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Classics

Timeless wisdom and transformative stories await in these enduring works that have shaped human thought and culture across generations. These profound books explore life's deepest questions through unforgettable characters, philosophical insights, and universal truths that continue to resonate with readers today.

Classics Book Summaries

Code of the Samurai Summary
Code of the Samurai
A Modern Translation of the Bushido Shoshinshu of Taira Shigesuke
by Daidōji Yūzan 1943 128 pages
4.03
3.4K ratings
Philosophy
History
Martial Arts
Meditations on First Philosophy, with Selections from the Objections and Replies Summary
Meditations on First Philosophy, with Selections from the Objections and Replies
by René Descartes 1641 265 pages
3.74
2.3K ratings
Philosophy
Classics
France
Introduction to Metaphysics Summary
Introduction to Metaphysics
by Martin Heidegger 1929 254 pages
4.03
4.3K ratings
Philosophy
Metaphysics
German Literature
Potiki Summary
Potiki
by Patricia Grace 1986 192 pages
3.88
2.3K ratings
Indigenous
Classics
Magical Realism
The Perennial Philosophy Summary
The Perennial Philosophy
by Aldous Huxley 1945 336 pages
4.13
6.2K ratings
Philosophy
Religion
Spirituality
Prometheus Unbound Summary
Prometheus Unbound
by Percy Bysshe Shelley 1820 112 pages
3.76
2.1K ratings
Poetry
Classics
Plays
English Journey Summary
English Journey
by J.B. Priestley 1934 320 pages
4.07
434 ratings
Travel
History
British Literature
Doctor Zhivago Summary
Doctor Zhivago
by Boris Pasternak 1957 592 pages
4.01
100.5K ratings
Historical Fiction
Russia
Russian Literature
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Other Plays Summary
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Other Plays
by Tennessee Williams 1955 329 pages
4.06
1.5K ratings
Plays
Classics
Drama
True Grit Summary
True Grit
by Charles Portis 1968 224 pages
4.17
67.0K ratings
Westerns
Historical Fiction
Classics
Papillon Summary
Papillon
by Henri Charrière 1969 544 pages
4.23
73.5K ratings
Biography
Classics
Memoir
All the Pretty Horses Summary
All the Pretty Horses
by Cormac McCarthy 1992 302 pages
4.05
137.7K ratings
Westerns
Historical Fiction
Classics
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4 Summary
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick 4
The Minority Report
by Philip K. Dick 1987 396 pages
4.11
14.4K ratings
Science Fiction
Short Stories
Science Fiction Fantasy
The Black Cat Summary
The Black Cat
by Edgar Allan Poe 1843 24 pages
4.03
53.4K ratings
Classics
Horror
Short Stories
Sounder Summary
Sounder
by William H. Armstrong 1969 116 pages
3.97
31.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Young Adult
On Drinking Summary
On Drinking
by Charles Bukowski 2019 263 pages
3.88
1.6K ratings
Poetry
Short Stories
Essays
50 Politics Classics Summary
50 Politics Classics
Freedom Equality Power: Mind-Changing, World-Changing Ideas from Fifty Landmark Books
by Tom Butler-Bowdon 2015 336 pages
4.00
279 ratings
Politics
Philosophy
History
Riders of the Purple Sage Summary
Riders of the Purple Sage
by Zane Grey 1912 320 pages
3.75
14.1K ratings
Westerns
Classics
Historical Fiction
Alamut Summary
Alamut
by Vladimir Bartol 1938 510 pages
4.31
13.0K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
Novels
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Summary
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
by August Wilson 1984 111 pages
4.00
3.9K ratings
Plays
Drama
Historical Fiction
Sybil Summary
Sybil
The Classic True Story of a Woman Possessed by Sixteen Personalities
by Flora Rheta Schreiber 1973 481 pages
3.99
90.3K ratings
Psychology
Biography
Mental Health
Flatland Summary
Flatland
A Romance of Many Dimensions
by Edwin A. Abbott 1884 96 pages
3.81
74.9K ratings
Science Fiction
Classics
Mathematics
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories Summary
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Stories
by Robert Louis Stevenson 1886 254 pages
4.00
35.8K ratings
Classics
