' The stories here will provoke delight & impress Joost Zwagerman's selection forms a fascinating guidebook to a landscape you'll surely want to wander in again' Clare Lowden TLS' There is a lot of northern European melancholy in the collection though often tinged with wry humouran excellent book' Jonathan Gibbs Minor Literatures' We were kids
- but good kids If I may say so myself We're much smarter now so smart it's pathetic Except for Bavink who went crazy'A husband forms gruesome plans for his new fridge; a government employee has a haunting experience on his commute home; prisoners serve as entertainment for wealthy party guests; an army officer suffers a monstrous tropical illness These short stories contain some of the most groundbreaking & innovative writing in Dutch literature from 1915 to the present day with most pieces appearing here in English for the first time Blending unforgettable snapshots of the realities of everyday life with surrealism fantasy & subversion this collection shows Dutch writing to be an integral part of world literary history Joost Zwagerman (1963-2015) was a novelist poet essayist & editor of several anthologies He started his career as a writer with bestselling novels describing the atmosphere of the 1980s & 1990s such as Gimmick! (1988) & False Light (1991) In later years he concentrated on writing essays
- notably on pop culture & visual arts
- & poetry Suicide was the theme of the novel Six Stars (2002) He took his own life just after having published a new collection of essays on art The Museum of Light


...

The Golden Age of the English short story lies from its first wide acceptance in the middle of the nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth a period when there were a great many outlets in Britain for shorter fictions The Penguin Book of English Short Stories celebrates this period through some of the most widely known writers of the time Though many of the chosen authors are more generally known for their novels here they provide some perfect examples of much shorter work Each of these concise evocative subtle & satisfying stories is a little jewel providing a small window into another world ...

Reflecting the voices of poets soldiers the families they left behind & their comrades who would never return The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry previously published as In Flanders Fields is edited with an introduction by George Walter in Penguin Classics Unrivalled for its range & intensity the poetry of the First World War continues to have a powerful effect on readers This anthology reflects the diverse experience of those who lived through the war
- bringing together the words of poets soldiers & civilians affected by the conflict Including famous verses from Rupert Brooke Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen; pieces by less well-known writers such as Gilbert Frankau & Osbert Sitwell; works by women describing the emotions of those at home; & the anonymous lyrics of soldiers' songs The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry offers a blend of voices that is both unique & profoundly moving This collection has been arranged thematically moving through the war's different stages from conscription through to its aftermath to offer the reader a variety of perspectives on the same common experiences George Walter's introduction discusses the role & scope of First World War poetry anthologies & how the canon has changed over the years This edition also contains notes & biographies George Walter is Lecturer in English at Sussex University His research interests are 20th-century literature; madness & creativity; constructions of Englishness; the cultural impact of the First World War He has edited editions of the poet Ivor Gurney's work for Everyman & Fyfield Books If you enjoyed The Penguin Book of First World War Poetry you might also like Robert Graves' Goodbye to All That available in Penguin Modern Classics
...

From Moses to Nelson Mandela speeches have changed the way we see the world & the way the world is shaped The Penguin Book of Historic Speeches gathers together the world's greatest speeches bringing together the words of over one hundred men & women These brilliant & passionate declarations by Socrates Robespierre Lincoln Queen Elizabeth I Churchill Washington Pankhurst Gandhi & many others provide a vivid glimpse of history in the making while retaining their power to move & inspire today' Impeccable Mac Arthur prefaces each address with a short but scholarly historical explanation that sets the scene perfectly An attractive volume' Andrew Roberts Sunday Times' Works well not just as an anthology but as a history' Independent on Sunday ...

The Penguin Book of Irish Poetry features the work of the greatest Irish poets from the monks of the ancient monasteries to the Nobel laureates WB Yeats & Seamus Heaney from Jonathan Swift & Oliver Goldsmith to Eilean Ni Chuilleanain & Nuala Ni Dhomhnaill along with a profusion of lyrics love poems satires ballads & songs Reflecting Ireland's complex past & lively present this collection of Irish verse is an indispensable guide to the history culture & romance of one of Europe's oldest civilizations In his introduction to this new Penguin Classics edition Patrick Crotty explores the traditions of poetry in Ireland & relates the rich variety of the poems to the long & frequently troubled history of the island ...

' This readable anthology is a good introduction to a civilization that fascinates like few others in this book there are animals who talk princesses who are locked up at the top of towers wicked stepmothers & many other themes An enjoyable book by a skilled author' Financial Times The civilization we know as Ancient Egypt stretched over three thousand years What was life like for ancient Egyptians? What were their beliefs
- & how different were they from ours? Myths & Legends of Ancient Egypt uses Egypt's vivid narratives to create a panorama of its history from the earliest settlers to the time of Cleopatra Gathered from pyramid texts archaeological finds & contemporary documents these stories cover everything from why the Nile flooded annually to Egyptian beliefs about childbirth & what happened after death They show us what life was really like for rich & poor man & woman farmer & pharaoh Myths & Legends of Ancient Egypt brings a long-dead culture back to life
...

' Burning ice biting flame; that is how life began' The extraordinary Scandinavian myth cycle is one of the most enduring exciting dramatic & compelling of the world's great stories The Penguin Book of the Norse Myths compellingly retells these stories for the modern reader taking us from the creation of the world through the building of Asgard's Wall to the final end in Ragnarok You'll discover how Thor got his hammer & how Odin lost his eye the terrible price of binding the wolf Fenrir & why Loki the trickster can never be trusted The Norse myths are as thrilling to read as they are of vast cultural & historical importance In this gripping book Kevin Crossley-Holland brings alive the passion cruelty & heroism of these unforgettable stories ...

' Burning ice biting flame; that is how life began' The extraordinary Scandinavian myth cycle is one of the most enduring exciting dramatic & compelling of the world's great stories The Penguin Book of the Norse Myths compellingly retells these stories for the modern reader taking us from the creation of the world through the building of Asgard's Wall to the final end in Ragnarok You'll discover how Thor got his hammer & how Odin lost his eye the terrible price of binding the wolf Fenrir & why Loki the trickster can never be trusted The Norse myths are as thrilling to read as they are of vast cultural & historical importance In this gripping book Kevin Crossley-Holland brings alive the passion cruelty & heroism of these unforgettable stories ...

For the puzzle fanatic A collection of challenges from throughout history featuring some of the greatest ever puzzle masters -------------------------- A Sumerian Riddle (circa 18th Century) There is a house The blind enter it & then come out seeing What is that house? --------------------------A Charade I have wings yet never fly
- I have sails yet never go
- I cant keep still if I try Yet forever stand just so-------------------------- From the riddles of the ancients to puzzles that perplex the greatest minds of today The Penguin Book of Puzzles is a glorious compendium of conundrums from throughout history These challenges will require all the reader's wits to solve but range from the easy to the brain-bending & are suitable for novice & veteran puzzlers alike There is something here to suit every taste including crosswords mathematical challenges word games & logic conundrums but also some intriguing types of puzzles that have been unearthed from centuries gone by Timeless & entertaining there are hours of fun waiting in this miscellany of puzzlement

...

The era between the accession of Henry VIII & the crisis of the English republic in 1659 formed one of the most fertile epochs in world literature This anthology offers a broad selection of its poetry &

Includes:: a wide range of works by the great poets of the age
- notably Sir Philip Sidney Edmund Sepnser John Donne William Shakespeare & John Milton Poems by less well-known writers also feature prominently
- among them significant female poets such as Lady Mary Wroth & Katherine Philips Compelling & exhilarating this landmark collection illuminates a time of astonishing innovation imagination & diversity



...