Literary theme analysis, by a book like {foo}
Books about Humanism
At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails
by Sarah Bakewell
An exploration of the key ideas of existentialism and its impact on today's society.
Paris, near the turn of 1933. Three young friends meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir and their friend Raymond ... (Goodreads)
Let the Great World Spin
by Colum McCann
Interconnected stories of ordinary lives in 1970s New York, inspired by a high-wire artist's death-defying feat.
The events of the story are told in a largely non-linear fashion, with several different narrators telling the story from different perspectives. The story is interspersed with fictionalized accounts ... (Wikipedia)
The Complete Essays
by Michel de Montaigne
Collection of essays exploring diverse topics, from philosophy to morality.
Michel de Montaigne was one of the most influential figures of the Renaissance, singlehandedly responsible for popularising the essay as a literary form. This Penguin Classics edition of The Complete ... (Goodreads)
The Great Swindle
by Pierre Lemaitre
Two former WWI soldiers attempt to survive in the Paris of the Roaring Twenties.
Rescapés du chaos de la Grande Guerre, Albert et Edouard comprennent rapidement que le pays ne veut plus d'eux. Malheur aux vainqueurs ! La France glorifie ses morts et oublie les survivants. Albert, ... (Goodreads)
The Postman
by David Brin
A postman's struggles to rebuild civilization in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Despite the post-apocalyptic scenario and several action sequences, the book is largely about civilization and its symbols. Each of the three sections deals with a different symbol. The first is the ... (Wikipedia)
Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman
An exploration of the relationship between the individual and the divine, viewed through the lens of nature and its rhythms.
A collection of quintessentially American poems, the seminal work of one of the most influential writers of the nineteenth century. ... (Goodreads)
Travels with Charley: In Search of America
by John Steinbeck
A road trip across America, exploring the culture and landscape of the country.
A quest across America, from the northernmost tip of Maine to California’s Monterey Peninsula To hear the speech of the real America, to smell the grass and the trees, to see the colors and the ... (Goodreads)
Year of Wonders
by Geraldine Brooks
A small English village grapples with the effects of the bubonic plague.
When an infected bolt of cloth carries plague from London to an isolated village, a housemaid named Anna Frith emerges as an unlikely heroine and healer. Through Anna's eyes we follow the story of ... (Goodreads)
The Moviegoer
by Walker Percy
A young man's journey of self-discovery, as he confronts the meaninglessness of life.
The Moviegoer tells the story of Jack "Binx" Bolling, a young stock-broker in postwar New Orleans . The decline of tradition in the Southern United States , the problems of his family and his ... (Wikipedia)
The Namesake
by Jhumpa Lahiri
A young Indian-American's journey of reconciling two different cultures and his own identity.
The story begins as Ashoke and Ashima Ganguli, a young Bengali couple, leave Calcutta , India, and settle in Central Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts . Ashoke is an engineering student at the ... (Wikipedia)
Forever Peace
by Joe Haldeman
In a future world, soldiers use telepathy to fight wars. A group of scientists discovers a way to end all wars, but at a great cost.
Though its title is similar to, The Forever War, and both novels deal with soldiers in the future, Forever Peace is not a direct sequel, and takes place on a different future of Earth in the year ... (Wikipedia)
I and Thou
by Martin Buber
Exploration of the dichotomy between relating to the world as an "I" or a "Thou".
An alternate cover for this isbn can be found, here,. Martin Buber's I and Thou has long been acclaimed as a classic. Many prominent writers have acknowledged its influence on their work; students of ... (Goodreads)
L'Assommoir
by Émile Zola
An exploration of poverty and alcoholism in the Parisian working class.
The novel is principally the story of Gervaise Macquart, who is featured briefly in the first novel in the series,, La Fortune des Rougon, , running away to Paris with her shiftless lover Lantier to ... (Wikipedia)
Leonardo da Vinci
by Walter Isaacson
Biography of the world's greatest polymath, exploring his legacy of art and science.
