Gathers translations of Plato's works and includes guidance on approaching their reading and study

A collection of the best science fiction short stories of the 20th century as selected and evaluated by critically-acclaimed author Orson Scott Card. Featuring stories from the genre's greatest authors: Isaac Asimov • Arthur C. Clarke • Robert A. Heinlein • Ursula K. Le Guin • Ray Bradbury • Frederik Pohl • Harlan Ellison • George Alec Effinger • Brian W. Aldiss • William Gibson & Michael Swanwick • Theodore Sturgeon • Larry Niven • Robert Silverberg • Harry Turtledove • James Blish • George R. R. Martin • James Patrick Kelly • Karen Joy Fowler • Lloyd Biggle, Jr. • Terry Bisson • Poul Anderson • John Kessel • R.A. Lafferty • C.J. Cherryh • Lisa Goldstein • Edmond Hamilton In much of the science fiction of the past, the twenty-first century existed only in the writers’ imaginations. Now that it’s here, it’s time to take a look back at the last one hundred years in science fiction through the works of the most celebrated and acclaimed authors of the century—to see where we’ve been and just how far we’ve come. Along with a critical essay by Orson Scott Card reassessing science fiction in the twentieth century, Masterpieces includes short fiction by writers who have forged a permanent place for science fiction in the popular culture of today...and tomorrow. It offers a glimpse of the greatest works that mixed science with fiction in trying to figure out humanity’s place in the universe. Featuring bold, brave, and breathtaking stories, this definitive collection will stand the test of time in both this century and those to come.

Quite possibly the GREATEST science-fiction collection of ALL TIME—past, present, and FUTURE! • "Nearly 1,200 pages of stories by the genre’s luminaries, like H. G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke and Ursula K. Le Guin, as well as lesser-known authors." —The New York Times Book Review What if life was never-ending? What if you could change your body to adapt to an alien ecology? What if the Pope was a robot? Spanning galaxies and millennia, this must-have anthology showcases classic contributions from H.G. Wells, Arthur C. Clarke, Octavia Butler, and Kurt Vonnegut alongside a century of the eccentrics, rebels, and visionaries who have inspired generations of readers. Within its pages, find beloved worlds of space opera, hard SF, cyberpunk, the new wave, and more. Learn the secret history of science fiction, from literary icons who wrote SF to authors from over 25 countries, some never before translated into English. In THE BIG BOOK OF SCIENCE FICTION, literary power couple Ann and Jeff VanderMeer transport readers from Mars to Mechanopolis, planet Earth to parts unknown. Read the genre that predicted electric cars, travel to the moon, and the modern smart phone. We’ve got the worlds if you’ve got the time. Including: · Legendary tales from Isaac Asimov and Ursula LeGuin! · An unearthed sci-fi story from W.E.B. DuBois! · The first publication of the work of cybernetic visionary David R. Bunch in 20 years! · A rare and brilliant novella by Chinese international sensation Liu Cixin! Plus: · Aliens! · Space battles! · Robots! · Technology gone wrong! · Technology gone right!

"Three Lives" - three short stories by Gertrude Stein - has had a curious history. First published in 1909 by the Grafton Press, this book of short stories has consistently maintained a striking underground reputation. "Three Lives" is an astonishing masterpiece when one considers that it was its author's first book. Reasonably enough, considering Gertrude Stein's subsequent association with painters, the book is imbued with the influence of Cézanne more than with that of any literary forerunner. The subject matter, two servant girls and an unhappy afro-american girl, is similar to the subject matter of the realists, Zola and Flaubert, but so different is the treatment that any question of influence may be immediately dismissed. Nothing in this writing is extraneous: every detail represents the whole and is essential to it. If we cannot look back of Miss Stein and find a literary ancestor, it is easy to look forward: a vast sea of writers seems to be swimming in the inspiration derived from this prose. (Carl Van Vechten)

This magisterial collection of short works by Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner reminds readers of his ability to compress his epic vision into narratives as hard and wounding as bullets. Among the 42 selections in this book are such classics as "A Bear Hunt, " "A Rose for Emily, " Two Soldiers, " and "The Brooch."

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is a gothic story by American author Washington Irving, first published in 1820. Sleepy Hollow is a strange little place, some say bewitched. Some talk of its haunted valleys and streams, the ghostly woman in white, eerie midnight shrieks and howls, but most of all they talk of the Headless Horseman. A huge, shadowy soldier who rides headless through the night, terrifying unlucky travellers.

This carefully crafted ebook: "The Great Gatsby - The Original 1925 Edition" is formatted for your eReader with a functional and detailed table of contents. The Great Gatsby is a novel written by American author F. Scott Fitzgerald and first published in 1925. It follows a cast of characters living in the fictional town of West Egg on prosperous Long Island in the summer of 1922. The story primarily concerns the young and mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby and his quixotic passion for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan. Considered to be Fitzgerald's magnum opus, The Great Gatsby explores themes of decadence, idealism, resistance to change, social upheaval, and excess, creating a portrait of the Jazz Age or the Roaring Twenties that has been described as a cautionary tale regarding the American Dream. Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald (1896 – 1940) was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigmatic writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century.

Brings together a range of English versions of three classical myths, allowing students to explore the ways in which they have been reinterpreted and reinvented by writers throughout history.

The character of Peter Pan first came to life in the stories J. M. Barrie told to five brothers -- three of whom were named Peter, John, and Michael. Peter Pan is considered one of the greatest children's stories of all time and continues to charm readers one hundred years after its first appearance as a play in 1904.

Meditations is a series of personal reflections by Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor 161–180 CE, written over a series of years in far-flung places as he led the Romans in military campaigns, quashed revolts, and dealt with the other tribulations of governing the Empire. It is best described as a spiritual journal, containing a record of the emperor's philosophical exercises. Aurelius wrote the 12 books of the Meditations as a source for his own guidance and self-improvement. The writings take the form of quotations varying in length from one sentence to long paragraphs. He covers topics as diverse as the question of virtue, human rationality, the nature of the gods, and his own emotions, spanning from doubt and despair to conviction and exaltation. Aurelius also sets forth his ideas on Stoic philosophy. The influence Meditations has had over centuries of thought is immeasurable. This "unendingly moving and inspiring" work is often cited alongside Jean Jacques Rousseau's Confessions and St. Augustine's Confessions in discussions of the most profoundly spiritual works outside of the Bible.