Written in 1948, "The Royal Road to Card Magic" by Jean Hugard and Frederick Brau , is an important and classic beginner's guide to over 100 different card tricks. Jean Hugard, born John Gerard Rodney Boyce in Queensland, Australia in 1872, began hi…

The simple and beautiful eloquence of William Blake's poetry is exemplified here in Songs of Innocence and of Experience. This collection of forty-six poems is actually two volumes in one. After first completing and publishing Songs of Innocence in…

This collection of poems by famous English Romantic poet William Blake comprises two volumes in one. Self-published by Blake, the first collection entitled "Songs of Innocence," first appeared in 1789. This volume focuses on the pastoral and innocen…

Loosely based on the Arthurian legend of the Holy Grail and the Fisher King, "The Waste Land", which first appeared in 1922, is a landmark work of Modernist poetry. Containing hundreds of allusions and quotations from other works, "The Waste Land" i…

In "On Liberty," John Stuart Mill begins by writing, "The subject of this essay is not the so-called 'liberty of the will', so unfortunately opposed to the misnamed doctrine of philosophical necessity; but civil, or social liberty: the nature and li…

First published posthumously in 1869, "Paris Spleen" is a collection of 51 short prose poems by Charles Baudelaire. Inspired by Aloysius Bertrand's "Gaspard de la Nuit - Fantaisies la mani re de Rembrandt et de Callot" or "Gaspard of the Night - Fan…

One of the middle or transitional dialogues of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato, "Gorgias" depicts a dinner gathering attended by Socrates and a group of sophists. Gorgias, a foreigner, has been drawn to Athens by its cultural and intellectual so…

"Ancient Sorceries and Other Weird Stories" is a collection of supernatural stories by one of the greatest writers of such stories to have ever lived, Algernon Blackwood. This collection contains the title story, "Ancient Sorceries", which is the ta…

First published in 1882 and revised in 1887, "The Gay Science (The Joyful Wisdom)" was written at the peak of Nietzsche's intellectual abilities. It includes a large number of poems and an appendix of songs, all written with the intent of encouragin…

While Tolstoy may be best remembered as the talented Russian author of such monumentally great works as "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina", he also wrote prolifically in essay format on various subjects. In this volume Tolstoy turns his attention t…

Procopius, from Palaestina Prima, or modern day Israel, is an important first hand source for the history of the 6th century, especially concerning the Emperor Justinian. Procopius was an incredibly learned man, having received a classical education…

A visionary of eighteen-century English society, William Blake produced a vast collection of poetry, mythology, satires, political pieces, and prophetic works, in addition to his famous etchings and engravings. Although largely unknown during his ow…

Central to Sigmund Freud's philosophy on psychoanalysis is the idea that dreams give a window into one's unconscious desires. This is the principal argument of his groundbreaking work "The Interpretation of Dreams", published in 1899. However, reali…

Decimus Junius Juvenalis, known as Juvenal, is one of the greatest satirists and moralists in history. His works, of which sixteen are preserved, are scathing and unapologetic in their presentment of Rome and its citizens. Juvenal is also revered as…

There exists, of course, few more famous figures in the field of psychology than Sigmund Freud. As the founding father of psychoanalysis, or the clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst, his…

First published in 1751, "An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals" by David Hume, the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher, was the enquiry subsequent to his 1748 work "Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding" and is often referred to as "the se…

Upon his arrival in Japan in 1890, Lafcadio Hearn found himself enamored with the culture, people, and stories of the country, and would make Japan his home until his death in 1904. His collections of stories published during this time became the mo…

Originally published in 1938, this classic by Brenda Ueland is considered by many to be one of the best books ever written on how to be a writer. Part a lesson on writing and part a philosophy on life, Ueland believed that anyone could be a writer a…

First published in 1890, "The Red Fairy Book" is the second in a series of collections of fairy tales from around the world edited by Andrew Lang, the Scottish novelist, poet and literary critic, with translations and retellings by his wife, Leonora…

Considered by many to be the most important work on Alexander the Great, Arrian's "The Campaigns of Alexander" or "The Anabasis of Alexander" is an accurate and thorough account of the Macedonian conqueror's military exploits. Arrian of Nicomedia wa…

First published in 1851, "The Wisdom of Life and Counsels and Maxims" is a collection of essays by famed German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer. He is perhaps best known for his 1818 work "The World as Will and Representation" and developed an endur…

First published in 1528 and written over several years by Baldesar Castiglione, count of Novilara, "The Book of the Courtier" is one of the most important and definitive accounts of Italian Renaissance court life. Organized as a series of fictional…

This uncompleted suite of poems by French poet Arthur Rimbaud was first published serially in the Paris literary review magazine "La Vogue." The magazine published part of "Illuminations" from May to June 1886. Paul Verlaine, Rimbaud's lover, sugges…

American author, naturalist, and abolitionist, Henry David Thoreau was a principal figure of the 19th century movement of Transcendentalism. Central to the philosophy is a belief that people, who are inherently good, are corrupted by the organized i…

"Walden" is the classic account of two years spent by Henry David Thoreau living at Walden Pond near Concord, Massachusetts. The story is detailed in its accounts of Thoreau's day-to-day activities, observations, and undertakings to survive out in t…