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Public Domain
Classics SOON To Be Accessible Exclusively To Our
WOW Content Club
Members
 Heart of Darkness -
Joseph Conrad
In HEART OF DARKNESS, Conrad's most existential hero, Marlow, is the commander
of a riverboat looking for ivory to trade in the Belgian Congo. His journey into
the heart of the Congo is both a thrilling adventure and a symbolic excursion
into the depths of the human psyche to confront the evil that exists there.
Marlow's encounter with the mysterious and corrupted Kurtz, who dies proclaiming
the "horror" of what he found in the Congo, is the novel's defining moment, when
Marlow recognizes his kinship with Kurtz's corruption. This insight enables
Marlow to retreat from Kurtz's world and return to England. Kurtz, in his
attempts to reconcile his noble ideas with his greed, can't survive.
In Conrad's haunting tale, Marlow, a seaman and wanderer, recounts his physical
and psychological journey in search of the enigmatic Kurtz. Travelling to the
heart of the African continent, he discovers how Kurtz has gained his position
of power and influence over the local people. Marlow's struggle to fathom his
experience involves him in a radical questioning of not only his own nature and
values but the nature and values of his society.
 Beyond Good and Evil
- Friedrich Nietzche
Over a hundred years have elapsed since Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) rose to
fame from the lowlands of provincial academia. Though Nietzsche's reputation has
sometimes bordered on notoriety, his influence has not diminished.
The Will to Truth, which is to tempt us to many a hazardous enterprise, the
famous Truthfulness of which all philosophers have hitherto spoken with respect,
what questions has this Will to Truth not laid before us! What strange,
perplexing, questionable questions! It is already a long story; yet it seems as
if it were hardly commenced. Is it any wonder if we at last grow distrustful,
lose patience, and turn impatiently away? That this Sphinx teaches us at last to
ask questions ourselves?
 The Odyssey - Homer
Perhaps the most celebrated of all Western narratives, the Odyssey tells the
story of Odysseus's roundabout voyage home to Ithaca where his beloved Penelope
awaits. In stories along the way, he famously encounters Circe, the Sirens, the
Cyclops, and many, many others. This translation renders the classic more
economically than others.
The Iliad - Homer
Pope spent his formative years as a poet translating Homer, beginning with "The
Iliad", his translation of which Samuel Johnson called "the greatest version of
poetry the world has ever seen". This edition makes available for the first time
in paperback Pope's notes in their entirety, enabling us to listen in as one
poetic genius illuminates the work of another.
 The Prince -
Nicolo Machiavelli
In his most famous work, THE PRINCE (Il Principe), Machiavelli described the
ideal prince and encouraged the people of Italy to imagine what it might be like
if such a person led a unified Italy. Written in 1513 and published posthumously
in 1532, THE PRINCE has been interpreted both as a genuine handbook for
potential rulers and as a satirical portrait of certain prevailing styles of
leadership of the time. Instead of advocating a sense of moral obligation to
one's constituents, Machiavelli believed that it is far better for a leader to
be feared than liked. He believed that the ends justify the means, and deceit,
ruthlessness, and greed are acceptable in the interest of maintaining power.
Though THE PRINCE may have influenced Hitler and Mussolini, the Machiavellian
principles outlined in it have earned the work a place on many, if not most,
lists of required reading for government and political science courses.
 The Thirty Nine Steps -
James Buchan
In this 1915 story--possibly the first modern spy novel--Buchan's perennial
protagonist, Richard Hannay, averts the assassination of a world leader.
I returned from the City about three o'clock on that May afternoon pretty well
disgusted with life. I had been three months in the Old Country, and was fed up
with it. If anyone had told me a year ago that I would have been feeling like
that I should have laughed at him; but there was the fact. The weather made me
liverish, the talk of the ordinary Englishman made me sick, I couldn't get
enough exercise, and the amusements of London seemed as flat as soda- water that
has been standing in the sun.
 The Island of Dr. Moreau -
H.G. Wells
Prendrick, a survivor of a shipwreck, is picked up by a
schooner bound for Noble's Isle. On the island, Prendrick encounters the Beast
People, roughly human but with animalistic traits. It turns out that Dr. Moreau,
a scientist who came to the island years before, has been developing animals
into humans with the help of his assistant Montgomery.
When Moreau is killed,
the Beast People revert and their world becomes utterly chaotic. Prendrick,
while imagining himself to remain a cut above the Beast People, becomes somewhat
bestial himself. He is rescued from the island, but cannot shake off the
perverse vision of the Beast People as he continues his life among men.
 The Jungle Book -
Rudyard Kipling
"Oh hear the call! Good hunting all - That keep the Jungle Law! -Night-Song in
the Jungle When young little Mowgli's parents are run out of their camp by a
formidable Bengal tiger, the toddler scampers to safety alone in the cave of a
Seeonee wolf pack. Thereafter forest animals succor Mowgli and through his wits
and their kindness, he reaches adulthood. Paradox exists in this paradise, but
nowhere more forcefully than in the Bengal Tiger, Shere Khan.
In the contest
that must occur between Shere Khan and Mowgli, which will triumph: the human
intelligence of Mowgli, or the deep, instinctive cunning of the wily striped
cat? Kipling, who was forced to learn the art of self-preservation at a foster
home and boarding school, believed in following the Law of the Jungle. Part
silly, part serious, these delightful stories convey Kipling's message in a way
that children and adults alike will appreciate time and time again.
Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne
Enigmatic Englishman Phileas Fogg makes a wager that he can travel
around the world in only 80 days. With his faithful valet,
Passepartout, the two men set off on an adventure with an inept
detective, Mr. Fix, close behind. One of the classics from Verne's
Voyages Extraordinaires series.
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