Amazon Top Sellers
The Odyssey
by
Homer (Author), Alexander Pope (Translator)
Sales Rank: 2832
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Robert Fagles' translation of The Odyssey puts the text into modern language that makes this book ideal for teaching in a high school English classroom. I read this in my high school English classroom and, contrary to most students my age, enjoyed it immensely. He keeps the flow of Homer's prose while making the text easy to understand.
This is a great book, and as a Kindle owner, I was happy to see it available. I would also like to see The Iliad as translated by Fagles available for the Kindle.
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Siddhartha
by
Hermann Hesse (Author)
Sales Rank: 1260
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A journey through the life of a man with a single purpose: to find his own truth.
Knowing that the only way to discover life's greatest mysteries is to go through the heart of them alone, he finds himself living one extreme after another until he finally rests in the balance.
The ending will either leave you glowing or pondering, but either way you will not regret taking the time to read this remarkable tale.
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The Aeneid
by
Virgil (Author)
Sales Rank: 6781
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This book arrived on time and was in brand new conditions. The book was at a good price and I saved at least 6 dollars, and possibly 10 dollars of gas. Money worth spending on this book.
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Ethics
by
Aristotle (Author)
Sales Rank: 4629
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I read this book for a graduate seminar on Aristotle. I think Aristotle's ethics is his most seminal work in philosophy. In the early 1960's virtue ethics came to fore. It is a retrieval of Aristotle. It has very close parallels to the ancient Chinese philosophy of Confucius and the modern philosophy espoused in the 1970's called Communitarianism.
For Aristotle Nicomachean Ethics, (EN) is about human life in an embodied state. Area of inquirery for EN is "good" this is his phenomenology. What does "good" mean? He suggests good means "a desired end." Something desirable. Means towards these ends. Such as money is good, so one can buy food to eat because "eating is good." In moral philosophy distinction between "intrinsic good" vs. "instrumental good." Instrumental good towards a desire is "instrumental good" like money. Thus, money is an "instrumental good" for another purpose because it produces something beyond itself. Instrumental good means because it fur
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by
Mark Twain (Author)
Sales Rank: 2781
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I have heard about many of the essays included in this text and was excited to find that I could get them all in one book. I love the footnotes for additional information and the fact that the essays include both sides to teaching this book. I highly recommend for anyone who needs to know more about this classic text.
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'Everyman,' with other interludes, including eight miracle plays
by
Anonymous (Author), Ernest Rhys (Editor)
Sales Rank: 1818
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This edition provides a prose rendering of The Epic of Gilgamesh, the cycle of poems preserved on clay tablets surviving from ancient Mesopotamia of the third mi llennium B.C. One of the best and most important pieces of epic poetry from human history, predating even Homer's Iliad by roughly 1,500 years, the Gilgamesh epic tells of the various adventures of that hero-king, including his quest for immortality, and an account of a great flood similar in many details to the Old Testament's story of Noah. The translator also provides an interesting and useful introduction explaining much about the historical context of the poem and the archeological discovery of th e tablets.
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Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
by
Frederick Douglass (Author)
Sales Rank: 20428
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Born into a family of slaves, Frederick Douglass educated himself through sheer determination. His unconquered will to triumph over his circumstances makes his one of America’s best and most unlikely success stories. Douglass’ own account of his journey from slave to one of America’s great statesmen, writers, and orators is as fascinating as it is inspiring. This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition includes a glossary and reader’s notes to help the modern reader contend with Douglass’ nineteenth-century style and vocabulary.
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Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
by
Mark Twain (Author)
Sales Rank: 13371
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This was a required reading for my son's class at school. Although he enjoyed the story line, the use of the local slang (written out phonetically ) was difficult for him to read and distracting to the story, he felt.
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The Art of War
by
Sun Tzu (Author)
Sales Rank: 1581
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Great book! There are many versions of "The Art of War" but I liked this one. It includes Sun Tzu's words along with reviews/commentary from other prominent Chinese from the last 2000 years. It has a lengthy introduction but it is worthwile to read it all. This book is about strategy and information. It is easy to apply in many contemporary settings other than the military. It is a quick read and very worthwhile. This is one of those books you will want to keep and read again at a later date.
