Product Description
Iphigenia in Tauris is presented here in a high quality paperback edition. This popular classic work by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is in the English language. If you enjoy the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe then we highly recommend this publication for your book collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

One of the greatest dramas I know
I can fall into line with the writer of the "product description" who did most wonderful. One exeption: instead of refering to a European spirit, Goethe's works at this time are to be related to the 'Klassik' period, strongly based on the resumption of the ancient Greek, Roman and renaissance ideas of humanity.
I follow as well the given further recommendations of other plays, stressing esp. - e.g. - Gerhard Hauptmann, and adding, e.g., Friedrich Schiller, "Intrigue and Love", and Bertold Brecht, "The Good Person of Szechwan"!
(Pls. don't imply to my comment I'd be focused too much on German drama and literature: I strongly appreciate as well e.g. plays of Tennessee Williams and Edward Albee, just to name some American writers.) ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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This is to be the first verse translation of Goethe's poetry in penguin classics and replaces Luke's own 1964 prose translation which has been in print continuously since then. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

good
The delivery was prompt and in good condition.The book was in good condition but not as good as listed.However, still a good buy.

A must - have !
The creative linguistic force of this master flows with particular resonance, because of his genius, whose mind like an admirable labyrinth of livings, experiences, prodigality, mythic inspiration seem to gather in just a man the strength and voices of thousand poets; from the stormy and wild sketch to the instinctively breath to the most polished small jewel; from the funny idea to the most concentrated vital wisdom.

Goethe' s poems will always reign among the most notable works of the universal literature; almost fifteen hundred pages, that describe since the spring to the winter stages of the existence of this multidimensional human being; where we may contemplate the grandness and the smallness of the universe even in its most ultimate details.

Every time we reread his chained Prometheus, we will feel how the long expected cry of freedom waited for so many centuries until to find the adequate poet, capable to carve in relief, with unquestionable ardor, the majestic rage expressed as the last frontier of the epic effort.

Hermann Hesse affirmed that Goethe was the greatest German poet in the last two centuries. So, don't miss these jewels out your invaluable library. They are a must-have.

Goethe in Translation
This is a bi-lingual edition of selected poetry of Goethe. Since I can read a little German I very much appreciate the German texts.But I was surprised to read that there had been an earlier edition which supplied only literal prose versions of the poems, which I would much prefer. Goethe is untranslatable and the efforts of translators to provide "poetical" translations invariably results in drivel, as well as misrepresenting the original texts, and this book is no exception. In short, better than nothing, but not much better.

Good collection of Goethe
This new, bilingual selection of Goethe's poetry is very good. The editor and translator, David Luke, has brought together one volume of some of Goethe's best. Luke presents the poems in chronological order, allowing the reader to follow the development of Goethe's genius over his long and fruitful career.

This volume includes 100 of Goethe's best and most famous, including "An den Mond," an early poem and one of my personal favorites, and extensive selections from Goethe's masterpiece, Faust. The selection is very broad--you're sure to find something you like in this one.

The only real flaw is easily overlooked... if you speak German. The book is bilingual--Goethe's originals face translations by Luke, the book's editor. Luke's translations are good, but not great. He strains the meaning and accuracy in an effort at rhyme and meter. Sometimes it works; many times it doesn't. I'd still recommend this book to people who don't speak German, but with the reservation that the English translations pale in comparison to the originals.

All in all, though, a very good book--money well-spent.

Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description
This new series brings into modern English a reliable translation of a representative portion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's vast body of work. This edition, selected from over 140 volumes in German, is the new standard in English, and contains poetry, drama, fiction, memoir, criticism, and scientific writing by the man who is probably the most influential writer in the German language. The executive editors of this collection are Victor Lange of Princeton University, Eric Blackall of Cornell University, and Cyrus Hamlin of Yale University.

Princeton University Press is proud to be the distributor of the twelve volumes in hardcover of the originating publisher, Suhrkamp Verlag. In addition, Princeton will issue paperback reprints of these volumes over the next two years, beginning with volumes one through three.

