Great Ideas

Useful Work v. Useless Toil

William Morris

Brings you the works of thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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A Confession

Leo Tolstoy

Describes Tolstoy’s crisis of depression and estrangement from the world. This work describes his search for ‘a practical religion not promising future bliss but giving bliss on earth’.

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Man Alone with Himself

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche was one of the most revolutionary thinkers in Western philosophy. Here he sets out his subversive views in a series of aphorisms on subjects ranging from art to…

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The Lamp of Memory

John Ruskin

States that ancient buildings must be conserved for their deep, mystical links with the past and that creative design is essential - not for financial gain, but to communicate eternal…

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The Sickness Unto Death

Soren Kierkegaard

Influencing philosophers such as Sartre and Camus, and still modern in its psychological insights, this work explores the concept of ‘despair’ as a symptom of the human condition and describes…

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The Fastidious Assassins

Albert Camus

Presents a critique of communism and how it had gone wrong behind the Iron Curtain. This work examines the revolutions in France and Russia, and argues that since they were…

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The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Walter Benjamin

Explores how the age of mass media means audiences can listen to or see a work of art repeatedly - and what the troubling social and political implications of this…

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Days of Reading

Marcel Proust

Features essays about why we read. This work explores the pleasures and trials that we take from books, as well as explaining the beauty of Ruskin and his work, and…

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Books v. Cigarettes

George Orwell

Explores everything from the perils of second-hand bookshops to the dubious profession of being a critic, from freedom of the press to what patriotism really means.

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Human Happiness

Blaise Pascal

Created by the seventeenth-century philosopher and mathematician Pascal, the essays contained in this work are a curiously optimistic look at whether humans can ever find satisfaction and real joy in…

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The Art of War

Sun-tzu

States that throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. This…

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Why I Write

George Orwell

Whether puncturing the lies of politicians, wittily dissecting the English character or telling unpalatable truths about war, Orwell’s timeless, uncompromising essays are more relevant, entertaining and essential than ever in…

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Civilization and its Discontents

Sigmund Freud

Brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

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A Room of One’s Own

Virginia Woolf

Virginia Woolf’s blazing polemic on female creativity, the role of writers and the silent fate of Shakespeare’s imaginary sister remains a powerful reminder of a woman’s need for financial independence…

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Why I am So Wise

Friedrich Nietzsche

One of the most iconoclastic thinkers of all time, Friedrich Nietzsche continues to challenge the boundaries of conventional religion and morality with his subversive theories of the ‘superman’, the individual…

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On Natural Selection

Charles Darwin

Brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization, and helped make us who we are.

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On Art and Life

John Ruskin

John Ruskins insights into the need for individual artistic freedom, and his disdain for the mass-production art of the Victorian era, radically altered society’s perception of creative design and remain…

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On the Suffering of the World

Arthur Schopenhauer

Schopenhauer’s perception of the importance of art, morality and self awareness in a blind struggle against a Godless, meaningless world radically transformed our understanding of the individual and remains a…

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The Communist Manifesto

Karl Marx,Friedrich Engels

The Communist Manifesto changed the face of the twentieth century beyond recognition, inspiring millions to revolution, forming the basis of political systems that still dominate countless lives and continuing to…

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On the Pleasure of Hating

William Hazlitt

William Hazlitt’s tough combative writings on subjects ranging from slavery to the imagination, boxing matches to the monarchy, established him as one of the greatest radicals of his age and…

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A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Mary Wollstonecraft

Mary Wollstoncraft’s passionate declaration of female independence shattered the stereotype of docile, decorative womanhood, anticipated a new era of equality and established her as the founder of modern feminism.

