Böcker av Karel Capek

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.Part of the Macmillan Collector's Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and 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.

A lighthearted mock-treatise reflects upon the pains and rewards of tending a small garden plot. "This very entertaining volume with its delightfully humorous pictures should be read by all gardeners." - Nature.

Two dystopian satires from one of the most distinguished writers of 20th-century European science fiction. R.U.R. is the work that first introduced the word 'robot' into popular usage.

A comedy about the Makropulos affair, in which the protagonist, Elina Makropulos, has lived for over 300 years due to a mysterious elixir.This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it.This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

"A new translation of Karel Capek's 1920 play, R.U.R. (Rossum's Universal Robots), with essays from contemporary writers and scientists"--

'War with the Newts' is Karel Capek's darkly humorous allegory of early twentieth-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.

This story centers on the invention of a reactor that can annihilate matter to produce cheap and abundant energy. Unfortunately, it produces something else as a by-product, the absolute. The absolute is a spiritual essence that according to some religious philosophies allegedly permeates all matter. It is associated with human religious experience, as unsuspecting humanity is to find out all too soon in the story. The widespread adoption of the reactors causes an enormous outpouring of pure absolute into the world. This leads to an outburst of religious and nationalist fervor, causing the greatest, most global war in history. ¿R. D. Mullen called the novel "one of the genuine masterpieces of SF", but noted that due to its originality "it has surely had no great influence on popular SF".

A visionary work of science fiction that introduced the word "robot"Written in 1920, premiered in Prague in 1921, and first performed in New York in 1922-garnered worldwide acclaim for its author and popularized the word robot. Mass-produced as efficient laborers to serve man, Capek's Robots are an android product-they remember everything but think of nothing new. But the Utopian life they provide ultimately lacks meaning, and the humans they serve stop reproducing. When the Robots revolt, killing all but one of their masters, they must strain to learn the secret of self-duplication. It is not until two Robots fall in love and are christened "Adam" and "Eve" by the last surviving human that Nature emerges triumphant.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Five seminal science fiction classics are brought vividly to life in these gripping BBC Radio dramatisations, with casts including Robert Glenister, William Gaunt, Carleton Hobbs and Joanne Froggatt. "e;Frankenstein"e; (1994) is adapted from one of the first science fiction novels, Mary Shelley's tale of a scientist who tries to play God and creates a monster. "e;The Time Machine"e; (2009) dramatises one of the first stories to feature time travel, HG Wells' thrilling tale of an inventor who discovers a dystopian future. "e;The Lost World"e; (1975) is based on a classic fantasy adventure story by Arthur Conan Doyle's, whose notion of dinosaurs roaming our world was the inspiration for Jurassic Park. "e;R.U.R."e; (1989) is a radio production of Karel Capek's thought-provoking play which introduced the word 'robot' to the English language. "e;Solaris"e; (2007) dramatises Stanislaw Lem's pioneering ghost story set in space, both a suspenseful thriller and a philosophical meditation on guilt and the human condition. Accompanying this collection is a bonus PDF file featuring extensive sleeve notes by Andrew Pixley. Duration: 10 hours approx.

Playful and provocative, irreverent and inspiring, Capek is perhaps the best-loved Czech writer of all time. Novelist and playwright, famed for inventing the word 'robot' in his play RUR, Capek was a vital part of the burgeoning artistic scene of Czechoslovakia of the 1920s and 30s. But it is in his journalism - his brief, sparky and delightful columns - that Capek can be found at his most succinct, direct and appealing.This selection of Capek's writing, translated into English for the first time, contains his essential ideas. The pieces are animated by his passion for the ordinary and the everyday - from laundry to toothache, from cats to cleaning windows - his love of language, his lyrical observations of the world and above all his humanism, his belief in people. His letters to his wife Olga, also published here, are extraordinarily moving and beautifully distinct from his other writings. Uplifting, enjoyable and endlessly wise, Believe in People is a collection to treasure.

