20th Century
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Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov ( Russian : Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в or Пе́шков; see note [ 1 ] ) (28 March 1868 – 18 June 1936), primarily known as Maxim (Maksim) Gorky ( Russian : Макси́м Го́рький ), was a Russian and Soviet writer, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist. [ 2 ]
Childhood ( Russian : Детство , Detstvo ) is the first published novel by Leo Tolstoy , released under the initials L. N. in the November 1852 issue of the popular Russian literary journal The Contemporary . [ 1 ] It is the first in a series of three novels and is followed by Boyhood and Youth . Published when Tolstoy was just twenty-three years old, the book was an immediate success, earning notice from other Russian novelists including Ivan Turgenev , who heralded the young Tolstoy as a major up-and-coming figure in Russian literature.
Childhood (novel)
Franz Kafka [ a ] (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a German-language writer of novels and short stories, regarded by critics as one of the most influential authors of the 20th century .
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
The Metamorphosis ( German : Die Verwandlung , also sometimes translated The Transformation ) is a novella by Franz Kafka , first published in 1915 . It is often cited as one of the seminal works of fiction of the 20th century and is widely studied in colleges and universities across the Western world. The story begins with a traveling salesman, Gregor Samsa, waking to find himself transformed into a monstrous vermin . It is never explained in the story why Samsa transforms, nor did Kafka ever give an explanation. [ edit ] Plot
Isaac Asimov ( / ˈ aɪ z ɨ k ˈ æ z ɨ m ɒ v / EYE -zək AZ -ə-mov ; [ 2 ] born Isaak Yudovich Ozimov ; Russian : Исаак Юдович Озимов ; c. January 2, 1920 [ 1 ] – April 6, 1992) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University , best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards . [ 3 ] His works have been published in nine out of ten major categories of the Dewey Decimal System . [ 4 ] His only works in the 100s—which covers philosophy and psychology—were forewords for The Humanist Way (1988) and In Pursuit of Truth (1982), a festschrift in honor of philosopher Sir Karl Popper 's 80th birthday. [ 5 ]
Isaac Asimov
Foundation is the first novel in Isaac Asimov 's Foundation Trilogy (later expanded into The Foundation Series ). Foundation is a collection of five short stories, which were first published together as a book by Gnome Press in 1951 which, together, form a single plot. Foundation saw multiple publications—it also appeared in 1955 as part of Ace Double D-110 under the title "The 1,000-Year Plan". Four of the stories were originally published in Astounding Magazine (with different titles) between 1942 and 1944, and the fifth was added when they first appeared in book form. A further two books of short stories were published shortly after, and decades later, Asimov wrote two further sequel novels and two prequels. Later writers have added authorized tales to the series.
Foundation (novel)
Carl Sagan
Carl Edward Sagan ( pron.: / ˈ s eɪ ɡ ə n / ; November 9, 1934 – December 20, 1996) was an American astronomer , astrophysicist , cosmologist , author, science popularizer and science communicator in astronomy and natural sciences.
The Demon-Haunted World
The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark is a book by astrophysicist Carl Sagan , which was first published in 1995. The book is intended to explain the scientific method to laypeople , and to encourage people to learn critical or skeptical thinking. It explains methods to help distinguish between ideas that are considered valid science , and ideas that can be considered pseudoscience .
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis , published by Geoffrey Bles in 1950 .
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The Magician's Nephew
The Magician's Nephew is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis , published by Bodley Head in 1955 . It was the sixth published of seven novels in the The Chronicles of Narnia (1950–1956); it is volume one in recent editions, which are sequenced according to Narnia history. Like the others it was illustrated by Pauline Baynes and her work has been retained in many later editions. The Bodley Head was a new publisher for The Chronicles , a change from Geoffrey Bles. [ 1 ] [ 2 ]Arthur Conan Doyle
Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle DL (22 May 1859 – 7 July 1930 [ 1 ] ) was a Scottish physician and writer, most noted for his stories about the detective Sherlock Holmes , generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction , and for the adventures of Professor Challenger .The Hound of the Baskervilles is the third of four crime novels by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle featuring the detective Sherlock Holmes . Originally serialised in The Strand Magazine from August 1901 to April 1902, it is set largely on Dartmoor in Devon in England's West Country and tells the story of an attempted murder inspired by the legend of a fearsome, diabolical hound. In 2003 the book was listed on the BBC's The Big Read poll of the UK's "best-loved novel." [ 2 ]
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque [ 1 ] (22 June 1898 – 25 September 1970), born Erich Paul Remark , was a German author , best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front . [ edit ] Life and work Erich Maria Remarque was born on 22 June 1898 into a working class family in the German city of Osnabrück to Peter Franz Remark (b. 14 June 1867, Kaiserswerth ) and Anna Maria (née Stallknecht; born 21 November 1871, Katernberg). [ edit ] First World War During World War I , Remarque was conscripted into the army at the age of 18.All Quiet on the Western Front ( German : Im Westen nichts Neues ) is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque , a German veteran of World War I . The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front. The novel was first published in November and December 1928 in the German newspaper Vossische Zeitung and in book form in late January 1929. The book and its sequel, The Road Back , were among the books banned and burned in Nazi Germany . It sold 2.5 million copies in twenty-five languages in its first eighteen months in print. [ 1 ] In 1930, the book was adapted as an Oscar-winning film of the same name , directed by Lewis Milestone .