Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
Frederick Douglass
FreeAvailable formats: Ebook
4.3 (3)
Free to read
12 books to start with
Guide 01
The Collection
Philosophy & politics: where to start
The Prince/books/The-Prince-Niccolò-Machiavelli by Niccolò Machiavelli (1532). Power as it is, not as it should be.
Leviathan/books/Leviathan-Thomas-Hobbes by Thomas Hobbes (1651). Why we give up freedom for order.
Second Treatise of Government/books/Second-Treatise-of-Government-John-Locke by John Locke (1689). Natural rights and government by consent.
Walden, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience/books/Walden-and-On-The-Duty-Of-Civil-Disobedience-Henry-David-Thoreau by Henry David Thoreau (1854). The essay that inspired Gandhi and King.
The Souls of Black Folk/books/The-Souls-of-Black-Folk-W-E-B-Du-Bois by W. E. B. Du Bois (1903). Race, history and democracy's unfinished business.
A Modest Proposal/books/A-Modest-Proposal-Jonathan-Swift by Jonathan Swift (1729). The most famous satire in English, in fifteen minutes.
Guide 02
About This Collection
About philosophy & politics
Machiavelli asked how power really works. Hobbes, writing through civil war, asked why we accept government at all. Locke answered with natural rights, an answer that runs through the Declaration of Independence.
Thoreau asked what we owe when the law is unjust, and Du Bois asked who the American promise left out.
Swift, meanwhile, showed how satire can be a political weapon.
Questions about this shelf
What's the best philosophy book for beginners?
The Prince is short, concrete and still provocative. Read it alongside Locke to see two very different answers about power.
Are these translations modern?
Most are older public-domain translations. Each book page names its translator.