Focus Imprint

"This marvelously conceived new translation of Plato's most important dialogue will set the standard for classroom use for many years to come. . . . The authors' imaginative new interpretation will inspire students and generate scholarly controversy-and is thus certain to accomplish what it suggests is the true aim of Socratic inquiry: the weaving, unweaving, and perpetual re-weaving of the Logos."
     —Dr. George R. Lucas, Jr., Professor of Philosophy, US Naval Academy, Annapolis

"This is a fine translation, both fluent and accurate. It captures the range of tonalities of the original in elegant English that is neither stiffly formal nor cheaply colloquial. . . . The supplementary matter is appropriate and useful. The introduction is crisp and clear, the interpretive essay illuminating. . . . Scully has done a sound and serious job of translating and annotating for the general reader. Above all, his translation is excellent in respect to style and clarity: really a pleasure to read."
     —David Konstan, Brown University

"Seth Schein's new translation of the Philoctetes will serve as a useful text for upper-year classical literature courses in translation. As is typical of the Focus Classical Library series, Schein's translation aims to give a faithful rendering of the Greek that is at the same time readable, if not poetic. It also situates the work in its historical context and generally provides the supplementary material required for readers new to Attic tragedy. . . . Given that it provides more contextual information and interpretive detail than the average translation, and that the translation itself strives for greater fidelity to the original, Schein's work will be most welcome in upper-year translation courses, where it will encourage students to develop a more detailed and subtle understanding of the play."
      —Brad Levett, Carleton University

A masterful example of the psychological novel in French literature, this edition has been designed to help the English-speaking student approach the original French through the use of a thorough and informative introduction, ample and informative notes and study questions, all of which are contained in one convenient volume. Pierre et Jean is a naturalist work written by Guy de Maupassant in 1887. It tells the story of a middle-class French family whose lives are changed when a deceased family friend, leaves his inheritance to Jean. This provokes Pierre to doubt the fidelity of his mother and the legitimacy of his brother. The Focus Student Editions are appropriate as introductory texts for French language courses in literature and culture. 

Text in Greek with extensive commentary in English, including a general introduction, and introductions to each of the two texts, appendices, glossary, and vocabulary. The Euthyphro and the Clitophon provide an ideal, exciting introduction to Plato and Greek prose. Even a student fresh out of introductory ancient Greek can expect to finish these works within a semester, because the Greek of the Euthyphro is clear and easy to follow, but not overly simple.

By pairing translations of Gorgias and Rhetoric, along with an outstanding introductory essay, Joe Sachs demonstrates Aristotles response to Plato. If in the Gorgias Plato probes the question of what is problematic in rhetoric, in Rhetoric, Aristotle continues the thread by looking at what makes rhetoric useful. By juxtaposing the two texts, an interesting "conversation" is illuminated—one which students of philosophy and rhetoric will find key in their analytical pursuits.

"Christenson has offered readers a useful and informative edition of four Plautine plays in neutral, accessible English that, unlike some recent Plautus translations, reaches out to a wide modern audience, both classicist and general, both in Anglophone countries and elsewhere in the world. Within the range of Plautus translations as currently available, this is certainly a most welcome contribution. Christenson's thematical focus on some of Plautus' more serious plays, in which he seems almost like a social critic, is interesting and provides food for thought."
      —Vincent Hunink, in Bryn Mawr Classical Review

"Here is a book that acknowledges that the most difficult aspect of writing in a play is not the lack of a clear formula, but rather the lack of a process that offers structure without impeding inspiration. Michael Wright’s self-proclaimed ‘anti-how-to’ book is a rare and wonderful gem. His etudes offer a practical road map to the intangible heart and soul of the creative impulse; reminding us that writerly muscles must regularly bend, expand and breathe. With this new edition, Mr. Wright truly takes us to the next level, including ‘call-outs’ that invite the writer to actively engage the world-at-large as a part of his/her writing process. This is far more than a book of exercises. It is an invitation to focus on the process of writing, rather than the product."
     —Jeni Mahoney, Artistic Director, Seven Devils Playwrights Conference (id Theater)

Playwrighting Master Class is a book for the active playwright. It explores the process of playwrighting, the evolution of the play as the playwright engages with it, and the choices the playwright makes in creating the play. Through the use of a number of case studies of playwrights engaged in writing and rewriting plays, Wright focuses on different individual approaches to their work, fostering their own unique visions and voices as a means of helping the working playwright find her or his own voice. 

