The Man in the Iron Mask tells a story based on historic facts. In 1661, King Louis XIV of France had his minister of finances - Nicolas Fouquet - arrested for embezzlement. Also in that year, Louis successfully wooed a young handmaiden named Louise, which caused some stir. In this novel, Dumas gives us the secret history behind these facts, and it is no surprise that the story involves his famous Four Musketeers.More specifically, Aramis becomes privy to the fact that Louis has a twin brother languishing in the Bastille, and he attempts to switch the two. The novel details his fascinating and rather intricate plot to pull this off, as well as how the other Musketeers fit into the plan.The first couple of pages concern mainly the aforementioned historic events, and its a bit of reading before you get to the meat of the action.This book is highly recommended - it will become part of your life, the way some good books can.If you love literature, if you love stories of complex intrigue, and especially if you love the Four Musketeers, you HAVE to read this book at least once in your life!

(asta nu e poezie, ve?i spune a?a e, ave?i perfect? dreptate e ?ip?t)

Around the Moon, Jules Verne's sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, is a science fiction novel which continues the trip to the moon which was only partially described in the previous novel. It was later combined with From the Earth to the Moon to create A Trip to the Moon and Around It. Having been fired out of the giant Columbiad space gun, the Baltimore Gun Club's bullet-shaped projectile, along with its three passengers, Barbicane, Nicholl and Michel Ardan, begins the five-day trip to the moon. A few minutes into the journey, a small, bright asteroid passes within a few hundred yards of them, but does not collide with the projectile. The asteroid had been captured by the Earth's gravity and had become a second moon.

Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of "buccaneers and buried gold." Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now.?

gata! Mito? Micleu?anu (n. 1972), pictor, scriitor, muzician. Cofondator al proiectului ?Planeta Moldova“.

ALEXANDER the Great died when he was quite young. He was but thirty-two years of age when he ended his career, and as he was about twenty when he commenced it, it was only for a period of twelve years that he was actually engaged in performing the work of his life. Napoleon was nearly three times as long on the great field of human action.??Notwithstanding the briefness of Alexander's career, he ran through, during that short period, a very brilliant series of exploits, which were so bold, so romantic, and which led him into such adventures in scenes of the greatest magnificence and splendor, that all the world looked on with astonishment then, and mankind have continued to read the story since, from age to age, with the greatest interest and attention.??The secret of Alexander's success was his character. He possessed a certain combination of mental and per-sonal attractions, which in every age gives to those who exhibit it a mysterious and almost unbounded ascendency over all within their influence. Alexander was characterized by these qualities in a very remarkable degree. He was finely formed in person, and very prepossessing in his manners. He was active, athletic, and full of ardor and enthusiasm in all that he did.

ALFRED THE GREAT figures in history as the founder, in some sense, of the British monarchy. Of that long succession of sovereigns who have held the scepter of that monarchy, and whose government has exerted so vast an influence on the condition and welfare of mankind, he was not, indeed, actually the first. ??There were several lines of insignificant princes before him, who governed such portions of the kingdom as they individually possessed, more like semi-savage chieftains than English kings. Alfred followed these by the principle of hereditary right, and spent his life in laying broad and deep the foundations on which the enormous superstructure of the British empire has since been reared. If the tales respecting his character and deeds which have come down to us are at all worthy of belief, he was an honest, conscientious, disinterested, and farseeing statesman. ??If the system of hereditary succession would always furnish such sovereigns for mankind, the principle of loyalty would have held its place much longer in the world than it is now likely to do, and great nations, now republican, would have been saved a vast deal of trouble and toil expended in the election of their rulers.

