1874 Best Seller.

In his day E. P. Roe was a bigger seller than Mark Twain.

"In the Opening of a Chestnut Burr, Mr. Roe has made a marked advance upon his two previous stories. He has already exhibited a remarkable power of description, which in this volume he uses with good effect in the scenes of fire and shipwreck. It is thoroughly religious, thoroughly Christian both in tone and teaching." -- Harper's Magazine. (a contemporary review)

"Rudy Rucker should be declared a National Treasure of American Science Fiction. Someone simultaneously channeling Kurt Gödel and Lenny Bruce might start to approximate full-on Ruckerian warp-space, but without the sweet, human, splendidly goofy Rudy-ness at the core of the singularity."

--- William Gibson, author of Pattern Recognition

"Rudy Rucker is the most consistently brilliant imagination working in SF today"

--- Charles Stross, author of Accelerando

An account of Ruhl's experiences in almost all WWI's hot spots.

Serverin von Kusiemski is so infatuated with Wanda von Dunajew that he asks that she treats him as a slave. He convinces her and signs agreements to that effect, but all does not turn out well. The novel draws themes and character inspiration from Sacher-Masoch's own life, and incorporates many autobiographical details. First published in 1870, Venus in Furs is possibly the best known of Leopold von Sacher-Masoch's works and it's notoriety helped immortalize him with the coining of masochism.

1894 Best Seller.

A fictionalised 'autobiography' of the true story of a dog named 'Beautiful Joe'. Joe's abusive original owner savagely mistreated him. The book became very popular and greatly contributed to the worldwide awareness of animal cruelty.

Brillat-Savarin (1755 - 1826), a lawyer and politician, was quite possibly the most famous French epicure and gastronome of all. Here he discourses on the pleasures of the table. His reputation was revitalized by his influence over Chairman Kaga of the TV series Iron Chef which introduced to millions the mot "Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are." He is often considered the father of the low-carbohydrate diet.