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An Essay on the History of Civil Society

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Number of pages: 237
Size: 239 kB
Book genre: sociology
Language: English
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Added: 19.08.2016, 11:43

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A pioneering work of the Scottish Enlightenment in the field of “philosophical history”, or what we would today call sociology. It deals with the social, political, economic, intellectual, and legal changes which accompanied societies as they made the transition to modern commercial and manufacturing society.





The Genealogy of Morals
A Polemic

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Number of pages: 142
Size: 221 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 05.07.2016, 01:31

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This is a book about interpretation and the history of ethics which raises profoundly disquieting issues about the violence of both. This is the most sustained of Nietzsche's later works and offers one of the fullest expressions of his characteristic concerns. The introduction places his ideas within the cultural context of his own time and stresses the relevance of his work for a contemporary audience.





The Case of Wagner

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Number of pages: 126
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Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 05.07.2016, 01:27

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The book is a critique of Richard Wagner and the announcement of Nietzsche's rupture with the German artist, who had involved himself too much, in Nietzsche's eyes, in the Völkisch movement and antisemitism. His music is no longer represented as a possible "philosophical affect," and Wagner is ironically compared to Georges Bizet. However, Nietzsche presents Wagner as only a particular symptom of a broader "disease" that is affecting Europe: that is, nihilism. The book shows Nietzsche as a capable music-critic, and provides the setting for some of his further reflections on the nature of art and its relationship to the future health of humanity.

This work is in sharp contrast with the second part of Nietzsche's The Birth of Tragedy, wherein he praised Wagner as fulfilling a need in music to go beyond the analytic and dispassionate understanding of music. Nietzsche also praised Wagner effusively in his essay "Wagner at Bayreuth" (part of the Untimely Meditations), but his disillusion with Wagner the composer and the man was first seen in his 1878 work Human, All Too Human. One of the last works that Nietzsche wrote returned to the critical theme of The Case of Wagner. In Nietzsche contra Wagner, Nietzsche pulled together excerpts from his works to show that he consistently had the same thoughts about music, only that he had misapplied them to Wagner in the earliest works.





The Old Curiosity Shop

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Number of pages: 507
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Book genre: fiction
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 17:51

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The archetypal Victorian melodrama, as heartfelt and moving today as when it was first published, Charles Dickens's The Old Curiosity Shop is edited with notes and an introduction by Norman Page in Penguin Classics.

Little Nell Trent lives in the quiet gloom of the old curiosity shop with her ailing grandfather, for whom she cares with selfless devotion. But when they are unable to pay their debts to the stunted, lecherous and demonic money-lender Daniel Quilp, the shop is seized and they are forced to flee, thrown into a shadowy world in which there seems to be no safe haven. Dickens's portrayal of the innocent, tragic Nell made The Old Curiosity Shop an instant bestseller that captured the hearts of the nation, even as it was criticised for its sentimentality by figures such as Oscar Wilde. Yet alongside the story's pathos are some of Dickens's greatest comic and grotesque creations: the ne'er-do-well Dick Swiveller, the mannish lawyer Sally Brass, the half-starved 'Marchioness' and the lustful, loathsome Quilp himself.

This edition, based on the original text of 1841, contains an introduction by Norman Page discussing the various contrasting themes of the novel and its roots in Dickens's own personal tragedy, with prefaces to the 1841 and 1848 editions, a chronology, notes and original illustrations produced for the serial version.

Charles Dickens is one of the best-loved novelists in the English language, whose 200th anniversary was celebrated in 2012. His most famous books, including Oliver Twist, Great Expectations, A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield and The Pickwick Papers, have been adapted for stage and screen and read by millions.





The Sea Lady

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Number of pages: 102
Size: 792 kB
Book genre: fiction
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 17:49

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Such previous landings of mermaids as have left a record, have all a flavour of doubt. Even the very circumstantial account of that Bruges Sea Lady, who was so clever at fancy work, gives occasion to the sceptic. I must confess that I was absolutely incredulous of such things until a year ago. But now, face to face with indisputable facts in my own immediate neighbourhood, and with my own second cousin Melville (of Seaton Carew) as the chief witness to the story, I see these old legends in a very different light.