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The Iliad of Homer (1873)
by
Homer (Author), Theodore Alois Buckley (Translator)
Sales Rank: 6951
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I love Greek mythology, so this sparked my interest. I had to read it for college and struggled through the first portion of it since it dealt with every man who was dying on the field. A brief description was given for each man. These were not the main characters so I didn't really care, but the teacher said it was to show that the nameless fighters each had their hopes and dreams in life. Maybe so, but if all that was taken out, it would have been more interesting faster. I'm the kind of reader who likes to get to the point.
However, after skimming through those details, I was delighted to find the overall storyline to be worth the time to read it. It was fascinating to read about the Greek gods and goddesses manipulating the Trojan War, so the war was more about the gods fighting each other and humans happened to be pawns in it. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you'll love this because the gods had such distinct and colorful personalities that show up he
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Much Ado about Nothing
by
William Shakespeare (Author)
Sales Rank: 31572
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Cute romantic comedy by Shakespeare which is short and entertaining. I am not a huge fan of the Bard, but I enjoyed this play despite the less than spectacular translation. Other plays like Hamlet, Julius Caesar and Othello are good reads as well.
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Pride and Prejudice
by
Jane Austen (Author)
Sales Rank: 2195
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There are few things more comforting in this world that sitting down with "Pride and Prejudice" and a steaming mug of tea. My mother first introduced me to the world of Jane Austen when I was quite young and I will say that this novel is one of the most battered books on my shelf due to how many times I have read it - at least once per annum. For years, audiences have been charmed by the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, the story's sharp-witted heroine, and admired the well-born Mr. Darcy, her verbal sparring partner. There is evidence to suggest that this novel in particular held a special place in Austen's heart, though one could hardly fault her if this is the case.
It is impossible for me to resist being drawn in by the Bennet family - the tale of five sisters and an estate entailed away to particularly ridiculous male relation. Though it may be "a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife," the prospects of
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Heart of Darkness
by
Joseph Conrad (Author)
Sales Rank: 1578
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I was motivated to re-visit Conrad's early masterpiece by Sebald's Walk in Suffolk, which contains a bio chapter on Conrad with emphasis on his Congo experience, which was a traumatic one. Conrad had taken up the job of a skipper of a river steamboat, but he quit after a short time, in disgust with the colonial practices of the Belgians and their crude exploitation methods.
Marlow is Conrad's alter ego here, a captain who tells his story to some other guests at a dinner party. The party takes place on a ship in the Thames estuary around the turn of the 19th century. An initial narrator gives us the frame of the five men coming together for a chat and a drink and dinner. Marlow then takes over and tells us 'one of his inconsequential stories', as the introducer expects with some sarcasm: how he got the Congo job and went there with curiosity. He is appalled from the start by the crude colonialist violence that he observes on the African West Coast and then in the Congo territory
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Utilitarianism
by
John Stuart Mill (Author)
Sales Rank: 26197
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Many of the posted reviews refer to a different version of the text (i.e. Crisp vice Sher)
Sher's version is an inexpensive and accessible (good font size and binding) edition of this classic. It contains the 3 essays (unabridged) use to construct Utilitarianism as well as a speech given by Mill while serving as a British MP in 1868 on capital punishment. Readers should note that aside from a short introduction by George Sher, this edition does not contain any additional analysis. Readers looking for a more detailed discussion will need to look elsewhere. Judging from some of the other reviews it sounds as if Crisp's version may be worthwhile.
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Ulysses
by
James Joyce (Author)
Sales Rank: 7551
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Jim Norton, the actor reading this rendition, is fabulous in all his characters. And he should be: He won the Tony Award this year for Best Featured Actor In A Play. He's Irish, and has exactly the right feel for the piece.
I have only one complaint about this recording: It was recorded at such a low volume that I have to crank my system up to 11 to hear it. But it's worth it!
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Hamlet
by
William Shakespeare (Author)
Sales Rank: 3392
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I'm going to take some hits for this (by rabid Shakespeare fans mostly), but this play, whether read in a straightforward manner, or analyzed to the hilt, is just somewhat better than mediocre.
Most folks who would read this work know that Shakespeare's plays are broken down, at the top, into two groups: tragedies and comedies. Hamlet is a tragedy -- the limited humor that one finds herein is pretty darn subtle, (e.g., the comment about Englishmen all being mad). I do not criticise "Hamlet" for that actuality, in fact, I prefer the tragedies. However, the play, as plays go, is simply just so-so. I think folks get 'caught up' in the fact that this is SHAKESPEARE, and therefore, they are SUPPOSED to like it if they have an ounce of culture.
