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The Gardener's Year (Hardcover)
Karel Capek; Illustrated by Josef Capek; Translated by Marie Weatherall, Robert Weatherall
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R299
R234
Discovery Miles 2 340
Save R65 (22%)
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Ships in 5 - 10 working days
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The Gardener's Year is a charming and light-hearted insight into
the life of an amateur gardener. Structured loosely around what to
plant, grow or cultivate each month, Karel Capek takes us on a
rollicking journey through a year in his own small garden. Complete
and unabridged. Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series
of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These
beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover.
This edition features lively black and white illustrations by Czech
artist Josef Capek and is translated by M. and R. Weatherall. From
making puddles with an untamable hose to sowing luxuriant weeds
instead of grass, Capek reveals how a gardener grows into his
surroundings 'spurred on by each new failure'. Subverting the
tradition of a 'how to' gardening book, he teaches his readers
about the magic of seeds, the perils of planting vegetables and the
thrilling surprises of a rock garden. As the year progresses and
frail buds turn from flowering stems to drooping bulbs and falling
leaves, Capek's small garden buzzes with life, wisdom and humour.
Originally written in 1936, two years before Capek's death and
three years before the Nazi invasion of Czechoslovakia, War with
the Newts is considered by many to be Capek's greatest book.
Working in the "fantastic" satiric tradition of Wells, Orwell, and
Vonnegut, Capek chronicles the discovery of a colony of highly
intelligent giant salamanders off the coast of an Indonesian
island. Capek sardonically details all the reactions of the
civilized world - from horror to skepticism, from intellectual
fascination to mercantile opportunism - and the ultimate
destruction from which it (and the newts) might not escape.
A darkly humorous Czech satire: a new super-breed tries to conquer
the world... War with the Newts (1936) is Karel Capek's darkly
humorous allegory of early 20th-century Czech politics. Captain van
Toch discovers a colony of newts in Sumatra which can not only be
taught to trade and use tools, but also to speak. As the rest of
the world learns of the creatures and their wonderful capabilities,
it is clear that this new species is ripe for exploitation - they
can be traded in their thousands, will do the work no human wants
to do, and can fight - but the humans have given no thought to the
terrible consequences of their actions.
Capek wrote 48 stories that deconstruct the mystery story by
breaking one rule here, three rules there, and yet also make for
wonderful reading. His unique approaches to the mysteries of
justice and truth are full of the ordinary and the extraordinary,
humor and humanism.
In this satirical classic, a brilliant scientist invents the
Karburator, a reactor that can create abundant and practically free
energy. However, the Karburator's superefficient energy production
also yields a powerful by-product. The machine works by completely
annihilating matter and in so doing releases the Absolute, the
spiritual essence held within all matter, into the world. Infected
by the heady, pure Absolute, the world's population becomes
consumed with religious and national fervor, the effects of which
ultimately cause a devastating global war. Set in the mid-twentieth
century, The Absolute at Large questions the ethics and rampant
spread of power, mass production, and atomic weapons that Karel
Capek saw in the technological and political revolutions occurring
around him. Stephen Baxter provides an introduction for this Bison
Books edition. Karel Capek (1890-1938) was an acclaimed Czech
author of novels, plays, essays, political writings, and short
stories. His works include R.U.R., the famous play in which Capek
coined the word "robot." Stephen Baxter is the author of several
science-fiction works, including the Philip K. Dick Award-winning
Vacuum Diagrams, and the coauthor, along with Arthur C. Clarke, of
The Light of Other Days.
Written against the background of the rise of Nazism, War With the
Newts concerns the discovery in the South Pacific of a sea-dwelling
race, which is enslaved and exploited by mankind. In time they
rebel, laying siege to the strongholds of their former masters in a
global war for supremacy. R.U.R., or Rossum's Universal Robots,
seen by many as a modern interpretation of the 'golem' myth, is
regarded as the most important play in the history of SF. It
introduced the word 'robot' and gave the genre one of its most
enduring tropes.
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R.U.R (Paperback)
Karel Čapek, Niclas Olson
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R264
Discovery Miles 2 640
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Ships in 10 - 15 working days
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We have Czech writer Karel apek to thank for the invention of the
word robot and generally for the introduction of the idea of
artificial intelligence to the world of literature. His play,
"R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots)" was first performed in 1921
and was an instant success. While the "robots" of the play could be
more accurately described as cyborgs, apek's influence on the
science fiction genre with this play would be profound. "R.U.R."
describes a future where robots have become universal and all of
humanity is now dependent on the labor that they provide.
Everything is perfect until the robot's are stirred into revolt.
"R.U.R." is apek's prophetic and dark dystopian vision of the
future which would solidify his place in literary history."
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the
1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly
expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable,
high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.
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