The Importance of Being Earnest
A Trivial Comedy for Serious People

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Number of pages: 48
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Book genre: stage plays
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 17:47

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Here is Oscar Wilde's most brilliant tour de force, a witty and buoyant comedy of manners that has delighted millions in countless productions since its first performance in London's St. James' Theatre on February 14, 1895.The Importance of Being Earnest is celebrated not only for the lighthearted ingenuity of its plot, but for its inspired dialogue, rich with scintillating epigrams still savored by all who enjoy artful conversation.

From the play's effervescent beginnings in Algernon Moncrieff's London flat to its hilarious denouement in the drawing room of Jack Worthing's country manor in Hertfordshire, this comic masterpiece keeps audiences breathlessly anticipating a new bon mot or a fresh twist of plot moment to moment. A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.





A Midsummer Night's Dream

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Number of pages: 49
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Book genre: stage plays
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 17:45

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 A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of the most popular of Shakespeare’s works. The supernatural and the mundane, the illusory and the substantial, are all shimmeringly blended. Love is treated as tragic, poignant, absurd and farcical. ‘Lord, what fools these mortals be!’, jeers Robin Goodfellow; but the joke may be on him and on his master Oberon when Bottom the weaver, his head transformed into that of an ass, is embraced by the voluptuously amorous Titania.

Recent stage-productions of A Midsummer Night’s Dream have emphasised the enchanting, spectacular, ambiguous and erotically joyous aspects of this magical drama which culminates in a multiple celebration of marriage.





The Joyful Wisdom

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Number of pages: 218
Size: 278 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 17:42

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First published in 1882 and revised in 1887, "The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)" was written at the peak of Nietzsche's intellectual abilities. It includes a large number of poems and an appendix of songs, all written with the intent of encouraging freedom of the mind. While he praises the benefits of science, intellectual discipline, and skepticism, the influence of the Provençal tradition from which he drew is also an enthusiastic affirmation of life. Nietzsche additionally explores the notion of power and the idea of eternal recurrence, though not in a systematic way. Described by the philosopher himself as "perhaps my most personal book," he produced a work that is worthy of attention from anyone with an interest in moral psychology or the most essential themes and views of Nietzsche.





Titus Lucretius Carus
On the Nature of Things

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Number of pages: 203
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Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 01:56

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Lucretius' only extant work, written in dactylic hexameter, addressed to Gaius Memmius (who became praetor in 58 BC and failed to be converted) , written c. 59 BC, possibly incomplete and lacking final revision. He faithfully reproduces the doctrines or Epicurus. Epicurus was born in Samos 341 BC, after Athens had been defeated by Philip II of Macedon. Most of his writings have perished, particularly On Nature. Lucretius regarded him as the spiritual savior of mankind. Epicureanism was a missionary philospohy, aiming to give man happiness by making him self-sufficient. Its key teachings included: Study science in order to rid yourself of unneccesary fears, especially of the gods and death. Sensation is the basis of all knowledge. Pleasure that leads to pain shoul be avoided and pain that leads to pleasure should not be avoided. Pleasure means freedom from pain in the body and trouble in the mind. Not all desires are to be satisfied. Most pleasure is to be obtained by living a simple life.





Sydney Tyler
The Japan-Russia War
An Illustrated History the War in the Far East

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Number of pages: 330
Size: 5,62 MB
Book genre: history
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 01:51

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To borrow a term from the world of cinema, The Japan-Russia War was indeed a "classic". Prior to the Great War, it was the first of the 'modern wars', involving the famous Vladivostok Fleet of the Russian Navy. The war - and its vessels had far reaching efforts in shaping the history of both the nations. Originally intended for American readers, this book has now claimed its rightful place as a comprehensive guide to one of the most thrilling stories of all time.

