Few 20th century novelists can have been subjected to quite as much dissection and analysis as Franz Kafka. Nor can many have bestowed such a powerful and pervasive version of reality through their writing; so much so that the term Kafkaesque is now commonly used to describe situations or environments in modern society. Being a Czech Jew trapped approximately between Stalin's Russia and Hitler's Germany (both temporally and geographically) it is perhaps not surprising he was obsessed with state control and persecution of individuals. All three of his novels, The Trial, The Castle and Amerika...

Ernest Hemingway, himself one of the giants of American literature, believed this book to be the novel that 'all modern American literature comes from.' This is a massive claim when considering the contribution Americans have made in this form throughout the 20th century. Fitzgerald, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Pearl Buck, Joseph Heller, Philip Roth, Saul Bellow - and the list of significant contributors to 20th century literature could go on and on. So what made this book so important and powerful in the development of the modern US novel? Firstly it tackled difficult and relevant issues of its...

Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (alias Lewis Carroll) was an interesting and idiosyncratic character, to say the least. He was a mathematics lecturer at Cambridge University and a deacon in the Anglican Church. Obviously a very bright man he suffered from physical impairments such as partial deafness and a stammer which, perhaps, made him reserved and slightly aloof from the society of the day. He also had a predilection for young female companionship, which would seem highly contentious to us today but was, perhaps, more acceptable (and possibly entirely innocent) in the latter part of the 19th...

Do you think you can make a difference to your own life just by changing the way you think? Your answer to this might just tell you something about your own view of the world and your receptiveness to positive thinking. But it is a topic worth keeping an open mind on and it does warrant further investigation and scrutiny. There is a large body of published work on the subject and this collection draws on some it and point up a lot of other ideas and sources. It also views the scientific evidence for the principles and the practical outcomes that some people appear to have extracted from using...

Davies Guttmann advises you for your own personal path to freshness. Keeping your mind and body fresh through the right way of living and thinking is key to overcome many of today's common psychological and physiological problems and many other health related problems that make us shy, keep us from interacting and leading a rich and active life. Keeping yourself fresh will also change the way you see and feel yourself. Not being fresh leads to many often combined health and other issues. Whether it is some form of body odour, a physical peculiarity, skin problems or some sexually-oriented...

Poker is serious - and big - business these days. Just take a look at the number of gaming and gambling sites offering variants on the game and the amount of media coverage and airtime it gets. It seems to be a game where you can get rich quick - but you can easily lose a considerable amount of money in a short time also; especially if you are not experienced and don't really understand what you are doing. This compilation takes a look at the history of poker and the different variations of the game that can be played for money or pleasure. It also features more serious analysis of strategies...