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Best Latin American Literature

The Tempest (Signet Classics)
The Signet Classics edition of William Shakespeare's fantastical play that combines elements of tragedy and comedy. PROSPERO, the right Duke of Milan. MIRANDA, his daughter. ALONSO, King of Naples. SEBASTIAN, his brother. ANTONIO, Prospero's brother, the usurping Duke of Milan. FERDINAND, son to the King of Naples. GONZALO, an honest old councillor. ADRIAN and FRANCISCO, lords. TRINCULO, a jester. STEPHANO, a drunken butler. MASTER, of a ship. BOATSWAIN. MARINERS. CALIBAN, a savage and deformed slave. ARIEL, an airy spirit. IRIS, CERES, JUNO, spirits commanded by Prospero. playing roles of NYMPHS, REAPERS. Tend to th'master's whistle.- Blow, till thou burst thy wind, if room enough. You are a counsellor: if you can command these elements to silence, and work the peace of the present, we will not hand a rope more: use your authority. If you cannot, give thanks you have lived so long, and make yourself ready in your cabin for the mischance of the hour, if it so hap.- Cheerly, good hearts!- Out of our way, I say. GONZALO I have great comfort from this fellow: methinks he hath no drowning mark upon him: his complexion is perfect gallows. Stand fast, good Fate, to his hanging: make the rope of his destiny our cable, for our own doth little advantage. GONZALO I'll warrant him for drowning, though the ship were no stronger than a nutshell and as leaky as an unstanched wench. This wide-chopped rascal: would thou mightst lie drowning, the washing of ten tides! GONZALO Now would I give a thousand furlongs of sea for an acre of barren ground: long heath, brown furze, anything. MIRANDA If by your art, my dearest father, you have. Put the wild waters in this roar, allay them. The sky, it seems, would pour down stinking pitch, But that the sea, mounting to th'welkin's cheek, Dashes the fire out. Had I been any god of power, I would. Have sunk the sea within the earth, or ere. It should the good ship so have swallowed, and. The fraughting souls within her. The direful spectacle of the wreck, which touched. The very virtue of compassion in thee, I have with such provision in mine art. So safely ordered that there is no soul -. No, not so much perdition as an hair. Betid to any creature in the vessel. Which thou heard'st cry, which thou saw'st sink. MIRANDA You have often. Begun to tell me what I am, but stopped. And left me to a bootless inquisition, Concluding 'Stay: not yet.'. PROSPERO The hour's now come, The very minute bids thee ope thine ear: Obey, and be attentive. PROSPERO My brother and thy uncle, called Antonio -. I pray thee, mark me - that a brother should. Be so perfidious - he whom next thyself. Of all the world I loved, and to him put. The manage of my state, as at that time. Through all the signories it was the first, And Prospero the prime duke, being so reputed. In dignity, and for the liberal arts. Without a parallel; those being all my study, The government I cast upon my brother. And to my state grew stranger, being transported. And rapt in secret studies. PROSPERO Being once perfected how to grant suits, How to deny them, who t'advance and who. To trash for over-topping, new created. The creatures that were mine, I say, or changed 'em, Or else new formed 'em; having both the key. Of officer and office, set all hearts i'th'state. To what tune pleased his ear, that now he was. The ivy which had hid my princely trunk. And sucked my verdure out on't.- Thou attend'st. not. PROSPERO I pray thee, mark me: I, thus neglecting worldly ends, all dedicated. To closeness and the bettering of my mind. With that, which but by being so retired, O'er-prized all popular rate, in my false brother. Awaked an evil nature, and my trust, Like a good parent, did beget of him. A falsehood in its contrary, as great. As my trust was, which had indeed no limit, A confidence sans bound. He being thus lorded, Not only with what my revenue yielded, But what my power might else exact: like one. Who having into truth, by telling of it, Made such a sinner of his memory. To credit his own lie, he did believe. He was indeed the duke, out o'th'substitution. And executing th'outward face of royalty. With all prerogative: hence his ambition growing -. Dost thou hear? Me - poor man - my library. Was dukedom large enough: of temporal royalties. He thinks me now incapable. Confederates -. So dry he was for sway - wi'th'King of Naples. To give him annual tribute, do him homage, Subject his coronet to his crown, and bend. The dukedom yet unbowed - alas, poor Milan -. To most ignoble stooping. MIRANDA I should sin. To think but nobly of my grandmother: Good wombs have borne bad sons. This King of Naples, being an enemy. To me inveterate, hearkens my brother's suit, Which was, that he, in lieu o'th'premises. Of homage, and I know not how much tribute, Should presently extirpate me and mine. Out of the dukedom, and confer fair Milan, With all the honours, on my brother: whereon, A treacherous army levied, one midnight. Fated to th'purpose, did Antonio open. The gates of Milan, and i'th'dead of darkness. The ministers for th'purpose hurried thence. Me and thy crying self. PROSPERO Hear a little further, And then I'll bring thee to the present business. Which now's upon's: without the which, this story. Were most impertinent. In few, they hurried us aboard a barque, Bore us some leagues to sea, where they prepared. A rotten carcass of a butt, not rigged, Nor tackle, sail, nor mast: the very rats. Instinctively have quit it. Thou