Applewood Books

Discover Benjamin Franklin's Blueprint for Living a Moral Life

This pocket-sized hardcover edition contains all thirteen moral virtues as Benjamin Franklin wrote them in his memoirs, first posthumously published in 1791. In the heart of this larger work, today known as The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, he writes of the bold and arduous project of arriving at perfection that he set for himself as a young man. In this task of perfection, young Franklin prepared a catalog of thirteen necessary or desirable virtues that he might strive to acquire by means of habit and daily practice. This edition also includes a chart that Franklin used to track his personal progress.

Track Your Own Personal Growth Using Benjamin Franklin’s Book of Virtues

This companion paperback to Applewood’s edition of Benjamin Franklin’s Book of Virtues offers a journal to record your own efforts in becoming a better and more virtuous person using a rubric crafted by America’s beloved Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin. 

Preserve the rights of all Americans with this elegant hardback gift edition of the Bill of Rights, proudly made in the USA.

Collectively known as the United States Bill of Rights, these first ten amendments to the United States Constitution limit the powers of the federal government and protect the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory. Introduced in 1789 in the First United States Congress by James Madison, these amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three-fourths of the states. This document plays a central role in American law and remains to this day a symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation. In this beautiful gift edition, the text of the Bill of Rights is presented alongside a history of the amendments. 

Preserve the rights of all Americans with this hardback gift edition of the Bill of Rights, elegantly stamped in celebration of America 250 and proudly made in the USA.

Collectively known as the United States Bill of Rights, these first ten amendments to the United States Constitution limit the powers of the federal government and protect the rights of all citizens, residents and visitors on United States territory. Introduced in 1789 in the First United States Congress by James Madison, these amendments came into effect on December 15, 1791, when ratified by three-fourths of the states. This document plays a central role in American law and remains to this day a symbol of the freedoms and culture of the nation. In this beautiful gift edition, the text of the Bill of Rights is presented alongside a history of the amendments. 

The America250™️ word mark and logo are trademarks owned by the United States Semiquincentennial Commission and any use of such marks by Applewood Books is under license.

The first-ever field guide to American birds, Florence A. Merriam’s classic Birds Through an Opera-Glass remains a highly influential book for modern birdwatching more than 130 years since its initial release. 

Birds Through an Opera-Glass is Florence A. Merriam’s pioneering field guide to American birds. The first-ever of its kind, originally published in 1889, it laid the foundation for modern birdwatching. Before Birds Through an Opera-Glass, it was commonplace to shoot birds and study their lifeless bodies. Merriam instead advocated studying birds in the wild—through an opera glass rather than a riflescope—to ensure their preservation. With line drawings and detailed descriptions of seventy common species, Birds Through an Opera-Glass remains a favorite of birders, nature lovers, and conservationists to this day. 

As the first female member of the American Ornithologists’ Union, Merriam was a trailblazer in the emerging field of birding in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Today she is regarded as an essential early voice for bird conservation, and Birds Through an Opera-Glass shows her important principles put into practice. More than a century later, Birds Through an Opera-Glass continues to guide birders and outdoor enthusiasts who are seeking to enjoy nature without harming it. 

In his 1915 poem “Blueberries,” Pulitzer Prize-winner Robert Frost makes the ordinary experience of picking wild blueberries into an extraordinary endeavor, where you can smell the morning damp, feel the sun on your head, and take delight in being the first to discover a blueberry patch ripe for picking. In the poem, Frost also introduces the reader to a poor neighbor family that needs the wild berries they pick to survive.  This short work is part of Applewood’s “American Roots,” series, tactile mementos of American passions by some of America’s most famous writers.

In 1848, James Marshall discovered a nugget of gold while excavating a ditch for a sawmill; by the end of 1849 over 100,000 people had migrated to California in hopes of striking it rich. Learn about the events, people, places, and life during the California gold rush. In this book you will find fifteen puzzles full of fun facts and trivia about this fascinating part of American history.