KING CHARLES THE SECOND was the son and successor of King Charles the First. These two are the only kings of the name of Charles that have appea-red, thus far, in the line of English sovereigns. Nor is it very probable that there will soon be another. The reigns of both these monarchs were stained and tarnished with many vices and crimes, and darkened by national disasters of every kind, and the name is thus connected with so many painful associations in the minds of men, that it seems to have been dropped, by common consent, in all branches of the royal family.??The reign of Charles the First, as will be seen by the history of his life in this series, was characterized by a long and obstinate contest between the king and the people, which brought on, at last, a civil war, in which the king was defeated and taken prisoner, and in the end beheaded on a block, before one of his own pala-ces. During the last stages of this terrible contest, and before Charles was himself taken prisoner, he was, as it were, a fugitive and an outlaw in his own dominions. His wife and family were scattered in various foreign lands, his cities and castles were in the hands of his enemies, and his oldest son, the prince Charles, was the object of special hostility. The prince incurred, therefore, a great many dangers, and suffered many heavy calamities in his early years. He lived to see these calamities pass away, and, after they were gone, he enjoyed, so far as his own personal safety and welfare were concerned, a tranquil and prosperous life. The storm, however, of trial and suffering which enveloped the evening of his father's days, darkened the morning of his own. ??The life of Charles the First was a river rising gently, from quiet springs, in a scene of verdure and sunshine, and flowing gradually into rugged and gloomy regions, where at last it falls into a terrific abyss, enveloped in darkness and storms. That of Charles the Second, on the other hand, rising in the wild and rugged mountains where the parent stream was engulfed, commences its course by leaping frightfully from precipice to precipice, with turbid and foaming waters, but emerges at last into a smooth and smiling land, and flows through it prosperously to the sea.

HANNIBAL was a Carthaginian general. He acquired his great distinction as a warrior by his desperate contests with the Romans. Rome and Carthage grew up together on opposite sides of the Mediterranean Sea. For about a hundred years they waged against each other most dreadful wars. There were three of these wars. Rome was successful in the end, and Carthage was entirely destroyed.?There was no real cause for any disagreement between these two nations. Their hostility to each other was mere rivalry and spontaneous hate. They spoke a different language; they had a different origin; and they lived on opposite sides of the same sea. So they hated and devoured each other.?Those who have read the history of Alexander the Great, in this series, will recollect the difficulty he experienced in besieging and subduing Tyre, a great maritime city, situated about two miles from the shore, on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. Cart-hage was originally founded by a colony from this city of Tyre, and it soon became a great commercial and maritime power like its mother. The Carthaginians built ships, and with them explored all parts of the Mediterranean Sea.

O radiografie hermeneutic? a unor c?r?i-eveniment ce au v?zut lumina tiparului ?n perioada postdecembrist?, accentul fiind pus pe autorii interzi?i sub dictatur?, precum ?i pe c?r?ile poe?ilor ce devin, f?r? voia lor, o rara avis ?n societatea de tranzi?ie. Cartea se adreseaz? elevilor, studen?ilor, precum ?i publicului larg de cititori.

THERE are numerous time-honored stories which have become so incorporated into the literature and thought of our race that a knowledge of them is an indispensable part of one's education. These stories are of several different classes. To one class belong the popular fairy tales which have delighted untold generations of children, and will continue to delight them to the end of time. To another class belong the limited number of fables that have come down to us through many channels frorn hoar antiquity. To a third belong the charming stories of olden times that are derived from the literatures of ancient peoples, such as the Greeks and the Hebrews. A fourth class includes the half-legendary tales of a distinctly later origin, which have for their subjects certain romantic episodes in the lives of well-known heroes and famous men, or in the history of a people.??It is to this last class that most of the fifty stories contained in the present volume belong. As a matter of course, some of these stories are better known, and therefore more famous, than others. Some have a slight historical value; some are useful as giving point to certain great moral truths; others are products solely of the fancy, and are intended only to amuse. Some are derived from very ancient sources, and are current in the literature of many lands; some have come to us through the ballads and folk tales of the English people.

