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Select Short Fiction
The Koran: Selected Suras
Great Speeches by Native Americans
Ebook series30 titles

Dover Thrift Editions Series

By John Locke, James Joyce, Plato and

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About this series

This bewitching play, Shakespeare's final work, articulates a wealth of the playwright's mature reflections on life and contains some of his most familiar and oft-quoted lines. The story concerns Miranda, a lovely young maiden, and Prospero, her philosophical old magician father, who dwell on an enchanted island, alone except for their servants -- Ariel, an invisible sprite, and Caliban, a monstrous witch's son.
Into their idyllic but isolated lives comes a shipwrecked party that includes the enemies who usurped Prospero's dukedom years before, and set him and his daughter adrift on the ocean. Also among the castaways is a handsome prince, the first young man Miranda has ever seen. Comedy, romance, and reconciliation ensue, in a masterly drama that begins with a storm at sea and concludes in joyous harmony.
Students, poetry lovers, and drama enthusiasts will treasure this convenient, modestly priced edition of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays and one of literature's finest comedies.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateMar 1, 2012
Select Short Fiction
The Koran: Selected Suras
Great Speeches by Native Americans

Titles in the series (60)

  • Great Speeches by Native Americans

    Great Speeches by Native Americans
    Great Speeches by Native Americans

    Remarkable for their eloquence, depth of feeling, and oratorical mastery, these 82 compelling speeches encompass five centuries of Indian encounters with nonindigenous people. Beginning with a 1540 refusal by a Timucua chief to parley with Hernando de Soto ("With such a people I want no peace"), the collection extends to the 20th-century address of activist Russell Means to the United Nations affiliates and members of the Human Rights Commission ("We are people who love in the belly of the monster"). Other memorable orations include Powhatan's "Why should you destroy us, who have provided you with food?" (1609); Red Jacket's "We like our religion, and do not want another" (1811); Osceola's "I love my home, and will not go from it" (1834); Red Cloud's "The Great Spirit made us both" (1870); Chief Joseph's "I will fight no more forever" (1877); Sitting Bull's "The life my people want is a life of freedom" (1882); and many more. Other notable speakers represented here include Tecumseh, Seattle, Geronimo, and Crazy Horse, as well as many lesser-known leaders. Graced by forceful metaphors and vivid imagery expressing emotions that range from the utmost indignation to the deepest sorrow, these addresses are deeply moving documents that offer a window into the hearts and minds of Native Americans as they struggled against the overwhelming tide of European and American encroachment. This inexpensive edition, with informative notes about each speech and orator, will prove indispensable to anyone interested in Native American history and culture.

  • Select Short Fiction

    Select Short Fiction
    Select Short Fiction

    Known and loved around the world for his vast and sprawling novels, Charles Dickens relished the opportunity to experiment with his shorter writings, investigating hitherto unexplored themes and engaging in uncharacteristic narrative techniques. This anthology presents some of the beloved storyteller's lesser-known works, focusing on tales that reflect his fascination with the supernatural as well as his impressionistic sketches and dramatic monologues. The collection opens with "The Story of the Goblins Who Stole a Sexton," in which a gravedigger learns a lesson from mischievous spirits. Other ghostly tales include "The Baron of Grogzwig," "To Be Read at Dusk," and more. A selection of brief, atmospheric essays, most of them written for newspapers and magazines, recaptures vibrant scenes from Victorian London — its prisons, churches, schools, and street life — as well as episodes from the author's extensive travels. The book concludes with a series of dramatic monologues from Doctor Marigold's Prescriptions and other stories, all of them abounding in Dickens' distinctive wit and imaginative power.

  • The Koran: Selected Suras

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    The Koran: Selected Suras
    The Koran: Selected Suras

    The Koran is the sacred scripture of Islam, a collection of revelations that Mohammed, the Prophet, said he had received from God (through the angel Gabriel) in seventh-century Arabia. Mohammed preached these revelations in rhymed verses that comprised suras, or chapters. Shortly after his death, his followers published the suras as the Koran (an adaptation of a word meaning "scripture lesson"), which today is considered one of the great sacred books of the world. Deeply moralistic, full of passion and fervor, the suras deal with such topics as the omniscience and majesty of God, death and judgment, the proper conduct of the faithful, stories of previous prophets, kindness to orphans, and much more. The complete Koran consists of 11 suras — arranged from longest to shortest — plus an opening prayer and two closing charms. The selections in the present volume were carefully chose to give a cross-section of the whole and to illustrate Mohammed's teaching as it developed from the rhapsodic style of his early Meccan period to the workaday legislative material of the Medinan period. This excellent English translation replaces the original verse form with accurate, highly readable prose, making a treasury of eternal wisdom from the Koran accessible to both the novice and the serious student.

