Frank N. Magill (1907–1997)

In these days of access to Wikipedia, one might think there is no longer a need for books such as this. But this compendium of “world literature masterpieces” offers not only plot summaries and descriptions of principal characters, but critical evaluations of works one might not find as readily via the internet. One might, however, take issue with the title, as “Western Literature” would be much more accurate than “World Literature.”

I do appreciate that many of Shakepeare’s show more works have separate entries, and that there is some non-fiction included, such as “Das Kapital” by Karl Marx.

In general, while the selection is quite limited, it is still a good reference to have on hand. A more thorough index, including character names, would have made it more useful still. show less

This collection of essays describes in some detail the eponymous Masterpieces of World Philosophy. Starting with the Bhagavad-Gita, it goes on through the ages approximating the ones that predate history and stuff. Starting with an essay on the contents of the work, it continues on with pertinent literature that applies to the work. It could be a translation, or it could be a work referring to that work. Finally, it has a final list of works that talk about the idea or book or essay or show more whatever it may be.

I really enjoyed this book. It seems like a Philosophy 101 course, and it helps that it explains some of the works that it does. It really helps to shed a new light on it. The print is rather tiny, and the ideas are rather dense. show less

Summaries of 300 influencial readings in Protestant literature from the Bible to 1959. Organized chronologically but with title, author, and category indexes.

Provides a synopsis, critical review, plot summary, list of principal characters and more for 2,010 titles from world literature.