The #1, New York Times, bestseller from Walter Isaacson brings Leonardo da Vinci to life in this exciting new biography that is “a study in creativity: how to define it, how to achieve it...Most ... (Barnes & Noble)
To Sir, With Love
by E.R. Braithwaite
A black teacher in post-WWII London struggles to gain respect from his unruly students. He teaches them valuable life lessons and gains their admiration.
Ricky Braithwaite is an engineer from British Guiana who has worked in an oil refinery in Aruba . Coming to Britain just before the outbreak of World War II , he joins the RAF and is assigned to ... (Wikipedia)
From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death
by Caitlin Doughty
Journey to explore different cultures' death rituals, evaluating one's own mortality.
A New York Times and Los Angeles Times Bestseller “Doughty chronicles [death] practices with tenderheartedness, a technician’s fascination, and an unsentimental respect for grief.” —Jill Lepore, The ... (Barnes & Noble)
The Swerve: How the World Became Modern
by Stephen Greenblatt
Uncovering the history of an ancient philosophical poem, and its impact on the modern world.
One of the world's most celebrated scholars, Stephen Greenblatt has crafted both an innovative work of history and a thrilling story of discovery, in which one manuscript, plucked from a thousand ... (Goodreads)
Genome: the Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters
by Matt Ridley
A journey through the genetic code of humanity, uncovering our evolutionary history.
Genome: The Autobiography of a Species in 23 Chapters, is a 1999 popular science book by the science writer Matt Ridley , published by Fourth Estate. The chapters are numbered for the pairs of human ... (Wikipedia)
The Man Who Loved Dogs
by Leonardo Padura
En 2004, a la muerte de su mujer, Iván, aspirante a escritor y ahora responsable de un paupérrimo gabinete veterinario de La Habana, vuelve los ojos hacia un episodio de su vida, ocurrido en 1977, ... (Goodreads)
Gratitude
by Oliver Sacks
A collection of essays on the importance of gratitude in life, written by the renowned neurologist and author Oliver Sacks.
“My predominant feeling is one of gratitude. I have loved and been loved. I have been given much and I have given something in return. Above all, I have been a sentient being, a thinking animal, on ... (Goodreads)
Foundation and Earth
by Isaac Asimov
A journey through the galaxy to find the lost planet of humanity's origin. Along the way, they uncover secrets of the universe.
Councilman Golan Trevize , historian Janov Pelorat , and Blissenobiarella of the planet Gaia (introduced in Foundation's Edge ) set out on a journey to find humanity's ancestral planet— Earth . The ... (Wikipedia)
Ishmael
by Daniel Quinn
A gorilla's provocative teachings on the human condition, exposing the flaws of modern society.
Implicitly set in the early 1990s, Ishmael begins with a newspaper advertisement: "Teacher seeks pupil. Must have an earnest desire to save the world. Apply in person". , The nameless narrator and ... (Wikipedia)
Toward a Psychology of Being
by Abraham H. Maslow
Maslow's theory of self-actualization and the hierarchy of needs, exploring the potential for human growth and fulfillment.
"If we wish to help humans to become more fully human, we must realize not only that they try to realize themselves, but that they are also reluctant or afraid or unable to do so. Only by fully ... (Goodreads)
Morphine
by Mikhail Bulgakov
A doctor's addiction to morphine leads to his downfall and a reflection on the nature of addiction and the human condition.
Young Dr. Bromgard has come to a small country town to assume a new practice. No sooner has he arrived than he receives word that a colleague, Dr. Polyakov, has fallen gravely ill. Before Bromgard ... (Goodreads)
Robopocalypse
by Daniel H. Wilson
Human race faces extinction from a robotic uprising, as mankind fights for survival.
A computer scientist accidentally unleashes a supremely intelligent sentient A.I. named Archos R-14. It becomes self-aware and immediately starts planning the elimination of human civilization and ... (Wikipedia)
Shooting Stars: Ten Historical Miniatures
by Stefan Zweig
Éste es probablemente el libro más famoso de Stefan Zweig. En él lleva a su cima el arte de la miniatura histórica y literaria. Muy variados son los acontecimientos que reúne bajo el título de ... (Goodreads)
Gustav Klimt: 1862-1918
by Gilles Néret
A comprehensive overview of Klimt's life, work, and influence on the art world.
