Great Books ofthe Western World

Item: 040200-10-0
ISBN: 0-85229-531-6

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"Public Education...is one of the fundamental rules of popular or legitimate government."
- Rousseau, On Political Economy

"The simplest explanation is not always the right one, truth is very often not simple."
- Freud, New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis

"The pleasures arising from thinking and learning will make us think and learn all the more."
- Aristotle, Ethics

Great Books of the
Western World®
The Greatest Collection of Written Thought
since the Beginning of Western History

Encyclopędia Britannica is proud to offer one of the most acclaimed publishing achievements of the 20th century, Great Books of the Western World. This monumental collection compiles history's greatest written works, from the ancient classics to more recent masterpieces. Great Books of the Western World contains 517 works from 130 of the most renowned minds throughout history. Volumes 1 and 2 comprise the Syntopicon®, a unique guide that enables you to investigate a particular idea and compare the perspectives of different authors. The Syntopicon organizes thirty centuries of thought into 102 Great Ideas, subsequently divided into topics and subtopics to effectively explore the different viewpoints over time. Authoritative, accurate, and complete, this collection represents the essential core of the Western literary canon.

Highlights:

  • 517 classics by 130 authors in 60 beautifully bound volumes.
  • 60 authors previously unpublished in the collection, with 45 representing the best of the 20th century.
  • 57 updated translations.
  • Color-coded volumes that correspond to the four subject areas: Imaginative Literature; Mathematics and the Natural Sciences; History and Social Science; Philosophy and Theology.
  • Comprehensive Syntopicon chapters, containing an introduction, an outline of topics, and cross-references to additional outside readings.
  • The Great Conversation, a compilation featuring fascinating background information, extensive timelines, photos, and quotes from the classic works and their authors.
  • An amazing collection featuring works by some of the world's most famous authors—all in one source: Aristotle, Austen, Calvin, Chaucer, Copernicus, Dante, Darwin, Dickens, Freud, Hippocrates, Homer, Marx, Plato, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, Tocqueville, Twain, Virgil, and more!