  • Great Love Poems

    Great Love Poems
    Great Love Poems

    Never give all the heart, for love Will hardly seem worth thinking of To passionate women if it seem Certain, and they never dream That it fades out from kiss to kiss; For everything that's lovely is But a brief, dreamy, kind delight. — W. B. Yeats Down through the millennia the emotion of love has inspired countless poets to great heights of lyrical expression. In this volume readers can sample more than 150 great love poems by English and American poets. Spanning over four centuries of literary creation in the service of amour, the works include a selection of Shakespeare's sonnets, John Donne's "The Ecstasy," William Blake's "The Garden of Love," Robert Burns's "The Banks o'Doon" and "John Anderson My Jo," Lord Byron's "She Walks in Beauty," Edgar Allan Poe's "Annabel Lee," Robert Browning's "Meeting at Night," as well as works by W. B. Yeats, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, John Keats, Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, John Milton, Richard Lovelace, Sir John Suckling, Matthew Arnold, A. E. Housman, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Robert Frost. Includes two selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "Sonnet 73" and "Song."

  • Droll Stories

    Droll Stories
    Droll Stories

    Balzac's Contes Drolatiques, published in three installments in the 1830s, offers a lively and lusty portrait of sixteenth-century French life and manners. These thirty stories in the tradition of Boccaccio, Chaucer, and Rabelais were claimed by the author to have originated in manuscripts from the abbeys of Touraine. Abounding in episodes of good-humored licentiousness, the tales scandalized Balzac's contemporaries and continue to delight modern readers. French novelist and playwright Honoré de Balzac (1799–1850) was a founder of realism in European literature. An inspiration to Proust, Dickens, Faulkner, Dostoyevsky, and countless others, Balzac wrote works that were hailed for their multifaceted characters and exquisite attention to detail. This edition's excellent translation was the first to make Contes Drolatiques available to English-speaking readers.

  • As You Like It

    As You Like It
    As You Like It

    Unjustly deposed by his younger brother, the rightful duke retreats to the Forest of Arden and forms a utopia with his loyal followers while his daughter remains at court as a companion to her cousin. When forbidden romance enters their lives, the girls assume disguises and flee to the forest, where they encounter a magical world of friendly outlaws and wise fools. Both a lighthearted comedy and a deeper exploration of social and literary issues, this play features a memorable cast of characters and some of Shakespeare's finest poetry.

  • The Mill on the Floss

    The Mill on the Floss
    The Mill on the Floss

    Misunderstood Maggie Tulliver is torn. Her rebellious and passionate nature demands expression, while her provincial kin and community expect self-denial. Based closely on the author's own life, Maggie's story explores the conflicts of love and loyalty and the friction between desire and moral responsibility. Written in 1860, The Mill on the Floss was published to instant popularity. An accurate, evocative depiction of English rural life, this compelling narrative features a vivid and realistic cast, headed by one of 19th-century literature's most appealing characters. Required reading for most students, it ranks prominently among the great Victorian novels.

  • The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration

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    The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration
    The Second Treatise of Government and A Letter Concerning Toleration

    A highly influential figure in the Age of Enlightenment in England and France, whose works helped inspire the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, John Locke was one of the most important political theorists in Western history. In The Second Treatise of Government, a major contribution to the principles underlying modern democracies, he achieved two objectives: refuting the concept of the divine right of monarchy, and establishing a theory of government based on the ultimate sovereignty of the people. In A Letter Concerning Toleration, composed as early as 1667 but not published for political reasons until 1689 — after the "Glorious Revolution" — Locke pleaded for religious tolerance on grounds similar to his argument for political freedom, i.e., that all men are by nature "free, equal, and independent," and are entitled to freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of worship. To help guarantee the latter freedom, Locke called for separation of church and state. The basis of social and political philosophy for generations, these works laid the foundation of the modern democratic state in England and abroad. Their enduring importance makes them essential reading for students of philosophy, history, and political science.

