Commonly acknowledged as one of the earliest first-hand written accounts of history, this classic work chronicles the war between Athens and Sparta during the fifth century B.C. Its author, Thucydides, dispassionately and accurately describes the events of this ancient Greek war in a strict chronology which includes the causes of the conflict, descriptions of battlefield strategy, political opinions, and all other aspects of the war in the brilliant detail of an intellectual and observant eyewitness. Himself an Athenian general who served in the war, Thucydides ...

“The Man in the Iron Mask” represents the final portion of the third installment of the ‘D’Artagnan Romances’. Preceded by “The Three Musketeers”, the first volume; “Twenty Years After”, the second volume; “The Vicomte de Bragelonne”, part one of the third volume; “Ten Years Later” part two of the third volume; and “Louise de la Vallière”, part three of the third volume; “The Man in the Iron Mask” is a tale that brings to life the mystery of one of ...

One of the most famous of Honore de Balzac’s novels, “Lost Illusions” paints a faithful picture of the spectacular but superficial world of mid-19th century French society, and the indissoluble relationship between the bourgeois and aristocratic classes. Originally published serially from 1837 to 1843, the story features the main characters Lucien Chardon, a vain and naïve poet and journalist, and his friend and brother-in-law David Sechard, an innovative, hard-working young printer from the provincial Angouleme, with aspirations to ...

The first in a series of books about the Pepper family, “Five Little Peppers and How They Grew” has delighted readers since its original publication in 1881. This first novel introduces Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie, the children of their widowed Mamsie, Mrs. Pepper. While very poor, the Peppers live in a supportive little town in their beloved Little Brown House. The family faces many challenges, such as sickness and an overflowing generosity stinted by their financial straits, yet they accept and overcome many obstacles with an optimism ...

Written in the 16th century by a reform-minded Carmelite monk, “Dark Night of the Soul” is a treatise focusing on the metaphor of a dark night to represent a lonely phase in one’s personal spiritual life. Saint John was a Roman Catholic mystic and a Spanish poet, and this work reflects his mystical stages toward union with God. Divided into two books, the purification of the senses and the spirit, “Dark Night” describes these two phases and additionally explains the ten steps of the ladder of love, which was first expressed ...

As its title would suggest "Studies in Hysteria" is a compilation of case studies on the treatment of hysteria. Co-authored by Sigmund Freud and Joseph Breuer the work provides to alternative explanations for hysteria. In Breuer's analysis the root of hysteria is neurophysiologic while Freud proscribes it to purely psychological causes. "Studies in Hysteria" is notably for its discussion of Breuer's patient Breuer's Anna O., whose real name Bertha Pappenheim. Her case is detailed in this work and is acknowledged as the first use of the technique of psychoanalysis ...

Written in 1884 under the pen name “Nessmuk”, “Woodcraft and Camping” is the classic and timeless guide on roughing it by expert woodsman George Washington Sears. Born the eldest of ten children in Massachusetts in 1821, Sears took the pen name “Nessmuk” from a Native American who befriended him as a child. This connection and an early exposure to books on Native American culture left Sears with a life-long love and appreciation for survival skills in the forest and adventure-seeking in the natural world. Sears made a ...

Widely believed to be her masterpiece, Elizabeth Gaskell’s “Wives and Daughters” was originally published serially in “Cornhill Magazine” between August 1864 and January 1866. The work, which was nearly finished at the time of Gaskell’s death in 1865, was completed by Frederick Greenwood. The novel’s heroine is Molly Gibson, the only daughter of a widowed country doctor in a small town in England. Molly, lonely and motherless, is befriended by the Hamley family, who are landed gentry and therefore above Molly’s ...

One of the most beloved adventure stories of all time, "Treasure Island" is a swashbuckling tale of the search for hidden treasure. When an old sea captain by the name of Billy Bones dies at the Admiral Benbow Inn on the west coast of England during the mid-1700s, Jim Hawkins, the innkeeper's son, and his mother discover a treasure map among his belongings. Jim shows the map to some local acquaintances, Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney and together they plan an expedition to find the treasure. Together they set sail aboard the "Hispaniola" led by Captain ...

Written in 75 AD by the Jewish historian and Roman citizen Titus Flavius Josephus, "The Wars of the Jews" describes Jewish history from the capture of Jerusalem in 164 BC to the destruction of that city in 70 AD. Josephus was additionally an apologist with ancestors of royalty and from the priesthood, and his uniquely blended heritage allows an interesting perspective in 'The History of the Destruction of Jerusalem,' or 'The Jewish War.' Beginning with Antiochus IV Epiphanes, a Seleucid ruler who captured the city, and going through the revolts against the ...