Eighteenth-century French philosopher Charles-Louis de Secondat explores the essential components of good government.

In 1831, the then twenty-seven year old Alexis de Tocqueville, was sent with Gustave de Beaumont to America by the French Government to study and make a report on the American prison system. Over a period of nine months the two traveled all over America making notes not only on the prison systems but on all aspects of American society and government. From these notes, Tocqueville wrote "Democracy in America", an exhaustive analysis of the successes...

"The classic handbook of statecraft written by an Italian nobleman recommends guile and craftiness to attain and maintain political power." --

Written shortly after he became Biship of Hippo, "Confessions" highlights Augustine's childhood in Numidia and his riotous youth and early manhood in Carthage, Rome, and Milan. It also chronicles his continuing struggle with sin and his efforts to find satisfaction in Manichaenism and Neoplatonism. Particularly poignant are his mother's tireless efforts to rescue him from self-destruction and his dramatic conversion to the Christian faith at age 32....

The Dialogues of Plato, written between 427 and 347 b.c., rank among the most important and influential works in Western thought. Most famous are the first four, in which Plato casts his teacher Socrates as the central disputant in colloquies that brilliantly probe a vast spectrum of philosophical ideas and issues. Socrates' ancient words are still true, and the ideas found in Plato's Dialogues still form the foundation of a thinking person's education....

"Looking for adventure and a new life, Ishmael, the story's narrator, decides to find work on a whaling boat. On arriving at the Massachusetts harbour to begin his search, the only bed available is already half occupied by a "cannibal" named Queequeg. Although Queequeg has limited English, a friendship forms and the two men sign up for work together aboard the Pequod under the infamous Captain Ahab." --