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Common Sense

Thomas Paine

The book that created the modern United States, Paine’s incendiary call for Americans to revolt against British rule converted millions to the cause of independence and set out a vision…

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The Social Contract

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Rousseau’s explosive cry for human liberty helped to spark the French Revolution and has haunted our discussions of how we should rule one another ever since - seen as both…

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On Friendship

Michel de Montaigne

Expresses the author’s views on relationships. This title contemplates the idea that man is no different from any animal, argues that all cultures should be respected, and helps us to…

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The Prince

Niccolo Machiavelli

Today The Prince is still seen as the Bible of realpolitik, read by strategists, businessmen and political animals everywhere as the ultimate guide to gaining and maintaining power in a…

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Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

The Mediations of the great Roman philosopher-emperor Marcus Aurelius are simple yet profound works of stoic philosophy that continue to offer guidance and consolation to many with their eloquence, wisdom…

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On the Shortness of Life

Seneca

The Stoic writings of the philosopher Seneca offer powerful insights into the art of living and the importance of reason and morality and continue to provide profound guidance to many…

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The Invisible Hand

Adam Smith

Adam Smith’s landmark treatise on the free market paved the way for modern capitalism, arguing that competition is the engine of a productive society, and that self-interest will eventually come…

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Nature

Ralph Emerson

Brings you the works of thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are.

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The Horrors and Absurdities of Religion

Arthur Schopenhauer

Examines ethics, religion and psychology. This selection of Schopenhauer’s works contains scathing attack on the nature and logic of religion, and an essay on ethics that ranges from the American…

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Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu

Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Fundamental to…

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On Solitude

Michel de Montaigne

Blending intellectual speculation with anecdote and personal reflection, the Renaissance thinker and writer Montaigne pioneered the modern essay. This selection contains his idiosyncratic writings on subjects as varied as the…

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Of the Abuse of Words

John Locke

John Locke was one of the greatest figures of the Enlightenment, whose assertion that reason is the key to knowledge changed the face of philosophy. This book contains writings on…

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Utopia

Thomas More

Paints a fantastical picture of a distant island where society is perfected and people live in harmony. This work is also an attack on the author’s own corrupt, dangerous times…

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Why Look at Animals?

John Berger

Explores how the ancient relationship between man and nature has been broken in the modern consumer age, with the animals that used to be at the centre of our existence…

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Writings from the Zen Masters

Various

Contains stories of wisdom and understanding from the Zen Masters. This book contains tales of swords, tigers, tea, flowers and dogs. It features the works of the great thinkers, pioneers…

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Great Ideas For (Tired) Parents

Michael Grose

Full of practical ideas and examples of how to take control over the way you live, and prevent the demands of others from completely swamping you.

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Decline of the English Murder

George Orwell

In these timeless and witty essays George Orwell explores the English love of reading about a good murder in the papers (and laments the passing of the heyday of the…

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An Apology for Idlers

Robert Louis Stevenson

Offering an invitation to reject the work ethic and enjoy life’s simple pleasures (such as laughing, drinking and lying in the open air), this essay on the joys of idleness…

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An Answer to the Question: ‘What is Enlightenment?

Immanuel Kant

Immanuel Kant was one of the most influential philosophers in the whole of Europe, who changed Western thought with his examinations of reason and the nature of reality. This book…

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Great Ideas

Useful Work v. Useless Toil

A Confession

Man Alone with Himself

The Lamp of Memory

The Sickness Unto Death

The Fastidious Assassins

The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction

Days of Reading

Books v. Cigarettes

Human Happiness

The Art of War

Why I Write

Civilization and its Discontents

A Room of One’s Own

Why I am So Wise

On Natural Selection

On Art and Life

On the Suffering of the World

The Communist Manifesto

On the Pleasure of Hating

A Vindication of the Rights of Woman

Common Sense

The Social Contract

On Friendship

The Prince

Meditations

On the Shortness of Life

The Invisible Hand

Nature

The Horrors and Absurdities of Religion

Tao Te Ching

On Solitude

Of the Abuse of Words

Utopia

Why Look at Animals?

Writings from the Zen Masters

Great Ideas For (Tired) Parents

Decline of the English Murder

An Apology for Idlers

An Answer to the Question: ‘What is Enlightenment?