Goethe, the founder of the poetry of experience, created a body of poetry that is unsurpassed in lucidity of speech and imagery and in instinct for melody and rhythm. Nonetheless, many of his poems are relatively unknown to English-speaking audiences, partly because of the difficulties they have posed to translators. This volume contains translations, side by side with the German originals, of Goethe's major poems--all prepared by eminent American and English writers, and all attesting to his poetic genius.

Goethe's most complex and profound work, Faust was the effort of the great poet's entire lifetime. Written over 60 years, it can be read as a document of Goethe's moral and artistic development. Faust is made available to the English reader in a completely new translation that communicates both its poetic variety and its many levels of tone. The language is present-day English, and Goethe's formal and rhythmic variety is reproduced in all its richness.

The reflections on art and literature that Goethe produced throughout his life are the premise and corollary of his work as poet, novelist, and man of science. This volume contains such important essays as "On Gothic Architecture," "On the Laocoon Group," and "Shakespeare: A Tribute." Several works in this collection appear for the first time unabridged and in fresh translations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful edition
Solid translations and, like all the volumes in Princeton's 12-volume Goethe series, the book is attractive with great typography. Much easier on the eyes than the Penguin editions.

This volume is a very accessible wayto read Goethe for the first time, as well as revealing a new layer ofdepth for those who are more familiar with his essays and scientificstudies. ... Read more

Product Description
Loosely based on Goethe's personal experiences, the novel is written mostly in the form of letters in which Werther recounts his unrequited love for a married woman. ... Read more

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Perhaps some apology ought to be given to English scholars, that is, those who do not know German, (to those, at least, who do not know what sort of a thing Faust is in the original,) for offering another translation to the public, of a poem which has been already translated, not only in a literal prose form, but also, twenty or thirty times, in metre, and sometimes with great spirit, beauty, and power.
... Read more

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This classic selection of writings by Goethe reflects the author's philosophy of love and death. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

The Sorrows of Young Werther - Review
This is a pretty good translation of Goethe's original novel. It does have a few other of Goethe's writings, which were qutie interesting. I recommend it. :)

Simply put : Timeless
Currently I'm taking a class in German, as is being taught by a professor from Germany. When pressed on what sorts of things might be a good read from the German catalogue, she pointed me towards the likes of Thomas Mann.

Fortunately for me I'm bad with names. I went to the bookstore in search of something to read (because I would like to know more about Germany) but I couldn't remember any of the authors she told me to check out. The only name I could remember was Goethe and his only work that I was familiar with was, of course, Faust. One more happy circumstance (that they were out of that story) put me in possession of this edition of 'Werther'. Again, I am a fortunate man.

This is a terrific little book. I am told that it caused a storm of praise and a sort of cult following upon its publication (even a few suicides) and I find that I can truly believe that. It tells the story of unrequited love, of a man who meets a woman who fills all the holes in his heart and life, yet remains estranged from him. The emotions that Werther goes through in pining for his Lotte are real, for they are the same emotions that every other human being has had in shaking anticipation of seeing their 'crush'.

As you read through the short work, you find yourself feeling the initial highs that Werther goes through. Without saying it so succinctly, Werther begins to see green for green and blue for blue for the first time, all augmented by his new appreciation for life through the filter of his beloved. As the story progresses, the emotions grow darker and more foreboding. You can feel the onset of defeat, the slow torture of knowing that even if Lotte became his, his whole life would never be the same for it because the moment of ripeness for the relationship has come and passed. You can feel Werther's non-acceptance of his situation...it lies inside all of our hearts.

The other short pieces in the book are tantalizing tidbits as well. 'The New Melusina' is a quaint tale of a typical man who cannot commit himself to anything but Bacchus. 'The Fairy Tale' reminded me somewhat of a CS Lewis work. The non-fiction pieces are insightful into the way Goethe's mind worked although I found myself wondering if maybe he wasn't trying to tell a tale about his own life in the Sesenheim recounting; it sounded more like wishful thinking than anything else, though I think a historian (or a few minutes research in a library) might settle the matter (sorry- didn't have time to do that for this review).

Bottom line: Buy this book and give it a read. It bears the word 'classic' on the back of it with more justification than some of the other books in that milieu.

