{"product_id":"ragged-dick-or-street-life-in-new-york-with-the-boot-blacks-9780812973587","title":"Ragged Dick: Or, Street Life in New York with the Boot-Blacks","description":"\u003cp\u003e\" Alger] was an utterly American artist . . . and the truth of his books is the truth of the power of the wish. . . . Alger was perhaps American capitalism's greatest and most effective propagandist.\"-Richard Wright\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction by David K. Shipler\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWritten to inspire schoolboys to strive for \"honesty, industry, frugality, and a worthy ambition,\" the novels of Horatio Alger (1832-99) are infused with great humanity, broad humor, and a surprisingly sophisticated view of Gilded Age propriety.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCentral to Alger's philosophy is the notion that heroes like Ragged Dick, a poor boot-black, manage to get ahead by dint of hard work, resourcefulness, luck, pluck, and fair play.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlger's upwardly mobile heroes have become paragons of middle-class comfort and moral standing, and their journeys from rags to respectability have long been viewed as the very embodiment of the American Dream.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn this Modern Library Paperback Classic, the text of Ragged Dick is set from the first American book edition of 1868. Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Modern Library\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/13\/2005\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780812973587\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.46lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.01h x 5.31w x 0.44d","brand":"Horatio Alger","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44833831878837,"sku":"9780812973587","price":17.85,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/files\/img_bc3ab7f5-6cb6-4b9a-b235-0932bc2716d9.jpg?v=1732030270","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/ragged-dick-or-street-life-in-new-york-with-the-boot-blacks-9780812973587","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}