Written in 1651 during the chaos of the English Civil War. Hobbes formulates the case for a powerful sovereign - or 'Leviathan' - to enforce peace and the law. The work was publicly burnt for sedition and blasphemy when it was first published. Hobbes' view that man's essential nature is competitive and selfish is as challenging today as it was when originally published, the work remains relevant to the modern world and stands as one of the most fascinating works of modern philosophy.

Many scholars today consider the Treatise to be Hume's most important work and one of the most important books in the history of philosophy.

Nietzsche soars in philosophic thought in Beyond Good and Evil. He transcended most of his 19th century contemporaries and considered the bulk of their philosophic thinking to be greatly limited by their acceptance of Christian premises. Denying a universal morality for all people, Nietzsche instead proposed that the individual's "will to power" upon the world was the means to move beyond good and evil. Agree? Disagree? Agree to disagree? Brilliantly thought provoking.

Shakespeare's best known play and the most quoted work of the English language.

Hamlet's father is dead and he struggles with the desire for revenge. The play uses this backdrop to explore intrigue, incest, desire, and what is important in life.

Regularly included in lists of the greatest works of all time.

1895 Best Seller.

One of the most influential anti-war stories ever written The Red Badge of Courage was adapted as a film in 1951 by John Huston. Crane wanted to show what war was like and achieved a ground breaking 'psychological portrayal of fear'. The story follows an archetypical 19 year old recruit in the American Civil War.

This essay is Locke's most famous work. It concerns that nature of human knowledge and understanding. It was one of the primary sources for empiricism, influenced many enlightenment philosophers like David Hume and Bishop Berkeley. The main thrust of the essay is that man does not have innate ideas or principals, that all are developed by experience. Volume one is devoted to disproving the theory of innate ideas. Volume two shows how ideas, principals, and morals are formed from experience.

This essay is Locke's most famous work. It concerns that nature of human knowledge and understanding. It was one of the primary sources for empiricism, influenced many enlightenment philosophers like David Hume and Bishop Berkeley. The main thrust of the essay is that man does not have innate ideas or principals, that all are developed by experience. Volume one is devoted to disproving the theory of innate ideas. Volume two shows how ideas, principals, and morals are formed from experience.