Harvard Classics (50 volumes in total)

Author: CHARLES W. ELIOT (USA), Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-09-01
Features: "The Harvard Classics," edited by Charles W. Eliot, the second president of Harvard University, and involving over 100 renowned professors from Harvard University and other top universities in the United States over a period of four years. Since its publication in 1901, this series has been a bestseller for 100 years, becoming the cornerstone of book collections in Western households and the authoritative reading material for Western students to study ancient and modern civilizations. Unlike other classic series that simply compile 100 or 50 famous works from human history into a series, "The Harvard Classics" aims to encompass the finest social science and natural science literature from human history up to the 19th century, presenting modern readers with the process of human observation, documentation, invention, and intellectual evolution. Therefore, "The Harvard Classics" is a thought-provoking series reflecting humanity's understanding and exploration of the world:
◇ From the perspective of academic fields, it covers major disciplines such as history, biography, philosophy, religion, travel writing, natural sciences, government and politics, education, criticism, drama, narrative and lyric poetry, and essays;
◇ From the perspective of cultural representation, it showcases the finest achievements of ancient and modern civilizations in Western countries such as Greece, Rome, France, Italy, Spain, Britain, Scotland, Germany, and the United States; it also selects representative works from civilizations such as China, India, Hebrew, Arabic, Scandinavia, and Ireland;
◇ From the perspective of time, it ranges from the oldest religious classics and the ancient Greek and Roman culture that originated Western civilization, to the medieval cultures of the East, Italy, France, Scandinavia, Ireland, Britain, Germany, and Latin America, including the intellectual achievements of the Renaissance in Italy, France, Germany, Britain, Scotland, and Spain; to the modern civilizations of Italy, France (three centuries), Germany (two centuries), England (three centuries), and the United States (more centuries);
◇ From the perspective of features, it includes the authoritative literature of scientific development from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries; it collects influential essays, historical documents, prefaces, and postfaces since modern times, serving as a stepping stone for readers to enter a particular academic field.