didst smile, Infusèd with a fortitude from heaven, When I have decked the sea with drops full salt, Under my burden groaned, which raised in me. An undergoing stomach, to bear up. Against what should ensue. Some food we had, and some fresh water, that. A noble Neapolitan, Gonzalo, Out of his charity - who being then appointed. Master of this design - did give us, with. Rich garments, linens, stuffs and necessaries, Which since have steaded much. So, of. his gentleness, Knowing I loved my books, he furnished me. From mine own library with volumes that. I prize above my dukedom. Here in this island we arrived, and here. Have I, thy schoolmaster, made thee more profit. Than other princes can that have more time. For vainer hours, and tutors not so careful. PROSPERO Know thus far forth: By accident most strange, bountiful Fortune -. Now my dear lady - hath mine enemies. Brought to this shore: and by my prescience. I find my zenith doth depend upon. A most auspicious star, whose influence. If now I court not, but omit, my fortunes. Will ever after droop. 'Tis a good dullness, And give it way: I know thou canst not choose.- Miranda. Come away, servant, come. PROSPERO Hast thou, spirit, Performed to point the tempest that I bade thee? I boarded the king's ship: now on the beak, Now in the waist, the deck, in every cabin, I flamed amazement: sometime I'd divide. And burn in many places; on the topmast, The yards and bowsprit would I flame distinctly, Then meet and join. Jove's lightning, the precursors. O'th'dreadful thunderclaps, more momentary. And sight-outrunning were not; the fire and cracks. Of sulphurous roaring, the most mighty Neptune. Seem to besiege and make his bold waves tremble, Yea, his dread trident shake. ARIEL Not a soul. But felt a fever of the mad and played. Some tricks of desperation. All but mariners. Plunged in the foaming brine and quit the vessel, Then all afire with me: the king's son, Ferdinand, With hair up-staring - then like reeds, not hair -. Was the first man that leaped; cried 'Hell is empty. And all the devils are here.'. ARIEL Not a hair perished: On their sustaining garments not a blemish, But fresher than before: and, as thou bad'st me, In troops I have dispersed them 'bout the isle. The king's son have I landed by himself, Whom I left cooling of the air with sighs. In an odd angle of the isle, and sitting, His arms in this sad knot.
Reviews
"For those not already familiar with the play, it is the only one of Shakespeare plays without a recognizable source for the main plot, although there is documentation for many details in the voyage literature of the late sixteenth and early seventeenth century, especially the earlier years of the Virginia colony. A compendium, "The Complete Pelican Shakespeare," with revised texts, was eventually issued as a fat hardcover, and the whole series was then re-issued in individual paperbacks. They otherwise retain the basic structure of Publisher's Note, the General Editors on "The Theatrical World" and "The Texts of Shakespeare," an introduction by the volume editor, a Note on the Text," and the text with vocabulary footnotes (embracing slightly more complicated issues, such as puns). There is yet another possible source of confusion, a completely independent "Penguin Shakespeare" series, apparently issued mainly in the U.K., and much more elaborate (closer in format to the American Signet Shakespeare and recent Folger Library editions). Although standard practices in editing Shakespeare changed over the almost fifty years separating the initiations of the two Pelican series, these changes are of remarkably little relevance to "The Tempest," which appeared in the First Folio, and only the First Folio, and in a fairly clean text to boot. Here and elsewhere, Frye's text occasionally "corrects" some of the Folio's stage directions -- which are insufficient by modern standards, and often confusingly placed -- and normalizes the spelling (the Pelican practice), but is otherwise comfortingly unremarkable, with no effort to make Shakespeare say what he ought to have said, instead of what the sixteenth and seventeenth-century texts in fact say."
"My sister purchased this edition for her class, and it has greatly helped her to make sense of the writing, rather than to have her mind boggled."
"While I would not suggest this as your first read in Shakespeare, I would still call it a 'must read' when studying Shakespeare."
"This makes me ENJOY the story, PASS the class and save TIME."
"Each Folger edition is constructed to Shakespeare's play is on one side withe explanation of terms, sites, meanings, etc."
"This book was not the exact edition of the book that I needed for class but the only differences were the page numbers and the cover, which is not a big deal."
"The Norton Critical Editions are pretty much universally loved, and for good reason - informative, detailed criticism, well-edited and presented."
"This is one of the poorest cheap Kindle editions of a Shakespeare play I've downloaded."
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Hijas olvidadas: Two Contemporary Plays by Hispanic Women Writers
Aimed at high intermediate and advanced students of Spanish, Hijas olvidadas seeks to bridge the gap between language and literature courses with communicative skill-building activities and creative approaches to literary analysis. Karen Brunschwig , M.A., University of Michigan, is Adjunct Professor of Spanish at the University of La Verne, California, and former Chair of the Department of Modern Languages at St. Joseph's College, New York.
