Books for Intelligent Barbarians
Discover the ultimate reading list for intelligent barbarians—bold, thought-provoking books that challenge convention. From Dostoevsky's *The Brothers Karamazov* to Bonhoeffer's *The Cost of Discipleship*, explore curated fiction, philosophy, and biography for sharp, rebellious minds seeking depth and truth.
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The Cost of Discipleship
by Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Previously published: New York: Macmillan, 1959.
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Rees Howells
by Norman Percy Grubb
Can one man's prayers change world events? This vivid, inspiring biography tells the story of a Welsh coal miner who surrendered himself entirely to God and found the key to prayer that changed the course of many nations.
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Jude the Obscure
by Thomas Hardy
"I’m an outsider to the end of my days!" Jude Fawley’s hopes of a university education are lost when he is trapped into marrying the earthy Arabella, who later abandons him. Moving to the town of Christminster where he finds work as a stonemason, Jude meets and falls in love with his cousin Sue Bridehead, a sensitive, freethinking "New Woman." Refusing to marry merely for the sake of religious convention, Jude and Sue decide instead to live together, but they are shunned by society and poverty soon threatens to ruin them. Jude the Obscure, Hardy’s last novel, caused a public furor when it was first published, with its fearless and challenging exploration of class and sexual relationships. This edition uses the unbowdlerized text of the first volume edition of 1895, and also includes a list for further reading, appendices and a glossary. In his introduction, Dennis Taylor examines biblical allusions and the critique of religion in Jude the Obscure, and its critical reception that led Hardy to abandon novel writing. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