-NL

Haunting exploration of the human heart and psyche.
When I found this book on the reading list for my European literature class, and once I'd read a synopsis of the story, I wasn't expecting to like it much. And initially I was a little put off by the protagonist's melodramatic way of expressing himself, but by the time I'd finished the book, my opinion had changed drastically. I don't usually go in for tragedies, but this one is somehow different. "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is the tale of a young man, Werther, who seeks a new life by moving to a pretty country town and immersing himself in the beauties of nature. Once there, however, he meets and falls in love with Lotte, a young woman who happens to be already engaged to another man. Werther initially befriends the couple, but as the tension in this hopeless love triangle increases, so does Werther's depression deepen.

The story is told mainly in the form of a series of letters written by Werther to a close friend, William, whom we never actually meet, and occasionally a few other individuals, including Lotte. Each letter is dated and we see the progression and deterioration of Werther's mental state from infatuation, to love, and then to destructive obsession and despair. Toward the end of the book, shortly before Werther's depression finally drives him to take his own life, the narrative style abruptly switches to third person, allowing us for the first time to see the thoughts and emotions of other characters without having them first filtered through Werther's unreliable perception. And the viewpoints of those around Werther give us critical insight into the manifestations of his mental state.

Over the years this book has sparked much concern as to whether it advocates suicide in cases of unrequited love. And indeed there have been cases where individuals were motivated to take their own lives after reading this story. However, those who draw such a message from "The Sorrows of Young Werther" are, I believe, misinterpreting the work. Though the protagonist does indeed commit suicide, his act is not glorified (just look at the pitiful way in which his death is described) and nowhere does Goethe make any commentary on whether suicide is right or wrong in such a situation. In fact, I didn't find anything judgmental in the book at all. Rather, Goethe simply explores the human heart and emotions, presents his findings, and leaves the reader to draw their own conclusions.

Despite being a first novel for Goethe, "The Sorrows of Young Werther" is beautifully written. I cannot compare this particular translation (1962 Signet Classics printing, translated by Catherine Hutter) to the original German text, but even in translation it is clear that Goethe had a powerful command of the written word. And it is quite plausible to believe that the depth and intensity of emotions expressed in the work are a result of Goethe's own experiences with unsuccessful romances. This particular edition also contains an interesting piece entitled "Goethe in Sesenheim" in which he relates one such relationship and in which we can identify many parallels with Werther's story.

This Signet Classics edition also includes two other short stories - "The New Melusina" and "The Fairy Tale." Neither one is, in my opinion, as good as "The Sorrows of Young Werther," but they are interesting to read nonetheless. Both contain the theme of love, making the book as a whole into a nice exploration of this particular emotion. "The Fairy Tale" is a rather strange and rambling tale, the plot of which is difficult to pin down and identify, and I could either take it or leave it. "The New Melusina" is my favorite of the two, and is told from the perspective of a traveling gentleman who enters a relationship with an alluring but mysterious woman he meets at an inn. He later discovers that she is a pixie, and must then choose between joining his love in her own world, or losing her forever.

"The Sorrows of Young Werther," as well as the other pieces in this edition, really does give us a lot to think about. Goethe's insights into human emotion are right on the mark, and he expresses them in haunting and moving language. While many modern readers will balk at Werther's extreme romanticism, it is really only his outward expression of emotion that is so alien to us. Once you get past this and delve into the actual feelings beneath, most readers will realize that they can identify with Werther in many ways. Nearly all of us has been in a similar romantic situation, longing for someone we will never have, and Goethe offers a wealth of material for us to contemplate in analyzing our own emotions. Any thoughtful reader will find much to appreciate here.

