I just received my copy of this great book! It's a great collection of humorous, touching, and a few unbelievable Bug tales! It's hard to put down if you have a great love for the VW Bug. You will definitely laugh out loud.

I never thought about it before, but these cars (and especially the hippie campers) really have a "people" side to them, and this book points that out. I like the way the people tell their own stories about things that happened to them in their cars. The funny ones are really funny and the emotional ones will make you feel like you're part of the scene. Ever since I read the book I have remembered lots of "tales" of my own that I want to submit for the sequel book!

"Bug Tales" is a verry nice little book.I found the stories about families and kids and gonig on trips to be good reading, although I thought the parts about the pony and the lion and other stusff was funny, too. (You can tell from the cover that it's going to be good.) I definitely recommend it to anybody for a quick, pleasant summer read even if you never had a Volkswagon!

This novel is a GREAT kickoff for the new Sembia series. The characterization is in-depth and believable, and the stories are loaded with action. Normally, I'd be a little concerned with a book that has seven different authors, but these guys (and ladies) pull it off great! Each story leads nicely into the next and you get to see each character through the other characters' eyes. I'm not sure I even have a favorite character yet. They're all good! An excellent read.

All right. Two things: 1. Erevis Cale kicks serious arse. 2. This novel kicks serious arse. This is one of the few anthologies that I've ever read that actually worked. And this one worked well. This family is the best thing in fantasy since...I don't know what! Each character is fully developed, there's no cliches, and each story, while it does stand independently, interacts nicely with the others. Sembia is finally explored for FR fans, and the explanation is grand. Noble infighting, commercial espionage, thieves guilds, curses, a ton of action, you name it!

Now back to point one: Erevis Cale, the butler/manservant in this novel, is now my favorite FR character. This guy is a walking contradiction, but it works perfectly, effortlessly. Tension spills from the pages as he tries to reconcile his past with his present. This characterization job is all the more impressive considering that the author has only thirty or forty pages to work with.

I should add that everything I just said is true of the rest of the characters too, but Cale just sticks in my brain. This guys is unbelieveable! I can't wait to read more about him in Shadow's Witness this November.

Let me say first that I haven't bought a Forgotten Realms novel in a few years. I'm glad I bought this one though. I agree with the otehr reviewer that Erevis Cale is the coolest (congratulations Mr. Kemp), but the rest are cool too, except only the father. Ed's story didn't do anything for me. The youngest son and daughter are probably second and third best. Most of the stories are dark, even grim, with interesting stories and fast-paced plots. The city of Selgaunt really came to life for me, and I got into each of the characters when their story came along. On the strength of this book, I've decided to give FR novels another shot.

Mary Rakow writes with a poet's spirit and a poet's eye. On each page she provides a pause, a space for the contemplative reader - to reflect on the sacred and profane.

On the surface level she takes the reader into the world of one woman's tortured psyche. Yet, this is no ordinary story of abuse. It is an homage to the multilayering of a human being's interior living. In this aspect Ms. Rakow's novel is unlike most novels since it does not read as pure narrative. The movements of the story flow in the immediacy of the main character's voice. This sense of immediacy, aliveness, and sanctity of space gives Ms. Rakow's unique style accessibility.

The reader must make a mental adjustment - as one makes when walking into a darkened room, reaching for what is familiar in the unknown. When that mental shift happens, one reads with awe. Awe not only that we bear witness to a woman's faith that her dismembered life can be rewoven into a new beginning ("A holy place. A New Jerusalem.");
but to Ms. Rakow's use of language itself: raw, exquisite purity.
She breaks up the use of the page with a sacristan's dedication and an artist's eye.

To Read Ms. Rakow, is to glimpse into and to know the profound nature and complexity of what it is to be human.

Mary Rakow writes with a poet's spirit and a poet's eye. On each page she provides a pause, a space for the contemplative reader - to reflect on the sacred and profane.

On the surface level she takes the reader into the world of one woman's tortured psyche. Yet, this is no ordinary story of abuse. It is an homage to the multilayering of a human being's interior living. In this aspect Ms. Rakow's novel is unlike most novels since it does not read as pure narrative. The movements of the story flow in the immediacy of the main character's voice. This sense of immediacy, aliveness, and sancity of space gives Ms. Rakow's unique style accessiblity. The reader must make a mental adjustment - as one makes when walking into a darkened room, reaching for what is familiar in the unknown. When that mental switch happens, one reads with awe. Awe not only that we bear witness to a woman's faith that her dismembered life can be rewoven into a new beginning ("A holy place. A New Jerusalem.");
but to Ms. Rakow's use of language itself: raw, exquisite purity.
She breaks up the use of the page with a sacristan's dedication and an artist's eye.

To Read Ms. Rakow, is to glimpse into and to know the profound nature and complexity of what it is to be human.

Mary Rakow writes with a poet's spirit and a poet's eye. On each page she provides a pause, a space for the contemplative reader - to reflect on the sacred and profane.

On the surface level she takes the reader into the world of one woman's tortured psyche. Yet this is no ordinary story of abuse. It is a homage to the multilayering of a human being's interior living. In this aspect, Ms. Rakow's novel is unlike most novels since it does not read only as purely linear narrative. The movements of the story flow in the immediacy of the main character's voice.

