This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic? includes a glossary and reader?s notes to help the modern reader understand Wells? commentary on this all-too-human desire.H.G. Wells? classic The Invisible Man is an artful combination of a psychological thriller and science fiction novel. A young scientist who discovers the secret of invisibility feels initial joy at his newfound freedoms and abilities, but quickly turns to despair when he realizes the many things he has sacrificed in the pursuit of science. While he struggles to create the formula that will restore his visibility and his connection to other people, murder and mayhem ensue. The Invisible Man is a fascinating account of humanity?s obsession with science and the unforeseen consequences that arise from reckless experimentation. The novel has been captivating readers for well over a century, and it is sure to remain a timeless portrayal of the human desire to overcome the laws of nature and gai
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition of The Time Machine includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader contend with Wells? vision of the future.As he approached the turn of the twentieth century, H.G. Wells explored the implications of the rising tide of Socialism and Darwin?s theory of evolution to envision a future?800,000 years from his own day?in which suffering, death, and human labor seem to have been replaced by beauty, peace, and innocent play. What Wells? unnamed Time Traveller ultimately comes to discover, however, are the horrific truths of a new Humanity, split and evolved into two separate races living in a false Paradise that actually fosters idiocy, weakness, and mortal terror. Originally written in 1898, The Time Machine examines the age-old questions of humankind?s ultimate destiny and the role we play in shaping it.
This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic? includes a glossary and reader?s notes to help the modern reader contend with Wells? vocabulary, use of science, and British references.Originally written for a magazine in 1897, The War of the Worlds became an instant, popular favorite. Long before our modern fascination with flying saucers and brightly glowing UFOs, H. G. Wells anticipated a close encounter between puny Earthlings and seemingly all-powerful Martians.A flash of light observed coming from the red planet sets the stage for a terrifying invasion, against which Earth?s modern weapons are useless. Throughout the epic battle, Wells points out that humans just might not have the talent or ability to defeat an extraterrestrial rival. Could we become slaves to a race of alien monsters? Will their heat-ray destroy all of London and decimate the rest of civilization? Can one man save the world? The War of the Worlds is a science fiction masterpiece that has fascinated us for more than a century, through at least three different movies, the infamous Orson Welles radio broadcast, and even a Broadway musical. Few books have captured the popular imagination as forcefully as this H. G. Wells novel.
The volumes in this set, originally published between 1995 and 1999, is a collection of works by leading academics on African American Literature. The set provides a rigorous examination of the effect of music in the culture of African American society, and how it has impacted the literature of African American writers, it also looks at the presentation of black women in the writings of both black and white writers throughout the nineteenth and twentieth century. Finally the book looks at the experience of black writers living abroad. This set will be of particular interest to students and practitioners of literature, history and specifically black American history.
Dirigido a estudiantes de la UNED para la asignatura "Literatura Norteamericana y Contemporanea" del grado "Estudios Ingleses: Lengua, Literatura y Cultura". Ofrece un recorrido por la vida de los autores, las preocupaciones del siglo XX en la literatura americana y presta principal atención al modernismo y al posmodernismo como grandes momentos culturales.
Get the most out of reading with this an engaging and fun guide to the deeper meanings in great works of literature! From the epic of Gilgamesh to Aristotle and Cicero, and from Shakespeare and the King James Bible to Wuthering Heights, War and Peace, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and the Nobel-winning lyrics of Bob Dylan, the world of literature is an integral part of our lives. Great literature can shape and form thoughts and opinions as well as influence politics and predict the future. Reading can truly enrich our lives, but it can sometimes be daunting to get the most out of a great work of literature. The Handy Literature Answer Book: Understand and Enjoy Meanings, Symbolism, and Signs in Great Works is an engaging, easy-to-read look at literature basics such as themes, symbols, context, and other literary devices. Different literary forms, including novels, poems, plays, short stories, memoirs, and literary nonfiction are analyzed. Hundreds of important stories and great works are used as illustrative examples. Learn about the five basic questions for any work of literature, including “What is the significance of a title?” “What is conflict?” “What is character development?” “What is point of view?” “How does a setting affect a story?” “What are the different schools of literary criticism?” and many more. Bringing the most out of the reading experience, The Handy Literature Answer Book deciphers and analyzes stories, novels, and verses through insightful in-depth answers to nearly 400 common questions. You will also read about such fascinating tidbits as ... What are the key components of literature? How is reading literature different from other kinds of reading? Why is artful reading so hard? What do poems do? How should a poem be read for its comparisons—metaphors and similes? What, according to Poe, should be the method of the short story writer? How do you recognize the difference between story and plot in a short story? How can you recognize a symbol? What are the defining characteristics of the novel? How did the novel evolve from a popular literary entertainment to the modern novel? What is the difference between drama and theater? What is the best way to understand and appreciate Shakespearean drama? What approaches should you take in reading an essay? What are characteristics of a memoir? This handy primer from two highly regarded experts also includes a glossary of essential literary terms, a timeline, a helpful bibliography, and an extensive index, adding to its usefulness. Making reading more enriching, rewarding, and enjoyable, The Handy Literature Answer Book is a wonderful, eye-opening read!
American Literature in Transition, 1950–1960 explores the under-recognized complexity and variety of 1950s American literature by focalizing discussions through a series of keywords and formats that encourage readers to draw fresh connections among literary form and concepts, institutions, cultures, and social phenomena important to the decade. The first section draws attention to the relationship between literature and cultural phenomena that were new to the 1950s. The second section demonstrates the range of subject positions important in the 1950s, but still not visible in many accounts of the era. The third section explores key literary schools or movements associated with the decade, and explains how and why they developed at this particular cultural moment. The final section focuses on specific forms or genres that grew to special prominence during the 1950s. Taken together, the chapters in the four sections not only encourage us to rethink familiar texts and figures in new lights, but they also propose new archives for future study of the decade.
Science is said to be on the verge of achieving the ancient dream of making objects invisible. Invisible is a biography of an idea, tied to the history of science over the "longue duree." Taking in Plato to today s science, Ball shows us that the stories we have told about invisibility are not in fact about technical capability but about power, sex, concealment, morality, and corruption. Precisely because they refer to matters that lie beyond our senses, unseen beings and worlds have long been a repository for hopes, fears, and suppressed desires. Ideas of invisibility are, like all ideas rooted in legend, ultimately parables about our own potential and weaknesses. Invisible presents the first comprehensive survey of the roles that the idea of invisibility has played throughout time and culture. This territory takes us from medieval grimoires to cutting-edge nanotechnology, from fairy tales to telecommunications, from camouflage to early cinematography, and from beliefs about ghosts to the dawn of nuclear physics and the discovery of dark energy. Invisible reveals what our age-old fantasies about what lurks unseen, and whether we can enter that realm ourselves, truly say about us. "