For people who wish to delve into ecclectic classic works (of all genres), "Hamlet" is difficult to read (unless you're a genius, you sort of have to stumble along and concentrate on what has been said), due mostly to the archaic languag
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Persuasion
by
Jane Austen (Author)
Sales Rank: 4164
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This book answered a lot of questions that came up after I saw the movie i.e. what's with Mrs. Clay and the young Mr. Elliot? A must read if you really want to understand the movie.
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
by
Benjamin Franklin (Author)
Sales Rank: 5906
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No matter which of the Founding Fathers was your favorite, Benjamin Franklin will be after this read! An absolute master at all he attempted: politics, engineering, community improvement, and of course, the ladies! It will leave you wondering where are the heroes and patriots like BF today? And when will they wake up?
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The Voyage of the Beagle
by
Charles Darwin (Author)
Sales Rank: 793976
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This audio book had an excelent reader, using pretty close to the dialect of the time. Which was good because I was using it for a character reference, playing Darwin in a theater piece. The book it self was a little long and winded. It was truely a journal of his voyage. Don't look for many of his scientific conclusions. For this you would want to get "Origin of the Spieces." It was filled with stories of his adventures and what he came accross on his trip. Good listening material for long driving trips. It was a bit dry for just sitting and listening to, but there were some entertaining parts burried in there.
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Second Treatise of Government
by
John Locke (Author)
Sales Rank: 41048
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In his book, Second Treatise of Government, John Locke (1632 - 1704) writes that all humans are born equal with the same ability to reason for themselves, and because of this, government should have limitations to ensure that people are free from the arbitrary will of another person, according to the laws of nature. Government, in Locke's view, is a social contract between the people in control, and the people who submit to it. The editor of this edition, C. B. Macpherson, gives a little background and overview in his introduction to this book. He writes that the book "was directed against the principles of Sir Robert Filmer, whose books, asserting the divine authority of kings and denying any right of resistance, were thought by Locke and his fellow Whigs to be too influential among the gentry to be left unchallenged by those who held that resistance to an arbitrary monarch might be justified." (p. viii)
Locke's book served as a philosophical justification for revolting again
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Leviathan
by
Thomas Hobbes (Author)
Sales Rank: 10443
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Hobbes is a master of rhetoric and builds up a convincing arguement that you have to spot early on in order to not be pulled into his flawed statements. Human beings cannot be pigeonholed and I would not choose Stalin and communism over a democratic society even if we were in a state of chaos. And no, I do not think it's such a tragedy that there are no notes. Think for yourself. Come up with your own notes, not someone else's.
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A Child's Garden of Verses
by
Robert Louis Stevenson (Author)
Sales Rank: 5035
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A Child's Garden of VersesI had this book of poems as a child and loved it dearly. I recently purchased this newer (artwork) version of my favorite book, and WOW was I surprised. The artwork was beautiful and added greatly to the beautiful verses. I am sure that not only the baby that I gifted this to, but his parents will love the book (and artwork) as much as I still love mine. Thank You.
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A Christmas Carol
by
Charles Dickens (Author)
Sales Rank: 9805
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Ebenezer Scrooge is a bitter, miserly old man who is visited by the ghost of his old partner, Jacob Marley. Marley warns Scrooge that three ghosts will visit him and give him one last chance of redemption.
The three ghosts of Christmas (Past, Present, and Yet to Come) convince Scrooge to change his ways and to rediscover the kind and generous man he was as a young man.
A true Christmas classic and the only Dickens novel that I LOVE.
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Poetics
by
Aristotle (Author)
Sales Rank: 428064
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Aristotle's Poetics is touted as a "Must Read Bible" for writers, and though it's core principles do warrant merit, they are hard to decipher because: they were written so long ago; they reference plays, instruments, even words, that are no longer in use - and sometimes the words are not even translated; they are spelled out with symbols.
I read it, and found it difficult to follow, but it is a quick read. At least I can tell people that I read Aristotle. That is definitely a conversation starter.
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The Republic
by
Plato (Author), Benjamin Jowett (Translator)
Sales Rank: 8282
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Plato's 'Republic' is one of the most important works of ancient Greek philosophy, and one of the foundation pieces of political science and political philosophy of that and subsequent ages. It was one of the first pieces I read when undertaking a political science degree.