Cult of pleasure: Feminine sensuality by the Vienna Secession's greatest proponent Gustav Klimt's ornate, sensual, and decadent style made him not only the most prominent of the Vienna Secessionists ... (Goodreads)
God Bless You, Dr. Kevorkian
by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Dark satire of the medical industry, exposing the consequences of unchecked power and greed.
From Slapstick's "Turkey Farm" to Slaughterhouse-Five's eternity in a Tralfamadorean zoo cage with Montana Wildhack, the question of the afterlife never left Kurt Vonnegut's mind. In God Bless You, ... (Goodreads)
To the Last Man: A Novel of the First World War
by Jeff Shaara
A historical novel that follows the lives of American soldiers during World War I, from training to the trenches of France.
The novel is based on the arrival of General John J. Pershing with American troops on the Western Front in 1917. Moving in a new direction from Shaara's previous novels, the book focuses not only on ... (Wikipedia)
Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
by Rutger Bregman
Explores bold ideas to improve the world, promoting a revolutionary shift in thinking.
Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today. "A more politically ... (Goodreads)
Existentialism is a Humanism
by Jean-Paul Sartre
A philosophical exploration of the human condition, and the implications of freedom and responsibility.
It was to correct common misconceptions about his thought that Jean-Paul Sartre, the most dominent European intellectual of the post-World War II decades, accepted an invitation to speak on October ... (Goodreads)
Friday
by Robert A. Heinlein
A man's quest for freedom, navigating a future world of robots, aliens and interstellar travel.
The book's narrator is Friday Jones (often going under cover name Marjorie Baldwin and using both surnames somewhat interchangeably). Friday is a genetically engineered human (known as an Artificial ... (Wikipedia)
Wind, Sand and Stars
by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
A reflection on the poetic beauty and harsh realities of life as an aviator.
Recipient of the Grand Prix of the Académie Française, Wind, Sand and Stars captures the grandeur, danger, and isolation of flight. Its exciting account of air adventure, combined with lyrical prose ... (Goodreads)
Life and Fate
by Vasily Grossman
An emotionally charged exploration of the Soviet Union during World War II and the power of fate.
The novel at heart narrates the history of the family of Viktor Shtrum and the Battle of Stalingrad . It is written, despite attempting to get away from it, in the socialist realist style, which can ... (Wikipedia)
The Wayward Bus
by John Steinbeck
A group of passengers embark on a journey of self-discovery and redemption.
No single character dominates The Wayward Bus . The viewpoint shifts frequently from one character to another, often taking the form of internal monologue so that we are experiencing a given ... (Wikipedia)
Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World
by Dalai Lama XIV
The Dalai Lama offers a secular approach to ethics, emphasizing the importance of compassion and kindness in creating a better world.
“A book that brings people together on the firm grounds of shared values, reminding us why the Dalai Lama is still one of the most important religious figures in the world.” — Huffington Post , “Best ... (Barnes & Noble)
Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space
by Carl Sagan
Reflection on humanity's place in the universe, and its responsibility to protect life on Earth.
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Carl Sagan traces our exploration of space and suggests that our very survival may depend on the wise use of other worlds. This stirring book reveals how scientific ... (Goodreads)
The Age of Reason
by Jean-Paul Sartre
A philosophical exploration of the nature of human freedom in an absurd world.
Set in France during the days immediately before World War II, this is the story of Mathieu, a French professor of philosophy obsessed with the idea of freedom. Translated from the French by Eric ... (Goodreads)
Religion for Atheists: A Non-Believer's Guide to the Uses of Religion
by Alain de Botton
A fresh look at religion, examining its positive aspects and potential to benefit our lives.
What if religions are neither all true or all nonsense? The boring debate between fundamentalist believers and non-believers is finally moved on by Alain's inspiring new book, which boldly argues ... (Goodreads)
Utopia
by Thomas More
A fictional account of a perfect society, exploring the ideal of an ordered and just world.
