The words, phrases, and stories of the New Testament permeate the English language. Indeed, this relatively small group of twenty-seven works, written during the height of the Roman Empire, not only helped create and sustain a vast world religion, but also have been integral to the larger cultural dynamics of the West, above and beyond particular religious expressions. Looking ...(展开全部)

Eminent biblical scholar Michael D. Coogan offers here a wide-ranging and stimulating exploration of the Old Testament, illuminating its importance as history, literature, and sacred text. Coogan explains the differences between the Bible of Jewish tradition (the "Hebrew Bible") and the Old Testament of Christianity, and also examines the different contents of the Bibles used b...(展开全部)

German writers, from Luther and Goethe to Heine, Brecht, and Gunter Grass, have had a profound influence on the modern world. This Very Short Introduction presents an engrossing tour of the course of German literature from the late Middle Ages to the present, focussing especially on the last 250 years. Emphasizing the economic and religious context of many masterpieces of Germa...(展开全部)

Introduces Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the present day Discusses themes and issues that have recurred throughout history and which are still important today Covers a wide range of writers and works, including some of the greatest - Dante, Petrarch, Manzoni, Calvino - as well as others who are less well-known Considers the way in which Italian literature has chang...(展开全部)

From popular histories through to reworkings of classical subject matter by contemporary poets, dramatists, and novelists, the classical world and the masterpieces of its literature continue to fascinate readers and audiences in a huge variety of media. In this Very Short Introduction, William Allan explores what the 'classics' are and why they continue to shape our Western con...(展开全部)

The heritage of literature in the French language is rich, varied, and extensive in time and space; appealing both to its immediate public, readers of French, and also to a global audience reached through translations and film adaptations. The first great works of this repertory were written in the twelfth century in northern France, and now, at the beginning of the twenty-firs...(展开全部)

Introduces Italian literature from the Middle Ages to the present day Discusses themes and issues that have recurred throughout history and which are still important today Covers a wide range of writers and works, including some of the greatest - Dante, Petrarch, Manzoni, Calvino - as well as others who are less well-known Considers the way in which Italian literature has chang...(展开全部)

From popular histories through to reworkings of classical subject matter by contemporary poets, dramatists, and novelists, the classical world and the masterpieces of its literature continue to fascinate readers and audiences in a huge variety of media. In this Very Short Introduction, William Allan explores what the 'classics' are and why they continue to shape our Western con...(展开全部)

The most accessible guide to Chinese literature available--compact but textured and far-reaching Serves as a window on Chinese culture from a philosophical, comparative approach Introduces Chinese literary theories Argues for the rise of literary modernity from as early as the eleventh century Perhaps nowhere else has literature been as conscious a collective endeavor as in Chi...(展开全部)