Tomáš Masaryk (1850-1937) war ein tschechischer Philosoph, Schriftsteller und Politiker sowie Mitbegründer und erster Staatspräsident der Tschechoslowakei (1918-1935). Masaryk stammte aus einfachen Verhältnissen. Er war Sohn eines slowakischen Kutschers auf kaiserlichen Gütern und einer Bauerntochter und Köchin aus Auspitz. Masaryk heiratete 1878 bei einem Amerikaaufenthalt die gleichaltrige US-Amerikanerin Charlotte Garrigue. Ihre gemeinsamen Kinder waren der früh verstorbene Maler Herbert Masaryk, der Diplomat und Politiker Jan Masaryk, die Soziologin Alice Masaryk und Olga Masaryk, die ihn nach 1914 ins Exil begleitete. Mit Ausbruch des Ersten Weltkriegs verfolgte er seine Pläne für einen eigenständigen tschechoslowakischen Staat und wurde damit ohne seine Absicht mit 64 Jahren zur Schlüsselfigur des beginnenden tschechischen Widerstandskampfes, an dessen Ende die Auflösung Österreich-Ungarns stand. Am 14. November 1918 wurde er von der Tschechoslowakischen Nationalversammlung zum Präsidenten gewählt, am 21. Dezember 1918 kehrte er in die Tschechoslowakei zurück. Als Philosoph und überzeugter Demokrat entwickelte er zum Teil utopische Ideen über die Entstehung eines „neuen Menschen" durch eine bessere Gesellschaft. Als notwendige Grundlage hierfür erachtete er ein christlich-soziales Weltbild, in dem allerdings Religion „vom Staate und der Willkür absolutistischer Dynastien frei" sein sollte: „Jesus, nicht Caesar - so lautet die Losung des demokratischen Europas. Karel Capek (1890-1938) ist einer der wichtigsten tschechischen Schriftsteller des 20. Jahrhunderts. Seine produktivste Schaffensperiode lag in der Zeit der ersten Republik der Tschechoslowakei, mit deren erstem Präsidenten, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, ihn eine enge Freundschaft verband.

Karel Capek (1890-1938) ist einer der wichtigsten tschechischen Schriftsteller des 20. Jahrhunderts. In seinem Schauspiel R.U.R. taucht erstmals das Wort Roboter auf. Karel Capek widmete sich einem breiten Arbeitsfeld: Realismus, Drama und utopische Literatur. Sein Werk gilt als meisterhaftes Beispiel der tschechischen Sprache. Inhaltlich finden sich eine klare Beobachtungsgabe der menschlichen Gesellschaft sowie häufig ein satirischer, treffsicherer Humor. International ist Karel Capek heute für seine Werke bekannt, die der Science-Fiction zugerechnet werden. Er steht darin Schriftstellern wie Aldous Huxley und George Orwell nahe. Aus dem Buch: "Es ist der zweite vom Fenster, der in dem zerknüllten Anzug: wer würde so was für einen Amerikaner halten? Was fällt Ihnen ein, Amerikaner fahren doch nicht im Personenzug: im Schnellzug fahren sie, und auch das scheint ihnen noch zu wenig, ja, in Amerika, dort gibt es ganz andere Züge, viel längere Waggons und so ein weißer waiterbietet dort Eiswasser und Ice-creams an, verstanden? Hallo, boy, gröhlt so''n Amerikaner, schaff Bier her, eine Runde Bier, für jeden im Wagen ein Glas, und wenn''s meinethalb fünf Dollars kostet, damn! Ja, Leute, in Amerika, das ist ein Leben, was soll ich viel erzählen! Der zweite vom Fenster döst mit offenem Mund, schwitzend vor Ermüdung, und sein Kopf baumelt wie leblos hin und her. Ach Gott, ach Gott, das sind nun schon elf, dreizehn, vierzehn, fünfzehn Tage; fünfzehn Tage und Nächte auf dem Koffer versitzen, auf dem Fußboden schlafen oder auf einer Bank, schweißklebrig und starr wie ein Klotz, betäubt vom Lärm der Maschinen; schon der fünfzehnte Tag; wenn ich wenigstens die Beine ausstrecken könnte, Heu unterm Kopf, und schlafen, schlafen, schlafen.."