The world in books : 52 works of great short nonfiction

Title:

Author:

Summary:

"From ancient times to the present day, The World in Books offers a wide-ranging historical education through pleasure reading-and a fantastic introduction to some of the most thought-provoking, profound, and interesting nonfiction works of all time. From Sun Tzu's The Art of War to bell hooks's All About Love, as well as such recent classics as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists, Davis's guide suggests a world of nonfiction books and explains just why they're so historically meaningful and culturally relevant today."-- Publisher

Edition:

First Scribner hardcover edition.

Contents:

Introduction: "books are weapons in the war of ideas" -- The epic of Gilgamesh / author uknown ; The book of Genesis / author uknown ; Tao Te Ching (The book of the way) / Lao-tzu (attributed) ; Stung with love: poems and fragments / Sappho ; The art of war / Sun Tzu or Sun Tzi (attributed) ; The symposium / Plato ; The poetics (how to tell a story) / Aristotle ; The Bhagavad Gita / Vyasa (attributed) -- The gospel according to Luke / author uknown ; Meditations / Marcus Aurelius ; The Qur-an: "the cow" / Vita nuova / Dante Alighieri ; Utopia / Thomas More ; The prince / Niccolò Machiavelli ; The sovereignty and goodness of God / Mary Rowlandson ; Treatise on toleration / Voltaire ; The age of reason: being an investigation of true and fabulous theology / Thomas Paine ; Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American slave / Frederick Douglass ; The communist manifesto / Civil disobedience / Henry David Thoreau ; Incidents in the life of a slave girl: written by herself / Harriet Jacobs ; On lynchings / Ida B. Wells-Barnett ; The souls of Black folf / W. E. B. Du Bois ; The world I live in / Helen Keller ; A room of one's own / Virginia Woolf ; The autobiography of Alice B. Toklas / Gertrude Stein ; Homage to Catalonia / George Orwell ; A chill in the air: an Italian war diary, 1939-1940 / Iris Origo ; Under the sea-wind / Rachel Carson ; The myth of Sisyphus / Albert Camus ; Hiroshima / John Hersey ; Man's search for meaning / Viktor E. Frankl ; Night / Elie Weisel ; The fire next time / James Baldwin ; A very easy death / Simoe de Beauvoir ; A moveable feast / Ernest Hemingway ; The courage to create / Rollo May ; On photography / Susan Sontag ; The gnostic gospels / Elane Pagels ; Amusing ourselves to death: public discourse in the age of show business / Neil Postman ; The writing life / Annie Dillard ; The journalist and the murderer / Janet Malcolm ; All about love: new visions / bell hooks ; Nickel and dimed: on (not) getting by in America / Letters to a young contrarian / Christopher Hitchens ; Persepolis: the story of a childhood / Marjane Satrapi ; The year of magical thinking / Joan Didion ; Food rules: an eater's manual / We should all be feminists / Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie ; On tyranny: twenty lessons from the Twentieth century / Timothy Snyder ; The origin of others / Toni Morrison ; Under a white sky: the nature of the future / Elizabeth Kolbert --

Physical Description:

xxvi, 431 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Subject Term:

Best books.

Books and reading.

Publisher:

Scribner,

Publication Date:

2024

ISBN:

9781668015599

9781668015605

Publication Information:

New York : Scribner, 2024.

Call Number:

028 DAVIS

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003757633	New Adult Nonfiction	028 DAVIS	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A delightful, inspiring, and idea-rich selection of fifty-two of the best, most important short nonfiction works of all time--from Plato to Michael Pollan and Dante to Joan Didion--chosen by historian, lifelong reader, and bestselling author of Don't Know Much About History.

From ancient times to the present day, The World in Books offers a wide-ranging historical education through pleasure reading--and a fantastic introduction to some of the most thought-provoking, profound, and interesting nonfiction works of all time. From Sun Tzu's The Art of War to bell hooks's All About Love , as well as such recent classics as Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie's We Should All Be Feminists , Davis's guide suggests a world of nonfiction books and explains just why they're so historically meaningful and culturally relevant today.

The perfect guide for the modern-day reader, these fifty-two selections provide an ideal way to explore some of the most enduring, influential books ever published, introducing us anew to world-shaping historical figures, events, and ideas.

Author Notes

Kenneth C. Davis is an American popular historian, best known for his Don't Know Much About... series. Born in Mount Vernon, New York, Davis attended Concordia College, Bronxville in New York, and Fordham University at Lincoln Center, New York City. Davis's second book, Don't Know Much About History, spent 35 consecutive weeks on The New York Times bestseller list and sold nearly 1.5 million copies. This unexpected success launched the Don't Know Much About... series.

(Bowker Author Biography)

Excerpts

Excerpted from The World in Books: 52 Works of Great Short Nonfiction by Kenneth C. Davis All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

Introduction: "Books Are Weapons in the War of Ideas"	xv
Dated Before the Common Era (BCE)
The Epic of Gilgamesh	1
The Book of Genesis	7
Tao Te Ching (The Book of the Way)	17
Stung with Love: Poems and Fragments	22
The Art of War	29
The Symposium	34
The Poetics (How to Tell a Story)	44
The Bhagavad Gita	51
Dated in the Common Era (CE)
The Gospel According to Luke	58
Meditations	65
The Qur'an: "The Cow"	71
Vita Nuova	81
Utopia	89
The Prince	96
The Sovereignty and Goodness of God	105
Treatise on Toleration	112
The Age of Reason: Being An Investigation of True and Fabulous Theology	120
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave	128
The Communist Manifesto	136
Civil Disobedience	144
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl: Written by Herself	151
On Lynchings	158
The Souls of Black Folk	166
The World I Live In	175
A Room of One's Own	181
The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas	190
Homage to Catalonia	197
A Chill in the Air: An Italian War Diary, 1939-1940	204
Under the Sea-Wind	210
The Myth of Sisyphus	218
Hiroshima	224
Man's Search for Meaning	231
Night	239
The Fire Next Time	245
A Very Easy Death	252
A Moveable Feast	261
The Courage to Create	269
On Photography	276
The Gnostic Gospels	283
Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business	289
The Writing Life	297
The Journalist and the Murderer	303
All About Love: New Visions	310
Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America	318
Letters to a Young Contrarian	325
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood	331
The Year of Magical Thinking	339
Food Rules: An Eater's Manual	346
We Should All Be Feminists	352
On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century	358
The Origin of Others	363
Under a White Sky: The Nature of the Future	370
Afterword: What Is Not Here and What I Learned	375
Appendix I My Ten Favorite Great Short Nonfiction Books	383
Appendix II 52 More of the Great Short Books That Make Us Think	385
Acknowledgments	387
Notes	389

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Excerpts

Excerpts

Table of Contents