Selected by the Modern Library as one of the 100 best nonfiction books
of all time
In this book, the author of Seven Gothic Tales gives a true account of
her life on her plantation in Kenya. She tells with classic simplicity
of the ways of the country and the natives: of the beauty of the Ngong
Hills and coffee trees in blossom: of her guests, from the Prince of
Wales to Knudsen, the old charcoal burner, who visited her: of primitive
festivals: of big game that were her near neighbors--lions, rhinos,
elephants, zebras, buffaloes--and of Lulu, the little gazelle who came
to live with her, unbelievably ladylike and beautiful.
The Random House colophon made its debut in February 1927 on the cover
of a little pamphlet called "Announcement Number One." Bennett Cerf and
Donald Klopfer, the company's founders, had acquired the Modern Library
from publishers Boni and Liveright two years earlier. One day, their
friend the illustrator Rockwell Kent stopped by their office. Cerf later
recalled, "Rockwell was sitting at my desk facing Donald, and we were
talking about doing a few books on the side, when suddenly I got an
inspiration and said, 'I've got the name for our publishing house. We
just said we were go-ing to publish a few books on the side at random.
Let's call it Random House.' Donald liked the idea, and Rockwell Kent
said, 'That's a great name. I'll draw your trademark.' So, sitting at my
desk, he took a piece of paper and in five minutes drew Random House,
which has been our colophon ever since." Throughout the years, the
mission of Random House has remained consistent: to publish books of the
highest quality, at random. We are proud to continue this tradition
today.
This edition is set from the first American edition of 1937 and
commemorates the seventy-fifth anniversary of Random House.