"I find the Introduction extremely convincing, lucid, learned, fair to past scholarship, and truly illuminating about the meaning of tragedy in general and about the very specific acceptions of hamartia, katharsis, ekplêxis, and thauma, in the context of an appropriate understanding of the Poetics. Another remarkable feature is the dexterity and ease with which it draws on all the relevant parts of the Aristotelian corpus to shed light on troublesome textual passages in the Poetics. Finally, the style of the Introduction is straightforward, free of unnecessary jargon, direct, and economical, the best interpretation of the Poetics I ever read." —Sabetai Unguru, Tel Aviv University

“Joe Sachs has an extraordinary ability to render ancient Greek into English sentences that are so clear and direct that they help readers to look past Aristotle's technical terminology and reflect on the philosophical issues in the text. For beginning students Sachs's translations are an ideal vehicle through which to engage Aristotle's philosophy. For those of us who are more advanced, they are sufficiently different from the traditional translations to open fresh ways of thinking about the texts. Sachs does a fine job with the Politics. The translation is very readable and accurate, and the notes and glossary are insightful. The introductory essay by Lijun Gu valuably emphasizes the importance of book IV."
—Edward Halper, University of Georgia

Practical Screenwriting is a structured guide for the novice screenwriter that provides exercises in writing as well as practical guides to analyzing major films in ways that will provide insight into the screenwriting process. It is, first and foremost, a guide to writing clean, crisp, clear scripts that will get read in the crowded contemporary marketplace.

Keitel and Crawford have produced a college level commentary of Cicero's great speech which provides insights into Roman life and culture, the nature and tools of Roman rhetoric, and, through the inclusion of correspondence and other texts, the life and friendships of Cicero himself. This volume includes the Latin text with vocabulary, exercises, notes, and an extensive introduction.

Written entirely in Spanish, the book is designed to help native English speaking students improve their Spanish pronunciation. Appropriate for those with two years of Spanish on up, the text is ideal for lower level classes to catch bad speaking habits before they set in. For upper level classes the book can serve as a tool to refine pronunciation skills. The book is designed to be completed in one semester and covers specific pronunciation issues common to English speakers and solutions to these problems. Side by side English and Spanish word comparisons are made to allow the student to first pronounce the English and then the Spanish words, providing ear training and articulating exercises. A variety of oral exercises are included which can be practiced in groups. Course Instructors: An electronic instructor's manual is available for qualified course instructors who have adopted this text for their course. If you have adopted the text, click here to request the instructor's manual.

An extensive reader including many seminal documents covering all aspects of public administration policy and practice in Twentieth Century United States.

Designed to provide the modern student with access to this important work, Tom Simone's Purgatorio translation offers a text that is as close to Dante's meter and style as possible using modern English. It provides students with a feel for the structure and impact of the original, and it could also provide an easy segue to the original Italian. Also included is an extensive introduction, ample footnotes for references that may not be clear to the reader, and each Canto is preceded by a prose overview of the poetry.

Newspaper articles of general interest serve as the basis for numerous exercises intended to help the student gain an active knowledge of the vocabulary and phraseology characteristic of written and spoken Russian and essential for reading and communicating in Russian at an advanced level. Special attention is devoted to word formation and the use of new vocabulary and phraseologies in their typical contexts. A review vocabulary list at the end of each lesson indicates words the student is expected to master in each lesson, and a cumulative vocabulary list at the end of the text shows where each item occurs.

Workbook to Reading and Speaking About Russian Newspapers.

A Reading Course in Homeric Greek, Book 1 of the revised Edward's editions by Focus Publishing. This text was originally published by the well respected Frs. Schoder and Horrigan. A Reading Course in Homeric Greek, Book I, provides an introduction to Greek language as found in the Greek of Homer. Covering 120 lessons, readings from Homer begin after the first 10 lessons in the book. Honor work, appendices, and vocabularies are included, along with review exercises for each chapter which have answers. 

A Reading Course in Homeric Greek, Book 2, the revised version by Leslie Edwards for Focus Publishing. This text provides an introduction to Greek language as found in the Greek of Homer using Odyssey books 6 and 12. 

Readings and Exercises in Latin Prose Composition provides a refreshing approach for the standard Latin composition course offered at the college level. This text encourages the student to think in Latin through the process of reading unedited Latin selections and then composing in Latin, as opposed to the process of translating back and forth into English. The book offers a number of highly structured composition exercises that introduce students to a deeper understanding of Latin grammar and prose as well as to greater facility in reading and understanding it. Course Instructors: An electronic answer key (PDF only) is available for qualified instructors who have adopted this text for their course. If you have adopted this text for your course click here to request a copy of the answer key.