Prin u?ile l?sate vrai?teDe cei ce nu se mai ?ntorcPrin pere?ii pe care i?i zg?riar?ViseleD? buzna glasul mul?imiiCare se zbateDeja prins? ?ntre fireleIscusitei urzeli a paianjenilorPoliticiThrough the wide-open doorsBy those who never returnThrough the walls on which they’d scratchedTheir dreamsThe voice barges through from a crowdWhich is strugglingAlreadz trappedIn the skillfullz/woven webOf the spiders of politics

THE author of this work makes no pretense of originality in the telling of these stories of olden times. They have been gleaned from many sources, and are the common heritage of all who love to write them anew and hear them again. Only the words belong to the story teller; the story itself is as old as the race.??In the lapse of years and with the much telling of these stories there is no longer a line between fact and fiction. How much is true and how much is false does not matter; the story itself is the thing, and one need not worry whether it really happened or not. Much of it is palpable fiction, but much of it is true. Let us not be too critical of a story when it is a few hundred years old.??At any rate, the stories herein contained are a part of the great inheritance that the boys and girls of this day have received from the past, and to which they are entitled in all fullness and freedom. If the reading of them shall add anything to the enjoyment or to the information of those who are always young in heart because they always thrill at romance and adventure, the writer of these old time tales will be amply repaid.?LAWTON B. EVANS??1. JEROME AND THE LION?2. THE SAINT WHO STOOD ON A PILLAR?3. THE SCOURGE OF GOD?4. THE VANDAL HORDE?5. KING CLOVIS BECOMES A CHRISTIAN?6. A CAMEL DRIVER BECOMES A PROPHET?7. WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A KNIGHT?8. BERTHA WITH THE BIG FOOT?9. STORIES OF CHARLEMAGNE?10. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE MAGIC RING?11. CHARLEMAGNE AND THE ROBBER?12. ROLAND BECOMES A KNIGHT?13. THE DEATH OF ROLAND?14. HOW NORMANDY CAME BY ITS NAME?15. OLAF, THE BOY VIKING OF NORWAY?16. THE CID WINS HIS NAME?17. THE LAST DAYS OF THE CID?18. THE LORELEI?19. THE MOUSE TOWER?20. THE DEVIL'S LADDER?21. GERDA'S RIDE TO HER WEDDING?22. PETER THE HERMIT?23. THE WIVES OF WEINSBERG?24. THE MEETING OF KING RICHARD AND SALADIN?25. ADVENTURES OF RICHARD, THE LION HEART?26. THE PRINCE OF TRAVELERS?27. WILLIAM TELL, THE SWISS PATRIOT?28. EDWARD, THE BLACK PRINCE?29. BIG FERRE KEEPS THE FORT?30. THE LEGEND OF THE STRASSBURG CLOCK?31. THE BURGHERS OF GHENT REFUSE TO BE HANGED?32. THE SACRIFICE OF ARNOLD WINKELRIED?33. THE STORY OF JOAN OF ARC?34. BAYARD, THE KNIGHT WITHOUT FEAR AND WITHOUT REPROACH?35. THE FIELD OF THE CLOTH OF GOLD?36. DMITRI, THE PRETENDER?37. THE MAN WITH THE IRON MASK?38. STORIES OF PETER THE GREAT?39. MAZEPPA, THE CHIEF OF THE COSSACKS?40. THE CRIME OF CHARLOTTE CORDAY

