Dating back to the 5th century B.C.,The Art of War is an ancient Chinese text on military strategy whose teachings have become very influential and popular in the west. Though authorship is attributed to Sun Tzu (Master Sun), many scholars believe the bulk of the text was written by his descendant Sun Bin, who lived some hundred years later. Its thirteen chapters cover such topics as Planning, Weaknesses and Strengths, Terrain, and Intelligence ...
"Modern Chinese fiction . . . looks to have made a great leap towards the bookshelves of [Western] readers."— Guardian Hugely popular in China, flash fiction is poised to be the most exciting new development in contemporary Chinese literature in a decade. Integrating both vernacular and contemporary styles while embracing new technologies such as text messaging (SMS) and blogging, contemporary Chinese flash fiction represents the voice of ...
A masterfully written collection of short essays by the recognized Western expert on Japanese culture and film and the man Time magazine calls «the dean of art critics in Japan.» Spanning more than thirty years, Richie interprets his adopted home's creative accomplishments during its rise to economic and cultural power. ...
One of the most widely read and influential works in African American literature, “The Souls of Black Folk” is W. E. B. Du Bois’s classic collection of essays in which he details the state of racism and black culture at the beginning of the 20th century. First published in 1903, “The Souls of Black Folk” takes the reader on a history lesson of race relations from the emancipation proclamation to the early part of the 20th century. Principal to D ...
First delivered as a lecture in 1851, “Walking” is the seminal work on Transcendental philosophy by American author and essayist Henry David Thoreau. Sometimes referred to as “The Wild”, it was Thoreau’s favorite speech and he gave the lecture several more times over the next decade as he refined and expanded his ideas. The final version of this influential essay was published in the “Atlantic Monthly” in 1862 after his death. In “Walking”, Thor ...
Sir Thomas Browne was a 17th century author who wrote on a wide variety of subjects including medicine, religion, science, and the esoteric. He is best known for his work entitled “Religio Medici”, or “The Religion of a Doctor”, which is Browne’s own spiritual testament and an early example of a psychological self-portrait. Published in 1643, shortly after the author had qualified himself to practice medicine, “Religio Medici” became a best-sell ...
First published in 1900, “The Strenuous Life” is a collection of essays and speeches by American President Theodore Roosevelt. The title comes from his famous 1899 speech, also called “The Strenuous Life”, which is included in this collection. In this well-known address, Roosevelt argues that the application of great effort in all our work and the striving to overcome hardship were ideal characteristics to be embraced by Americans for the better ...
Renowned steel magnate and philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie, immigrated to America from Scotland as a boy in 1848, and at the age of thirteen began his first job as a bobbin boy, earning $1.20 a week. By the 1870s, the successful entrepreneur had founded the Carnegie Steel Company, later U.S. Steel, which would eventually establish Carnegie as the second wealthiest man in history, after John D. Rockefeller. He published “The Gospel of Wealth” in ...