The reader, upon entering this novel, adjusts, as to a darkened room, reaching into the unknown to find the familiar. Making that shift, one reads with awe. We bear witness to a woman's faith that her dismembered life can be rewoven into a new beginning, which the novelist calls "a holy place. A new Jerusalem". And in the use of language itself, with its rawness and exquisite purity, she uses the white spaces of the page with a sacristan's devotion and the eye of the true artist.

To read her is to gaze upon the profound and complex nature of what it is to be human.

The reason I only gave this book 4 stars is because of out of the 5 Edith Nesbit Books I have read so far...this is my least favourite. I think it is beacuase of how it is written. It, to me, was lacking something all the other books she wrote have. I also did not particularly enjoy the beginning of the book, as it started out dull etc. But as it went on...I fell in love with the four children. One thing that is very evident in this book is the thing of good magic. Evrything thing seems to be filled with it, therefore making the story all the better and all more exciting. I loved how it showed each of there adventures, and each of there luck with the magic ring. I also got a few laughs out of the children's injinuity. This is truly a classic, but not my favourite Nesbit book. It certainly is worth getting though.

This book is a wonderful, magical read. I got it because I watched the BBC adaptation as a child, and loved it. It's a story of magic, childhood and friendship, but more than it it captures the magic of the unknown - the statues that come alive, and the sense of adventure and mystery that every child knows. The story of the Ugli-Wuglies is truly creepy, but necessary - theres too much tendency these days to protect children from anything that might scare them - its good for them to be scared occasionally, they'll come to learn that the real world is far more frightening place. When you read it later as an adult, there's the theme of love, and the pain of love lost and the fact the that nothing is free, everything has to be paid for ultimately. The only reason I deducted a star is that, enchanting though it is, it lacks the depth or richness of, say, Phillipa Pearce's "Tom's Midnight Garden". All the same, still a children's classic, and every child should have the opportunity to read it.

Although written around a century ago, this still remains one of the great classics of Children's literature. I have not read Harry Potter yet, but I would suspect this book is at least comparable. The plot is actually fairly complex -- there's humor, drama, romance, and magic. It can be read by both children and adults and both will enjoy it.

The story deals with a number of children who find a magic ring that can make your wishes come true. But this only gives a small idea of the wonders that lie within.

Other great Nesbit works -- Five Children and It, The Phoenix and the Carpet.

I do not read a lot of books. I have only read what was assigned to me throughout school and the occasional NY Times bestseller. A friend of mine gave me this book as a gift one day, she said I would enjoy it. She was right - I loved it. I didn't read it right away, but when I did I couldn't put it down. I am not an emotional person, or at least I never thought of myself as one, but this book made me look at myself and it broke my heart. I related with the character of the pilot and I felt as though the Little Prince was talking to me. The book helped me realize that I had forgotten a lot of things since childhood, like the meaning of friendship. The book also reminded me of what love really is. It made me realize what "grown-ups" really are, children who lost their innocence. The greatest thing about the book is that it is universal. It's message is simple: "love has no prejuducies, never dies and always forgives." It is a children's story but it is something all adults should read. There are few books that can do what this "children's story" can do. It will make you laugh, break your heart and make you think about what really is important in your life.

- Jeff

When I first read this book when I was a senior in high school and read it for my French class, I wasn't sure if I'd enjoy this book. I'd heard so much about it. After reading it I can say that I love this book so much, no wonder Le Petit Prince is on some French currency! I've read this book in English and French, and I'd have to say that the French is sooo much better if you know French. It's not all that difficult to understand if you are at a beginning level. This is a great book and is worth every penny in both languages!

I read this book in its portuguese version when I was stil living in Brazil (my home land); french, when I started learning it as well as spanish . Despite all "nuances" of each language the book keeps its majesty. Everytime I read it I think it was not written for children. In Le Petit Prince, St. Exupery made life wonderful, beyond comprehension.

This and "Pop Internationalism" (also by Krugman) are the best popular economics books I've read.

The best feature of these books are its translation of textbook micro- and macroeconomics (the kind you learn in Econ 101 and 102) into the language of the op-ed pages. In this language, Krugman is a persuasive voice for academic economics on policy issues such as trade and recession in which public (or at least popular) debate is too often dominated by non-economists. It's not the policy stances he ends up taking that are interesting so much as how convincingly he describes large portions of popular economic debate (for example, the debate about the "competitiveness" of the American economy) as much ado about nothing. It helps that he's usually clear about when he is speaking from the perspective of economics profession as a whole and when he is speaking from his own point of view. The ideas he presents are a lot more lively for his attaching their originators to them; I remember his allusions to Lawrence Summers' arrogance as particularly amusing.

His politics are ultimately more critical of Republicans than of Democrats, but his criticisms are novel, thoughtful and much better than the usual blunt arguments we've heard a thousand times over from liberal columnists and talking heads. He is willing to engage the perspective of conservative economists, and is a lot more interested in carefully interpreting a few statistics than in spewing out a whole bunch and hoping their mere mass overwhelms the debate. I'm still a Republican after reading it, but I think I'm a better-attuned one, too.

