Ingram
Все книги издательства IngramTwenty Years After - The Original Classic Edition
It is twenty years after the first Musketeers saga and Athos, Aramis, Porthos and dArtagnan have all gone their separate ways. Midlife has mellowed the musketeers and definitely complicated their perceptions. Porthos has been indulging himself with his widows money and working himself up the caste ladder but is still not entirely accepted but the upper crust he wants to become. Aramis has gone into the church and, although he dreams wistfully of the days that he was a musketeer, his scheming has become more of a way of life than a troublesome quirk. Athos is the only one who still closely resembles the man he was in his youth. Even the hot tempered, rambunctious DArtagnan has settled in to his career as a professional soldier. He is now a musketeer for the paycheck instead of the glory. Yet all deep down reminisce of `the good old days – the only question is what will they do to recapture them. <p> Mazarin has replaced Richelieu as Cardinal and the queen, once persecuted by the previous Cardinal, is now in league (or at least in bed) with the despised Italian Mazarin. Though Mazarin is popularly hated by the people, DArtagnan jumps at the opportunity for advancement when Mazarin commissions him to reassemble the foursome ostensibly for the protection of the prince regent and queen. But the others have their own ideas about working for Mazarin and Dumas maintains a delicate balance as the four eventually do come to work together though not entirely on the same side. <p> Twenty Years After is more grounded in history than the first and I highly recommend this particular book for the notes in the back. For all the criticism that Dumas plays fast and loose with history, it depends on where you place your yardstick. He moves events around a bit with people coming back from exile a year or two early and a battle being fought several years later but, over all, this is really grounded in history. The bulk of the plot is the siege of Paris by the Queen (and Mazarin) in the late 1640s. The death of Charles I and the peasant revolt are more substantial historical events than the retrieval of the Queens diamonds in the first novel so expect a lot more complicated plot as far as people and events. Dumas knew his history (judging by the degree of deviation suggested by the notes) and though he might move or bend it, he still tried for plausibility. We also have a new arch enemy in this one – Lady DeWinters son, Mordaunt, who has come to seek revenge on the men who executed his mother in the first book. <p> While still a superb adventure story, this is a more adult tale with more emphasis on psychological motivations and the effect of time on a mans ideals and motivations. I enjoyed the first one more because of the less complicated plot and swift action but that is not to suggest that Twenty Years After is lacking in any way. When taken in conjunction with the first, the idea is brilliant and brings out many more elements that a simple `more of the same sequel just couldnt do.
Plague Ship - The Original Classic Edition
Plague Ship contains the second Solar Queen adventure. Nortons four-book series about the trader-crew of the Solar Queen ended in 1969 with Postmarked the Stars This remarkable Gandalf Grand Master of Fantasy and Nebula Grand Master just recently passed away after a long and extremely fruitful career (her first novel was published in 1934, her latest fantasy in 2005). <p> Nortons Solar Queen stories are told from the viewpoint of Dane Thorson, an apprentice-Cargo Master who is introduced in Sargasso of Space, the first Solar Queen novel, as a lanky, very young man in an ill-fitting Traders tunic. Most of this authors heroes and heroines are young, uncertain of themselves, shy, with a tendency to trip over their own enthusiasms and load themselves up with guilt at the slightest opportunity. They are very likeable and their adventures are narrated in remarkably lean prose with just the right touch of description. <p> After ten years of schooling, orphan Dane Thorson is assigned via a computer analysis of his psychological profile–not to a safe berth on a sleek Company-run starship that his classmates were vying for–but to a battered tramp of a Free Trader. To say that the Solar Queen lacked a great many refinements and luxurious fittings which the Company ships boasted was an understatement. But she was a tightly-run ship and what she lacked in refinement, she made up for in adventure. Dane soon settles in under Cargo Master Van Rycke and learns to his dismay what large gaps unfortunately existed in his training. <p> Plague Ship takes the crew of the Solar Queen to Sargol, where the enigmatic feline natives seem very reluctant to trade away their fabulous scented gemstones. When Dane Thorson discovers an herb that the Salariki are willing to swap for their gems, he fears that his eagerness to make a trade breakthrough might have poisoned a native child. <p> That becomes the least of his worries when the Solar Queen blasts off from Sargol with invisible, undetectable stowaways that would brand the free traders anathema to all inhabited worlds. <p> The Solar Queen novels are prime representatives of Nortons lean action-packed brand of story-telling. If you havent read them since you were a teen-ager, I urge you to try them again. For a few pleasant hours, you will be immersed in the adventures of a likeable, feisty band of free traders on exotic, carefully-drawn alien worlds.
