Clear and Present Danger

Miguel Ngel Asturias (Author)

Men of Maize

7,A novel whose time has come: the Nobel Prize-winning author of Mr. President's visionary epic of ecological devastation, capitalist exploitation, and Indigenous wisdom, now available again for its 75th anniversary with a new introduction and with a foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner H?ctor Tobar A Penguin Classic Deep in the mountain forests of Guatemala, a community of Indigenous Mayans--the "men of maize"--serves as stewards to sacred corn crops. When profiteering outsiders encroach on their territory and threaten to abuse the fertile land, they enter a bloody struggle to protect their way of life. Blurring the lines between history and mythology, Nobel Prize winner Miguel ?ngel Asturias's lush, dream-like work offers a prescient warning against the loss of ancestral wisdom and the environmental destruction set in motion by colonial oppression and capitalist greed. For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide ...

Edith Hall (Author)

Epic of the Earth: Reading Homer's Iliad in the Fight for a Dying World

4,An urgent study of Homer's Iliad, exposing the beginnings of the ecological disaster we now face and facilitating our understanding of its history "Exhilarating."--Emma Greensmith, Times Literary Supplement The roots of today's environmental catastrophe run deep into humanity's past. Through this unprecedented reading of Homer's Iliad, the award-winning classicist Edith Hall examines how this foundational text both documents the environmental practices of the ancient Greeks and betrays an awareness of the dangers posed by the destruction of the natural landscape. Underlying Homer's account of brutal military operations, alliances, and cataclysmic struggle is a palpable understanding that the direction in which humanity was headed could create a world that was uninhabitable. Hall provides unparalleled insight into the ancient origins of climate change and argues that the Iliad exposes the deepest contradictions behind the environmental problems we have created. Indeed, it is possible that some of the violence done to the environment throughout history has been authorized, if not exacerbated, by the celebration of the exploitation of nature in Homer's poem. Drawing compelling ...

Gale Research Inc (Editor)

Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism: Excerpts from Criticism of the Works of Nineteenth-Century Novelists, Poets, Playwrights, Short-Story Writers

Nineteenth-Century Literature Criticism assembles critical responses to the works of 19th-century authors of all sortsâ "novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, philosophers, political leaders, scientists, mathematicians and writers from other genresâ "from every region of the world.Each of the more than 300 volumes in this long-standing series profiles approximately 3-6 novelists, poets, playwrights, journalists, philosophers or other creative and nonfiction writers by providing full-text or excerpted criticism reproduced from books, magazines, literary reviews, newspapers and scholarly journals. Clear, accessible introductory essays followed by carefully selected critical responses allow end-users to engage with a variety of scholarly views and conversations about authors, works and literary topics. Introductory essays are written and entries compiled by professional literature researchers and other subject matter experts; many include an author portrait. A full citation and annotation precede each of the approximately 50 essays per volume. The series currently covers nearly 600 authors and also includes numerous entries focusing on literary topics and individual works. ...