Reviews
"Footnotes include translations of regional speech, and there are exercises pre- and post-reading to insure that the students have a thorough comprehension of the topics present in both plays."
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Lucretius: On the Nature of Things (Loeb Classical Library No. 181) (Bks. 1-6)
In Book 1 he establishes the general principles of the atomic system, refutes the views of rival physicists, and proves the infinity of the universe and of its two ultimate constituents, matter and void. In Book 6 the poet explains various atmospheric and terrestrial phenomena, including thunder, lightning, earthquakes, volcanoes, the magnet, and plagues.
Reviews
"If you want to get the tone of poetry in the 1st century, you might be disappointed."
"Book in excellent condition, translation a translation, Latin text clear and easy to comprehend."
"Good; I have not read any other translations in poetry, but I have read one prose translation."
"Usual well made Loeb bilingual."
"If I ever take up Latin again, it's good to have everything in one volume,"
"The text is authentic, and the translation excellent."
"I returned this purchase to Amazon, The Kindle edition is NOT the parallel Latin English, is a sort of PDF with pictures of the text, as far as I know this is unique in Kindle editions, you can not change the font or make highlights."
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Best Asian Literature

Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel
Writing some twelve hundred years later, the Ming author Luo Guanzhong drew on histories, dramas, and poems portraying the crisis to fashion a sophisticated, compelling narrative that has become the Chinese national epic. "By the measure of sheer density of history and drama, all other historical novels suffer by comparison to "Three Kingdoms, the great epic of the Chinese literary tradition.
Reviews
"Great book, although I should mention a complaint with Amazon for using bubble wrap."
"Interesting, if a little confusing with an enormous cast of characters."
"The book shipped quickly and was in good condition."
"I cannot express how I love the books from this publisher."
"Been looking for these books since ever, and I love them."
"The writing doesn't flow very well but the story is very enjoyable."
"This is the translation you want."
"I was pleasantly surprised to find the character drawings, ancient maps that described the provinces at the time and the people who ruled over them, and a very in depth reference in the back of the book that went into detail about several of the incidents mentioned in the story and how they relate to historical records."
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Best European Literature

The Poetic Edda: Stories of the Norse Gods and Heroes (Hackett Classics)
"The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Jackson Crawford earned his Ph.D. in Scandinavian Studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and an M.A.
Reviews
"There's a difference... actually, there's an abyss between a translation and a true, high quality social localization."
"One of the best translations I've seen."
"This is a beautiful translation and interpretation of the Poetic Edda."
"Great translation, I'd recommend to anyone interested in the subject matter."
"Clear, easily readable texts; good background and notes; works well as an introductory text for Norse mythology to undergraduates."
"Excellent work by an excellent Professor."
"Great book."
"Can't wait to dig in."
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Best African & Middle Eastern Literature

Shahnameh: The Epic of the Persian Kings (Illustrated Edition, Slipcased)
The spectacular illustrations in this edition were created from elements culled from thousands of manuscripts, lithographs, and miniatures dating from the thirteenth through the nineteenth centuries, and each panel becomes a new work of art, an exquisite collage of traditional forms. The ancient legends of the Persian Book of Kings (Shahnameh)1 were versified by Abolqasem Ferdowsi (940-1020 CE), who was born to a -family of small landowners near the city of Tus, in northeastern Iran. Unlike the Egyptian, Syrian, and other North African populations of the Roman Empire that were thoroughly Arabized after their Islamic conquest in the seventh century, Persians were able to hold on to their language and calendar even after they converted to Islam. The session ended with a cliffhanger as the hero Rostam climbed a pile of rocks, put his neck in a self-made noose, and kicked the rocks from beneath him to commit suicide.
Reviews
"Hamid Rahmanian has been able to make the Shahnameh accessible to a large audience via a pleasant and easy to read format with beautiful illustrations.The amount of work and dedication that was put into this masterpiece is just staggering, every page is a wonderful work of art."
"I had tried to read the Dick Davis more complete translation but it all began to run together after a while, with moments of power but a lot of hubbub."
"I love the classic stories of the shahnameh and I think think version is by far the best."
"Personally, I love this book for the way it brings you into another culture that feels foreign and familiar at the same time."
"This book is magnificent not only in its presentation, but also in its process of creation, from Ferdowsi's unbound imagination to great Safavid masters' miniature paintings, and finally to Hamid's inexhaustible search for the perfect marriage of the two."
"This book does not includes all the versus but has the most important ones accompanied with great "Miniature" paintings, which makes it so unique and different."
"This book is so well done and a great contribution to the world of Persian arts and literature, especially for the new generation of Persians who cannot read Farsi."
"On Shahnameh: a symbolic story of man's journey to find his higher self; a story of love, desire, and triumph written by the greatest story teller of all times, Ferdowsi."
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