Showing results by narrator "Mark Bowen" in All Categories

Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 1924 and of the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1924. Under his administration, Russia, and later the Soviet Union, became a one-party socialist state governed by the Communist Party. Ideologically a Marxist, his developments to the ideology are called Leninism.

A Confession, or My Confession, is a short work on the subject of melancholia, philosophy and religion by the acclaimed Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy. It was written in 1879 to 1880, when Tolstoy was in his early fifties. The book is a brief autobiographical story of the author's struggle with a mid-life existential crisis. It describes his search for the answer to the ultimate philosophical question: "If God does not exist, since death is inevitable, what is the meaning of life?." Without the answer to this, for him, life had become "impossible".

The Emerald Tablets of Thoth the Atlantean: Illustrated is a captivating edition that unveils the ancient wisdom and esoteric teachings attributed to Thoth, an enigmatic figure often associated with ancient Egyptian mythology. This edition presents the profound insights of Thoth, as recorded in the mystical Emerald Tablets, complemented by evocative illustrations that enhance the reader's journey into the realms of mysticism and ancient knowledge.

"In the Penal Colony" is a short story by Franz Kafka written in German in October 1914, revised in November 1918, and first published in October 1919. As in some of Kafka's other writings, the narrator in this story seems detached from, or perhaps numbed by, events that one would normally expect to be registered with horror. Internal clues and the setting on an island suggest Octave Mirbeau's The Torture Garden as an influence.

The best collection of Russian short stories includes: Fyodor Dostoevsky: Notes from the Underground, The Dream of a Ridiculous Man, The Beggar Boy at Christ's Christmas Tree. Leo Tolstoy: The Death of Ivan Ilyich, Kholstomer, the Story of a Horse, Alyosha the Pot, A Letter to a Hindu, A Confession, God Sees the Truth, but Waits, A Russian Christmas Party. Anton Chekhov: Kashtanka, Gusev, The Darling, The Lady with the Dog, A Slander, The Horse-Stealers, The Petchenyeg, A Dead Body, A Happy Ending, The Looking-GlassOld Age, Darkness, The Beggar, In Trouble, Frost, Minds in Ferment, Gone Astray.

Worms of the Earth is a dark fantasy story by Robert E. Howard, first published in 1932. Set in the world of Roman-occupied Britain, the tale follows Bran Mak Morn, the last king of the Picts, as he seeks revenge against the oppressive Roman Empire. When a Roman official publicly tortures and humiliates one of Bran's people, the Pictish leader turns to an ancient, forbidden race— the Worms of the Earth— for help in exacting his vengeance.

Adjustment Team is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Orbit Science Fiction (September–October 1954, No. 4) with illustration by Faragasso. A man called the Clerk approaches a talking dog, and explains in businesslike manner that "Sector T137" is scheduled for "adjustment" at 9 o'clock. He instructs the dog to bark at exactly 8:15, which the Clerk explains will summon "A Friend with a Car", which will take real estate salesman Ed Fletcher to work before 9, but while the Clerk is preoccupied, the dog falls asleep and as a result barks a minute too late.

This curated collection of seven groundbreaking works brings together some of the most transformative and inspiring books ever written. Designed to empower readers to unlock their potential, achieve success, and create lasting positive change, this anthology combines timeless wisdom with beautifully illustrated editions to enhance the reading experience. The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason: Discover financial freedom through ancient Babylonian parables, offering practical principles on saving, investing, and wealth creation.

"The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" is an 1865 short story by Mark Twain. It was his first great success as a writer and brought him national attention. The story has also been published as "Jim Smiley and His Jumping Frog" (its original title) and "The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County". In it, the narrator retells a story he heard from a bartender, Simon Wheeler, at the Angels Hotel in Angels Camp, California, about the gambler Jim Smiley.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society, and his ideology was disseminated through dozens of published essays and more than 1,500 public lectures. Emerson gradually moved away from the religious and social beliefs of his contemporaries, formulating and expressing the philosophy of transcendentalism in his 1836 essay Nature.