  • Poems and Songs Celebrating America

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    Poems and Songs Celebrating America
    Poems and Songs Celebrating America

    A tribute to the ideals and accomplishments of American history, this anthology features inspiring verse by Carl Sandburg, Walt Whitman, Langston Hughes, Phillis Wheatley, Katharine Lee Bates, John Greenleaf Whittier, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and other noteworthy writers. Contents include Walt Whitman's "I Hear America Singing," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's "Paul Revere's Ride," "Concord Hymn" by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Sandburg's "Chicago," Oliver Wendell Holmes's "Old Ironsides," and "Liberty Tree" by Thomas Paine. Additional poems and songs include John Greenleaf Whittier's "The Poor Voter on Election Day," Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner," "Battle Hymn of the Republic" by Julia Ward Howe, Emma Lazarus's "New Colossus," and Myra Sklarew's "Monuments."

  • The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

    The Little Flowers of Saint Francis
    The Little Flowers of Saint Francis

    First printed in 1476, this collection of stories, or "little flowers," chronicles Saint Francis of Assisi's journeys, activities, and miracles. Told in brief anecdotes of charming simplicity, the stories include Saint Francis' sermon to the birds, his taming of the savage wolf of Gubbio, his conversion of the Sultan of Babylon, and his miraculous healing of a leper. Picturesque and poetic, The Little Flowers of Saint Francis transports readers to the Middle Ages for an inspiring portrait of the saint and his earliest disciples. One of the world's most popular and widely read religious classics, its universal appeal extends to people of all faiths and every intellectual level.

  • The Man Who Would Be King: and Other Stories

    The Man Who Would Be King: and Other Stories
    The Man Who Would Be King: and Other Stories

    Winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 1907, Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) drew upon his experiences in Anglo-Indian Society for much of his writing. This volume presents five of Kipling's best early stories, including "The Phantom Rickshaw," a psychological thriller; "Wee Willie Winkie," a delightful display of love for children; "Without Benefit of Clergy," the poignant story of an Englishmen's affair with an Islamic woman; "The Strange Ride of Morrowbie Jukes"; and the celebrated title story.

  • Tarzan of the Apes

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    Tarzan of the Apes
    Tarzan of the Apes

    Having failed in a number of occupations as a young man, Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950) found his niche as a writer with Tarzan of the Apes, first published in 1914. Highly imaginative, exotic and suspenseful, the story tells of an infant — the son of an aristocratic English couple — abandoned when his parents die in the jungles of Africa. Rescued and reared by apes, he learns to speak their language and imitate their ability to travel swiftly through the treetops. Eventually, his courage, immense strength and exceptional intelligence earn him the respect and admiration not only of the apes, but of all the creatures of the jungle. The ape-man's story is told here in this classic, fast-paced novel, packed with riveting adventures as Tarzan avenges the killing of Kala, his ape-mother, subdues man-eating beasts of the jungle, meets and falls in love with the beautiful Jane Porter, vanquishes greedy pirate-adventurers, and deals with assorted other threats. Although Burroughs followed this story with many Tarzan sequels, it is doubtful if any ever equaled this novel for its originality, readability and sheer storytelling power. In this inexpensive edition, complete and unabridged, it will thrill a new generation with the legendary exploits of the "Lord of the Apes."

  • Looking Backward

    Looking Backward
    Looking Backward

    First published in 1888, Looking Backward was one of the most popular novels of its day. Translated into more than 20 languages, its utopian fantasy influenced such thinkers as John Dewey, Thorstein Veblen, Eugene V. Debs, and Norman Thomas. Writing from a 19th century perspective and poignantly critical of his own time, Bellamy advanced a remarkable vision of the future, including such daring predictions as the existence of radio, television, motion pictures, credit cards, and covered pedestrian malls. On the surface, the novel is the story of time-traveler Julian West, a young Bostonian who is put into a hypnotic sleep in the late 19th century, and awakens in the year 2000 in a socialist utopia. In conversations with the doctor who awakened him, he discovers a brilliantly realized vision of an ideal future, one that seemed unthinkable in his own century. Crime, war, personal animosity, and want are nonexistent. Equality of the sexes is a fact of life. In short, a messianic state of brotherly love is in effect. Entertaining, stimulating, and thought-provoking, Looking Backward, with its ingenious plot and appealing socialism, is a provocative study of human society as it is and as it might be.