Horror
Short Stories
The Man Who Counted Summary
The Man Who Counted
A Collection of Mathematical Adventures
by Malba Tahan 1938 256 pages
4.11
6.5K ratings
Mathematics
Classics
Novels
The Death of Virgil Summary
The Death of Virgil
by Hermann Broch 1945 493 pages
4.14
1.7K ratings
Historical Fiction
Classics
German Literature
Where the Sidewalk Ends Summary
Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein 1974 176 pages
4.34
1.5M ratings
Poetry
Childrens
Classics
The Country Girls Summary
The Country Girls
by Edna O'Brien 1960 175 pages
3.69
8.1K ratings
Ireland
Irish Literature
Classics
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge Summary
A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge
by George Berkeley 1710 80 pages
3.72
3.3K ratings
Philosophy
Classics
Metaphysics
The Gospel Singer Summary
The Gospel Singer
by Harry Crews 1968 300 pages
4.22
1.8K ratings
Southern Gothic
Southern
Classics
Concerning the Spiritual in Art Summary
Concerning the Spiritual in Art
by Wassily Kandinsky 1912 80 pages
3.84
89.5K ratings
Art
Philosophy
Art History
The Palace of Dreams Summary
The Palace of Dreams
by Ismail Kadare 1981 208 pages
3.96
5.8K ratings
Fantasy
Dystopia
Classics
The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Stories Summary
The Picture of Dorian Gray and Three Stories
by Oscar Wilde 1891 320 pages
4.09
3.2K ratings
Classics
Horror
Gothic
How To Dress For Success Summary
How To Dress For Success
by Edith Head 1967 212 pages
3.80
203 ratings
Fashion
Business
Classics
The Poetry of Robert Frost Summary
The Poetry of Robert Frost
by Robert Frost 1969 607 pages
4.24
48.8K ratings
Poetry
Classics
Literature
The Return of the Native Summary
The Return of the Native
by Thomas Hardy 1878 426 pages
3.88
39.7K ratings
Classics
Literature
19th Century
My Left Foot Summary
My Left Foot
by Christy Brown 1954 184 pages
4.05
8.7K ratings
Biography
Memoir
Disability
Philosophical Investigations Summary
Philosophical Investigations
by Ludwig Wittgenstein 1953 246 pages
4.26
15.4K ratings
Philosophy
Language
Classics
Jude the Obscure Summary
Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy 1895 310 pages
3.83
74.3K ratings
Classics
Literature
19th Century
Autobiography Summary
Autobiography
by John Stuart Mill 1873 240 pages
3.76
1.1K ratings
Biography
Philosophy
History
God Is Dead. God Remains Dead. And We Have Killed Him. Summary
God Is Dead. God Remains Dead. And We Have Killed Him.
by Friedrich Nietzsche 1888 128 pages
3.84
933 ratings
Philosophy
Classics
Religion
An Old-Fashioned Girl Summary
An Old-Fashioned Girl
by Louisa May Alcott 1870 288 pages
4.09
21.6K ratings
Classics
Young Adult
Historical Fiction
The Black Tulip Summary
The Black Tulip
by Alexandre Dumas 1850 246 pages
3.85
22.4K ratings
Classics
Historical Fiction
France
The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories Summary
The Death of Ivan Ilych and Other Stories
by Leo Tolstoy 1886 304 pages
4.12
16.3K ratings
Classics
Short Stories
Russia
The Shadow Out of Time Summary
The Shadow Out of Time
by H.P. Lovecraft 1936 140 pages
3.87
5.8K ratings
Horror
Science Fiction
Lovecraftian
The Giving Tree Summary
The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein 1964 64 pages
4.38
1.2M ratings
Childrens
Classics
Picture Books
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories Summary
The Old Man Who Read Love Stories
by Luis Sepúlveda 1988 144 pages
3.93
28.3K ratings
Classics
Spanish Literature
Novels
Beezus and Ramona Summary
Beezus and Ramona
by Beverly Cleary 1955 160 pages
4.03
102.8K ratings
Childrens
Middle Grade
Classics
Oliver Twist Summary
Oliver Twist
by Marian Leighton 1989 240 pages
4.04
3.1K ratings
Classics
Childrens
Young Adult
Story of Civilization Summary
Story of Civilization
by Will Durant 1975 14777 pages
4.43
1.8K ratings
History
Philosophy
World History
SCUM Manifesto Summary
SCUM Manifesto
by Valerie Solanas 1967 96 pages
3.77
11.3K ratings
Feminism
Politics
Philosophy
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