I may have been unfair
I may have been unfair in my previous review. The foul-up I highlighted may be the printer's rather than the translator's fault. Anyway, a prose writer of Goethe's elegance deserves better.

incompetent translation
I am looking for the best translation of this novel for my students. This translation of Catherine Hutter is utterly incompetent. Example: "I have spoken to my aunt and must say that I didn't find her to be the dreadful vehement woman with the kindest of hearts." The German reads: "Ich habe meine Tante gesprochen und bei weitem das boese Weib nicht gefundet, das man bei uns aus ihr macht. Sie ist eine muntere, heftige Frau von dem besten Herzen" = "I have spoken to my aunt and found her to be not at all the dreadful woman she is made out to be among us. She is a cheerful, energetic woman with the best of hearts." ... Read more

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This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

Customer Reviews (2)

money well-spent
Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Faust, Egmont, The Sorrows of Young Werther poems & more. Published by MobileReference (mobi)

A very good ebook - you're sure to find something you like in this collection. This is a great classic literature. Intense with human turmoil. Goethe makes me wish I could be handy with other languages, including German.

wonderful translation of Goethe's masterpiece
Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Faust, Egmont, The Sorrows of Young Werther poems & more. FREE Author's biography and Poem in the trial version.

Faust is a marvellous book that portrays both the glory and the tragedy of what it means to be fully human.
... Read more

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Translated by R.D. Boylan

Customer Reviews (73)

The Sorrows of the Reader
Okay, I'm going to be the turd in the punchbowl here and say, "What on earth did everyone like so much about this book?" For a short book, this felt like it lasted forever. It was drawn out and boring. It is about a young man who is obsessed with a married woman. Werther is whiny and unlikeable in my opinoin. The book is a collection of letters he has written to his friend. The letters consist of his bellyaching about his unrequited love. I found Werther to be irritating and was quite apathetic to his plight. Thumbs down. I do not recommend this book, but apparently many others do.

Operating a the lowest level of his intellect
"The Sorrows of Young Werther" reminds me of an aphorism by Norman Panzica, a Canadian marriage counselor: "A man in love is operating at the lowest level of his intellect." Werther's pain ran deep; he was an intelligent young man whose intellectual propensity was an obvious feature of his personality.

Werther realized there were unknown factors at the heart of his misery, and at one point he said, "It is so difficult to discover the true and innermost motives of men who are not of the common run." He consoled himself by saying, "There is nothing quite so pleasing and reassuring as to find an unusual mind in sympathy with our own." In other words, misery loves company. He realized he had no monopoly on knowledge, but he also knew he, like every mortal, was unique. "All the knowledge I possess everyone else can acquire, but my heart is all my own." Once more he consoled himself as he drew a conclusion applicable to all mortals: "I am a wanderer only, a pilgrim, through the world. But what more are you?"

But what more am I? Werther's question is a challenge that makes his novel come alive for his readers. As I review the eighty years of my life, I too have experienced the futility of becoming attached to "the one and only woman" who would bring me "eternal happiness." Like Werner, I have weathered those times when I was hopelessly in love. Somehow, I always picked a woman who would never marry me, and I imagine this was done at a subconscious level. Indeed, "it is difficult to discover the true and innermost motives of men" whether they're of the common or uncommon run. It makes little difference. We pull these painful tricks on ourselves. We fail consciously to understand what we do to ourselves, but in my case, I believe the thought of marriage terrorized me. Small wonder Werther said, "How rare in this world is understanding!" The tragedy of it is amplified by severe depression that often occurs during those youthful years when men and women should be enjoying the benefits of health, strength and vigor.

Still, there were moments when Werther was blissfully happy. "A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet spring mornings which I enjoy with all my heart," he said. Between this zenith of joy and the nadir of depression existed a wide chasm. At last, he said, "My mind is made up, Charlotte: I am resolved to die!" Werther's suspected bipolar disorder finally drove him to suicide. Goethe's tragic novel was immensely successful; sympathetic readers were committing suicide! The novelist was concerned enough to revise his book with hope that every reader would survive.

Werther was unfair to Charlotte, her husband Albert, and himself. Charlotte's secret love of Werther exacerbated their relationship. Albert's toleration was uncommon; most men would have ordered Werther off the premises right from the beginning. It would be easy to conclude Werner was simply a spoiled brat caught up in the frenzy of romantic love during the romantic period of Europe's cultural history. Conclusions of that sort are simplistic.

