Editor Serge A. Zenkovsky completely revised the text and enlarged the book, adding almost one hundred pages of new material, including:
- Sviatoslav's Early Campaigns
- The Siege of Kiev and Olga's Death
- Vladimir Monomakh: Instruction to His Children
- Tale of the Life and Courage of the Pious and Great Prince Alexander
- Narrative of the Pious Prince Dovmont and His Courage
- The Writing of Daniil the Prisoner
- Orison on the Life and Death of Grand Prince Dmitry Ivanovich
- Afanasy Nikitin's Journey Across Three Seas
- Ivan Funikov: Message of a Nobleman to a Nobleman
- Epic of Sukhan
- Simeon Polotsky: Excerpt from Ode on the Birth of Peter I
- Simeon Polotsky: The Law
- Simeon Polotsky: The Merchant Class
- Tsar Alexis Mikhailovich: The Rules of Falconry
In addition to a comprehensive introduction, the editor has prefaced each selection with detailed information about its literary and historical background, and has included a glossary and brief chronology of Russian history and culture.