Sydney Tyler, war correspondent and author of The Spanish War and The War in South Africa has chronicled what was then called 'the greatest conflict of modern times'. An additional 'collection' are the illustrated photographs and drawings made by eye witnesses, a far cry from present day war correspondents being 'embedded' in a particular action.A real collector's item, first published in 1905.





Discoveries and Inventions
A Lecture

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Number of pages: 14
Size: 267 kB
Book genre: history
Language: English
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Added: 28.05.2016, 01:47

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On April 6, 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave his first lecture on "Discoveries and Inventions" before the Young Men's Association of Bloomington, Illinois. In 1859 he delivered it in Jacksonville, Illinois. He repeated the lecture in Decatur, Springfield, and Pontiac, but turned down future requests, saying, "I am not a professional lecturer. Have never got up but one lecture; and that I think, a rather poor one."





Thoughts Out of Season, Part II

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Number of pages: 131
Size: 191 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 15.05.2016, 02:48



Thoughts Out of Season, Part I

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Number of pages: 149
Size: 208 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 15.05.2016, 02:48



The Birth of Tragedy
or Hellenism and Pessimism

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Number of pages: 146
Size: 210 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 07.03.2016, 02:14



Kacířka
Hledání svatého grálu 3

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Number of pages: 360
Size: 1,9 MB
Book genre: fiction
Language: Czech
ISBN: 80-86508-59-5
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Added: 22.12.2015, 02:45



The Art of Literature

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Number of pages: 86
Size: 87 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 19.09.2015, 16:57

Annotation:

Selected essays.





Counsels and Maxims

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Number of pages: 103
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Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 19.09.2015, 16:55

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Counsels and Maxims represents the second part of Schopenhauer's work originally titled Aphorismen zur Lebensweisheit (first published in 1851) and translated by T. B. Saunders. The first part of the original has been translated under the name The Wisdom of Life. Both parts, however, deal with a single treatise with there being no division in the original.





The World As Will and Idea Vol 3

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Number of pages: 467
Size: 565 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 19.09.2015, 16:53

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SCHOPENHAUER'S magnificent work, The World as Will and Idea (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung), published in 1819, is not only a masterly exposition of philosophy, but a comprehensive record of Schopenhauer's own views on mankind. The keynote of his philosophy is that the sole essential reality in the universe is the will, and that all visible and tangible phenomena are merely subjective representations of that 'will which is the only thing-in-itself' that actually exists. The defect of his system is its tendency to a sombre pessimism. An enlarged edition appeared in 1844. The chief of Schopenhauer's other works are On the Will in Nature (1836), The Main Problems of Ethics (1841), and Parerga and Paralipomena (1851). 





The World As Will and Idea Vol 2

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Number of pages: 419
Size: 439 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 19.09.2015, 16:53

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SCHOPENHAUER'S magnificent work, The World as Will and Idea (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung), published in 1819, is not only a masterly exposition of philosophy, but a comprehensive record of Schopenhauer's own views on mankind. The keynote of his philosophy is that the sole essential reality in the universe is the will, and that all visible and tangible phenomena are merely subjective representations of that 'will which is the only thing-in-itself' that actually exists. The defect of his system is its tendency to a sombre pessimism. An enlarged edition appeared in 1844. The chief of Schopenhauer's other works are On the Will in Nature (1836), The Main Problems of Ethics (1841), and Parerga and Paralipomena (1851). 





The World As Will and Idea Vol 1

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Number of pages: 443
Size: 776 kB
Book genre: philosophy
Language: English
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Added: 19.09.2015, 16:52

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SCHOPENHAUER'S magnificent work, The World as Will and Idea (Die Welt als Wille und Vorstellung), published in 1819, is not only a masterly exposition of philosophy, but a comprehensive record of Schopenhauer's own views on mankind. The keynote of his philosophy is that the sole essential reality in the universe is the will, and that all visible and tangible phenomena are merely subjective representations of that 'will which is the only thing-in-itself' that actually exists. The defect of his system is its tendency to a sombre pessimism. An enlarged edition appeared in 1844. The chief of Schopenhauer's other works are On the Will in Nature (1836), The Main Problems of Ethics (1841), and Parerga and Paralipomena (1851). 