Werther was hooked on Homer, but a reading of Homer will assure us that Werther's romantic fixation was known at least three thousand years before Goethe's birth. It continues to this day. It still accounts for an occasional suicide.

About love, despair and the responsability of litterature
Goethe's non-epic 1st novel, that made him famous was less thought provoking than Faust. It is seen as a milestone in litterature due to it being written when romanticism was about to hit Europe (it, among others, opened the door for it).
An impossible love triangle, the desperation of a young inactive bourgeois and how life's events, the world and his views of it lead to his inevitable suicide. A book that is difficult to fully understand in our cynical time without some input about the era's context.

Litterature history says this book led to the loss of many young ones. How scary is that fact. A long discussion of responsibility of the artist could be started from here.
It made you wonder : if reading methods could be taught in school so that the reader could choose to fully embrace the character's point of view,would that be a good thing ?Watching it from a distance, with detached interest seems the better option in this case ? What about the others ?Young desperate in-love people would probably find echo in their suffering were they to read this in the middle of a storm (but again, is it worth it ? isn't detachment a good thing ?). I didn't. Fortunately.

10 stars and more
Just read the letter of May 22, to glimpse the magnificence of this book! I just finished this book and am in awe of its beauty and depth of emotions and philosophy, not just about passion and sentimentality that some people may think, but about the transient existence of human life, its place in nature, and the author's extremely hightened awareness and sensibility. (the author was only 24 when he wrote this book, Really!) I am madly in love with this book.

Obsession versus Love
I went into this book knowing virtually nothing about it.I remembered a vague reference to it from reading Frankenstein last year (the monster discovers and reads this book and relates strongly to Werther) but beyond that, and the general "sorrow" of the central character, I hopped in blind.

The book is written in epistolary style with each letter being sent from Werther to his friend Wilhelm (a couple of the letters seemed addressed to his brother as well?).We never read any responses written to Werther but can sometimes infer the reactions from Wilhelm.Still, the core of the story is told in Werther's letters themselves.

Because of the epistolary style, the narrative is a little 'jumpy' as it skips over time in between letters...sometimes a day or two, sometimes weeks or more.Some of the letters are very lengthy and pour out large segments of plot and action.Others are very short segments of exclamation or emotion.Sometimes even the longer letters don't advance the "plot" so much as provide insight into the thoughts and emotions of Werther.

Through the letters, we follow Werther as he moves to the country and encounters a young girl named Lotte.He is immediately transfixed by her and professes undying love.She coyly allows his advances and it seems as though a romance may appear between them.Quickly we learn that Lotte is betrothed to another man named Albert.Werther is taken aback by this, but still persists in being close to Lotte with the hope of perhaps persuading her to love him.When the timecomes, Lotte does marry Albert, much to Werther's dismay, but the three of them remain friendly.Werther visits them frequently and seems to hover incessantly over Lotte.He grows more and more jealous of Albert, which creates some tension in the group and Albert begins to leave the room when Werther comes to visit.

Werther's obsession with Lotte grows more and more intense as time goes on.He battles with himself over the emotions he feels and writes his friend for advice, although it is very clear that Werther does not feel able to (nor does he desire to) make a break from Lotte and strive to love another.He does finally move away from Lotte and spends some time trying to move on with his life.He becomes more and more discontent in his work and more and more obsessed with returning to her.

He finally does move back to live by them again.Albert is more offstandish and put off by Werther's presence.Werther continues to be insistent in his own mind (and sometimes to Lotte or Wilhelm) that there must be a way for her to love him.At the same time, he is emotionally conflicted because he knows she "belongs" to another man and he does not feel it is right to try and take her from him.She eventually tells Werther that he needs to stop coming around so often (he'd been visiting almost daily) but says that he's still a friend and should come by for Christmas as she's made him a gift.

__*** SPOILER ***__

Shortly after (the day after) Lotte tells Werther to back off a bit, he finds Lotte alone one night and again professes his love and pushes on her and kisses her passionately.She forces him off and tells him how wrong he's behaving.He's again in turmoil but does leave, though he announces (somewhat veiled) that she won't see him again...ever.He returns home and writes a few more notes in preparation of his suicide.He sends a note to Lotte and Albert to borrow their pistols for "a trip he's taking."Lotte realizes what's going on, but sends the pistols anyway.He shoots himself in the middle of the night and dies the next morning.He's buried without clergy, graveyard or cemetery.

