Others: Positive The Spartans were a society of warrior-heroes who were the living exemplars of such core values as duty, discipline, self-sacrifice, and extreme toughness. This book, written by one of the world’s leading experts on Sparta, traces the rise and fall of Spartan society and explores the tremendous influence the Spartans had on their world and even on ours. Paul Cartledge brings to life figures like legendary founding father Lycurgus and King Leonidas, who embodied the heroism so closely identified with this unique culture, and he shows how Spartan women enjoyed an unusually dominant and powerful role in this hyper-masculine society. Based firmly on original sources, The Spartans is the definitive book about one of the most fascinating cultures of ancient Greece.
Genres: classics
Lists: …
Titus Maccius Plautus
1996 · 242 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveThe first professional playwright in history, Plautus was the creator of racy, raucous, very funny plays that will make modern audiences laugh as much as the first Romans did. Plautus was the single greatest influence on Western comedy. Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors and Moliere's The Miser are two subsequent classics directly based on Plautine originals. Plautus himself borrowed from the Greeks, but his jokes, rapid dialogue, bawdy humour, and irreverent characterizations are the original work of an undisputed genius. The comedies printed here show him at his best, and Professor Segal's translations keep their fast, rollicking pace intact, making these the most readable and actable versions available. His Introduction considers Plautus' place in ancient comedy, examines his continuing influence, and celebrates his power to entertain.
What made the match, strongest first
P. G. Wodehouse
1925 · 256 pages · 1 review
Others: Positive'You don't analyse such sunlit perfection, you just bask in its warmth and splendour.' Stephen FryA Jeeves and Wooster collectionThese marvellous stories introduce us to Jeeves, whose first ever duty is to cure Bertie's raging hangover ('If you would drink this, sir... it is a little preparation of my own invention. It is the Worcester Sauce that gives it its colour. The raw egg makes it nutritious. The red pepper gives it its bite. Gentlemen have told me they have found it extremely invigorating after a late evening.')And from that moment, one of the funniest, sharpest and most touching partnerships in English literature never looks back...
What made the match, strongest first
Andrew Lang
1898 · 276 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveIn order to save her life, Sheherazade tells wonderful stories to the sultan.
What made the match, strongest first
Quintus Smyrnaeus
1999 · 316 pages · 1 review
Others: PositiveHomer's Iliad begins towards the close of the last of the ten years of the Trojan War: its incidents extend over some fifty days only, and it ends with the burial of Hector. The things which came before and after were told by other bards, who between them narrated the whole cycle of the events of the war, and so were called the Cyclic Poets. Of their works none have survived; but the story of what befell between Hector's funeral and the taking of Troy is told in detail, and well told, in a poem about half as long as the Iliad.
What made the match, strongest first
Charles Dickens
1800 · 798 pages · 11 reviews
Others: PositiveDombey and Son is both a firm and a family and the ambiguous connection between public and private life lies at the heart of Dickens' novel. Paul Dombey is a man who runs his domestic affairs as he runs his business: calculatingly, callously, coldly and commercially. Through his dysfunctional relationships with his son, his two wives, and his neglected daughter Florence, Dickens paints a vivid picture of the limitations of a society dominated by commercial values and the drive for profit andexplores the possibility of moral and emotional redemption through familial love.
What made the match, strongest first
Laozi
1842 · 116 pages · 1 review
Others: Positive"Within ancient Chinese, a sole character possesses a broad, and sometimes contradictory, range of meanings. Moreover, the Tao Te Ching is rife with terms and expressions that have no exact counterpart in English. So while the Tao Te Ching ranks behind only the Bible as the most widely translated book in the world, it remains one of the least understood.". "Jonathan Star's Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition helps remedy this situation. The distinction of this new edition is that it supplies readers with the first comprehensive verbatim translation, which can be used to explore the multiple meanings contained in the Chinese characters. This unique tool gives readers direct access to the text and a way to understand the different interpretations put forth by modern-day translators. Perhaps most important, the verbatim translation gives each reader the ability to penetrate the inner meaning of the text and come up with his or her own personal interpretation."--BOOK JACKET.
What made the match, strongest first
Loved itThis again is like one of like the sort of most influential books on the Spartans in terms of how it has kind of like made information about Spartan society more accessible to a broader audience. And again, it's continued to like inspire a lot of scholarship since then and it's a really good overview.
