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Edgar Allan Poe's eerie stories and poems continue to captivate readers to this day. He not only wrote such gothic classics as ""The Raven,"" ""The Tell-Tale Heart,"" and ""The Fall of the House of Usher,"" he also lived a haunted life worthy of one of his tales. This volume from the new ""Bloom's Classic Critical Views"" series features fascinating critical essays from the 19th and early 20th centuries that offer a well-rounded historical look at Poe and his timeless works.

Mesopotamia, the land between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers, was the site of the world's first stable civilizations, including Sumer, Babylonia, and Assyria. As people settled permanently along the Fertile Crescent, they built irrigation systems to bring water to crops and constructed levees as protection against the flooding rivers. For the first time, humans had some control over the natural world around them, providing them with the stability and time needed to develop governments, religion, and legendary heroes such as Gilgamesh. As various city-states sprang up along the rivers, the first trade routes were laid among them. Cuneiform, the first writing system, eventually developed into various dialects and spread throughout western Asia and beyond. Although the empires of ancient Mesopotamia ended with the Persian conquest in the sixth century BCE, their importance cannot be underestimated. From a legal system to a school system, these ancient inhabitants of modern-day Iraq pioneered the groundwork that forms the basis for modern societies. ""Empires of Ancient Mesopotamia"" details the development of this area, the growth of its city-states, the daily life of its peoples, and how their influence is still felt today.

Night, a memoir by concentration camp survivor and Nobel Peace Prize - winner Elie Wiesel, is a key work of Holocaust literature. It bears witness to the horrors endured by a teenage boy whose freedom and family are forcibly wrested from him. This new study guide to Wiesel's moving story also features an annotated bibliography, a listing of other works by the author, and an introduction by literary scholar Harold Bloom.

Global Connections introduces middle school readers to the issues that affect today's global society. Tying together geography, history, science, social studies, and economics, these engaging titles examine key topics and their importance to the United States and to the world. Each title provides a balanced view of how the policies and actions of a particular group or region affect others, including such complex topics as world hunger, human rights, and terrorism. These timely books will be valuable resources for those interested in learning about the issues in the news or assigned reports on current events. Full-color maps and illustrations, plus informative charts, tables, and graphs, enhance each title. Special interactive 'Making Connections' boxed insets encourage students to engage in critical thinking about these complex issues. Titles in this new series were developed with the national social studies curriculum standards in mind.

Discovering U.S. History spans the complex and varied history of the United States from prehistoric times to the present day. This new chronological set can be read as a whole, providing readers with a comprehensive history, or as standalone volumes, with each title serving as a time capsule of a particular era. Each title brings to life the people and events that have shaped the nation through a clear and entertaining narrative, interesting boxed insets, and lively full-color and black-and-white photographs and illustrations. Students will find these books valuable for reports, prime supplements to textbooks, or simply interesting reading.

The trickster, a character that tests the taboos of a society, is rooted in the Native American literary tradition. However, writers the world over have used this knavish character to great effect in works such as ""The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"", ""Hamlet"", ""Love Medicine', and many other works frequently studied by high school students. Featuring original essays and excerpts from previously published critical analyses, each book in the new Bloom's ""Literary Themes"" series gives students valuable insight into the title's subject theme.

Camus's landmark novel traces the aftermath of a shocking crime and the man whose fate is sealed with one rash and foolhardy act. The Stranger presents readers with a new kind of protagonist, a man unable to transcend the tedium and inherent absurdity of everyday existence in a world indifferent to the struggles and strivings of its human denizens. This addition to the Bloom's Guides series features an annotated bibliography and a listing of works by the author for further reading.

A Wrinkle in Time; ""Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone""; and, ""Where the Wild Things Are"". You know the stories, you love the characters, but do you know 'who wrote that'? Find out about the people behind your favorite tales and why they felt compelled to write for children. This series offers great insights with 'Did You Know?' boxes that highlight interesting facts about the authors. In addition, the 'Popular Books' and 'Popular Characters' sections allow students to discover new works by their favorite authors.

With ""Much Ado About Nothing"", Shakespeare advanced his art, rendering the romantic comedy with greater elegance of composition and expression. The vividly depicted Beatrice and Benedick make it a play of character rather than situation, as the threats to romance are eventually banished and obstacles are overcome. The characters experience a psychological shift, rather than a change in their circumstances, in order to arrive at the love and mutual respect awaiting them at the play's conclusion. The critical essays in this study guide will help those studying Shakespeare's work.

In this romantic reconciliation comedy, the sweetly mischievous Helena plots and plans her way to winning the aloof Bertram's hand in marriage. While the lovers are united by the close of the final act, Shakespeare pokes fun at the fantasy, wish fulfillment, and conventions of romantic comedy with the play's ambiguous resolution, which has intrigued scholars, readers, and theatergoers for centuries. This invaluable new study guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest plays contains a selection of the finest criticism through the centuries, plus an introduction by Harold Bloom, an accessible summary of the plot, a comprehensive list of characters, a biography of Shakespeare, and more.

Each volume in the ""Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages"" series contains the finest criticism on a particular work from the Bard's oeuvre, selected under the guidance of renowned Shakespearean scholar Harold Bloom. Providing invaluable study guides, this comprehensive collection sheds light on how our relationship with the works of Shakespeare has evolved through the ages. Each title features: a selection of the best criticism on the work through the centuries; introductory essays on the development of criticism on the work in each century; a brief biography of Shakespeare; a plot synopsis, list of characters, and analysis of several key passages; and, an introduction by Harold Bloom.

Each volume in the ""Bloom's Shakespeare Through the Ages"" series contains the finest criticism on a particular work from the Bard's oeuvre, selected under the guidance of renowned Shakespearean scholar Harold Bloom. Providing invaluable study guides, this comprehensive collection sheds light on how our relationship with the works of Shakespeare has evolved through the ages. Each title features: a selection of the best criticism on the work through the centuries; introductory essays on the development of criticism on the work in each century; a brief biography of Shakespeare; a plot synopsis, list of characters, and analysis of several key passages; and, an introduction by Harold Bloom.

This series provides comprehensive reading and study guides for some of the world's most important literary masterpieces. Each title features: concise critical excerpts that provide a scholarly overview of each work; 'The Story Behind the Story', detailing the conditions under which the work was written; and, a biographical sketch of the author, a descriptive list of characters, an extensive summary and analysis, and an annotated bibliography.

Shakespeare imbued ""A Midsummer Night's Dream"" with extraordinary complexity. This ethereal fantasy involves four different levels of representation, which intermingle but never wholly fuse. This invaluable new literary reference presents a selection of the best contemporary criticism of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, introduced by an essay from esteemed scholar Harold Bloom and featuring a bibliography, index, and chronology of the Bard's life. Volumes in the ""Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations"" series are intended for in-depth study of literary classics through eight to 12 full-length essays that represent the best criticism available on a specific work.

The most striking difference between Othello and Shakespeare's other tragedies is its more intimate scale. Since the play focuses on personal rather than public life, Othello's private descent into jealous obsession is rendered all the more chilling to behold. This invaluable literary reference guide to one of Shakespeare's greatest plays contains a selection of the finest contemporary criticism, an introductory essay by Shakespearean scholar Harold Bloom, an index for easy reference, a bibliography, and a chronology of the playwright's life. Volumes in the ""Bloom's Modern Critical Interpretations"" series are intended for in-depth study of literary classics through eight to 12 full-length essays that represent the best criticism available on a specific work.