  • 28 Great Inaugural Addresses: From Washington to Reagan

    28 Great Inaugural Addresses: From Washington to Reagan
    28 Great Inaugural Addresses: From Washington to Reagan

    Many of the U.S. presidents' inaugural addresses have provided windows into the presidency and the state of the nation. The voices of sixteen presidents are preserved in this collection of great inaugural addresses — from George Washington's somber comments in 1789 and Abraham Lincoln's noteworthy addresses attempting to bind the nation together, to John F. Kennedy's stirring "Ask not what your country can do for you" and Ronald Reagan's 1981 speech stating his political mission. Compelling, powerful and often inspiring, these seminal remarks also include the words of John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, James Monroe, Andrew Jackson, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Lyndon Baines Johnson, and Richard Nixon. Ideal for political studies, this valuable reference will appeal to everyone interested in American history.

  • Selected Federalist Papers

    Selected Federalist Papers
    Selected Federalist Papers

    To persuade undecided New York state voters to ratify the new Constitution of the United States, Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote 85 compelling essays, under the title The Federalist and signed "Publius," that appeared in New York City newspapers in 1787–1788. These far-reaching essays, which comprise a masterful exposition and defense of the proposed federal system of government and of the Constitution's carefully designed system of checks and balances, are today considered a keystone of American democracy. Their continuing relevance was demonstrated by the frequent references to Paper No. 65, "On Impeachments," during the impeachment proceedings against President Clinton. This volume contains 35 of the most famous and important pieces, including ones that deal with "dangers from foreign arms and influence"; with the need for a federal government able to raise revenues through taxation; with the creation of an electoral college; with freedom of the press and the inadvisability of a bill of rights; with the three-fifths rule for counting slaves; with the objectives and powers of the judiciary; and much else. Of lasting value and interest to students of American history and government, this carefully chosen selection will also fascinate any general reader curious about the history of the Constitution and the beginnings of American federalism.

  • The Open Boat and Other Stories

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    The Open Boat and Other Stories
    The Open Boat and Other Stories

    Four prized selections by one of America's greatest writers: "The Open Boat," based on a harrowing incident in the author's life: the 1897 sinking of a ship on which he was a passenger; "The Blue Hotel" and "The Bride Comes to Yellow Sky," reflecting Crane's early travels in Mexico and the American Southwest; and the novella Maggie: A Girl of the Streets, a galvanizing portrait of life in the slums of New York City.

  • A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four

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    A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four
    A Study in Scarlet and The Sign of Four

    The world's most famous detective uses his celebrated skills of deduction in A Study in Scarlet, the tale that introduces Dr. John Watson. Recently discharged from the military, Watson takes a room with an amazing young man — the arrogant crime expert, Sherlock Holmes. Their investigation of a bizarre crime proves to be an auspicious beginning for one of the most illustrious crime-solving partnerships of all time. The second tale, The Sign of Four, is an incredible story of greed and revenge in which Holmes and Watson accompany a beautiful young woman on a mission that leads to a terrifying, one-legged man in the dark heart of London. A thrilling experience for legions of Holmes fans, these exciting tales will also serve as an excellent introduction to readers who have never made the acquaintance of this incomparable detective and his colleague.

  • The Story of an African Farm

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    The Story of an African Farm
    The Story of an African Farm

    In writing the first great South African novel, Olive Schreiner drew on childhood memories of life on the isolated African veld to fashion a powerful indictment of the rigid Boer and English social conventions of her day. This 1883 bestseller, published under the pseudonym Ralph Iron, was greeted by both praise and condemnation for its feminist views on women's status and on marriage, and for its unorthodox critique of dishonesty and hypocrisy in the doctrines and practices of "respectable" Christian church people. The tale begins with three childhood playmates growing up on a sheep farm: Waldo, son of the farm's kindly and pious German overseer; Em, the stolid but kind English stepdaughter of Tant' Sannie, the farm's Boer owner; and Lyndall, Em's spirited orphan cousin. As the story follows the friends to adulthood, basic conflicts are enacted both internally and externally. Em's ardent fiancé falls in love with the beautiful but troubled Lyndall, who flouts social pressure to marry. Waldo struggles with his boundless yearning for spiritual fulfillment and for the stimulation that knowledge brings, as well as his need for warm human companionship. Lyndall's fierce efforts to wrest from the world a life for herself, and the affects her insight and courage have on others, make a gripping tale. This eloquent portrayal of loves damaged by societal repression retains its power more than a century after its first publication. Today's readers will welcome this inexpensive edition of a literary landmark.