ntunericul (noaptea i nebunia), abisul (mormntul) i focul (sngele) se ntreptrund, cele trei constituind treptat o adncire n infern, trei bolgii care se continu la nesfrit. Poetul i, odat cu el, cititorul, este obligat s le parcurg pe toate trei. Din infernul lui Bolea nu exist scpare… (Cristina Nemerovschi) Tocmai excesul de recuzit transform poemele din volum ntr-o parodie a reportajului mizerabilist cultivat de poeii promoiei 2000, lsnd n cele din urm sentimentul mistificrii, al farsei enorme, n timp ce poetul pare a da n permanen cu tifla unui cititor tot mai derutat, care nu mai tie dac autorul glumete sau vorbete serios, dac are de-a face cu un nihilist autentic sau cu un parodist care demonteaz mecanismele liricii autenticiste, i-i caricaturizeaz cu verv locurile comune. (Octavian Soviany) Rzboi civil mi amintete de black metal i de nordul fioros i ngheat. (iQ 666) Poemele lui tefan Bolea sunt o oglind n care se reflect luciul mizeriei contemporane, sunt un colaj de ridicol i neimportant”, de beie i metafizic, de sublim i grotesc, de ncruntare i de (ne)linite. Poate de aceea versurile lui au prospeimea (edenic) a celui care spune lucrurilor pe nume.(Petrior Militaru) Rzboi civil este, cu siguran, cartea resureciei, à rebours. Prin atitudinea ironic-demolatoare, debutul lui Stefan Bolea este unul ct se poate de interesant, l aeaz pe autor, n mod meritat, n rndurile din fa ale noii generaii. (Silviu Gongonea) Ghidul turistic, care este tefan Bolea, st la malul existenei noastre i ne ndeamn s intrm i noi, de fapt, s deschidem ochii i s vedem c suntem deja acolo, unii pn la glezne, alii pn la genunchi, unii mai norocoi pn la nas, unde mirosul aburind al noroiului se mperecheaz cu suflul nostru vital, contaminndu-se reciproc. (Drago Fabian) Pentru c nici un poet nu poate exista fr o poezie-manifest, care s-i defineasc crezul literar, Bolea are ca art poetic: Imn pentru generaia 2000+. Bolea devine un postmodernist extrem sau neo-avangardist n acest moment. (Marcela Iuga) Referindu-ne la concepia postmodern de chirurgie cosmetic, Bolea folosete aceast metod ntr-un mod manierist, efectund operaii cosmetice asupra textelor sale, jucndu-se constant cu dimensiunile i perspectiva, cu deformarea i hiperbola… (Eva Theodora)

WHITE FANG is a novel by American author Jack London - and the name of the book's eponymous character, a wild wolfdog. "So he became the enemy of his kind, domesticated wolves that they were, softened by the fires of man, weakened in the sheltering shadow of man's strength." —White Fang Jack London's The Call of the Wild, White Fang is the story of a wild dog's journey toward becoming civilized in the Canadian territory of Yukon at the end of the nineteenth century. White Fang is characteristic of London's precise prose style and innovation use of voice and perspective. Much of the novel is written from the viewpoint of the animals, allowing London to explore how animals view their world and how they view humans. White Fang relies on his instincts as well as his strength and courage to survive in the Yukon wilderness—despite both animal and human predators—and eventually comes to make his peace with man. White Fang has been adapted for the screen numerous times, including a 1991 film starring Ethan Hawke.

Atunci c?nd Rosemary Harper se al?tur? echipajului de pe Wayfarer, a?tept?rile nu ?i sunt foarte mari. Dincolo de peticele pe care ar trebui s? le capete c?t mai cur?nd, Wayfarer este o nav? m?runt?, aparent lini?tit?, r?t?cit? ?n birocra?ia megacorpora?iilor ?i, cel mai important, potrivit? pentru ca Rosemary s? se distan?eze de problemele din trecut. Iar personalit??ile at?t de distincte ?i rasele at?t de diverse ale noilor s?i colegi (de la excesiv de amabila Sissix, la Kizzy ?i Jenks, perechea nedesp?r?it? de tehnicieni ce c?rpesc m?runtaiele navei) pot fi ?n acela?i timp ?i motiv pentru certuri haotice, ?i baza unor noi prietenii care ar fi p?rut imposibil de legat. Una peste alta – locul perfect pentru ea. Totul p?n? ce Ashby, nobilul c?pitan, accept? comisionarea unei lucr?ri extrem de profitabile: construirea unui tunel hiperspa?ial c?tre o planet? ?ndep?rtat?. Oportunitatea le-ar asigura tuturor independen?a financiar?, asta dac? ar putea supravie?ui lungului ?i primejdiosului drum prin galaxia marcat? de o pace fragil?. ?ns? Rosemary nu este singura care are secrete de ascuns, iar ?ntreg echipajul va descoperi c? spa?iul este vast, iar propria nav? cu adev?rat mic?… ?Un tur de for?? profund ?i uman.“ — The Guardian ?Un roman care poate readuce ?ncrederea ?n science-fiction.“ — Tor.com ?Mai mult dec?t orice, este scris cu pl?cere ?i pl?cut de citit.“ — Claire North Nominalizare la premiile Kitschies 2015 pentru ?Cel mai bun debut“ Nominalizare la Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction 2016 Nominalizare la Tiptree Award 2015 Nominalizare la British Fantasy Awards 2016, categoria ?Best Newcomer“ Nominalizare la premiile Arthur C. Clarke 2016 Nominalizare la Grand Prix de l’Imaginaire 2016 pentru ?Cel mai bun roman ?ntr-o limb? str?in?“

