Perfect Control

Stockham, RichardProject Gutenberg · United StatesMar 2023

2.5

Word count: 37K words
Chapters: 4

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Perfect Control by Richard StockhamAuthor: Stockham, Richard,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 14, 2010

Editor's review

Perfect Control is a short English-language work by Richard Stockham, digitized by Project Gutenberg as a free eBook and in the public domain under the classification of American and Canadian literature. Its brevity makes it a good entry-level text for reading in the original English, and it can easily be finished in one sitting during a commute or lunch break. Project Gutenberg itself is a pioneer in the field of eBooks, and its texts are proofread by volunteers, so the reading experience is fairly reliable. Readers interested in science fiction or early English fiction can use this work to observe how the author builds a narrative around themes such as control and order. Because the work was written long ago, its language differs from contemporary English, and readers should keep the historical context in mind. Overall, it is better suited as a literary sample or extensive reading material in English than as a core text for in-depth study.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English learners who want to practice extensive reading with a short work in the original English
Readers interested in early English science fiction or popular fiction
People who are used to reading on electronic devices in fragmented time
Readers who want low-cost access to public-domain literary resources

Not a good fit for

Readers who need systematic literary research or a heavily annotated edition
Those who prefer long, complex plots and contemporary narrative pacing
Beginners with weak English who struggle to read the original text

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the plot, then look up unfamiliar words, avoiding frequent interruptions
Read along with an English audio recording to train language intuition and sentence segmentation
After reading, retell the main storyline in your own words to check comprehension
If interested in the author, search Project Gutenberg for other works for further reading

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book in Chinese or English?

The book is an original English work, published as a free electronic edition by Project Gutenberg, and no Chinese translation is included with it. Readers with basic English can use a dictionary or translation tools for assistance, but the text is primarily in English.

What is Project Gutenberg?

Project Gutenberg is an early project providing free eBooks, launched by Michael Hart in 1971, dedicated to digitizing public-domain books. It relies on volunteers to prepare and proofread texts, and readers can access its electronic texts free of charge.

Is this book suitable for learning English?

It can be used as extensive reading material: it is short and complete, making it easy to finish in one go. However, the language carries features of an earlier era, and some expressions differ from modern English, so it is better suited to learners with some foundation who want to expand their reading.

Do I need background knowledge before reading?

No extensive preparation is necessary; you can read it directly. For a smoother experience, you may first learn about the background of the American and Canadian literature classification it belongs to, as well as common conventions of early English popular fiction, which can help with understanding the narrative pacing.

Comments

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About the author

Stockham, Richard Author

Richard Stockham is an author about whom little public information is available; his nationality, dates of birth and death, and educational background are not clearly documented. Four of his works are currently on record: Circle of Flight, Perchance to Dream, Perfect Control, and The Valley, which are often classified as inspirational and personal-growth writing. Judging from the titles and categories, his work tends to center on personal development, self-management, and life's circumstances, guiding readers to reflect on goals, mindset, and choices. Because biographical material is lacking, his specific experiences and creative trajectory cannot be confirmed, yet the four works show a sustained focus on growth, making them suitable for Chinese readers seeking inspiration and self-reflection through reading.