  • Walden; Or, Life in the Woods

    Walden; Or, Life in the Woods
    Walden; Or, Life in the Woods

    Nature was a form of religion for naturalist, essayist, and early environmentalist Henry David Thoreau (1817–62). In communing with the natural world, he wished to "live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and … learn what it had to teach." Toward that end Thoreau built a cabin in the spring of 1845 on the shores of Walden Pond — on land owned by Ralph Waldo Emerson — outside Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed nature, farmed, built fences, surveyed, and wrote in his journal. One product of his two-year sojourn was this book — a great classic of American letters. Interwoven with accounts of Thoreau's daily life (he received visitors and almost daily walked into Concord) are mediations on human existence, society, government, and other topics, expressed with wisdom and beauty of style. Walden offers abundant evidence of Thoreau's ability to begin with observations on a mundane incident or the minutiae of nature and then develop these observations into profound ruminations on the most fundamental human concerns. Credited with influencing Tolstoy, Gandhi, and other thinkers, the volume remains a masterpiece of philosophical reflection. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

  • Sense and Sensibility

    Sense and Sensibility
    Sense and Sensibility

    Within the insular world of the English countryside, among struggling clerical families, husband-hunting mothers and daughters, country fools and snobs, Jane Austen found the raw material she needed to write brilliant novels widely admired for their satiric wit, subtlety and perfection of style. Sense and Sensibility is one of the best of these. It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who represent sense and sensibility, respectively. When both appear to be deserted by the young men they had intended to marry, the stage is set for a delicious comedy of manners that not only showcases Austen's perception, humor and incomparable prose, but offers a splendid glimpse of upper and middle-class English society of the early 18th century.

  • Poems of Faith

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    Poems of Faith
    Poems of Faith

    The best-known works of more than 60 British and American poets, written over a period of nearly 400 years, comprise this superb collection of verse. Focusing on poems of faith — inspiring, comforting, and profound works with religious themes and ideals — the volume includes "Holy Sonnets" by John Donne, Ben Jonson's "To the Holy Trinity," "Paradise" by George Herbert, "On His Blindness" by John Milton, as well as poems by Andrew Marvell, Thomas Traherne, Edward Taylor, Samuel Johnson, William Cowper, William Blake, Emily Bronte, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and many others. A rich treasury of stirring verse, this collection is ideal for classroom use or for independent study but will also appeal to lovers of exceptional English and American poetry. Dover original selection of poems from standard editions.

  • Civil War Stories

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    Civil War Stories
    Civil War Stories

    Newspaperman, short-story writer, poet, and satirist, Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914) is one of the most striking and unusual literary figures America has produced. Dubbed "Bitter Bierce" for his vitriolic wit and biting satire, his fame rests largely on a celebrated compilation of barbed epigrams, The Devil's Dictionary, and a book of short stories (Tales of Soldiers and Civilians, 1891). Most of the 16 selections in this volume have been taken from the latter collection. The stories in this edition include: "What I Saw at Shiloh," "A Son of the Gods," "Four Days in Dixie," "One of the Missing," "A Horseman in the Sky," "The Coup de Grace," "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," "The Story of Conscience," "One Kind of Officer," "Chickamauga," and five more. Bierce's stories employ a buildup of suggestive realistic detail to produce grim and vivid tales often disturbing in their mood of fatalism and impending calamity. Hauntingly suggestive, they offer excellent examples of the author's dark pessimism and storytelling power.

  • Favorite Tales from the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

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    Favorite Tales from the Arabian Nights' Entertainments
    Favorite Tales from the Arabian Nights' Entertainments

