eBooks de Biografías, página 10 de 948

The Trial is the terrifying tale of Josef K., a respectable bank officer who is suddenly and inexplicably arrested and must defend himself against a charge about which he can get no information. Whether read as an existential tale, a parable, or a prophecy of the excesses of modern bureaucracy wedded to the madness of totalitarianism, The Trial has resonated with chilling truth for generations of readers.

"Before hearing my death sentence I was aware that my lungs breathed, that my heart beat, and that my body lived in the community of other men; now, I plainly saw that a barrier had sprung up between them and me. Nothing was the same as before." The imprisoned narrator of this profoundly moving novel awaits executionand waits, and waits. Although his guilt is undeniable, his essential humanity emerges as he struggles with the certainty of impending death.Victor Hugos impassioned early work carries the same power and universality as Les Miserables. A vocal opponent to the barbarity of the guillotine, Hugo attempted to arouse compassion in the service of justice. This tale distills his beliefs and offers a highly significant contribution to the ongoing debate over the death penalty. A new Foreword by activist David Dow examines the message and relevance of Hugos story to modern society.

Moby-Dick is one of the great epics in all of literature. Captain Ahabs hunt for the white whale drives the narrative at a relentless pace, while Ishmaels meditations on whales and whaling, on the sublime indifference of nature, and on the grimy physical details of the extraction of oil provide a reflective counterpoint to the headlong idolatrous quest. Sometimes read as a terrifying study of monomania or as a critical inquiry into the effects of reducing life to symbols, Moby-Dick also offers colorful and often comic glimpses of life aboard a whaling ship.

A semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916. It tells the story of Stephen Dedaluss childhood and youth in Dublin; his quest for identity through art, and his gradual emancipation from the claims of family, religion and Ireland itself. It is also an oblique self-portrait of the young James Joyce and a universal testament to the artists eternal imagination.

The Meaning Of The Glorious Quran is an explanatory translation of the Quran by Marmaduke Pickthall. In 1928, Pickthall took a two-year sabbatical to complete his translation, a work that he considered the summit of his achievement. Pickthall noted the impossibility of perfectly translating the Arabic into English, and he titled his work The Meaning of the Glorious Quran. It was the first translation by a Muslim whose native language was English, and remains among the two most popular translations.

Les Misérables (1862) is a novel by French author Victor Hugo, and among the best-known novels of the 19th century. It follows the lives and interactions of several French characters over a twenty year period in the early 19th century that starts in the year of Napoleons final defeat. Principally focusing on the struggles of the protagonistex-convict Jean Valjeanwho seeks to redeem himself, the novel also examines the impact of Valjeans actions for the sake of social commentary. It examines the nature of good, evil, and the law, in a sweeping story that expounds upon the history of France, architecture of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, law, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love. Les Miserables is known to many through its numerous stage and screen adaptations, of which the most famous is the stage musical of the same name, sometimes abbreviated "Les Mis" or "Les Miz" .

In the vaulted Gothic towers of Notre-Dame lives Quasimodo, the hunchbacked bellringer. Mocked and shunned for his appearance, he is pitied only by Esmerelda, a beautiful gypsy dancer to whom he becomes completely devoted. Esmerelda, however, has also attracted the attention of the sinister archdeacon Claude Frollo, and when she rejects his lecherous approaches, Frollo hatches a plot to destoy her that only Quasimodo can prevent. Victor Hugos sensational, evocative novel brings life to the medieval Paris he loved, and mourns its passing in one of the greatest historical romances of the nineteenth century.

Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde is a novella by the Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson first published in 1886. The work is commonly known today as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or simply Jekyll & Hyde.] It is about a London lawyer named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr. Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The novellas impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the very phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" coming to mean a person who is vastly different in moral character from one situation to the next.

My book on Animal Life and Intelligence being out of print, I undertook to revise it for a new Edition. As the work of revision proceeded, however, it appeared that the amended treatment would not fall conveniently under the previous scheme of arrangement. I therefore decided to write a new book under the title of Animal Behaviour. A few passages from the older work have been introduced, and some of the observations and conclusions already published in greater detail in Habit and Instinct have been summarized. But it will be found that these occupy a relatively small space in the following pages.

Romeo and Juliet is a tragic play written early in the career of William Shakespeare about two teenage "star-crossd lovers" whose untimely deaths ultimately unite their feuding households. It was among Shakespeares most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal "young lovers".

Written in the form of a Socratic dialogue, The Republic is an investigation into the nature of an ideal society. In this far-reaching and profoundly influential treatise, Plato explores the concept of justice, the connection between politics and psychology, the difference between words and what they represent, and the roles of art and education, among many other topics. A towering achievement of philosophical insight, The Republic is as relevant to readers today as it was to the citizens of ancient Athens.This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Jonathan Swift - Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships, better known simply as Gullivers Travels (1726, amended 1735), is a novel by Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, that is both a satire on human nature and a parody of the "travellers tales" literary subgenre. It is Swifts best known full-length work.

