Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" (1853) is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December editions of Putnam's Magazine, and reprinted with minor textual alterations in his The Piazza Tales in 1856. Numerous essays are published on what according to scholar Robert Milder "is unquestionably the masterpiece of the short fiction" in the Melville canon. The writing career of Herman Melville (1819 - 1891) peaked early, with his early novels, such as Typee becoming best sellers. By the mid-1850s his poularity declined sharply, and by the time he died he had been largely forgotten. Yet in time his novel Moby Dick came to be regarded as one of the finest works of American, and indeed world, literature, as was Billy Budd, which was not published until long after his death, in 1924.This version is a desktop production of 39 photocopied computer printed pages. Quite flimsy. While other editions are actual 'paperbacks' as I identify them; they're all going for less. Some, as 'Like New' are going for $.01 in Amazon Marketplace Or new from Amazon for $4.00. Moral of m'story: Amazon has all kinds of great books, movies seemingly most everything else. At all prices. These days, frugality's for everyone except the top 4%. Good idea to check buying choices. I just spent $6 more than I could've/should've/would've spent. As for this fine book itself: Too many Great Writers are ignored because they were first read centuries ago. Melville, Dickens, Mann and many more are out there waiting for us all. Not to mention European authors like Tolstoy, Gogol, Chekhov, Dostoevsky, Pushkin... and more incredible, readable and enjoyable Masters. I've trolled Asian authors too and found great reads. All, at Amazon of course.So getting worldly in your reading's right for our millennium and your matter too. Read for not only what's said but how it's said. Those past masters have styles, diction and - for the Masters - brilliant, edifying and entertaining concepts and insights still fitting for today. SO SIX STARS for Bartleby's story and one star for this flimsy edition. Nice cover art, thoug.The five (5) most effective words in the English Language are: "I would prefer not to." In the days before slow down strikes, job actions, featherbedding, etc. Bartleby had it pegged. Show up for work. Do a bit of good work (softening up the employer so to speak), and then proceed to wear said employer down while getting paid, having a rudimentary roof over one's head, etc. It is akin to a sort of nonworking workfare state. Bartleby reminds one of the legendary "George Costanza" who even had a desk customized so that he could avoid work and still be present. I had not read "Bartleby" in at least forty years and in reading it all these decades later, one can appreciate the clear-headed genius of Melville. One even picks up on the mention of "red tape" which is used to [compress] "some papers." And we know that a reference to red tape today infers a situation in which something is tied up in paperwork and bound not to progress. The world of the daily worker has not come very far from Bartleby's world and there are many of us who have been, are and will be Bartlebys. Most of our lives are spent in a condition of wanting to say, "I would prefer not to." To paraphrase Thoreau, the mass of men lead onerous lives.Avendo da sempre molto apprezzato questo racconto di Melville (che consiglio), ho deciso di acquistarlo come regalo per un amico, tuttavia una volta arrivato mi aspettavo qualcosa di più: la qualità è quella di un ebook stampato con una copertina flessibile.das zufallslayout ist eine absolute zumutung. das hat ein betrunkener, der sich noch dazu überhaupt nicht im benutzten programm auskannte (nehme an wohl wörd) layoutiert, per zufall dann noch ein paar bilder hineingeworfen.