A Modest Proposal and Other Short Works is a collection of Jonathan Swift's finest satirical essays, including: A Modest Proposal, The Battle of the Books, The Episode of Bentley and Wotton, A Meditation on a Broomstick, Predictions for the Year 1708, The Accomplishment of the First of Mr. Bickerstaff's Predictions, An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity, Hints Towards an Essay on Conversation, and Thoughts on Various Subjects.  Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer, poet and cleric. He is regarded by many as the finest prose satirist in the English language. He is most famous for Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal, which are considered classics of English literature.