The History of Mr. Polly

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Number of pages: 167
Size: 169 kB
Book genre: fiction
Language: English
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Added: 20.07.2015, 00:28

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The History of Mr. Polly is a 1910 comic novel by H. G. Wells.





Ann Veronica
A Modern Love Sotry

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Number of pages: 236
Size: 237 kB
Book genre: fiction
Language: English
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Added: 20.07.2015, 00:27

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Ann Veronica is a New Woman novel by H.G. Wells published in 1909.

Ann Veronica describes the rebellion of Ann Veronica Stanley, "a young lady of nearly two-and-twenty," against her middle-class father's stern patriarchal rule. The novel dramatizes the contemporary problem of theNew Woman. It is set in Victorian era London and environs, except for an Alpine excursion. Ann Veronica offers vignettes of the Women's suffrage movement in Great Britain and features a chapter inspired by the 1908 attempt of suffragettes to storm Parliament.





H. L. Mencken
The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche

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Number of pages: 229
Size: 309 kB
Book genre: biography
Language: English
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Added: 20.07.2015, 00:24

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The Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche is a book by H. L. Mencken, the first edition in 1907. The book covers both wider and lesser known areas of Friedrich Nietzsche's life and philosophy, notable both for its suggestion of Mencken's still-developing literary talents at the age of 27 and for its impressive detail as the first book on Nietzsche written in English (on only the seventh year of Nietzsche's death) considering the lack of reliable interpretations of Nietzsche in the Western sphere of letters at the time; Mencken prepared for writing this book by reading all of Nietzsche's published philosophy, including several works in the original German.





A Short History of the World

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Number of pages: 343
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Book genre: non-fiction
Language: English
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Added: 07.07.2015, 01:07

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Of the more than one hundred books that H. G. Wells published in his lifetime, this is one of the most ambitious. Spanning the origins of the Earth to the outcome of World War I, A Short History of the World is an engrossing account of the evolution of life and the development of the human race. Wells brings his monumental learning and penetrating historical insight to bear on the Neolithic era, the rise of Judaism, the Golden Age of Athens, the life of Christ, the rise of Islam, the discovery of America, the Industrial Revolution, and a host of other subjects. Breathtaking in scope, this thought-provoking masterwork remains one of the most readable and rewarding of its kind.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.





Decay - Humanity

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Number of pages: 197
Size: 244 kB
Book genre: sci-fi & fantasy
Language: English
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Added: 07.07.2015, 01:02

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The undead have risen, spreading death across a once thriving and beautiful world. Now the world is blackening, and the undead are no longer the only threat to what little life is left. Humanity has decayed, and some survivors will go to any lengths to stay alive. The most innocent of families have turned to cannibalism while violent criminals manipulate their way to leadership. 

Jonathan Sawyer, along with a small group of survivors from his home in California, head to a small Iowa town in search of answers. Along the way, however, they find more than they bargained for. There is tension in the air, and the few remaining groups of survivors spread across the earth are preparing for a war they don't even know is happening. 

Remaining on the west side of the country, Deacon Belle prepares to launch an all-out assault on an army that has taken over a small island chain. A new friend will help him uncover the beginning to Hawaii's many secrets. 

Decay: Humanity is the highly anticipated second book in the Decay: Series.





Ondřej Neff
Tma 2.0

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Number of pages: 278
Size: 555 kB
Book genre: sci-fi & fantasy
Language: Czech
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Added: 07.07.2015, 00:42



kolektiv
The Koran

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Number of pages: 897
Size: 896 kB
Book genre: religionistics
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Added: 09.06.2015, 14:25

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The Quran (literally meaning "the recitation"; also romanized Qurʾan or Koran) is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims believe to be a revelation fromGod (Arabic: الله‎, Allah). Its scriptural status among a world-spanning religious community, and its major place within world literature generally, have led to a great deal of secondary literature on the Quran. Quranic chapters are called suras and verses are called ayahs.

