Why Read the Classics?

This collection of essays by the acclaimed author of Cosmicomics offers a fascinating, personal journey through some of literature’s greatest works.   Classics, according to Italo Calvino, are not only works of enduring cultural value, but also personal touchstones. They are the books we are always rereading in order to understand our world and ourselves. Here, Calvino introduces more than thirty works from his own ideal library in essays of warmth, humor, and striking insight. He discusses