Bücher veröffentlicht von Benediction Classics

The Iliad is the earliest work of Western literature, and along with the Odyssey is the wellspring for much of Western culture. Homer, called "the teacher of all Greece," and "the leader of Greek culture," by Plato, has had an immense influence on the Western imagination.

The Personal Memoirs of Ulysses S. Grant "are well observed, often humorous, invariably charming, penetrating and lucid. On every page, his narrative has the simple directness of the finest English prose." Robert McCrum, The Guardian.The Personal Memoirs, "perhaps the most widely acclaimed of all American memoirs" (The New York Times) have equal value as history and as literature and are so beautifully written that at first many believed that it was the work of Grant's friend, Mark Twain.The Personal Memoirs cover President Grant's life including his seven years of poverty as a hardscrabble farmer just before joining the Union Army. They record his recollections of the Civil War and Reconstruction, expressing his sadness at the defeat of the South: "[I felt] sad and depressed ... at the downfall of a foe who had fought so long and valiantly, though the cause was, I believe, one of the worst for which people have fought." As a war hero, widely credited as the General who "saved the Union." he was easily elected President in 1868 in the first Presidential election after the civil war and was re-elected in 1872. During his tenure, he oversaw the forceful prosecution of the Ku Klux Klan, the promotion of African American rights and Native American rights and safety, and the appointment of minorities to high governmental positions.In 1884 Grant was diagnosed with throat cancer, and, having been swindled out of his savings, he embarked on The Personal Memoirs to provide for his wife's financial future. Mark Twain, aware of Grant's financial straits, published the work under very generous terms. The book, completed in the month before Grant's death, was a huge financial success, with his widow receiving the largest royalty check to date. Critic Edmund Wilson, ranking Grant with Walt Whitman and Henry Thoreau, believes writing that this powerful autobiography is "a unique expression of the national character. [Grant] has conveyed the suspense which was felt by himself and his army and by all who believed in the Union cause. The reader finds himself on edge to know how the civil war is coming out."Robert McCrum concludes in The Guardian: "Throughout this very substantial autobiography, like the great man he was, Grant is supremely generous to his enemies, loyal to his friends and associates, and always devoted to another civil war hero, his president, Abraham Lincoln. The overall effect is both intimate and majestic."Read it for a gripping eyewitness account of the Civil War and Reconstruction.

"It is altogether the best boy's story I ever read. It will be an immense success" stated William Dean Howells, the great American editor of his day. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer lived up Howells' prediction and is regarded as one of the great American stories, being loved by children and adults. Tom Sawyer is an intelligent resourceful orphan who enjoys a life of freedom, unsheltered from life's hardships: the life that most children secretly or not-so-secretly yearn for. He is an immediately attractive character who draws the reader through his adventures; falling in love, being dumped, becoming a pirate, being thought to be dead, fearing that he would surely die, uncovering a murder, finding hidden treasure, and all the while skipping school and playing pranks.Twain's characters are surprising, unforgettable and truly human. The plot combines adventure, suspense and mischief with the darker side of humanity: murder, deceit, brutality and racial prejudice. Twain's trademark humor and observations of human nature are never far. Mark Twain's record of reported speech precisely captures the language of the Antebellum South, and so, as one might expect, there are words that are unacceptable today. Since times have changed, these have also been changed, but otherwise the text is original. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, initially a commercial failure, soon became his bestselling book, and today is regarded by many as a masterpiece of America literature. Features of this edition: · Complete and unabridged.· Includes 161 original illustrations· Crisp text set in modern easily-read font. Mark Twain, the pen name of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 - April 21, 1910) was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was lauded as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," and William Faulkner called him "the father of American literature".

This edition contains two of the best adventure stories of all time -- "Treasure Island" and "Kidnapped".