Muslims believe the Quran was verbally revealed by God to Muhammad through the angel Gabriel (Jibril), gradually over a period of approximately 23 years, beginning on 22 December 609 CE, when Muhammad was 40, and concluding in 632, the year of his death. Muslims regard the Quran as the most important miracle of Muhammad, a proof of his prophethood, and the culmination of a series of divine messages that started with the messages revealed to Adam and ended with Muhammad. They consider the Quran to be the only revealed book that has been protected by God from distortion or corruption.

According to the traditional narrative, several companions of Muhammad served as scribes and were responsible for writing down the revelations. Shortly after Muhammad's death, the Quran was compiled by his companions who wrote down and memorized parts of it. These codices had differences that motivated the Caliph Uthman to establish a standard version now known as Uthman's codex, which is generally considered the archetype of the Quran we have today. However, the existence of variant readings, with mostly minor and some significant variations, and the early unvocalized Arabic script mean the relationship between Uthman's codex to both the text of today's Quran and to the revelations of Muhammad's time is still unclear.

The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in the Jewish and Christian scriptures. It summarizes some, dwells at length on others and, in some cases, presents alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance. It sometimes offers detailed accounts of specific historical events, and it often emphasizes the moral significance of an event over its narrative sequence. The Quran is used along with the hadith to interpret sharia law. During prayers, the Quran is recited only in Arabic.

Someone who has memorized the entire Quran is called a hafiz. Some Muslims read Quranic ayahs (verses) with elocution, which is often called tajwid. During the month of Ramadan, Muslims typically complete the recitation of the whole Quran during tarawih prayers. In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, most Muslims rely on the tafsir.





Emil Holub
Sieben Jahre in Süd-Afrika, Zweiter Band

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Number of pages: 435
Size: 5,39 MB
Book genre: travel books
Language: German
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Added: 09.06.2015, 14:08

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Sieben Jahre in Süd-Afrika - Zweiter Band ist ein unveränderter, hochwertiger Nachdruck der Originalausgabe. Hansebooks ist Herausgeber von Literatur zu unterschiedlichen Themengebieten wie Forschung und Wissenschaft, Reisen und Expeditionen, Kochen und Ernährung, Medizin und weiteren Genres. Der Schwerpunkt des Verlages liegt auf dem Erhalt historischer Literatur. Viele Werke historischer Schriftsteller und Wissenschaftler sind heute nur noch als Antiquitäten erhältlich. Hansebooks verlegt diese Bücher neu und trägt damit zum Erhalt selten gewordener Literatur und historischem Wissen auch für die Zukunft bei.





Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume V

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Number of pages: 528
Size: 720 kB
Book genre: biography
Language: English
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Added: 15.05.2015, 14:41

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Of all the "historical" biographies of Napoleon, the one most often forgotten but one which played an important part in the creation of the Napoleonic legend was Sir Walter Scott's nine-volume 'Life of Napoleon Buonaparte'.



Review:

Of all the "historical" biographies of Napoleon, the one most often forgotten but one which played an important part in the creation of the Napoleonic legend was Sir Walter Scott's nine-volume 'Life of Napoleon Buonaparte'.
 
After his success as a writer of fiction (who can forget Ivanhoe or Quentin Durward, not to mention Waverley, Rob Roy and theBride of Lammermoor, famously made into an opera by Donizetti?), Scott (1771-1832) was approached in May 1825 by the publisher Archibald Constable  to write a book of history. Constable's idea was to publish a series of cheap books for the middle classes, under the title "Constable's Miscellany", and Scott's (initially four-volume) "Napoleon" was to be one of the first titles. Publication of the work was promised in June of the same year, whetting the reading public's appetite. But in 1826 Constable's business was forced to close and Scott (whose affairs were often linked to those to his publishers) declared bankruptcy as a result. Compounding his (and indeed his wife's) misfortunes, in May of 1826 Scott's wife died. In the period of financial and emotional instability, Scott soldiered on. And though he was assisted in his research, he also undertook some himself, visiting London and Paris in the October of 1826 (the British government gave him special access to papers relating to the St Helena episode). Wellington was said to have provided Scott with a first-hand account of Napoleon's Russian Campaign.