THE Spanish peninsula, separated from France on the north by the Pyrenees, and bounded on the three remaining sides by the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, con-tains an area of 225,600 square miles, being a little larger than France. Nature has reared a very formidable barrier between Spain and France, for the Pyrenees, extending in a straight line 250 miles in length, from the Bay of Biscay to the Mediterranean, and often rising in peaks more than ten thou-sand feet in height, offer but three defiles which carriages can traverse, though there are more than a hundred passes which may be surmounted by pedestrians or the sure-footed mule. The soil is fertile; the climate genial and salubrious; and the face of the country, diversified with meadows and mountains, presents, in rare combination, the most attractive features both of loveliness and sublimity.?History does not inform us when and how this beautiful peninsula—called Hispania by the Romans—first became in-habited. Whether the earliest emigrants crossed the straits of Gibraltar from Africa, or came from Asia, coasting the shores of the Mediterranean, or descended from France through the defiles of the Pyrenees, can now never be known. The first glimpse we catch of Spain, through the haze of past ages, reveals to us the country inhabited by numerous barbaric tri-bes, fiercely hostile to each other, and constantly engaged in bloody wars. The mountain fastnesses were infested with robber bands, and rapine and violence everywhere reigned. The weapons grasped by these fierce warriors consisted of lances, clubs, and slings, with sabres and hatchets, of rude fashion but of keen edge. Their food was mainly nuts and ro-ots. Their clothing consisted of a single linen garment, girded around the waist; and a woollen tunic, surmounted by a cloth cap, descended to the feet. As in all barbarous nations, the hard work of life was performed by the women.??The names even of most of these tribes have long since perished; a few however have been transmitted to our day, such as the Celts, the Gallicians, the Lusitanians, and the Iberians. Several ages before the foundations of Rome or of Carthage were laid, it is said that the Phoenicians, exploring in their commercial tours the shores of the Mediterranean, established a mercantile colony at Cadiz. The colonists growing rich and strong, extended their dominions and founded the cities of Malaga and Cordova. About 800 years before Christ, a colony from Rhodes settled in the Spanish peninsula, and established the city of Rosas. Other expeditions, from various parts of Greece, also planted colonies and engaged in successful traffic with the Spanish natives.??Four hundred years before Christ, the Carthaginian republic was one of the leading powers, and Carthage was one of the most populous and influential cities on the globe. The Carthaginians crossed the narrow straits which separate Africa from Spain, landed in great strength upon the Spanish peninsula, and, after a short but severe conflict, subdued the foreign colonies there, brought the native Spaniards into subjection, and established their own supremacy over all the southern coast. Cadiz became the central point of Carthaginian power, from whence the invaders constantly extended their conquests. Though many of the interior tribes maintained for a time a sort of rude and ferocious independence, still Carthage gradually assumed dominion over the whole of Spain.??In the year 235 B.C., Hamilcar, the father of the illustrious Hannibal, compelled nearly all the tribes of Spain to ack-nowledge his sway. For eight years Hamilcar waged almost an incessant battle with the Spaniards. Still it was merely a military possession which he held of the country, and he erected Barcelona and several other fortresses, where his soldiers could bid defiance to assaults, and could overawe the surrounding inhabitants.