"Joe Sachs, known and respected for his excellent translations of Aristotle, deserves great praise for this new translation of Plato's Republic. Based on the latest definitive edition of the Greek text and guided by a sense that Greek in English need not read like an old, foreign tongue, Sachs' translation captures the flow of the conversation in an English that reads smoothly, even when the ideas expressed force one to pause and look again. Fluid, yet accurate, Sachs' translation allows the thoughtful reader deeper entry into this all-important book. The editorial guides and typographical signs to remind the reader of who has joined the argument most recently are all highly helpful and most welcome. I look forward to reading this with students." —Charles E. Butterworth, University of Maryland

Drawing on authentic cultural materials ranging from thought-provoking artwork to classic literature and short contemporary films, Retratos: Arte y sociedad en Latinoamérica y España offers a fresh and inspired approach to the teaching of advanced Spanish Composition. In each of the eight thematically-organized chapters, these primary source materials provide a "portrait" of an historically or culturally important figure in the Latin American and Spanish worlds, offering students rich opportunities to explore cultural differences, learn grammar in context, and complete writing activities directly related to both their own daily lives and the world around them. North American Rights only.

This anthology contains English translations of five plays by two of the best practitioners of Roman comedy, Plautus and Terence. The plays Menaechmi, Rudens, Truculentus, Adelphoe, and Eunuchus, provide an introduction to the world of Roman comedy. As with all Focus translations, the emphasis is on a handsomely produced, inexpensive, readable edition that is close to the original, with an extensive introduction, notes and appendices.

"It is humbling to encounter 'real' Latin, in letters inscribed on a building or tombstone, and to be utterly at a loss beyond the obvious. Yet, as Roman Lives demonstrates. . . much of this material can be relatively easy to decode. Furthermore, this book shows how epigraphy can open a window onto ancient lives and their humanity. This book should thus prove a rich resource for teachers of Latin and Roman civilization."
      —The Classical Outlook

"Professor Warrior's book is a useful anthology of readings which, diligently chosen and intelligently arranged, display the essential elements of Roman religion in its most interesting period." —Christopher McDonough, Boston College

"I am currently using Valerie M. Warrior’s Greek Religion: a Sourcebook and her Roman Religion: a Sourcebook for my class on Paganism. They are absolutely outstanding, in terms of the selection, the range of topics, and the level of detail provided. I will keep using these as long as I keep teaching the class (I hope for decades!). I would recommend them to anyone. Perfect to supplement a class based mainly on lectures, and to get students digging into the real sources of our knowledge and engaging with them." —Jack Mitchell, Department of Classics, Dalhousie University

Roman Sports and Spectacles: A Sourcebook contains numerous translations from the Latin, including famous authors, such as Cicero, Seneca, Tertullian and Augustine, and the not so famous, including graffiti, advertisements and tombstones to paint a world view of what sports Romans played and what they thought of them. The world of Roman sports was similar in many ways to our own, but there were significant differences. For one thing Roman sports centered during religious festivals and the participants were most often slaves. Roman sports were not team sports, but individual competitions. And sports like chariot racing and gladiatorial competitions were very dangerous. Each document includes an introduction to the source material.

"This splendid edition furnishes readers, students, and theater people alike with a marvelous set of tools for appreciating the many facets of Shakespeare's play: a freshly edited text from the authoritative 1599 quarto, trenchant explanatory notes, and–best of all–insightful performance notes detailing the various ways in which individual passages have been interpreted in important films and stage productions."
     —Eric Rasmussen, University of Nevada, Reno and co-editor of the RSC Shakespeare edition

Russian Folktales: A Reader for Students of Russian, Second Edition, offers intermediate and advanced students an ideal opportunity to engage with eight authentic cultural texts of the Russian folkloric tradition. Each transmits a popular tale long beloved by Russians—from The Frog Princess, to Prince Ivan, to Vasilisa the Beautiful, and others—that moreover presents a wealth of linguistic content. The Second Edition builds upon strengths of the First by offering a greater range of pre-reading and post-reading exercises to suit a wider variety of learning styles. Notes and a Glossary offer further aids for comprehension and interpretation. 

Russian-language audio/video files of each tale may be found on the Russian Folktales title support page here.

A combined reader/workbook for second-year German, Sammelsurium focuses on cultural awareness while building competence in reading, writing, and speaking, and can be used with equal effectiveness as either a supplementary text or as the main reader in a course. Included are thirty-eight brief yet stimulating readings on a wide range of topics of special significance to German culture, each of which offers intermediate-level grammatical constructions and vocabulary. Many readings incorporate a verb-tense exercise, and each reading is accompanied by a separate set of vocabulary as well as an array of comprehension questions and communicative exercises. From the Brothers Grimm to German film—and from fashion to the nightlife of Berlin—Sammelsurium offers something for every taste, while strengthening skills needed by every student of German.

