vi, 327 pp. "Alger is the original rags-to-riches guy, often credited with inventing the strive-and-succeed spirit that inspired boys to work hard and advance themselves in order to achieve the American Dream. This theme resonates throughout his numerous writings. Alger writes in the his preface: Herbert Carter's Legacy is the eighth and concluding volume of the Luck and Pluck series. Those who have read all the stories attentively cannot fail to have discovered that there is one general idea pervading them all. The heroes have been differently situated, and have been led into different paths, but all have met life manfully, and overcome by pluck and patience the obstacles which they found in their way. These stories have been intended to illustrate the proverb that God helps those who are willing to help themselves. Those who sit down, and wait passively for fortune to shower her gifts upon them, are likely to wait a long time."
