The Concise Encyclopedia of the Original Literature of Esperanto contains:

• a preface by Dr. Humphrey Tonkin, Professor of the Humanities and President Emeritus at the University of Hartford, Connecticut
• a general introduction to Esperanto literature, its history, evolution and modern development
• individual introductions to the five periods of the literature
• over 300 individual articles on the most important writers and their work in chronological order, with biographies and critique
• sample literary texts from some of the best original authors
• an introduction to the language itself, its linguistic structure and creative capabilities
• extensive bibliographies and index

Esperanto is used on every continent as a neutral second language by people who wish to practise
mutual respect for other cultures – and not merely advocate it. It has evolved naturally into a fully
developed literary language, whose acquisition nevertheless does not necessitate the many years of
study required by an ethnic language.

Esperanto literature is created by writers from many countries who have chosen to use it because
of its merits. It is, as yet, nearly always a labour of love – that is to say a product of culture. It is also
most fundamentally democratic – a product of people, as opposed to capital, power or national
prestige. More generally, the precise nature of Esperanto culture is still debated. It is certain, however,
that it is unusually aware. In contrast to other contemporary cultures, Esperanto-speakers are
more likely to be acquainted with their poets, despite the lack of a state-financed education system.

The beginnings of the philosophy behind Esperanto may be found in the work of Descartes. This
philosophy is the concretization of an ideal that has been incubated by enlightened people for
centuries: If all our mental processes and operations should be ruled by reason, then the first field into
which we must introduce it is that means by which we express and interconnect our thoughts, which is
language. (Gaston Waringhien).

Leibnitz continued the work of Descartes. At the end of a French-language manuscript, discovered
in Hanover Library in 1903, he wrote: When this project (of a universal language) is realized, the
happiness of mankind will depend solely on themselves, because then they will have a tool at their disposal
that will serve to increase their good sense as the telescope serves to increase the capacity to see …
Esperanto is a vernacular and literary medium that belongs equally to all and to no one, used by
people who are universally bilingual or multilingual and generally support language diversity.

Where to buy?

• At the Web Bookstore of Mondial (Sent from the US and the UK; payment by credit card, US check, transfer to banks in Germany or the US, or to our UEA account move-x).
• At the bookstore of the Esperanto World Association (UEA) in Rotterdam/Netherlands, or at the book service of your national Esperanto-Association.
  
  
• At amazon.com in the US (credit card).
• At barnesandnoble.com in the US (credit card).
  
• At amazon.ca in Canado (credit card).
• At amazon.fr in France (credit card).
• At amazon.de in Germany (credit card).
• At buecher.de in Germany (credit card).
• At amazon.co.uk in the UK (credit card).
• At amazon.jp in Japan (credit card).
• OR AT YOUR LOCAL BOOKSTORE - to order, present author, title and the ISBN number of the book to your bookseller.

NOTE TO BOOKSELLERS:
Our books are available through book wholesalers in the US (Ingram, Baker&Taylor) and the UK (Gardners, Bertram).