    "TheArabian Nights is more generally loved than Shakespeare," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson. "No human face or voice greets us among [this] crowd of kings and genies, sorcerers and beggar men. Adventure on the most naked terms, furnishes forth the entertainment and is found enough." The best-known versions of these ancient Middle Eastern tales are those translated by the Victorian English explorer and writer, Richard F. Burton. Arabic in origin, they are also known as A Thousand and One Nights — a collection of fairy tales, romances, legends, and exotic adventures told by Scheherazade to entertain her husband, the king, who customarily executed his wives after a single night. Scheherazade cleverly began a story each night but withheld the ending until the following evening, thereby managing to stave off disaster. This original selection includes six of the most famous tales. "Sinbad the Seaman and Sinbad the Landsman" is the story of a merchant who survives seven perilous voyages and acquires great wealth; "Aladdin, or the Wonderful Lamp" relates the remarkable adventures of a "graceless" youth and his miraculous lamp; "Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves" is the exciting narrative of a poor woodcutter who gains access to great treasures by entering a secret cave. Also here are "The Fisherman and the Jinni," "Judar and His Brethren," and "Khalifah the Fisherman of Baghdad." These enchanting tales have captured the imaginations of readers for generations. Their magical world, teeming with giants, magnificent palaces, and beautiful princesses will thrill new audiences.

  • Great Speeches of the 20th Century

    Great Speeches of the 20th Century
    Great Speeches of the 20th Century

    A great speech can stir the soul — and move a nation. This compact and affordable anthology gathers complete speeches and selected excerpts from some of the twentieth century's most memorable addresses. Writers and speakers in search of memorable quotations will appreciate this collection, as will any reader seeking historical wisdom and inspiration. Featured speakers include Winston Churchill, rousing the British to defend their lives and homes against the Nazis; Mohandas Gandhi, advocating non-violent resistance to deplorable living conditions; and Franklin Delano Roosevelt, calming the nation's fears during the Great Depression. Additional orations include those of Barack Obama, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ronald Reagan, Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama, César Chávez, and many others. Includes three selections from the Common Core State Standards Initiative: "Blood, Toil, Tears and Sweat: Address to Parliament on May 13th, 1940," "I Have a Dream," and "Remarks to the Senate in Support of a Declaration of Conscience."

  • The Cherry Orchard

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    The Cherry Orchard
    The Cherry Orchard

    The Cherry Orchard was first produced by the Moscow Art Theatre on Chekhov's last birthday, January 17, 1904. Since that time it has become one of the most critically admired and performed plays in the Western world, a high comedy whose principal theme, the passing of the old semifeudal order, is symbolized in the sale of the cherry orchard owned by Madame Ranevsky. The play also functions as a magnificent showcase for Chekhov's acute observations of his characters' foibles and for quizzical ruminations on the approaching dissolution of the world of the Russian aristocracy and life as it was lived on their great country estates. While the subject and the characters of the work are, in a sense, timeless, the dramatic technique of the play was a Chekhovian innovation. In this and other plays he developed the concept of "indirect action," in which the dramatic action takes place off stage and the significance of the play revolves around the reactions of the characters to those unseen events. Reprinted from a standard edition, this inexpensive well-made volume invites any lover of theater or great literature to enter the world of Madame Ranevsky, Anya, Gayef, Lopakhin, Firs, and the other memorable characters whose hopes, fears, loves, and general humanity are so brilliantly depicted in this landmark of world drama.

  • A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

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    A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works
    A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

    The originality, concentrated power and "fierce indignation" of his satirical writing have earned Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) a reputation as the greatest prose satirist in English language. Gulliver's Travels is, of course, his world-renowned masterpiece in the genre; however, Swift wrote other, shorter works that also offer excellent evidence of his inspired lampoonery. Perhaps the most famous of these is "A Modest Proposal," in which he straight-facedly suggests that Ireland could solve its hunger problems by using its children for food. Also included in this collection are "The Battle of the Books," "A Meditation upon a Broomstick," "A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit," and "An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity in England." This inexpensive edition will certainly be welcomed by teachers and students of English literature, but its appeal extends to any reader who delights in watching a master satirist wield words as weapons.

  • The Revolt of "Mother" and Other Stories

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    The Revolt of "Mother" and Other Stories
    The Revolt of "Mother" and Other Stories

    Eight poignant tales vividly portray patient, self-reliant heroines living in small New England villages .Well-known title story plus "A New England Nun," "Old Woman Magoun," "Gentian," "One Good Time," "The Selfishness of Amelia Lamkin," "The Apple Tree," and "The Butterfly." An excellent sampling of regional work by one of America's best-known women writers.