Sonetul contondentCelor doi / poe?i de mare soi...(Istrate ?i Murgeanu)Visam c? Marea-?i p?r?sea ghioculCu-al s?u tumult de valuri euxine?i, h?t-departe-n zonele alpine,Ca-n Cretaceu, ??i reg?sise locul...Priveam de-acuma fascinat la joculDe valuri ?n?esate de jivineDin vremuri disp?rute, care-n fine,??i ?ncercau, o dat?-n plus, norocul.Sim?eam o dulce binecuv?ntareC?-n groapa euxinic? ad?nc?O Mare Neagr? nu exist? ?nc?,Nici Casa Scriitorilor la mare;Nici doi poe?i cu barb?, bur?i ?i plete,S?-n?ire contondentele sonete.

SINCE the publication of my larger book, "The Horse Fair," many letters have been received from teachers and their scholars telling of the pleasure derived from the reading of it, and incidentally suggesting that much of its contents is directly in line with the courses of literary instruction pursued in our elementary schools. This suggestion has led me to col-lect certain of the stories into a smaller volume especially adapted for use as a school reading-book.? The eighteen stories in this volume have been chosen with a thought to their educative value as well as for the intrinsic charm of the original narratives, which in various forms have delighted many generations of readers. All have a literary interest connecting them with subjects with which every educated person is supposed to be familiar. In the first four, you will be introduced to the sun myths and season myths of the Greeks and of our Norse ancestors. Following these, the tale of song-inspiring Pegasus is presented in contrast with that of Griffen, the base imitation invented by the romancing poets of the Middle Ages. ? Then in "The Ship of the Plains," you may read of the mythical founding of Athens; and in the sketch that follows, you may enjoy a brief glimpse of Arabic imagery in the story of one of the most interesting episodes in the life of the prophet Mohammed. The story of the twin brethren will acquaint you with the thought of some of the old Latin writers, while the tale of Rakush will give you a taste of Persian literature as it is found in the great epic written by Firdusi. The romances of Charlemagne and his peers are represented by the story of Broiefort and his indomitable master; and the world-famous Don Quixote is introduced by his sorry but scarcely less famous steed, Rozinante.

Ninge ?n martieNinge ?ntr-un hornDin care iese fumNinge tot mai densCople?itor?i ?ntoarce fumul din drum?l preseaz? ?n horn ca-ntr-un teasc?l ?ndeas? la loc ?n c?rbuniAstup? flac?raRea?az? focul ?nMiezul ?nsu?i al P?m?ntului.

Scrum este cel de-al doilea roman al lui Augustin Nacu ?i reprezint? istoria unei evad?ri e?uate, un joc periculos, dar ?i frumos, disperat de frumos al unui grup de prieteni, mai ?nt?i, elevi, apoi, studen?i, din Uniunea Sovietic?, afla?i ?ntr-o goan? perpetu? dup? visul lor. Cu mici excep?ii, ac?iunea se desf??oar? la Chi?in?u, capitala Republicii Sovietice Socialiste Moldovene?ti, la ?nceputul anilor optzeci ai secolului XX, constituind sf?r?itul a?a-zisei epoci de stagnare a lui Brejnev ?i acel intermezzo dinaintea perestroik?i lui Gorbaciov, av?nd mai multe ie?iri ?ntr-un viitor nu doar imaginar pentru tot at?tea ?ntoarceri ?ntr-un trecut teribil de real, chiar ?i ?n unul mai ?ndep?rtat, cel de la mijlocul secolului men?ionat, o perioad? dramatic? pentru Basarabia ?i oamenii ei, bunici ?i p?rin?i, a c?ror remanent? disperare s-a transmis printr-o ?memorie a genelor“ copiilor ?i nepo?ilor, aliment?ndu-le mereu acestora din urm? dorin?a nest?vilit? de libertate, din care s-a iscat acel vis ?i, implicit, acel joc al lor...