Introduction by Greg Bear
Preface by Mark Cotta Vaz
The giant prehistoric gorilla King Kong is one of the most recognized images in our culture. So great is the mighty Kong's hold on the popular imagination that his story-a gripping yarn of man versus nature, coupled with a fantastical update of the Beauty and the Beast legend-has been thrice made into a motion picture (most recently in 2005) and referenced endlessly in every medium, from books to prime-time sitcoms.
Beneath King Kong's cultural significance, however, is a tense and surprisingly tender story. One cannot help but be frightened by Kong's uncontrollable fury, be saddened over the giant's capture, mistreatment, and exploitation by venal showmen, or sympathize with the beast's ill-fated affection for the down-on-her-luck starlet Ann Darrow.
This Modern Library edition of a true colossus among adventure stories is reprinted from the original 1932 novelization of the movie script, and includes a Preface by Mark Cotta Vaz, the preeminent biographer of Merian C. Cooper, producer of the original 1933 classic film.

"From the Trade Paperback edition."

Maud Hart Lovelace - internationally famed author of the Betsy-Tacy children's books - joined literary forces with her husband, Delos, to produce Gentlemen from England, first published in 1937. It's the fictionalized story of a real nineteenth-century English colony near Fairmont, Minnesota, located not far from Maud Lovelace's hometown of Mankato. Tales of the immigrant British men and women, striving to recreate English country estates on the Minnesota prairie, intrigued the Lovelaces. The authors' thorough research became the basis for this vivid novel of colorful fox hunts, festive balls, and English family life set on the huge bean farms bought from a land speculator. A new introduction by Borealis Books editor Sarah P. Rubinstein sketches the history of the English colony and tells how the Lovelaces worked together to bring it alive in this delightful book.