The Kybalion is a book originally published in 1908 by "Three Initiates" (often identified as the New Thought pioneer William Walker Atkinson, 1862–1932) that purports to convey the teachings of Hermes Trismegistus. While it shares with ancient and medieval Hermetic texts a number of traits such as philosophical mentalism, the concept of 'as above, so below', and the idea that everything consists of gendered polar opposites, as a whole it is more indebted to the ideas of modern occultist authors, especially those of the New Thought movement to which Atkinson belonged.

Contents: Napoleon Hill. Think and Grow Rich (The text is reproduced from the original publications of 1937), George Samuel Clason. The Richest Man In Babylon (The text is reproduced from the original publications of 1920-1924), James Allen. As A Man Thinketh, James Allen. Out from the Heart, Kahlil Gibran. The Prophet, Sun Tzu. The Art of War, Lao Tzu. The Tao Te Ching, Confucius. Analects, Benjamin Franklin. The Way to Wealth, Benjamin Franklin. The Autobiography, Marcus Aurelius Antoninus. The Meditations Of The Emperor, Russell H. Conwell Every Man His Own University, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Self-reliance.

"The Homeric Hymns: Ancient Literature" invites readers on a timeless journey through the mythological tapestry of ancient Greece. This collection of the Homeric Hymns, attributed to the legendary poet Homer, presents a vivid and poetic exploration of the pantheon of Greek gods and goddesses. These hymns, originating in the archaic period of Greek history, serve as both spiritual invocations and poetic tributes to the deities of Olympus.

10 Masterpieces you have to read before you die is the book that everyone should read to understand themselves and each other. The authors and works for this book were selected, as a result of numerous studies, analysis of the texts over the past 100 years and the demand for readers. It must be read in order to understand the world around us, its history, to recognize the heroes, to understand the winged expressions and jokes that come from these literary works. Reading these books will mean the discovery of a world of self-development and self-expression for each person.

This collection presents the works of the three fathers of ancient Greek tragedies: Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. The reader of this collection will be able to comprehend how the plots and conflicts populating classical tragedy developed. The principle theme of Aeschylus' tragedies is the idea of fate being omnipotent and the futility in struggling against it. The tragedies of Sophocles reflect the era of the Greeks' victorious war against the Persians, which opened up commercial prosperity through trade.

A small, dark speck becomes the starting point for a cascade of thought—quiet, precise, wandering. In a room with a fire, a cigarette, and silence thick as dust, a mind drifts from memory to philosophy, from loss to structure, from trees to snails. Virginia Woolf's voice here is both still and restless, charting the motion of consciousness as it moves without hurry or warning.

Passing is a novel by American author Nella Larsen, first published in 1929. Set primarily in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City in the 1920s, the story centers on the reunion of two childhood friends—Clare Kendry and Irene Redfield—and their increasing fascination with each other's lives. The title refers to the practice of "racial passing", which is a key element of the novel. Clare Kendry's attempt to pass as white for her husband, John (Jack) Bellew, is significant and is a catalyst for the tragic events.

The Corpus Hermeticum is a collection of 17 Greek writings whose authorship is traditionally attributed to the legendary Hellenistic figure Hermes Trismegistus, a syncretic combination of the Greek god Hermes and the Egyptian god Thoth. The treatises were originally written between c. 100 and c. 300 CE, but the collection as known today was first compiled by medieval Byzantine editors. It was translated into Latin in the 15th century by the Italian humanist scholars Marsilio Ficino (1433–1499) and Lodovico Lazzarelli (1447–1500).

Emma Goldman (1869 – 1940) was an anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the 20th century. In this essay, (1910) Goldman sets forth her interpretation of the ideology of anarchism. Like most anarchists, she was highly idealistic; believing that human nature was inherently good, she was convinced that a state of absolute freedom would maximize human happiness and productivity.

The Shadow Kingdom is one of the earliest examples of sword-and-sorcery fiction, written by Robert E. Howard in 1929. The story is set in the mythic past, in the ancient kingdom of Valusia, ruled by King Kull, a barbarian warrior from Atlantis. As Kull takes the throne, he faces a hidden and insidious threat from a race of shape-shifting serpent people who have secretly controlled the kingdom for generations. The story explores themes of power, betrayal, and identity, blending elements of fantasy, horror, and adventure.