__*** END SPOILER ***__

The presentation of love versus obsession is very interesting here and is very well done.You get a very good sense of the turmoil that Werther's going through...of the pain he's feeling as well as the desire he has but cannot fulfill.After reading the book, I looked up some info on it and found that it is actually fairly autobiographical.Apparently Goethe fell in love with his own Lotte who refused him and married another.He was obsessed for some time and found it hard to work or concentrate.There was a quote I read where Goethe indicates that he actually used Werther (and particularly the ending) to save himself [Goethe].

The story itself is intriguing though not particularly entrancing.It's really the presentation of the mental anguish of Werther that makes this noteworthy to me.Getting into his head and participating in the psychology of obsessive love was really interesting.A lot of his language was actually very romantic and, had it been spent on someone more receptive, could have been very powerful in enhancing a romantic relationship.Parts of the read were a bit slow, but overall, it was a good read.

****
4.5 out of 5 stars ... Read more

Product Description
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

These Kindle freebies are giving me easy access to many great works
This is my first time through Goethe's Faust thanks to my Kindle.This version is Part I; Part II was published separately.This is the translation by Bayard Taylor and was originally available in 1871.This edition includes a preface by the translator that I found quite interesting.He explains the translation process and how he was able to get it into rhyming verse similar to the original German.

Since I do not read German and this is the only translation I have ever read, it is hard for me to judge the quality of this translation, but I was impressed with how he got the English to fit into the original metres.This is written as a play in poetic form.

The story itself is Goethe's version of the Faustian legend.I found that I was able to follow the story quite well, but I did find it useful to read a summary of the plot that clarified several events that are sometimes difficult for me to follow in poetic language.

I shall next get my hands on Faust Part II.I highly recommend this Kindle freebie to anyone interested in literature.I can see why this ranks as one of the greatest works in German literature. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1786, when he was already the acknowledged leader of the Sturm und Drang literary movement, Goethe set out on a journey to Italy to fulfil a personal and artistic quest and to find relief from his responsibilities and the agonies of unrequited love. As he travelled to Venice, Rome, Naples and Sicily he wrote many letters, which he later used as the basis for the Italian Journey. A journal full of fascinating observations on art and history, and the plants, landscape and the character of the local people he encountered, this is also a moving account of the psychological crisis from which Goethe emerged newly inspired to write the great works of his mature years. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

A Great Introduction to a Polymath
This journal of Goethe's Italian travels at 38 years old is an intriguing record of late 18th century Italy. It also describes what would it have been like to be a wealthy European tourist at that time. With an introduction by the translators W.H. Auden and Elizabeth Mayer, this readable book showcases Goethe's interest in painting, sculpture, landscape, geology, botany and the Italian people. His description of the Roman Carnival is fascinating as are his various anecdotes including a nearly disastrous shipwreck on his return to Naples, the religious career of Filippo Neri and his romantic acquaintance with a Neapolitan princess. As mentioned by a previous reviewer, there are various untranslated verses/phrases (and historical minutiae) that could have been handled by footnotes instead of sending you to Google. Another slightly irritating aspect of the journal is his repeated apologies to his German friends about being away for so long in Italy : ) But these are small impediments to what is a very absorbing account of a great poet discovering Italy.

Goethe's Italian Travel Journal
Goethe went on a somewhat spontaneous (long thought about - but left with little notification to employer or relations and a surprise to himself it seemed)journey to Italy to reignite or find his passion, his muse. He never quite recaptured his creative impulse to the standard of his expecations after writing the book that shot him into international superstardom "The Sorrows of Young Werther" and he wanted to be with young artists in Italy and incognito to reignite his muse (although the forward suggests something quite different may have been responsible for igniting his muse which his journal only hints at). The success of Werther might have left an almost stiffling weight on his creativity and his journal also discusses situations where he has to get past the legacy of Werther on his creative process, just through the sheer weight what people want to talk about and identify him with. After Goethe came from his Italian journey he did go on to complete many works, or revise ones in progress, and further his artistic gifts to mankind; also completing at least one while in Italy.

