Sixty-eight unabridged essays based on the most studied European authors and themes.

Sixty-eight unabridged essays based on the most studied European authors and themes.

Russian writer Maxim Gorky is known for his gritty depictions of life in his home country. In the gripping novella "Creatures That Once Were Men," he conveys an unforgettable portrait of people crushed by the machinations of a system much larger than themselves. Includes an illuminating introduction from beloved English author G.K. Chesterton.

This collection contains the last essays of Gorky which are related centrally to the theme stated in the title of this book culture and the people. It is a representative selection from the voluminous publicist efforts in which the author was engaged during the last ten years of his life. Together with his bookfull of articles, On Guard for the Soviet Union, the present volume reveals a side of Gorky's writing as necessary to an understanding of his work as his novels, stories, autobiographical volumes and plays. Some of the contributions are slashing polemics; many were written under the pressure of daily journalism, appearing in numerous periodicals, including the leading Soviet papers Pravda and Izvestia; all of them reflect the vigor and depth of Gorky's literary talent.

CONTENTS:In AmericaThe city of the yellow DevilRealm of BoredomThe MobMy InterviewsA King Who Knows His WorthOne of the Kings of the RepublicA Priest of MoralityThe Lords of LifeLa Belle FrancePublic WritingsOpen Letter to Messieurs J. RichardJules ClaretieRene Vivianiand Other French JournalistsFrom the "Foreign Chronicle""The States of Western Europe Before the War"And Many More

Born "Aleksey Maksimovich Peshkov" on March 16, 1868, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia - later renamed in his honor - Maxim Gorky would learn early the harsh lessons of life. He spent his early childhood in Astrakhan where his father worked as a shipping agent, but when the boy was only five years old, his father died, and he was sent to live with his maternal grandparents. This was not a happy time for the young Gorky as conditions were poor and often violent. At the age of eight, the boy's grandfather forced him to quit school and apprenticed him to several tradesmen including a shoemaker and an icon painter. Fortunately, Gorky also worked as a dishwasher on a Volga steamer where a friendly cook taught him to read, and literature soon became his passion.

CHILDHOOD —Maxim Gorky Childhood is an autobiographical Russian novel of Maxim Gorky (pen name) on the theme sanctum sanctorum of the world outlook.