Scott then returned to Scotland to compile his notes, completing the nine-volume, supposedly one-million-word opus magnum on 7 June, 1827, with volume one coming out in the same month, published jointly by Cadell in Edinburgh and Longman's in London (the latter had offered 10,500 guineas to publish the work). 
French interest was naturally immediate, and the Parisian book dealers Treuttel et Wurtz took charge of the publication of the English-language version on the continent and for the French translation, which appeared in the same year as the English-language version. Translations into German and Spanish were soon to follow.
 

[Frontispiece, 1827 French edition]


Frontispiece, 1827 French edition

The work was to be received coolly on both sides of the channel, for diametrically opposed reasons. Walter Scott proclaimed his own impartiality, but as a result was criticised in Britain by Torys for his positive attitude towards the fallen emperor notably with respect to his military genius, his mastery of administration and his impressive legacy to France (the national system of education, greatly improved communications, and the Code Napoléon). However his negative comments on the emperor his overweaning ambition and his blind egotism) alienated to a certain extent part of his French readership. As for its literary qualities, some criticised his works 'poetry', other his wordy language. Yet others were to note that Scott's knowledge of the subject was extremely superficial.
 
In France, one issue was to cause particular excitation, namely the conflict between Scott and Napoleon's companion in exile, General Gaspard Gourgaud, a disagreement which nearly ended in a duel (Gourgaud was renowned for his fiery temper). The quarrel was caused by the pages in Scott's book which dealt which Gourgaud's departure from Saint Helena. Having had access to British-government papers on the Saint Helena incident, Scott affirmed that Gourgaud on Saint Helena had wanted to return to his family in Europe, that he was tired of his poor relations with Grand-maréchal Bertrand, and that he had informed Hudson Lowe, governor on Saint Helena, and later the British government directly, of projects to rescue Napoleon from the island but of Napoleon's desire to remain prisoner. 

French journalists took Gourgaud's side, as did Napoleon's other companions in exile, Bertrand et Montholon (Scott had in fact succeeded in uniting them where Napoleon had failed!). The actual duel however did not take place (Gourgaud would have had to got to Scotland) so the conflict became a war of words. Whilst Gourgaud was successfully represented as a martyr, the doubt had nevertheless been shed, and recent publications on the Saint Helena incident have revealed that Gourgaud was in fact consumed with rancour at Napoleon, Bertrand and the general atmosphere on Saint Helena and did indeed allow himself certain indiscretions and betrayed certain secrets.

Another figure unhappy at the treatment of the Saint Helena episode was Hudson Lowe himself. He considered Scott's treatment of him outrageous, particularly the implication that a little more indulgence on Lowe's part might not have gone amiss; indeed it might even have helped. But Scott had taken such great care with the passage where he presents the Napoleon/Lowe differential that Lowe could not take Scott to court.

Despite the author's claims to impartiality, modern scholarship still sees Scott's biography portraying Napoleon unrelentingly in an unfavourable light. It has on the other hand remained, because of Scott's fame, as an important stage in the creation of the Napoleonic legend.

http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/napopages_scott.asp





Life of Napoleon Bonaparte, Volume IV

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Number of pages: 499
Size: 738 kB
Book genre: biography
Language: English
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Added: 15.05.2015, 14:40

Annotation:

Of all the "historical" biographies of Napoleon, the one most often forgotten but one which played an important part in the creation of the Napoleonic legend was Sir Walter Scott's nine-volume 'Life of Napoleon Buonaparte'.
 



Review:

Of all the "historical" biographies of Napoleon, the one most often forgotten but one which played an important part in the creation of the Napoleonic legend was Sir Walter Scott's nine-volume 'Life of Napoleon Buonaparte'.
 