Following along with the help of the internet probably made this book more interesting: getting easy access to pictures and the obscure references made to this or that. Goethe also came across some amusing people as well. Goethe's insights and observations are of course quality but it is also remarkable how normal he was and susceptible to the same sorts of sentiments and feelings, prejudices as most have. I think his notions about dolphins would have changed if he were alive now. It also takes one to a different time and place and takes one, I think, into the mind of a great genius at rest.

The 10 pages on the the relationship of Goethe's favorite Saint Filippo Neri and Pope Clement VIII is worth the price of the book.

Excellent Book, Mediocre Translation
This is a remarkable book which well deserves the praise other reviewers have given it.However, the translation is very flat; it makes Goethe sound far more like an English gentleman than like himself.For those who are interested in reading Goethe's thoughts on Italy, I recommend searching for a different translation.

The Original Beautiful Mind Goes South
In preparation for a trip to Italy, I began reading the accounts of famous travellers to that land: D.H. Lawrence, Charles Dickens, Tobias Smollett, and now Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. I had no great expectations but was knocked for a loop from page one.

Never before had I encountered a questing mind quite like Goethe's. Almost from the moment to left Carlsbad in September 1786, he was noticing the geological structures underlying the land and the flora and fauna above it. He sits down and talks with ordinary people without an attitude -- and this after he had turned the heads of half of Europe with his SORROWS OF YOUNG WERTHER. Here he was journeying incognito, apparently knowing the language well enough to communicate with peasants, prelates, and nobility.

One who abhors marking books I intend to keep, I found myself underlining frequently. "In this place," he writes from Rome, "whoever looks seriously about him and has eyes to see is bound to become a stronger character." In fact, Goethe spent over a year in Rome learning art, music, science, and even sufferings the pangs of love with a young woman from Milan.

Bracketing his stay in Rome is a longish journey to Naples and Sicily, where he becomes acquainted with Sir Warren Hamilton and his consort Emma, the fascinating Princess Ravaschieri di Satriano, and other German travelers. One of them, Wilhelm Tischbein, painted a wonderful portrait of Goethe the traveller shown on the cover of the Penguin edition.

The translation of W.H. Auden and Elizabeth Mayer is truly wonderful. My only negative comments are toward the Penguin editors who, out of some pennywise foolishness, have omitted translating the frequent Latin, Greek, and French quotes. I am particularly upset about the lack of a translation of the final quote from Ovid's "Tristia." In every other respect, this book is a marvel and does not at all read like a work written some 215 years ago. It is every bit as fresh and relevant as today's headlines, only ever so much more articulate!

Travelling in Italy in the 1780's
Goethe comes alive as a very real person, not just the famous German author, in this travel memoir detailing the two years he spent in Italy in the 1780's.A wonderful description of travel before airplanes and cameras.Somewhat tedious descriptions of geology and of his works-in-progress are frequent, but never too long.

It might be helpful to read (or re-read) the introduction after having read part of the book (say, into the first Roman visit). ... Read more

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Goethe was a master of the short prose form. His two narrative cycles, Conversations of German Refugees and Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, both written during a high point of his career, address various social issues and reveal his experimentation with narrative and perspective. A traditional cycle of novellas, Conversations of German Refugees deals with the impact and significance of the French Revolution and suggests Goethe's ideas on the social function of his art. Goethe's last novel, Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, is a sequel to Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and to Conversations of German Refugees and is considered to be his most remarkable novel in form. ... Read more

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Johann Wolfgang von Goethe is most famous for his work on color theory, but he was also an accomplished all-round scientist, studying and writing on anatomy, geology, botany, zoology and meteorology. This book draws together, in Goethe's own words, his key ideas on nature, science and scientific method. Goethe believed that we should study our world and nature as people at home in it, rather than removedly, as if we were aliens from another planet. He adopted a qualitative approach to science at odds with Newton's quantitative methods that were so popular in his day. His is a sensitive science which does not ignore our relationship to nature. The extracts in this book are fascinating and essential reading for anyone who feels that we've lost our spiritual connection to nature. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Good approach to Goethe's works
Today there is a urgent need to revise Science. Goethe's writings on Science give us a useful basis to start this renovation.