Mike and Psmith - The Original Classic Edition
If you pick up Mike and Psmith and expect it to be like the wacky comedies that Wodehouse composed in the 20s and 30s, you might be slighted disappointed. This is early Wodehouse, a Wodehouse concerned with school masters, ragging (an expression for creating mischief) and especially cricket. It is also a more grounded Wodehouse, a novel where the comedy is more subtle, a novel where the characters are not quite so flighty. This is also Wodehouse at his least complex. This is not the novel that shows his mastery of the convulted plot, where every word spoken and deed done entagles our heros and heroines in further trouble. <p> This said, I need to quickly confirm that Mike and Psmith is a wonderful novel. It still has a freshness and innocence about it that is highly appealing. In this day and age, of rampant murders and unclear elections, Mike and Psmith is as sunny and cheerful a book as you are likely to find. And just to show you that I read Mike and Psmith with my eyes wide open, I have to state that my early comments are not intended as criticism but as a compliment. The subtlety is the very reason why this novel is so great! It is his art in creating a scene or a character and putting in the interesting setting of Sedleigh that Wodehouse shows why so many refer to him as the Master. <p> Mike and Psmith is not the funniest book Wodehouse wrote, but it does have many incredible scenes, especially Mr. Downings search for the paint splashed shoe. Readers will find a lot to enjoy in this novel. It is an escape to a world not that far removed for our own but placed in a time that we will never see again. This novel truly scores a century!
House of the Seven Gables - The Original Classic Edition
In The House of the Seven Gables, the author tells his reader the story is a romance. What he means by this terminology is not a cheap paperback that involves swooning hearts with Fabio on the cover, but a legend prolonging itself, from an epoch now gray in the distance, down into our own broad daylight. Hawthornes specific goal is to show that the bad behavior of one generation devolves on future descendents. He accomplishes this by examining the Pyncheon family, a clan founded on Americas shores by the stern Puritan Colonel Pyncheon, who used his considerable influence to inveigle prime real estate from one Matthew Maule in the 17th century. Pyncheon carried out this task by using the Salem witchcraft scare to secure Maules execution. In his last moments, Maule laid a curse on the good Colonel and all of his descendents, telling him that God would give them blood to drink as a punishment for this evil injustice. Shortly after the Colonel builds his house with seven gables on Maules property, he dies in a way that makes Maules curse seem to be a reality. Rather than trace this terrible evil down through the ages in minute detail, Hawthorne only touches on a few important points before beginning his story in the middle of the 19th century. <p> The Pyncheon family is slowly moldering into extinction when Hawthorne introduces us to poor old Hepzibah Pyncheon. She lives alone in the ancient estate, reduced to near starvation because her brother Clifford is in prison and Jaffrey Pyncheon, a rich judge who lives in his own manor in the country, refuses to offer her assistance. The only way to survive for Hepzibah is to open a penny store in an old part of the decaying house. Just when things reach a nadir, another Pyncheon turns up to save the day. This is Phoebe, a vivacious young lady who lives in the country. This fetching lass is a blessing for Hepzibah; she runs the penny store, helps to lift the gloomy atmosphere in the house, and when Clifford returns from his long imprisonment, Phoebe entertains the doddering man with her multitude of charms. She even strikes up an acquaintance with Holgrave, a young boarder in the house. Things start to look up when yet another tragedy strikes the Pyncheon family, leading to the momentary evacuation of the ancestral estate by Hepzibah and Clifford before Hawthorne settles all accounts in an ending that is both quick and highly implausible. <p> Hawthornes command of the English language is impressive and, at times, as precise as a cruise missile. One need only read the chapter about Judge Jaffrey Pyncheons unfortunate incident in the house to grasp the beauty of this authors style. <p> With The House of the Seven Gables, someone might enjoy the eerie curse that united the Maules with the Pyncheons for two centuries. Nothing stacks up against ghosts, a disembodied hand, and mysterious deaths.
Heidi - The Original Classic Edition
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this at age 65 as much or more than I did as a child. It is well written and superbly crafted for a reasonable price. <p> Heidi embraces the sufferings of rejection and the rewards of genuine love.It shows that people do need each other and that we are all capable of forgiveness. I am told the story was built on real life experiences of a Swiss family. The description and characterization is excellent. At times you can smell the smell of the pine trees and visualize the old log cabin of Grandfather. It takes the reader back to the days before electricity and even before telephones, which in itself provides the reader with an understanding of their place in history. <p> Highly recommended as it brings hope to the lonely and the many who have known rejection.
