There is an immense range of books about the English Civil War, but one historian stands head and shoulders above all others for the quality of his work on the subject. In 1961 Christopher Hill first published what has come to be acknowledged as the best concise history of the period, Century of Revolution. Stimulating, vivid and provocative, his graphic depiction of the turbulent era examines ordinary English men and women as well as kings and queens.

In this, his most famous work, Marcel Mauss (1872-1950) presented to the world a book which revolutionized our understanding of some of the basic structures of society. A renowned anthropologist, Mauss sought in this work to transcend empirical observation and reach deeper realities. In so doing, he inaugurated a new era for the social sciences.

One of Sartre's most important pieces of writing, Sketch for a Theory of the Emotions not only anticipates but argues many of the ideas to be found in his famous Being and Nothingness.

A wonderful collection of all 210 tales and popular legends collected by the Grimm brothers over a century ago.

This classic book is a powerful indictment of contemporary attitudes to race. By accusing British intellectuals and politicians on both sides of the political divide of refusing to take race seriously, Paul Gilroy caused immediate uproar when this book was first published in 1987. A brilliant and explosive exploration of racial discourses, There Ain't No Black in the Union Jack provided a powerful new direction for race relations in Britain. Still dynamite today and as relevant as ever, this Routledge Classics edition includes a new introduction by the author.

Herbert Marcuse's analysis and image of a one-dimensional man in a one-dimensional society has shaped many young radicals' way of seeing and experiencing life. Published in 1964, it fast became an ideological bible for the emergent New Left.

Adorno's frank and open challenge to directness, and the avoidance of language that 'gives itself over either to the market, to balderdash, or to the predominating vulgarity', is as timely today as it ever has been.

A narrative of events in France and across Europe is combined with acute insights into the underlying forces that created the dynamics of the revolution, as well as the personalities responsible for day-to-day decisions during this momentous period. In tracing the web of intrigues and influences that transpired as the French Revolution, Lefebvre illuminates the fundamentals of historical interpretation and, at the same time, tells a story that should compel every reader.

Letter to a Priest encapsulates the sharp wit and questioning nature of Simone Weil. Regarded by Susan Sontag as one of the most uncompromising and troubling witnesses to the modern travail of the spirit, Weil grips the moral imagination as few others before or since. She was only 34 when she died in 1943 yet, despite her short life, she left behind an incredible body of literature. This letter, addressed to Father Joseph-Marie Perrin, a Catholic priest whom Weil met in Marseilles, is one of her most powerful pieces.

Well into the twentieth century the idea that madness was the only explanation for the remarkable spiritual world Blake captured in his books. This classic work was the first to restore his work to the esoteric tradition.