An electronic (PDF only) instructor's manual and a (PDF only) test bank for Sammelsurium are available to qualified instructors who have adopted the text for their course, click here to request a copy.

Unamuno's thought-provoking 1931 novella of a village priest who remains devoted to his people while he struggles with religious disillusionment touches on Spanish tradition as well as existential and religious philosophy. The Focus Student Editions are appropriate as introductory texts for Spanish language courses in literature and culture. They have been designed to help students approach the original Spanish text through an introductory essay, vocabulary and cultural notes, and study questions. All material is in Spanish, and complete in one volume.

Scene Design: Rendering and Media is intended to help students or practitioners improve their skills at making finished renderings of scene designs for theater. The book demonstrates the process of creating the renderings through real world methods and techniques. Chapters are dedicated to a detailed discussion of various tools including drawing, light and shadow, color mixing, painting, figures, and other media, and the book is rife with colorful and inspirational examples.

This Focus Classical Reprint of Selections from Ovid offers a classic reader on Ovid from Charles W. Dunmore, professor emeritus at New York University. The text contains extensive selections from Ovid's primary works, all in Latin, with commentary and a glossary. Selections from Ovid: Metamorphoses, the Fasti, Heroides, Tristia, Epistulae ex Ponto, Amores, and Ars Amatoria.

"Few people live as passionately in the world of writing as Michael Wright, and this exploration of the sensory dimension of creativity enhances any discussion of dramatic writing. Sensory Writing for Stage and Screen through its clever use of a series of 'etudes' invites us into the close-to-the-bone world of human experience on its most intimate level. What we smell, taste, hear, see and feel takes center stage here. Mr. Wright challenges us to create characters as complex as we ourselves are—both celebrants and victims of our own senses. His book evokes the lushness of every human life and reminds us that all great characters (like ancient cities) are composed of layers and layers of their own experience."
     —Lee Blessing, Playwright, A Walk in the Woods, Eleemosynary

This reprint of the classic text contains brief explanations of Greek grammar as they pertain to various aspects of writing and usage, numerous exercises that cover issues in accidence, syntax and idiom and also allow for discussion of Greek grammar in relationship to English usage.

Socrates and Alcibiades: Four Texts gathers together translations our four most important sources for the relationship between Socrates and the most controversial man of his day, the gifted and scandalous Alcibiades. In addition to Alcibiades’ famous speech from Plato’s Symposium, this text includes two dialogues, the Alcibiades I and Alcibiades II, attributed to Plato in antiquity but unjustly neglected today, and the complete fragments of the dialogue Alcibiades by Plato’s contemporary, Aeschines of Sphettus. These works are essential reading for anyone interested in Socrates’ improbable love affair with Athens’ most desirable youth, his attempt to woo Alcibiades from his ultimately disastrous worldly ambitions to the philosophical life, and the reasons for Socrates’ failure, which played a large role in his conviction by an Athenian court on charges of impiety and corrupting the youth.

This is an English translation of four of Plato’s dialogues (Protagoras, Euthydemus, Hippias Major, and Cratylus) that explores the topic of sophistry and philosophy, a key concept at the source of Western thought. Includes notes and an introductory essay.

"Perhaps more than any other dialogue, the Cratylus has been in need of retranslation. Yet because it is a dialogue about words that is also replete with plays on words, with pretended etymologies, and perhaps with more comedy than any other dialogue, translating it is a daunting task. There is no one better suited for this task than Joe Sachs. His translations of Greek philosophical classics are widely acclaimed both for their truthfulness to the original Greek text and for their sensitivity to every nuance of the text. Sachs’s translation of the Cratylus is a rare achievement and no doubt will do much to restore to this dialogue its rightful status as one of the major Platonic dialogues." —John Sallis, Boston College

This is an English translation of Plato presenting a new conception of the Theory of Forms. Socrates and others discuss the epistemological and metaphysical puzzles of the Parmenides, with aims to define the meaning of the Sophist. The glossary of key terms is a unique addition to Platonic literature by which concepts central to each dialogue are discussed and cross-referenced as to their occurrences throughout the work. In such a way students are encouraged to see beyond the words into concepts.

On its own, or in conjunction with a variety of free online resources--grammar and vocabulary exercises, pronunciation drills, and more--this accurate and well-organized book is the ideal reference for students of Spanish at any level.

