Annotation Examines the political life of one of Italy's most notable prime ministers, Giovanni Giolitti (1842-1928).

The most famous of all story collections, The Arabian Nights, also known as The Book of the Thousand and One Nights, is beloved around the world. Composed of Persian, Arabic, Greek, Indian, and other sources that accumulated over hundreds of years, these fabulous stories-within-stories have long fired readers’ imaginations with an enchanted world of flying carpets, magic lamps, genies, demons, magicians and sorceresses, carnivorous giants, and bloodthirsty bandits. Translation has played a key role in the formation of The Arabian Nights as we know it, making it far more prominent in the West than it has ever been in the Arab world. Westerners’ first discovery of some of the tales in the early eighteenth century sparked a feverish thirst for more, which led to compilations that freely adapted, reconfigured, and even added to the originals. The resulting love affair with the art, architecture, literature, cuisine, and culture of the East significantly remapped the European literary landscape. Editor Wen-chin Ouyang has compiled a carefully chosen selection from influential English translations, showcasing the strengths of different translators, including Richard Burton, Edward Lane, Jonathan Scott, and John Payne. Here are Shahrazad, Sinbad the Sailor, Aladdin, Ali Baba, and many more, in the most readable and enjoyable versions available.

How many times can one man die? Surprisingly many, it turns out. Set in what is now the Xinjiang province of China, tensions between Muslims, Jews and Christians lead a series of inhabitants to frame their neighbours for a death; but will they listen to their consciences when the penalty for murder is hanging? A black comedy with a social message, this tale is unusual among the Arabian Nights for containing no magic, but a great deal of gallows humour and contemporary relevance. You won’t be sorry you stumbled upon "The Little Hunchback", the twenty-third of 34 tales in the classic Arabian Nights collection translated by Andrew Lang. A treasure-trove of timeless stories, the One Thousand and One Nights or Arabian Nights have been loved, imitated, and added to over many centuries. Similar to the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm, the Arabian Nights are drawn from the folklore of India, Iran and the Middle East, and were collected in Arabic versions throughout the medieval period; others were added as recently as the eighteenth century. These stories of the exotic East have been popularised for new generations by film adaptations such as Disney’s Aladdin, starring Robin Williams and Gilbert Gottfried in 1992, and Will Smith in 2019, and Dreamworks’ Sinbad, starring Brad Pitt and Michelle Pfeiffer. They continue to inspire writers as varied as Salman Rushdie and Neil Gaiman, while numerous Bollywood and manga versions attest to their popularity around the world. These stories of magic, adventure and romance have shaped readers’ imaginations for generations, and are sure to be retold for years to come. This selection was translated by Andrew Lang from the French versions by Antoine Galland, who was the first to include the stories of Aladdin and Ali Baba. Born in Scotland in 1844, Lang was a scholar of ancient Greek, a journalist, historian, novelist and poet, and the author of 25 popular collections of fairy tales; his edition of the Arabian Nights’ Entertainment was published in 1898. He became a Fellow of the British Academy in 1906, and died in 1912.

The Greatest Classics of All Time presents an unparalleled assembly of the literary worlds most monumental works, spanning centuries, continents, and genres. This anthology celebrates the myriad facets of human experience, belief, and expression, captured through the diverse lenses of its illustrious authors. From the dramatic introspections of Shakespeare to the philosophical dialogues of Plato, and the pioneering adventures of Jules Verne, the collection showcases the evolution of literary styles and thematic concerns across time. The inclusion of seminal works by authors such as Dante and Cervantes alongside those by Emily Brontë and Mark Twain underlines the anthologys rich diversity, offering readers a comprehensive exploration of the literary canons breadth and depth. The contributing authors, each a titan in their respective field, bring a distinctive voice and cultural backdrop to the anthology, thus painting a mosaic of the human condition's intricacies. The collective genius of Goethe, Dickens, Austen, and their contemporaries, reflecting various historical epochs and movements, from the Enlightenment to Romanticism, and the Transcendental to the Realist, imbues the collection with unparalleled intellectual and artistic value. Their narratives, grounded in the societies from which they emerged, provide a panoramic view of human culture and thought, facilitating a unique dialog between the past and present. The Greatest Classics of All Time stands as an eminent invitation to readers and scholars alike to immerse themselves in the virtuosity of its pages. It is not just a compendium of the worlds most acclaimed literary works; it is a vibrant conversation through the ages, encouraging an engagement with the ideas, emotions, and visions that have shaped our world. For anyone seeking to comprehend the expanse of human creativity and the literary feats that have contributed to our collective intellectual heritage, this anthology is an indispensable resource and a wellspring of inspiration.