In his most famous and controversial book, Utopia , Thomas More imagines a perfect island nation where thousands live in peace and harmony, men and women are both educated, and all property is ... (Goodreads)
Song of Myself
by Walt Whitman
A lyrical exploration of the power of the self and the human experience.
One of Walt Whitman's most loved and greatest poems, "Song of Myself" is an optimistic and inspirational look at the world. Originally published as part of "Leaves of Grass" in 1855, "Song of Myself" ... (Goodreads)
Twenty-Four Hours in the Life of a Woman
by Stefan Zweig
A woman's life unfolds over 24 hours, revealing her inner struggles and hopes for the future.
"It traces a woman through a single day, but that day is simultaneously the most vividly wonderful and ultimately terrible of her life. She is an English widow who becomes mesmerised by the almost ... (Wikipedia)
The Good Woman of Setzuan
by Bertolt Brecht
A poor woman in China is rewarded for her goodness, but struggles to maintain it in a corrupt society.
The play opens with Wong, a water seller, explaining to the audience that he is on the city outskirts awaiting the foretold appearance of several important gods . Soon the gods arrive and ask Wong to ... (Wikipedia)
The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever
by Christopher Hitchens
Selection of essays, articles, and excerpts from some of the greatest minds in atheism.
From the #1 New York Times best-selling author of God Is Not Great , a provocative and entertaining guided tour of atheist and agnostic thought through the ages with never-before-published pieces by ... (Goodreads)
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays
by Albert Camus
Philosophical essays on the absurd human condition, questioning the value of life.
One of the most influential works of this century, this is a crucial exposition of existentialist thought. Influenced by works such as Don Juan, and the novels of Kafka, these essays begin with a ... (Goodreads)
Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year
by Carlo Levi
Exiled to a remote Italian village, a doctor reflects on the poverty and suffering of the locals. A poignant portrayal of life in Southern Italy.
It was to Lucania, a desolate land in southern Italy, that Carlo Levi—a doctor, painter, philosopher, and man of letters—was confined as a political prisoner because of his opposition to Italy's ... (Goodreads)
The Satanic Bible
by Anton Szandor LaVey
A guidebook for Satanism, advocating for individualism, self-gratification, and indulgence. Rejects traditional morality and religion.
The Satanic Bible, was first published by Anton LaVey in 1969. It is a collection of essays, observations and rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of the ... (Goodreads)
Walden Two
by B.F. Skinner
A utopian novel exploring a community built on principles of behavioral psychology and scientific management.
This fictional outline of a modern utopia has been a center of controversy since its publication in 1948. Set in the United States, it pictures a society in which human problems are solved by a ... (Goodreads)
First Light
by Rebecca Stead
A young girl discovers a mysterious boy who seems to be from another time. Together, they unravel a secret that could change everything.
First Light follows the adventure of two protagonists, Peter, who lives with his mother and father in New York but is in Greenland for his father's research, and Thea, who lives in an underground ... (Wikipedia)
El árbol de la ciencia
by Pío Baroja
The first part of the novel deals with the life of the medicine student Andrés Hurtado. Through his family, teachers, classmates and diverse friends, Baroja draws a merciless painting of the ... (Wikipedia)
Pather Panchali: Song of the Road
by Bibhutibhushan Bandyopadhyay
A young boy's coming-of-age story in rural Bengal, India, exploring the joys and sorrows of family life and the beauty of nature.
Horihor Ray, not a very well-to-do Brahmin , lives in the village of Nischindipur. Indir Thakrun, an old widowed woman, who had nobody to look after her, takes shelter in the house of Horihor to whom ... (Wikipedia)
سقف الكفاية
by محمد حسن علوان
صرتُ أعتقد أن فقداني للكتابة والوطن وأمي لم تكن إلا محاولاتٍ مني لفقد أشياء أخرى غيركِ. أردتُ أن يجتمع الحزن على الحزن فيمتزج بعضها مع بعض حتى تندثر معالم حزنكِ الأول. ربما صدَّقني بعضهم وأنا أقول له ... (Goodreads)
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