  • Everyman

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    Everyman
    Everyman

    Western drama, having all but disappeared during the Dark Ages, reemerged spontaneously in the liturgy and life of the medieval church. Vernacular miracle plays of England's Middle Ages were performed by lay people — many by trade guilds — unschooled in church Latin, but familiar with the biblical events upon which the dramas were based. Morality plays provided moral instruction, their principal characters vivid personifications of virtue and vice. The most durable of the morality plays has proven to be Everyman, whose central character, summoned by Death, must face final judgment on the strength of his good deeds. This venerable drama is reprinted here along with three other medieval classics: The Second Shepherds' Play, Noah's Flood, and Hickscorner.

  • Landmark Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court

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    Landmark Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court
    Landmark Decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court

    Legal drama at its finest, these are the majority decisions from the most influential Supreme Court cases in United States history. Starting with the 1803 case of Marbury v. Madison, which laid the foundation for the Supreme Court's current power, these thirteen far-reaching cases include: Dred Scott v. John F. A. Sandford, 1856; Plessy v. Ferguson, 1896; Brown v. Board of Education, 1954; Miranda v. Arizona, 1966; Roe v. Wade, 1973; Bush v. Gore, 2000; and many other important decisions. In most cases, the majority and dissenting opinions are included while concurring opinions are omitted. Brief introductions precede each case.

  • Greek and Roman Lives

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    Greek and Roman Lives
    Greek and Roman Lives

    Written early in the second century, Plutarch's Lives offers richly detailed and anecdotal biographies of some of the ancient world's mightiest and most influential figures. Plutarch sought to explore the characters and personalities of great men, to see how individual natures led ultimately to tragedy or victory. This selection from Plutarch's massive work profiles five Greeks and five Romans. The translation used here is by an unknown writer, but was associated with John Dryden's name because it was originally published in 1683-1686, in conjunction with a life of Plutarch by Dryden. In 1864, it was revised by the poet and scholar Arthur Hugh Clough, whose introduction and notes are also featured. The great men profiled here include Solon, the lawmaker of Athens, who fostered the growth of the city's democratic institutions; Pericles, whose legendary eloquence was epitomized by his well-known funeral oration; and Alexander the Great, whose incredible eleven-year journey of conquest extended from his native Macedonia to Egypt and India. Among the Romans are the warrior-statesman Marius, who opposed the ruling aristocracy and opened the army to commoners; Cicero, the famous orator; and Julius Caesar, whose extensive character sketch provided Shakespeare with the material for one of his greatest plays.

Author

John Locke

John Locke kommt 1632 im englischen Wrington zur Welt. Nach dem Besuch der Westminster School in London studiert Locke bis 1658 in Oxford. Zwischen 1660 und 1664 lehrt er dort Philosophie, Rhetorik und alte Sprachen. Sein enzyklopädisches Wissen und seine Studien in Erkenntnistheorie, Naturwissenschaften und Medizin bringen ihm früh die Mitgliedschaft in der Royal Society ein. Als Sekretär und Leibarzt des Earl of Shaftesbury ist Locke in Folge der politischen Machtkämpfe in England gezwungen, ins holländische Exil zu fliehen. Erst 1689 kehrt er nach England zurück und widmet sich auf seinem Landgut seinen Studien. Im selben Jahr erscheint anonym Ein Brief über Toleranz, der die ausschließliche Aufgabe des Staates im Schutz von Leben, Besitz und Freiheit seiner Bürger bestimmt. Die hier formulierten Ideen finden in der amerikanischen Unabhängigkeitserklärung ihren politischen Widerhall. Lockes Hauptwerk, der Versuch über den menschlichen Verstand, erscheint erst 1690 vollständig, wird aber vermutlich bereit 20 Jahre früher begonnen. Es begründet die Erkenntnistheorie als neuzeitliche Form des Philosophierens, die besonders in der französischen Aufklärung nachwirkt. Locke lehnt darin Descartes' Vorstellung von den eingeborenen Ideen ab und vertritt einen konsequenten Empirismus. Aus der theoretischen Einsicht in die Begrenztheit der Erkenntnisfähigkeit ergibt sich für Locke die Forderung, daß sich weder ein Staatssouverän noch eine Glaubensgemeinschaft im Besitz der allein gültigen Wahrheit wähnen darf. Der mündige Bürger, der in der Lage ist, kritisch selbst zu entscheiden, wird konsequenterweise zum pädagogischen Ziel Lockes. John Locke stirbt 1704 als europäische Berühmtheit auf seinem Landsitz in Oates.

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