"This guide is like having four semesters of Spanish textbooks in your pocket. All of the necessary grammar is right here. Very handy, surprisingly comprehensive, and the price is right." —Louise Detwiler, Salisbury University

"For over a decade, David Wren's Spanish Grammar: A Quick Reference has been an invaluable resource for students majoring and minoring in Spanish. Here at Indiana University Bloomington, we have often bundled it together with our other Spanish textbooks." —James Lynch, Indiana University Bloomington

Additional Resources: Spanish Grammar additional resources website.

A complete translation in English of this modern text, with substantive apparatus to allow the student and serious reader to grapple in a meaningful way with this seminal text. The text includes ample footnotes, Spinoza's annotations, an interpretative essay, glossary and other indices.

Completely redesigned in this 3rd edition, and now offered as an exclusively online product, START: The Sound and Writing Systems of Russian facilitates teaching the sounds and writings systems of Russian to first-year English-speaking students more effectively than ever. As a supplement to any standard first-year Russian textbook, START, 3rd Edition integrates its presentation of the Cyrillic alphabet, Russian sounds, and Russian writing systems through text, audio, video, written exercises, dictations, and auto-correcting quizzes so that students can acquire a solid grounding in fundamentals before moving on to more advanced material. Read more about START, 3rd Edition - including instructor and student FAQs.

Course Instructors: Click here to create a user account and request preview access to START, 3rd Edition.

Students: If your class is using START, 3rd Edition please contact your instructor for information on how to purchase access. If you have questions about student purchases please email customer@hackettpublishing.com.

START explains the fundamental concepts of Russian pronunciation and writing to first year English-speaking students. Pronunciation by native speakers is given with reference to English sounds and words: hard and soft consonants, voiced and voiceless consonants, regressive assimilation, and the reduction of unstressed vowels. Self-quizzes and dictations are included at the end of every chapter. 

START, 2nd Edition is now out of print, replaced by a new Online 3rd Edition. Click here for information about the completely redeveloped and entirely Online 3rd Edition of START.

"This will be the preferred edition of Plato’s Statesman for teachers and students who are serious not only about reading the text in good translation, but also about working through its arguments." —Dustin Gish, College of the Holy Cross

"Having taught Plato's dialogues in my classes over the past forty-three years to upper level undergraduates, I can especially appreciate the value of this new edition of Plato's Statesman. The three translators have paid very close attention to the amazing fecund versatility of the Greek text, producing a translation that is as accurate and lively as possible and the best currently available for classroom use. The interpretative essay is unique in its highlighting of all of the issues that a thoughtful reader should be led to consider concerning this work. As has been the case with other works by these translators, the glossary leads any Greek-less reader as close as possible to the interconnections of the major words that sustain the flow and eddies of this perennially fascinating work." —Donald Lindenmuth, The Pennsylvania State University

Studies in Etymology is a standard introduction to the Classical etymology of the English language with equal coverage of Latin and Greek roots. The book is ideal for college-level classics or humanities courses of all designs. The book includes extensive exercises for each chapter, additional words for study, and indexes of prefixes, suffixes, and word stems. 

A new edition of a classic anthology, published in five convenient and inexpensive volumes, updated for the modern student. Selections in French, with introductory material and notes in English. Includes time lines, introductions to each period and its culture, and short biographies of the authors.

A new edition of a classic anthology, published in five convenient and inexpensive volumes, updated for the modern student. Selections in French, with introductory material and notes in English. Includes time lines, introductions to each period and its culture, and short biographies of the authors.

A new edition of a classic anthology, published in five convenient and inexpensive volumes, updated for the modern student. Selections in French, with introductory material and notes in English. Includes time lines, introductions to each period and its culture, and short biographies of the authors.

A new edition of a classic anthology, published in five convenient and inexpensive volumes, updated for the modern student. Selections in French, with introductory material and notes in English. Includes time lines, introductions to each period and its culture, and short biographies of the authors.

A new edition of a classic anthology, published in five convenient and inexpensive volumes, updated for the modern student. Selections in French, with introductory material and notes in English. Includes time lines, introductions to each period and its culture, and short biographies of the authors.

Sustainable Practices for Vegetable Production in the South offers information on vegetable and vegetable production for the serious grower or hobbyist, with particular applications to the Southern region and with a strong emphasis on organic and sustainable technique. Includes the topics Sustainable Production Techniques,Integrated Pest Management and Crop Profiles. Appendices include a map of soil regions in the south, a map of USDA climate zones in the south, calculating degree days, economics, resources, and organic certification programs.