| Page |
| Introduction | ix |
| Comfort Found in Good Old Books | xi |
| Nothing Soothes Grief Like Sterling Old Books—How the Sudden Death of an Only Son Proved the Value of the Reading Habit. |
| The Greatest Book in the World | 3 |
| How to Secure the Best that is in the Bible—Much Comfort in Sorrow and Stimulus to Good Life may be Found in its Study. |
| Shakespeare Stands Next to the Bible | 14 |
| Hints on the Reading of Shakespeare's Plays—How to Master the best of these Dramas, the Finest of Modern Work. |
| How to Read the Ancient Classics | 29 |
| Authors of Greece and Rome One Should Know—Masterpieces of the Ancient World that may be Enjoyed in Good English Versions. |
| The Arabian Nights and Other Classics | 39 |
| Oriental Fairy Tales and German Legends—The Ancient Arabian Stories and the Nibelungenlied among World's Greatest Books. |
| The Confessions of St. Augustine | 48 |
| An Eloquent book of Religious Meditation—The Ablest of Early Christian Fathers Tells of His Youth, His Friends and His Conversion. |
| Don Quixote, One of the World's Great Books | 56 |
| Cervantes' Masterpiece a Book for All Time—Intensely Spanish, it Still Appeals to All Nations by its Deep Human Interest. |
| The Imitation of Christ | 64 |
| Features of Great Work by Old Thomas À Kempis—Meditations of a Flemish Monk which have not Lost their Influence in Five Hundred Years. |
| The RubÁ'iyÁt of Omar KhayyÁm | 74 |
| Popularity of an Old Persian's Quatrains—Splendid Oriental Imagery Joined to Modern Doubt Found in this Great Poem. |
| The Divine Comedy by Dante | 83 |
| Influence of One of the World's Great Books—The Exiled Florentine's Poem has Colored the Life and Work of Many Famous Writers. |
| How to Get the Best Out of Books | 92 |
| Is the Higher Education an Absolute Necessity?—Desire to gain Knowledge and Culture will make one Master of All the Best Books. |
| Milton's Paradise Lost and Other Poems | 100 |
| A Book that Ranks Close to the English Bible—It Tells the Story of Satan's Revolt, the Fall of Man and the Expulsion from Eden. |
| Pilgrim's Progress the Finest of all Allegories | 108 |
| Bunyan's Story full of the Spirit of the Bible—The Simple Tale of Christian's Struggles and Triumph Appeals to Old and Young. |
| Old Dr. Johnson and His Boswell | 116 |
| His Great Fame Due to His Admirer's Biography—Boswell's Work makes the Doctor the best known Literary Man of his Age. |
| Robinson Crusoe and Gulliver's Travels | 124 |
| Masterpieces of Defoe and Swift Widely Read—Two Writers of Genius whose Stories have Delighted Readers for Hundreds of Years. |
| Bibliography | 133 |
| Notes on the Historical and best Reading Editions of Great Authors. |
| Index | 159 |