wonderful little book on Goethean science
A wonderful little book maybe to accompany the far more developed one byHenri Bortoft, "The Wholeness of Nature". It takes many excerptsfrom Goethe's approach to science and includes some of his major essays inthe area. If you want a starter in this subject buy it if you want realunderstanding in depth get Bortoft's book.

The book considers manyaspects such plant metamorphosis, colour theory, the concept of thearchetype and even some of Goethe's own thoughts on the philosophy ofscience. There are even pieces which I've seen nowhere else such as theeras of science, merely pointed out but not elaborated upon. In this waythe book grabs your attention and doesn't let go, it was my secondintroduction after Bortoft's having been recommended by him and it is wellworth it.

wonderful little book on Goethean science
A wonderful little book maybe to accompany the far more developed one byHenri Bortoft, "The Wholeness of Nature". It takes many excerptsfrom Goethe's approach to science and includes some of his major essays inthe area. If you want a starter in this subject buy it if you want realunderstanding in depth get Bortoft's book.

The book considers manyaspects such plant metamorphosis, colour theory, the concept of thearchetype and even some of Goethe's own thoughts on the philosophy ofscience. There are even pieces which I've seen nowhere else such as theeras of science, merely pointed out but not elaborated upon. In this waythe book grabs your attention and doesn't let go, it was my secondintroduction after Bortoft's having been recommended by him and it is wellworth it. ... Read more

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This short works includes: Hermann and Dorothea, Egmont, Iphigenia in Tauris ... Read more

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Goethe was a master of the short prose form. His two narrative cycles, Conversations of German Refugees and Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, both written during a high point of his career, address various social issues and reveal his experimentation with narrative and perspective. A traditional cycle of novellas, Conversations of German Refugees deals with the impact and significance of the French Revolution and suggests Goethe's ideas on the social function of his art. Goethe's last novel, Wilhelm Meister's Journeyman Years, is a sequel to Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship and to Conversations of German Refugees and is considered to be his most remarkable novel in form.Containing three of Goethe's major prose works, this volume explores a range of themes: unfulfilled love, infidelity, divorce, tragic love, fantasy, and moral rebirth. One of Goethe's best known works, The Sorrows of Young Werther, explores the extremes of the subjective experience through the novel's depiction of a sensitive young man caught up in a love impossible to fulfill. In Elective Affinities, a novel of tragic love, Goethe employs all the requisites of sentimental romance to give a deeply ironic perspective to the idea of love. As the title indicates, Novella examines the possibilities inherent in this genre.Goethe's scientific work is less familiar to the reading public than his poetry, yet his understanding of natural phenomena displays the same sensitivity and brilliance as his depictions of human relationships. Based on Goethe's research in anatomy, botany, physics, chemistry, zoology, meteorology, and geology, these forty selections call upon scientists to develop their perceptions both inwardly and outwardly in pursuing the continuum of nature through an interconnected and living world. ... Read more

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English translation
The book, although used, presents an excellent English translation of a significant work by Goethe.It arrived in excellent condition, although the US Govt apparently had to open the package to ensure itself it contained actual media. ... Read more

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This new series brings into modern English a reliable translation of a representative portion of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's vast body of work. This edition, selected from over 140 volumes in German, is the new standard in English, and contains poetry, drama, fiction, memoir, criticism, and scientific writing by the man who is probably the most influential writer in the German language. The executive editors of this collection are Victor Lange of Princeton University, Eric Blackall of Cornell University, and Cyrus Hamlin of Yale University.Princeton University Press is proud to be the distributor of the twelve volumes in hardcover of the originating publisher, Suhrkamp Verlag. In addition, Princeton will issue paperback reprints of these volumes over the next two years, beginning with volumes one through three. ... Read more

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tr C Middleton & M Hamburger ... Read more