On the morning of December 19th in Hanoi, the Knowledge Publishing House announced the first three works to be translated and published in the “World Heritage Books” series in Vietnam, including “Parallel Lives” by Plutarch; “On Liberty” by John Stuart Mill; and “The World as I See It” by Albert Einstein.
The book “The World as I See It” is a collection of writings, speeches, letters, and scientific essays from one of the greatest figures of the 20th century – Albert Einstein. All writings in this book are original, featuring both extensive, detailed articles and short pieces that sometimes include playful or spontaneous remarks. It was created by a person who dedicated his entire life to the pursuit of truth in science, goodness, and beauty in life.
Vietnam has many books written about Albert Einstein, but there has been a lack of works authored by the scientist himself. This book coincides with the 100th anniversary of the theory of relativity and the 50th anniversary of Albert Einstein’s passing.
“On Liberty” addresses a widely discussed topic: the rights of individuals in relation to their communities and society. The work reflects author John Stuart Mill’s view that the freedom of each individual finds its limits in the freedom of others; that social freedom is the boundary between social control and individual independence. John Stuart Mill defends the rights of individuals to “live happily according to their own desires rather than forcing them to live happily according to the wishes of those around them.” The author’s ideal is to provide freedom for each person to achieve the prosperity of all and ultimately aim for social progress.
“Parallel Lives” by Plutarch is the most extensive work on ancient Greek and Roman civilization. Plutarch’s idea is to build parallel character pairs, analyzing and comparing them with a discussion placed after each character pair primarily to draw lessons, as he is not only a writer and historian but also a moralist. Through this book, in addition to understanding ancient Greek and Roman civilization, readers will gain insight into the roots of Western rationalism.
Every year, with the support of the Vietnam Translation Fund, the Knowledge Publishing House plans to publish 50-70 works for the “World Heritage Books” series. Vietnamese scholars believe that translating and publishing valuable global works is one of the effective ways to convey the thoughts of human civilization quickly and accurately to the intellectual community and a wide readership, serving the country’s modernization efforts during the integration process.
In the near future, the Knowledge Publishing House plans to implement and publish works such as: “The Ideal State” by Plato; “Politics” by Aristotle; “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” by Thomas S. Kuhn; “The Rules of Sociological Method” by Emile Durkheim; “Encyclopedia of Philosophical Sciences” by Hegel; “Short Political Writings” by Immanuel Kant; “Two Treatises of Government” by John Locke; “Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies” by Jared Diamond; “The Great Philosophers” by Karl Jaspers; “On the Origin of Species” by Charles Darwin…
Professor Nguyen Huu Tang, Vice President of the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations, stated that the Vietnam Translation Fund and the Project Board of the World Knowledge Heritage Books series are currently in need of contributions regarding ideas, content, plans, and activities for the project; suggestions for books to be translated or manuscripts for consideration and publication; and direct registrations for translation or editing and sponsorship for the fund.