Scandalously frank, wittily erudite, mercurially eloquent, resourcefully comic and generously humane, Ulysses offers the reader a life-changing experience. James Joyces astonishing masterpiece tells of the diverse events which befall Leopold Bloom and Stephen Dedalus in Dublin on 16 June 1904, during which Blooms voluptuous wife, Molly, commits adultery. Initially deemed obscene in England and the USA, this richly-allusive novel, revolutionary in its Modernistic experimentalism, was hailed as a work of genius by W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot and Ernest Hemingway.

"A whole moment of happiness!Is that too little for the whole of a mans life?"White Nights is a novella by Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821-1881).First published in 1848, it was translated in English by Constance Garnett (18611946) in 1918.White Nights is a masterpiece of romantic love. It tells the story of a young man who lives in St. Petersburg and uses to walk alone all night long.One night, he encounters a girl, alone as him, named NastenkaThe novella has been adapted for the screen numerous times, including the 2008 movie Two Lovers, starring Gwyneth Paltrow.

Il fu Mattia Pascal e un celebre romanzo di Luigi Pirandello che apparve dapprima a puntate sulla rivista "Nuova Antologia" nel 1904 e che fu pubblicato in volume nello stesso anno. Fu il primo grande successo di Pirandello, scritto in un momento difficile della sua vita.Luoghi e tempi non sono molto bene specificati, in quanto la storia e un enorme flashback. Possiamo tuttavia identificare dei luoghi chiave (come la Via Ripetta a Roma, Oneglia (Imperia), Nizza e Montecarlo). Possiamo inoltre immaginare che il periodo sia a cavallo tra la fine dellOttocento e gli inizi del Novecento (periodo in cui e vissuto Pirandello), anche se questo romanzo e incredibilmente attuale. La storia non ha una durata precisa pero possiamo affermare che vi e un periodo di tempo in cui si svolge il clou della storia (cioe due anni e mezzo circa).

"The Picture of Dorian Gray" is Oscar Wildes classic tale of the moral decline of its title character, Dorian Gray. When Dorian has his portrait painted by Basil Hallward and wishes that he would stay young while his picture changes, his wish comes true. In exchange for this Dorian gives up his soul and as he ages the bad deeds that he commits are reflected in his painting and not him. "The Picture of Dorian Gray", arguably Wildes most popular work, was considered quite scandalous when it was first published in the late 1800s in Victorian England.

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect. He was laying on his hard, as it were armor-plated, back and when he lifted his head a little he could see his domelike brown belly divided into stiff arched segments on top of which the bed quilt could hardly keep in position and was about to slide off completely. His numerous legs, which were pitifully thin compared to the rest of his bulk, waved helplessly before his eyes. With this startling, bizarre, yet surprisingly funny first opening, Kafka begins his masterpiece, The Metamorphosis. It is the story of a young man who, transformed overnight into a giant beetle-like insect, becomes an object of disgrace to his family, an outsider in his own home, a quintessentially alienated man. A harrowing though absurdly comic meditation on human feelings of inadequacy, guilt, and isolation, The Metamorphosis has taken its place as one of the most widely read and influential works of twentieth-century fiction...

Jane Eyre, the story of a young girl and her passage into adulthood, was an immediate commercial success at the time of its original publication in 1847. Its representation of the underside of domestic life and the hypocrisy behind religious enthusiasm drew both praise and bitter criticism, while Charlotte Brontes striking expose of poor living conditions for children in charity schools as well as her poignant portrayal of the limitations faced by women who worked as governesses sparked great controversy and social debate. Jane Eyre, Brontes best-known novel, remains an extraordinary coming-of-age narrative, and one of the great classics of literature.

Discussed and debated from time immemorial, the concept of personal liberty went without codification until the 1859 publication of On Liberty. John Stuart Mills complete and resolute dedication to the cause of freedom inspired this treatise, an enduring work through which the concept remains well known and studied.The British economist, philosopher, and ethical theorists argument does not focus on "the so-called Liberty of the Willbut Civil, or Social Liberty: the nature and limits of the power which can be legitimately exercised by society over the individual." Mill asks and answers provocative questions relating to the boundaries of social authority and individual sovereignty. In powerful and persuasive prose, he declares that there is "one very simple principle" regarding the use of coercion in society one may only coerce others either to defend oneself or to defend others from harm.The new edition offers students of political science and philosophy, in an inexpensive volume, one of the most influential studies on the nature of individual liberty and its role in a democratic society.

Dubliners is a collection of fifteen short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They form a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century.The stories were written when Irish nationalism was at its peak, and a search for a national identity and purpose was raging; at a crossroads of history and culture, Ireland was jolted by various converging ideas and influences. They centre on Joyces idea of an epiphany: a moment where a character experiences a life-changing self-understanding or illumination. Many of the characters in Dubliners later appear in minor roles in Joyces novel Ulysses. The initial stories in the collection are narrated by child protagonists, and as the stories continue, they deal with the lives and concerns of progressively older people. This is in line with Joyces tripartite division of the collection into childhood, adolescence and maturity.