. Today, the saints serve as examples for all Catholics, showing the believers how to lead a more spiritual life. Catholic devotions are particular customs, rituals and practices of worship or in honour of the saints that are in addition to the liturgy of the Catholic Church.

The “spellbinding” (People) New York Times bestseller from the author of The Dovekeepers, an extraordinary novel about an electric and impassioned love affair—“an enchanting love story rich with history and a sense of place” (USA TODAY). Coralie Sardie is the daughter of the sinister...

The Gunmen of the American Wild West Collection brings to life the history of the frontier west of the Mississippi in the latter parts of the 19th century. The gunmen ranged from lawmen to cowboys, ranchers, and outlaws. Most of the outlaws in the Old West preyed on banks, trains, and stagecoaches. Although spread thin, the law was present, usually on the level of deputy US marshal, county sheriff, and the town marshal or constable.

Où un entomologiste, en mission sur les bords du Tabatinga, rivière à proximité de l'Amazone, travaillant dans son labo-bungalow niché en pleine jungle, découvre qu'il peut lire sur les ailes des papillons comme sur des livres ouverts... Ainsi décrypte-t-il des instants de vies d'hommes et de femmes comme des secrets imprimés en signes graphés, en dessins gravés...

The word mythology is derived from the Greek words mythos, which means story, and logos, which means speech. Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Some of the oldest narratives in world history come from Babylon mythology.

In Bucak's dreamlike narratives, dead girls recount the effects of an earthquake and a chess-playing automaton falls in love. A student stops eating and no one knows whether her act is personal or political. A Turkish wrestler, a hero in the East, is seen as a brute in the West. The anguish of an Armenian refugee is "performed" at an American fund-raiser. An Ottoman ambassador in Paris amasses a tantalizing collection of erotic art. And Greek God Apollo confronts his personal history and bewails his Homeric reputation as he tries to memorialize, and make sense of, generations of war.

This hard-hitting, beautiful short story collection from one of America's preeminent literary voices “reflect[s] both sides of his Mexican-American heritage while stretching the reader's understanding of human boundaries” (Kirkus). Examining the borders between one nation and another...

Py-Lieberman reflects on the profound connections between even outwardly dissimilar objects and offers insight and stories from Smithsonian experts. The book explores artworks, scientific specimens, historical artifacts, airplanes, spacecraft, plants, and so much more, contemplating how each item represents different facets of humanity and resonates with cultural meaning in surprising ways. Whimsical, affecting, and insightful, The Object at Hand offers an intimate and exclusive tour of the Smithsonian collections.

The Occult and Supernatural Collection includes: The Book of Were-Wolves, The Discovery of Witches, and Irish Witchcraft and Demonology.

Although he is one of the world's most popular authors who continues to thrill and chill readers and listeners of all ages, Edgar Allan Poe's life is as enigmatic as his sudden, unexplained death. In a quest for solutions to the mysteries surrounding the poet's life and work, a group of Poe devotees founded the Poe Shrine in 1922. This body included the world's most prolific Poe collector, a psychiatrist who believed Poe was clairvoyant, and the grandson of Poe's worst enemy.