Showing results by publisher "Charles River Editors" in Classics

A hammer no mortal can lift. A flame-haired, fiery storm god. A comic book alien-hero-god who defends humanity. The swastika. Even the name "Thursday" ("Thor's Day"). Despite the virtual disappearance of the indigenous Norse religion and mythology several centuries ago, modern society still regularly encounters the storm god Thor, who continues to be brought back to life in the form of literature and was recently the protagonist in a big-budget Hollywood movie.

Learn everything you need to know about Atlas Shrugged, quickly! This audiobook includes a discussion of the plot, characters, main themes, and political philosophy of Ayn Rand.

Everything You Need to Know About The Divine Comedy is a comprehensive guide that provides a synopsis, a description of the characters, and a summary and analysis of every chapter. You can use this as a guide while you listen, or as a way to brush up on everything you once knew and since forgot.

A hammer no mortal can lift. A flame-haired fiery storm god. A comic book alien-hero-god who defends humanity. The swastika. Even the name "Thursday" ("Thor's Day"). Despite the virtual disappearance of the indigenous Norse religion and mythology several centuries ago, modern society still regularly encounters the storm god Thor, who continues to be brought back to life in the form of literature and was recently the protagonist in a big-budget Hollywood movie.

There are few mythological characters that require less of an introduction than Hercules. His labors are known and have been reimagined by cultures far beyond their Greek beginnings, and he continues to influence modern culture in more ways than any other ancient Greek hero.

Perhaps the most famous epic poems ever written, the Iliad and the Odyssey have been read for nearly 3,000 years, making them the oldest written works in the Western world. The poems made characters like Paris, Helen, Odysseus, Achilles, Hector, and Ajax instantly recognizable, and they also influenced other ancient poets like Virgil, whose Aeneid is clearly modeled after them.

When Rand first embarked on writing The Fountainhead, her first major literary success, she intended to deliver a book that incorporated her philosophies on 20th century society while telling a story that was less politically inclined than her initial novel, We the Living. Includes an introduction with a short biography about Ayn Rand; comprehensively explains Rand's philosophy, objectivism, and the plots, characters, themes, symbols, and more.

The 1920s in the United States were known as the "Roaring Twenties" and the Jazz Age, a time in the nation that glorified hard and fast living. Nobody personified the age or wrote so descriptively about it better than F. Scott Fitzgerald. In addition to covering Fitzgerald’s timeless classic in detail, Everything You Need to Know About The Great Gatsby includes a biography of the Fitzgeralds, discussion about Fitzgerald's inspiration for the novel's characters, and a full-fledged explanation of the plot, themes, and symbols of this "Great American Novel".

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." So starts one of Western literature's most epic journeys, The Hobbit, a fantasy novel that has delighted adults and children alike since it was published in 1937 by professor J.R.R. Tolkien. Ostensibly, The Hobbit is an adventurous tale about hobbit Bilbo Baggins, who leaves the cozy comforts of his home to try to win a share of a treasure guarded by a dragon named Smaug.

Everything You Need to Know About the Count of Monte Cristo is a comprehensive guide that provides a synopsis, a description of the characters, and a summary and analysis of every chapter. You can use this as a guide while you read or as a way to brush up on everything you once knew and have since forgotten.

Few novels have raised the kind of controversy and critical discourse that Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead has. Since its publication in 1943, Rand's book has been admired and exalted just as much as it has been dismissed and ridiculed. It has generated a veritable cult of diehard fans, with the book having sold in excess of six million copies in multiple languages, while others have subjected it to harsh, unyielding criticism.

William Shakespeare is widely considered the greatest writer in the history of the English language, so renowned and respected that the time period in which he lived is often known as the Age of Shakespeare. Indeed, his genius is questioned only by those who doubt the authenticity of his authorship of timeless classics like Romeo and Juliet. As Ben Jonson once put it, "He was not of an age, but for all time."

Everything You Need to Know About Romeo & Juliet is the perfect resource for understanding Shakespeare's most famous tragedy, including an introduction to the famous playwright and a comprehensive explanation of the play's characters, plot, themes, and its influential and enduring legacy. With Romeo & Juliet as relevant as ever today, get caught up quickly with this resourceful guide.

Your Guide to Hamlet & Romeo and Juliet is the perfect resource for understanding Shakespeare's two famous tragedies, including an introduction to the famous playwright and a comprehensive explanation of the plays' characters, plots, themes, and their influential and enduring legacies. With Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet as relevant as ever today, get caught up quickly on both plays with this resourceful guide.