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.