Books in the Wordsworth Classics of World Literature series

Translated by J.J. Graham, revised by F.N. Maude Abridged and with an Introduction by Louise Willmot.On War is perhaps the greatest book ever written about war. Carl von Clausewitz, a Prussian soldier, had witnessed at first hand the immense destructive power of the French Revolutionary armies which swept across Europe between 1792 and 1815. His response was to write a comprehensive text covering every aspect of warfare.On War is both a philosophical and practical work in which Clausewitz defines the essential nature of war, debates the qualities of the great commander, assesses the relative strengths of defensive and offensive warfare, and - in highly controversial passages - considers the relationship between war and politics. His arguments are illustrated with vivid examples drawn from the campaigns of Frederick the Great and Napoleon Bonaparte.For the student of society as well as the military historian, On War remains a compelling and indispensable source.

Sigmund Freud's controversial ideas have penetrated Western culture more deeply than those of any other psychologist. But psychoanalysis was never just a method of treatment, rather a vision of the human condition which has continued to fascinate and provoke long after the death of its originator.

Boccaccio's Decameron recasts the storytelling heritage of the ancient and medieval worlds into perennial forms that inspired writers from Chaucer and Shakespeare down to our own day.

Proclaimed as one of the finest Icelandic sagas, this text was written in about 1280 and refers to events a couple of centuries earlier. It is full of the details of everyday life, as well as the social structures of the society in which they take place.

This journal takes the reader from the coasts and interiors of South America to the South Sea Islands. It displays Darwin's speculative mind at work, posing searching questions about the complex relations between the Earth's structure, animal forms, anthropology and the origins of life itself.

Rene Descartes has been described as the "father" of modern philosophy. This selection of Descartes' writings attempt to answer central questions surrounding self, God, free-will and knowledge, using the science of thought as opposed to received wisdom based on the tenets of faith.

Based on the fable of a man who traded his soul for superhuman powers and knowledge, this text became the life work of Germany's greatest poet, Goethe. It is the dramatic poem that charts the life of a deeply flawed individual and his fight against despair and the nihilism of the Mephistopheles.

Published between 1776 and 1788, this text is acknowledged as a masterpiece of English historical writing. Covering the history of Europe from the 2nd-century AD, to the fall of Constantinople in 1453, this edition includes footnotes, explanatory comments, and a precis of the chapters not included.

This work contains Artistotle's views on what makes a good human life. It has served as an influence on the history of ideas and offers insights into the human condition.

Writing his "Comedy" (the epithet "Divine" was added by later admirers) in exile from his native Florence, Dante aimed to address a world gone astray both morally and politically. It tells the story of a character who is at one and the same time both Dante himself and Everyman.