The Prehistoric World; or, Vanished races - The Original Classic Edition
In this volume the author has sought to lay before the reader a description of life and times lying beyond the light of history. This is indeed an extensive subject, and calls for some explanation, both as to the general design of the work and what steps have been taken to secure correct information. <p> History is a word of varied import. In general, when we talk about history, we mean those accounts of past events, times, and circumstances of which we have written records. Not necessarily meaning alphabetical writing, because hieroglyphic records have furnished much true history. Hieroglyphic writing, which long preceded alphabetical writing, is itself a comparatively recent art. In no country do we find any records carrying us further back than a few thousand years before the Christian era. We have every reason to believe that the historical part of mans life on the globe is but an insignificant part of the whole. This historic period is not the same in all countries. It varies from a few centuries in our own country to a few thousands of years in Oriental lands. In no country is there a hard and fast line separating the historic period from the prehistoric. In the dim perspective of years the light gradually fades away, the mist grows thicker and thicker before us, and we at last find ourselves face to face with the unknown past. <p> This extensive period of time is not, however, utterly lost to us. We have simply to gather our information in some other way. Enthusiastic explorers, digging beneath the ashes of Vesuvius, have brought to light the remains of an entombed city. Of this city we indeed have historic records, but even if all such records had long since disappeared, we would gather much information as to the nationality of the inhabitants, their customs, and manners, by a simple inspection of the relics themselves. Everywhere over the earth, entombed beneath the feet of the living, or crumbling on the surface, are the few relics of a past far antedating the relics of Pompeii. They are the proofs positive that some people inhabited the land in far away times. <p> Our object is to gather together the conclusions of the scientific world as to primitive man. We wish to see how far back in the geological history of the globe we can find evidence of mans existence, and we desire to learn his surroundings and the manner of his life. There can be no more important field than for us to thus learn of the past. To read the story of primitive man, to walk with him the earth in ages long ago, with him to wage war on the huge animals of a previous epoch, to recede with him before the relentless march of the ice of the Glacial Age, to watch his advance in culture, to investigate whether there are any races of men now living which are the direct descendants of this primeval man.
Silas Marner - The Original Classic Edition
If you have a heart, the story of Silas Marner will warm it. You are better coming to it fresh, without knowing anything of the simple yet solid plot, so I will say nothing of it. I will just urge you to read this wonderful book. Eliot writes beautifully and from page one, you realize you are in the hands of a true artist. This is a very human, very English story of simple people living through those very basic emotions that make the world turn and give the universe meaning. <p> Silas Marner is one of the greatest novels in the English language. <p> Yes, it starts out sad, as our pathetic hero looses both his trust in humanity and his faith in God. But the power of love replaces his lust for money, and wins out in the end. Meanwhile, morally poor but financially rich, high-living Godfrey Cass provides a counterpoint to simple Silas. At the end theres a surprise when the fate of Godfreys evil brother is revealed. <p> When youre all done, before you file Silas Marner on the shelf, go back and read the paragraph about Silas thoughts when he discovers that his hordes of coins are missing. If you have ever felt sudden extreme loss, you will recognize the stages of despair from disbelief to acceptance like a man falling into dark water. Which is why this book is not suitable for children, and is most appreciated by those who have undergone their own moral redemption. <p> Silas has been the inspiration for many other characters, including Dickens Scrooge. He has been portrayed in movies, including A Simple Twist of Fate starring Steve Martin. But none is as good as the original. If you havent read it since junior high, try it again. Silas Marner is an excellent book. Theres a gem of human understanding in every chapter.
Martin Chuzzlewit - The Original Classic Edition
With this novel, Dickens left behind the shallow characters that sometimes marred his early works, and developed full-fledged people. Pecksniff and his daughters are marvelous creations that make one cringe with embarassment while laughing at their incredible selfishness. Tom Pinch is another character in a distinguished line of too good to be true Dickensian personalities, but he is shown to suffer and grow into a believable human being. The American episodes are biting in their satire, but overall they are on the money. Dickens contempt for American armchair philosophers and freedom-loving slave owners fueled some of his most pointed social commentary. As always, there is a happy ending, but the plot is more complex than anything Dickens had written before. I have read Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Old Curiousity Shop, and Barnaby Rudge, and Martin Chuzzlewit ranks right up there with his best. <p> Martin Chuzzlewit is a funny, memorable, and insightful book with a story of hypocrisy, family intrigue, selfishness, loyalty, and friendship. Dickenss use of language is precise and often stinging. The book is laced with humor in the service of more profound goals. Great read because of the combination of humor, satire, memorable characters (most especially the resolutely jolly Mark Tapley and the hypocritical Mr. Pecksniff), and a thoroughly entertaining plot.
Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education - The Original Classic Edition
Deweys classic work, although tedious at times, is a cogent and landmark exposition of progressive educational theory. Democracy for Dewey was both a means and an end to the building of a good and just society. <p> In this regard he sought to develop strategies and methods for training students through learning and discipline to become socially responsible adults and conscientious citizens concerned with the rights of others and the common good and to be equipped with the knowledge and technical skills to be productive members of society in the context of our modern industrial world. <p> Dewey is truly a giant not only of modern educational theory but of progressive humanitarian thought generally. Dewey was truly one of the great Americans of the last century of which all people of good will can be proud. <p> This book was…Fantastic; a book I would recommend to just about anyone. (1) There is absolutely no pretense of an application of the scientific method, hence there can be no mis-application; (2) This book strikes me personally as one of the least dogmatic things Ive ever read in my life. The ideas are fresh, original, and beautiful crafted and ordered; (3) Education is Socialization – an equation of broadly construed -tions that results in a statement that one can neither agree nor disagree with. <p> His writing is clear and concise (at least in comparison with other great philosophers) – writing that I would personally aspire to. His ideas, and I cant say this enough, are some of the most original Ive come across. We didnt really cover the pragmatists in any of my philosophy classes. Reading this makes me wish we had.