After his success as a writer of fiction (who can forget Ivanhoe or Quentin Durward, not to mention Waverley, Rob Roy and theBride of Lammermoor, famously made into an opera by Donizetti?), Scott (1771-1832) was approached in May 1825 by the publisher Archibald Constable  to write a book of history. Constable's idea was to publish a series of cheap books for the middle classes, under the title "Constable's Miscellany", and Scott's (initially four-volume) "Napoleon" was to be one of the first titles. Publication of the work was promised in June of the same year, whetting the reading public's appetite. But in 1826 Constable's business was forced to close and Scott (whose affairs were often linked to those to his publishers) declared bankruptcy as a result. Compounding his (and indeed his wife's) misfortunes, in May of 1826 Scott's wife died. In the period of financial and emotional instability, Scott soldiered on. And though he was assisted in his research, he also undertook some himself, visiting London and Paris in the October of 1826 (the British government gave him special access to papers relating to the St Helena episode). Wellington was said to have provided Scott with a first-hand account of Napoleon's Russian Campaign.

Scott then returned to Scotland to compile his notes, completing the nine-volume, supposedly one-million-word opus magnum on 7 June, 1827, with volume one coming out in the same month, published jointly by Cadell in Edinburgh and Longman's in London (the latter had offered 10,500 guineas to publish the work). 
French interest was naturally immediate, and the Parisian book dealers Treuttel et Wurtz took charge of the publication of the English-language version on the continent and for the French translation, which appeared in the same year as the English-language version. Translations into German and Spanish were soon to follow.
 

[Frontispiece, 1827 French edition]


Frontispiece, 1827 French edition

The work was to be received coolly on both sides of the channel, for diametrically opposed reasons. Walter Scott proclaimed his own impartiality, but as a result was criticised in Britain by Torys for his positive attitude towards the fallen emperor notably with respect to his military genius, his mastery of administration and his impressive legacy to France (the national system of education, greatly improved communications, and the Code Napoléon). However his negative comments on the emperor his overweaning ambition and his blind egotism) alienated to a certain extent part of his French readership. As for its literary qualities, some criticised his works 'poetry', other his wordy language. Yet others were to note that Scott's knowledge of the subject was extremely superficial.
 
In France, one issue was to cause particular excitation, namely the conflict between Scott and Napoleon's companion in exile, General Gaspard Gourgaud, a disagreement which nearly ended in a duel (Gourgaud was renowned for his fiery temper). The quarrel was caused by the pages in Scott's book which dealt which Gourgaud's departure from Saint Helena. Having had access to British-government papers on the Saint Helena incident, Scott affirmed that Gourgaud on Saint Helena had wanted to return to his family in Europe, that he was tired of his poor relations with Grand-maréchal Bertrand, and that he had informed Hudson Lowe, governor on Saint Helena, and later the British government directly, of projects to rescue Napoleon from the island but of Napoleon's desire to remain prisoner. 

French journalists took Gourgaud's side, as did Napoleon's other companions in exile, Bertrand et Montholon (Scott had in fact succeeded in uniting them where Napoleon had failed!). The actual duel however did not take place (Gourgaud would have had to got to Scotland) so the conflict became a war of words. Whilst Gourgaud was successfully represented as a martyr, the doubt had nevertheless been shed, and recent publications on the Saint Helena incident have revealed that Gourgaud was in fact consumed with rancour at Napoleon, Bertrand and the general atmosphere on Saint Helena and did indeed allow himself certain indiscretions and betrayed certain secrets.

Another figure unhappy at the treatment of the Saint Helena episode was Hudson Lowe himself. He considered Scott's treatment of him outrageous, particularly the implication that a little more indulgence on Lowe's part might not have gone amiss; indeed it might even have helped. But Scott had taken such great care with the passage where he presents the Napoleon/Lowe differential that Lowe could not take Scott to court.

Despite the author's claims to impartiality, modern scholarship still sees Scott's biography portraying Napoleon unrelentingly in an unfavourable light. It has on the other hand remained, because of Scott's fame, as an important stage in the creation of the Napoleonic legend.

http://www.napoleon.org/en/reading_room/articles/files/napopages_scott.asp






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