Ocean State Libraries

First published in Norway in 1890, Hunger probes the depths of consciousness with frightening and gripping power. Contemptuous of novels of his time and what he saw as their stereotypical plots and empty characters, Knut Hamsun embarked on "an attempt to describe the strange, peculiar life of the mind, the mysteries of the nerves in a starving body." Like the works of Dostoyevsky, it marks an extraordinary break with Western literary and humanistic...

Ecce Homo is Nietzsche's compelling autobiography, written in 1888, just weeks before he succumbed to madness.

This edition includes a modern introduction and a list of suggested further reading. Jean-Jacques Rousseau's thesis that children are naturally good at birth violated the traditional Christian doctrine of origin sin. His argument that education should arise from children's natural instincts and impulses rather than trying to civilize and socialize them challenged traditional schooling. Rousseau's defenders see him as a pioneering thinker whose revolutionary...

This book is the author's Civil War diary from February 18, 1861, to June 26, 1865. She was an eyewitness to many historic events as she accompanied her husband to significant sites of the Civil War.

When the day of Lord Saito Gonji's birthday arrives, Gonji celebrates with dread, knowing that in a week, he will be married. Sent away in his youth for samurai training, and then to higher education, Gonji is very connected to his studies. After his intelligence is proven, his professors even tell Gonji that he would do great things for Japan one day. However, since he is the youngest son in his family, Gonji is expected to marry-a social expectation...

First published posthumously in 1779, "Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion" is Scottish philosopher David Hume's classic work of religious philosophy. This detailed and exhaustive examination of the nature and existence of God was begun by Hume in 1750, but not completed until shortly before his death in 1776. Hume was an important and influential English Empiricist, along with other English philosophers such as Francis Bacon, John Locke, and Thomas...

Celtic origins, heroes, and stories spring to life in T. W. Rolleston's classic work, Celtic Myths and Legends. Spanning thousands of years and across thousands of miles, these myths and legends offer a glimpse into worlds long gone that continue to influence modern culture. The book includes classical accounts of Celtic tribes in Europe that describe their lives, the ancient gods and world of nature that they worshiped during and after their migrations...

Chronicles a hot dispute between two Scotsmen, a Roman Catholic and an atheist, whose fanatically held opinions inspire a host of comic adventures. The story's allegorical levels vigorously explore the debate between theism and atheism.

Charles Darwin's seminal work 'The Descent of Man' is published here edited and with an introduction by Adrian Desmond and James Moore. Suggestions are provided for further reading, a chronology of Darwin's life and works, and a biographical glossary.

Rachel Innes leaves the security of her town house for the summer to lease Sunnyside, a barn-like country home with--it turns out--hidden rooms and other sinister features. The middle-aged spinister and her niece and nephew have barely moved in before the first of a series of spine-chilling events occur. A body is found at the foot of Sunnyside's circular staircase.