Plato was not only a great philosopher, but also a great writer. While few master the classical Greek language sufficient to undertake its study in the original language, the text appears in countless translated forms of varying degrees of integrity. This particular translation is one that is often used in schools, and is fairly careful to the original text.
The text is traditionally divided into ten sections, although some scholars see this as being a function of the papyrus and scrolls of original composition more than being integral to the structure of the text itself. One of the interesting features of the Republic is that it was not originally intended for scholars and philosophers p
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Symposium
by
Plato (Author), Benjamin Jowett (Translator)
Sales Rank: 40517
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I'm giving this book three stars not as a reflection of the authors' introduction or anything like that. I would probably give any version of this dialogue three stars.
For me probably the most interesting part of the book was the description of Socrates as he was serving in the army. He was able to walk around in the cold weather wearing just a light cloak and barefoot and he could survive on limited food better than everyone else.
He was also very brave in battle and the enemy soldiers avoided him realizing he would fight to the death.
Socrates was an unusual person I would say. He would sometimes just stand in one place for many hours without moving as he pondered the meaning of life I guess.
The last chapter is about this younger guy who is trying to seduce Socrates. He talks about how he bursts into tears whenever Socrates speaks, etc.. Finally he crawls under the covers with Socrates but Socrates refuses to give him wh
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The Iliad
by
Homer (Author), Earl of Derby Edward (Translator)
Sales Rank: 6907
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I just finished an extension course on The Iliad, and had the luxury of picking whatever translation I desired. I tried many, including Fagles, and a bit of the Greek original, and came to this conclusion:
Don't be misled by poetic or quasi-poetic translations. These can never do justice to a language incompatible with English, and miss the concision and power of Homer. If you want poetry, read Christopher Logue's reimagining of the epic in his several books.
Instead, get the best literal translation. For me right now, that's Hammond. Fagles tries to combine both worlds, and is unsatisfactory in either. I must admit, the packaging is handsome, but Fagles takes too many liberties with the text. For instance, when the text is repeated in Greek, it should be repeated in English, but Fagles doesn't do this.
At least Fagles is readable, unlike Lattimore, whose English does not trip happily on the tongue much of the time.
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Notes on Nursing
What It Is, and What It Is Not
by
Florence Nightingale (Author)
Sales Rank: 33043
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Nursing is a vocation; not "just a job." Miss Nightingale knew this, and this book reflects this philosophy. Nursing-schools, many years ago, designed the curriculum--and educated the aspiring nurses--with this in mind. Sadly, many present-day nurses (and nursing-schools) have lost this ideal...and the state of affairs in nursing bears this out.
If you're seriously considering nursing--or are a nurse who is "burned out," read this book. It will enlighten and edify you.
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Just So Stories
by
Rudyard Kipling (Author)
Sales Rank: 35928
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The production of this fine collection of stories is "Just-So." I expected more from an MP3 recording. The stories themselves are fine... but the hissing? Try a different version perhaps.
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O Pioneers!
by
Willa Sibert Cather (Author)
Sales Rank: 112521
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Attention all readers, this is a general alert. If you come in contact with this book, it must be destroyed immediately! It may be contaminated by a rare soul-sucking virus that causes students who are forced to read it to loose all willpower to go on caring about 10th grade english class.
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Pragmatism
by
William James (Author)
Sales Rank: 253721
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"The word 'pragmatism' is used everywhere today, from business to sports to politics. Although the word hadn't yet entered everyday language when William James published Pragmatism in 1907, the philosopher believed its doctrine had virtually become common sense in twentieth-century America. For James, pragmatism was a specific philosophical alternative to essentialism and foundationalism and argued that ideas are meaningful only insofar as they have practical consequences in concrete human experience; however today pragmatism has come to denote merely a general willingness to compromise principles, even to the point of selfishness or irresponsibility. Written in an engaging and accessible style, Pragmatism is a valuable corrective to modern uses of the word, since the voice that speaks in its pages embodies precisely the opposite values from the pejorative senses the word has acquired."
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The Invisible Man
by
H G Wells (Author)
Sales Rank: 17768
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H.G. Wells has created an extraordinary story about a man who becomes invisible, and how he struggles to survive in society given his unusual predicament. This story is as much about science fiction as it is about cultural norms and biases.
