Book excerpt: Popular American essayist, novelist, and journalist CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER (1829-1900) was renowned for the warmth and intimacy of his writing, which encompassed travelogue, biography and autobiography, fiction, and more, and influenced entire generations of his fellow writers. Here, the prolific writer turned editor for his final grand work, a splendid survey of global literature, classic and modern, and it's not too much to suggest that if his friend and colleague Mark Twain-who stole Warner's quip about how "everybody complains about the weather, but nobody does anything about it"-had assembled this set, it would still be hailed today as one of the great achievements of the book world. Highlights from Volume 17 include: . history writing from Horace Greeley, John Richard Green, Franois Guizot, and Henry Hallam . excerpts from the Brothers Grimm . the ghazals (odes) of Hafiz . selections from Alexander Hamilton's Federalist papers . excerpts from Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd . the poetry of Bret Harte . and much, much more.