J. A. James Amery Underwood Books

One of the most important works of cultural theory ever written, Walter Benjamin's groundbreaking essay explores how the age of mass media means audiences can listen to or see a work of art repeatedly - and what the troubling social and political implications of this are. Throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are

Metamorphosis is one of the most terrifying stories ever written. a man wakes up one morning to find himself transformed into a giant insect. Kafka describes his reactions and the reactions of his family—at first horrified, then kind, wrathful, despising, and finally negligent. This haunting parable on human reaction to suffering and diseases has already become a classic. Other stories in this volume, which contains the best of Kafka's short stories, are The Great Wall of China, Investigations of a Dog, The Burrow, In The Penal Settlement, and The Giant Mole.