It's a short read and I highly recommend it!
-Vince
[..]
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Utopia
by
Thomas More (Author)
Sales Rank: 15865
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More exhibits intellectual creativity in the classic Utopia, originally written in Latin. It is a narrative on a non-existent, ideal society. The book Utopia includes the Utopian alphabet, a poem in Utopian and then translated into English, lines on the island of Utopia by the poet laureate, More's letters to Peter Gilles, Gilles's letter to Busleiden, Book 1, and Book 2.
The alphabet and poems at the beginning immediately display the creative and structured thought of More, introduce the island of Utopia, and display the humorous wit of More that will continue to make you chuckle throughout the course of the book.
The letters serve as the background to the authoring of books 1 and 2. It adds a sense of reality to them by describing where the subject matter for the books comes from and creating a pretend internal debate about whether or not a book on Utopia should be written by More at all. More's considerations in that staged internal debate are highly e
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The Red Fairy Book
by
Andrew Lang (Author)
Sales Rank: 34685
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It can be difficult to find a fairy tale collection that manages to hit on a wider spectrum of stories, rather than the hish-hash collections of everything that everyone has memorized or the collections that go out of the way to find the most unknown and unusual. This has both, from the familiar to the distinctly different, and told in a classic Victorian voice. There is a story for everyone here, romantic, macabre, and even funny, and from a variety of countries and cultures. It's a good, basic show of different types of stories, and each one is memorable! Defintely a must-have for the fairy tale collector!
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Women in Love
by
D H Lawrence (Author)
Sales Rank: 149705
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Dark, but filled with bright genius, Women in Love is a prophetic masterpiece steeped in eroticism, filled with perceptions about sexual power and obsession that have proven to be timeless and true.
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Faust
by
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Author), Bayard Taylor (Translator)
Sales Rank: 92720
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This bilingual copy of Goethe's Faust is a very good edition for students of German, poetry, or the play itself. First, it's very affordable, which is always a plus with the student crowd. More importantly, though, the translation is one of the better ones I have read; it uses just the right touch of poetry and high drama in the language to convey the beauty of Goethe's original German. In the end, though, no translation can ever be as good as the original, so read the German text if you can--it can be difficult, at times, but you won't regret it.
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The Valley of Fear
by
Arthur Conan Doyle (Author)
Sales Rank: 505301
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This one has Moriarty, what more can you want? When you have the super detective himself, Sherlock Holmes, trying to get to the bottom of what his arch-nemesis, super villain Professor Moriartry is up to, the stage is set for a gripping narrative, as they try and outdo each other, and Watson tries doggedly to follow along.
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Walden
by
Henry David Thoreau (Author)
Sales Rank: 2901
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"Walden" is the classic account of two years spent by Henry David Thoreau living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The story is detailed in its accounts of Thoreau's day-to-day activities, observations, and undertakings to survive out in the wilderness for two years. Thoreau's journal is an exquisite account of a man seeking a more simple life by living in harmony with nature. In today's fast-paced consumer-driven society the austere life style endorsed by Thoreau is as relevant and refreshing as ever.
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Around the World in Eighty Days
by
Jules Verne (Author)
Sales Rank: 89920
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Around the World in 80 Days is an adventurous book. Mr. Fogg is a man that will do just about anything to win his 20,000 dollar bet, like spending as much money as he wants to get where he needs to. Throughout his journey his mood will change. O gave this book three and a half stars out of five because it had a lot of interesting parts with just the right amount of reality. I like this book and can see it being well known for many years to come. Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne is a fun, adventure book that is good for people of any age. i feel that this book is the best of the series.
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A Midsummer Night's Dream
by
William Shakespeare (Author)
Sales Rank: 10556
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The spirit of one of Shakespeare's richest plays is lighthearted laughter. The great impressario of the proceedings is Puck who in giving the 'love potion' to the wrong person, sets up the chaos of both Demetrius and Lysander loving Helena. There are numerous networks of parallel and contrast through the work , between the worlds of the royal humans, the fairies, and the craftsmen. The motif of dreaming and imagination play a strong part in the play. And the resolution in all the couples finding themselves in love and harmony at last is a supreme happy ending.
This is one of Shakespeare's most delightful and amusing works, one of the richest comically in all the world of theater.
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