Adolph Caso reprints the first short stories and novellas written by Italian authors as a basis for Shakespeare supreme work. By reading these stories, the reader can better appreciate the evolvement and the adaptation of Shakespeare's ultimate masterpiece.

This is the story of Mary Dyer whose indomitable efforts to seek and find freedom to worship lead eventually to her death. Her quest began when she and her husband sailed from old to new England in 1635. Landing in Boston, they were soon disillusioned by the intolerant practices and beliefs of the Puritans, who considered that all truth could be found in the Old Testament and only there. Variations, from Puritan interpretations of the Ten Commandments, were punished by cruel torture and/or death. Banished from Boston for protesting such rigidity in belief and in practice, Mary was among the group who founded Rhode Island, where freedom in belief and in practice of worship was established. Mary Dyer did not cease from exploring every available form of worship until she discovered the one which spoke the truth to her. On a trip back to England, Mary met George Fox, who gave her the confidence that women had special intellectual and spiritual gifts. Fox encouraged her to become a Quaker and a missionary. She was alarmed by Boston Puritan laws designed to repress and eliminate Quakers. Undaunted, Mary challenged the Puritan intolerance. "My life not availaeth me in comparison with the liberty of the truth."

In this anthology, the author asks two questions: 1) What is the meaning and what has been the impact of "We the people" in view of the fact that women and African Americans have only recently acquired voting rights? 2) What are the documents that make America's type of democracy possible? The anthology contains the actual documents themselves, and when, how, and why they came into existence. It begins with the Mayflower Compact and ends with the Promissory Note - a document least known for its title but universally known for its content. Finally, the anthology serves as a book of references of first source material to be interpreted by each reader.

This strange antiwar novel is set in post-World War II Italy where Samuele, a young soldier ill with consumption, returns to his village much changed by the horrors he witnessed in battle. Always hot tempered, he is now more accepting of human foibles. This contrasts sharply with the often harsh traditions of the village. A young married woman pays with her life for a momentary indiscretion, and many feel her murder justified. Not Samuele, who tracks down the killer, who happens to be her husband and his friend. The obelisk of the title is a tall, intricately detailed structure that must be transported using dangerous manoeuvres, but Samuele uses his waning strength to lead the effort in bringing this symbol of love and peace to the town square. Although not poetic, the writing is competent and does evokes the reality of village life.

Taking over their father's downtown Boston clothing store in 1890, Edward and Lincoln Filene developed in into the world's largest and, possibly, best known speciality store. In the process, they launched a revolution in retailing and in organisational management.

The book centres on the spiritual and social dynamics of a priest whose uncle is the Don of the most powerful Mafia family in America. Father Don Carlos Albanese discovers the truism of the saying, 'blood is thicker than water', as he becomes an integral part of the Family. His hope is to assist in transforming the Family into a legitimate organisation, as it originally was in Sicily, wherein the Mafia sustained the Sicilians against foreign invaders and assisted the poor in time of need. In America, however, Don Albanese's quest proves to be challenging.

Moliere is considered the Shakespeare of France. Moliere's plays are enacted throughout the world in virtually every language, as much today as ever.

The author reveals how media continues to stereotype Americans of Italian heritage.

This unique "Verb Conjugation System" allows complete split-second conjugation of verbs in English, Spanish, and Italian - in any order. Twenty two columns of verb-related information allow tense-related comparisons in any or all three languages - instantly! What is the Present progressive of to go? Type or choose it from the list, click on that tense, and it quickly appears on the screen. Click the Spanish Progresivopresente and it quickly appears next to its English counterpart. Click on Italian, and you have all three. Reverse the order and you will feel the power behind this awesome System. If verb phrases or infinitives are not in the data base, or exist in one language and not the other, you are immediately notified.

Educator, Poet, Historian, Army officer, and a graduate of Northeastern and Harvard University, Adolfo grew up during the Vietnam era as an outsider looking into the social upheavals, finding that well-meaning people demonstrated on behalf of goodness but bolstered evil. It seems that man really does not learn from history regardless of how history repeats itself. With the advent of Liberation Theology, Collective Salvation, and modern technology, Adolfo looks to Dante on how to save the human soul. Considering how to govern people, he looks to Machiavelli to see whether Machiavelli was Machiavellian and whether his Prince was fit to govern. In Alfieri, who loathed the 19th century, Adolfo finds the perfect definition of tyrants and tyrannies (Alfieri's stanza on George Washington continues to be uplifting). Baffling is the reality that an America, populated with so many people speaking foreign languages, its education system has produced few Americans proficient in foreign languages. Realizing how science does not have answers to important questions, Adolfo turns to a God who transcends human attributes, rejecting Evolution and replacing it with Evolvement. As for Martin Luther and Galileo Galilei, Adolfo sees the former the father of modern anti-Semitism and the latter a victim of the Church.