Great Literature for Discussion
The Foundation publishes a wide range of anthologies of classic and modern works of prose, poetry, and drama, especially selected for Shared Inquiry discussion, with discussion questions.
New and Recent Titles
A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall, and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books
Alex Beam explores the Great Books mania in an entertaining and strangely poignant portrait of American popular culture on the threshold of the television age.
Great Conversations 4
The fourth title in this popular series contains fifteen selections ideal for Great Books discussion groups and college courses. Also included are discussion guides for Emma by Jane Austen and Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust, as well as a thematic guide for reading selections across genres and disciplines. Coming April 2008.
The 7 Deadly Sins Sampler
Pride. Envy. Anger. Sloth. Greed. Gluttony. Lust. Fourteen short story masterpieces selected for discussion and reflection.
The Civically Engaged Reader: A Diverse Collection of Short Provocative Readings on Civic Activity
More than 40 selections for book groups, classrooms, and service learning programs.
Talking Service: Readings for Civic Reflection
Contains seven provocative readings from classic and contemporary sources, as well as an introductory essay on service, reflection exercises, and questions for discussion.
What's the Matter? Readings in Physics
This exciting new anthology consists of 31 selections from scientists whose work has formed our understanding of the universe, including Aristotle, Galileo, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Albert Einstein, Max Planck, Richard Feynman, and Stephen Hawking.
How to Think About the Great Ideas
This collection of edited transcripts of Mortimer Adler's groundbreaking 1954 television series examines 22 ideas that have shaped the Western tradition in literature and philosophy, ideas such as beauty, truth, art, love, good and evil, education, democracy, and the rule of law.
Other Titles
Great Conversations 3
The third title in our Great Conversations series contains 15 selections, discussion guides for The Prince by Niccolò Machiavelli and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, as well as a thematic guide for reading selections across genres and disciplines. Available now.
Great Conversations 2
The second title in our Great Conversations series contains 15 more outstanding selections, and discussion guides for Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Eichmann In Jerusalem by Hannah Arendt.
Great Conversations 1
The first in our new series of Great Conversations titles includes 15 selections, as well as discussion guides for Seize the Day by Saul Bellow and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave by Frederick Douglass.
Citizens of the World: Readings in Human Rights
Includes 34 classic and contemporary selections from around the world about the evolution of human rights.
Keeping Things Whole: Readings in Environmental Science
Includes 21 selections from key thinkers in ecology, biology, economics, public policy, sociology, history, philosophy, and literature.
. . . And Justice for All
This joint publication with the Foreign Policy Association marks the 50th anniversary of the United Nations' Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It contains selections that foster discussion of the origin and concept of rights both for individuals and for specific groups and peoples.
50th Anniversary Series
Each anthology in this international collection of literature, philosophy, and poetry focuses on a theme of universal significance; the nine volumes bring together works by classic and modern authors, including James Baldwin, Annie Dillard, Euripides, Gustaw Herling, Jamaica Kincaid, Yukio Mishima, Friedrich Nietzsche, Marcel Proust, and Adrienne Rich. The questions provided for each selection will help book groups initiate strong discussions and maintain a flow of ideas. Each paperback volume also features discussion questions for two novels that are readily available for purchase online or from your local bookseller.
The Great Books Program
Representing some of the most influential and profound thinking of the Western world, these five series includes substantial works of literature and philosophy by such authors as Dostoevesky, Freud, Kafka, Plato, and Shakespeare.
How to Read a Book
Mortimer Adler's classic guide to the art of reading.
Introduction to Great Books
These three series including shorter selections by many of the same authors featured in the Great Books Reading and Discussion Program. This collection is ideal for new book groups that want to focus on classic works of fiction and nonfiction.
Modern American Poetry
This 528-page collection contains works by more than 40 American poets from the mid-1800s to the present.
The Nature of Life: Readings in Biology
Nineteen original writings by major scientists—from Aristotle to Stephen Jay
Gould—encourage inquiry-based discussion of a wide range of ideas in the field of biology.
Readers’ Guide to The Scarlet Letter and Readers’ Guide to The Great Gatsby
Indispensable resources for teachers and serious readers of classic texts, including critical background readings for each work, discussion questions, and related historical and literary documents.
The Will of the People: Readings in American Democracy
This accessble collection brings together some of the most important texts in the history of American democracy, with 14 selections reflecting the essence of American democratic ideals.
The Foundation also publishes free online discussion guides for selected classic and contemporary titles offered by Penguin Books.