‘The Oxford Book of American Essays’ is a diverse collection of carefully-selected essays by notable and influential American writers and essayists. With contributions from such seminal figures as Washington Irvine, Francis Hopkinson, and Benjamin Franklin, this is a book that will appeal to all lovers of the English Language, and one that would make for a worthy addition to any collection. Contents include: ‘The Ephemera: An Emblem Of Human Life’, ‘The Whistle’, ‘Dialogue Between Franklin And The Gout’, ‘Consolation For The Old Bachelor’, ‘John Bull’, ‘The Mutability Of Literature’, ‘Kean’s Acting’, ‘On A Certain Condescension In Foreigners’, etc. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially commissioned new biography of the author.