The Well-Educated Mind. A guide to the classical education you ne

Surrounded by more books than ever, readers today are frequently daunted by the classics they have left unread. Debunking our own inferiority complexes, this literary guide should be a useful resource for anyone wishing to explore and develop the mind´s capacity to read and comprehend the "greatest hits" in fiction, autobiography, history, poetry and drama.Far from tossing readers into the swarming sea of classics and demanding that they swim, this title offers brief histories of five literary genres, accompanied by detailed instructions on how to read each type. The annotated lists at the close of each chapter, ranging from Cervantes to A.S. Byatt, Herodotus to Paul Gilroy, preview recommended reading and encourage readers to make vital connections between ancient traditions and contemporary writing.Based on the same classical method as the author´s "The Well-Trained Mind," this volume provides not only a thorough grounding in the classics, but also a widely applicable foundation for self-education.