Newest Study Guides
Each study guide includes essays, an in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quiz. Study guides are available in PDF format.
Each study guide includes essays, an in-depth chapter-by-chapter summary and analysis, character list, theme list, historical context, author biography and quiz. Study guides are available in PDF format.
The prolific British Science Fiction writer Sir Arthur Charles Clarke was born in 1917. Clarke’s first writing was published in 1946 and he went on to publish several novels, short stories as well as works of non-fictions about popular science and...
"Out of All Them Bright Stars" is a short story written by author Nancy Kress. Nancy Kress is an American author born in 1948; she wrote numerous books ranging from fantasy to science fiction.The titular short story talks about a sudden appearance...
Bertrand Russell was an upper-class English philosopher who was born on May 18th, 1872. He came from a long line of left-wing academics and after the death of his parents when he was only four years old, he was raised by his Grandmother. She...
Written by Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard and published under a pseudonym in 1849, The Sickness Unto Death is a radical exploration of Christianity, specifically Christian existentialism. Kierkegaard is widely considered to be the founder of...
Some Thoughts Concerning Education is an exposition written by John Locke and published in 1693. Within it, Locke explores the methods of education to foster a healthy mind and character. The essay was extremely influential and widely read; it...
The Varieties of Religious Experience, or just Varieties for short is a philosophical book by William James. James's text was published in 1902, shortly after the lectures presented by James at the University of Edinburgh on which the book was...
The Gnostic Gospels is the best-known of Elaine Pagels' books studying the early Christian and Nag Hammadi manuscripts. Pagers is a Harvard-educated religious historian and her work generally takes a deeper look into the way in which women were...
A Mexican novel, Aura was written by the Mexican author Carlos Fuentes. It is considered one of Carlos Fuentes's best works. It was published in Spanish in 1962, and an English version of the novel was released in 1965 and on iBooks. The novel has...
Patricia Stephens Due is an African-American civil rights activist born on December 9, 1939 in Quincy, Florida. Her daughter, Tananarive Due, is an American writer born on January 5, 1966 in Tallahassee, Florida. Patricia encountered a great deal...
Published on the first of January, 1884, "Mold of the Earth" is considered a micro story because of its short length. The story was first published in the Warsaw Courier in a special New Year's Day edition. Boleslaw Prus, the author, wrote the...
Other Desert Cities premiered on January 13, 2011 and was first shown on Broadway about 10 months later. Set in Palm Springs, California, the play is written by Jon Robin Baitz. The first Jon Baitz play to ever make it to Broadway, Other Desert...
The Fabliaux is a book of poems composed somewhere between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The exact authors of the poems are unknown, and it is widely thought that different authors contributed to the work. The Fabliaux is erotic in nature,...
Sea of Poppies" by Amitav Ghosh is an extremely well-researched and thought-provoking novel that delves into the complex history of the opium trade in 19th-century India and China. Ghosh's mastery of language, depth of knowledge, and nuanced...
Nawal El Saadawi is an Egyptian author born on October 27, 1931 in Kafr Tahla, Egypt. She demonstrated a natural intelligence and poise at a young age as well as an interest in the medical science. She attended Cairo University to become a doctor....
Richard Selzer is an American doctor and writer born on June 24, 1928 in Troy, New York. At a young age, he demonstrated an intense interest in biology and psychology. Thus, after graduating from Union College, he attended Albany Medical College...
Haifaa al-Mansour wrote and directed the feature length Saudi film. It is culturally significant as she became the first Saudi female to direct a feature length picture, and Wadja is the first feature shot entirely in Saudi Arabia. The film...
West of Kabul, East of New York: An Afghan American Story is a memoir written by author Tamim Ansary. Ansary is an Afghan-American columnist and writer who lived in America after finishing high school. His most famous book was West of Kabul, East...
The Nobility and Excellence of Women, and the Defects and Vices and Men is Lucrezia Marinella’s 1600 response to an essay published the year previous year by Giuseppe Passi. That essay, The Defects of Women, outlined in a particularly misogynistic...
World War One was documented in poetry by young men at the front who were survived by their poetry; what they experienced spoke about their experiences for them and the likes of Siegfried Sassoon, Rupert Brooke, and Wilfred Owen were immortalized...
Beauty and the Beast and Other Tales includes a story of Beauty and the Beast that was extended by the author. This version is the most well known, the plot of it is used for most movies covering the story.
Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont is a...
Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction writer born on October 15, 1960 in New Orleans, Louisiana. He attended Princeton University where he majored in art history, but due to the limited availability of jobs in this field, he decided to become...
Michael Chabon is an American author born on May 24, 1963 in Washington D.C. Both his mother and father were lawyers, but despite his parents’ career paths, Chabon decided to venture into the realm of creative writing. After dropping out of...
Originating from Colombia, 'Best Worst American' is Juan Martinez's debut collection of stories. Published in February 2017, the collection consists of 24 stories which are stunning in their breadth - some surrealist, some fantastical, others...
Ai Ogawa (commonly referenced as "Ai") is a great American poet. Born on October 21, 1947, she has won numerous awards, such as The National Book Award. Born under the name Florence Anthony, she was born in Albany, Texas. She has many...