I read "Peddling Prosperity" over a vacation, expecting to read a few pages, put it down, and pick up something more entertaining. (I had the latest Grisham waiting in the wings.) How interesting can a book about economics be? Answer- my Grisham never got read. I couldn't put this down.

Typically economic treatises are uniformly dull, the author spending pages re-stating his thesis, over and over and over. As one of my college professors told me, economists have two basic rules-

1) The market can decide best. 2) Anyone who questions rule #1 is a communist.

I would add a third-

3) bore the reader with technical jargon.

Krugman, mercifully, avoids these traps. He distills economics down to its most basic elements in plain English. Krugman is also a more critical thinker than most of his counterparts, carefully making the argument for Keynesian economics and debunking the myths of Reaganomics. Even the most ardent free market enthusiast will find it difficult to explain away Krugman's notes about wealth distribution during the 1980s (the rich got richer, the poor got poorer) and about the disastrous effects of Reagan overseas. Protectionists will have difficulty as well in refuting Krugman's analysis of the disastrous effects of tariff barriers and the insignificance of America's trade deficit.

The author has it all correct- the fallacy of protectionism (the strategic traders), the failure of Reaganomics, the positive role government can play in American economic life. What makes "Peddling Prosperity" such a good book is Krugman's skill in translating his thoughts into passages a reader without a Phd can understand. Good work.

One of the things that interested me in Krugman is he is one of the most cited current economists. I can see why, he breaks down complicated economic discussion into plain English - and explains how some other people who break down economics in easy-to-understand English are [unacceptable], whether conservative (supply siders) or liberal (strategic traders), and how some of them are not, from Keynes to Friedman.

I've been trying to bone up on economics, and this book has helped me understand concepts I've heard the names of before in other sources like rational expectations, monetarism, Keynesianism, supply side economics and so forth. He also gives a picture of the US (and European) economy in the 20th century, and a history of economic thought from the conservative attack on Keynes led by Friedman, to the liberal counter-attack up until 1994, when the book was written.

For anyone trying to understand economics, this is a good book, without a right-wing axe to grind since he's a liberal. I've been reading the critiques of capitalist political economy from Marx to his successors (as well as some socialists outside of the Marxian sphere, though the Marxists due dominate socialist economic discourse up to this day), and from that standpoint, Krugman looks something like a bourgeois liberal, but his work is enlightening and seems honest so I recommend it.

Despite being a resident of Chicago for four years, I only recently made my pilgrimage to Charlie Trotter's. Given the high expectations going in, it still amazes me that his restaurant was still able to exceed all of them.

However, that dining experience was not my first with Charlie Trotter. I have owned Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home for over a year and have tried three to four recipes from each section (Starters, Entrees, and Desserts) of his book. With the book, a person can transport some of the amazing flavors and techniques into the home, yet not to be intimidated. The ingredient list for each recipe is reasonable since you can find 95% of the ingredients at the local supermarket. The cooking techniques are simple enough for someone who has comfortably advanced beyond cooking with a microwave. Each recipe ends with a simple insight offering information about the ingredients, techniques, or substitutions.

The recipes offer a solid repertoire which you can cook regularly. In fact, Trotter includes sample menus and wine pairings.

After getting the recipes down, don't be afraid to experiment because that is what cooking is all about. Then you will really be able impress your friends.

I am in awe of Charlie Trotter's culinary expertise and artistry, and have bought every book he has published. If you are unfamiliar with his work, most of his recipes are not for the novice cook or anyone who does not enjoy spending time in the kitchen. This book however is a little different. I am the Italian Food host ..., and an avid cookbook collector and am always looking for another great book to add to my collection. When I want to cook a meal to impress, I generally pull out a Trotter recipe, and so I was curious to see what this book would contain since it's title "cooks at home" hints at simpler, more basic recipes than I associate with him. That is in fact what this book contains, and none of the recipes seem to be as complicated as those in his previous books that I have. I have tried a number of recipes from this book already, and to date, have not been disappointed with any. My greatest disappointment lies in the fact that this book contains only a few images, not the glorious food graphics his previous books are famous for.

I was so proud of the meal that I made from this book! My friends said that they felt like they were dining at Charlie Trotter's restaurant! I'm a cookbook junkie, so that also makes me a tough critic. I have 50 or so books that I own, but never cook out of because the recipes are too complex. But Charlie Trotter Cooks at Home was so much fun to cook out of. He really made the recipes easy for the home cook. The photos in this book are very interesting as well. They are not the ordinary food shots of a recipe that you see in every other book. They make you look at food differently, which helps open up your culinary mind as well. This is a great addition to my cookbook collection!

"Human Natures" is far and away the clearest, most comprehensive, and most compelling synthesis of what is known about the co-evolution of humans, their cultures, and the rest of nature currently available. The title subtly reflects the important distinction between human "nature" and human "natures" - the plural implying that our species has many and varied natures - not a single unitary nature. This pluralism is in stark contrast to the stilted and unrealistic assumptions about a singular human nature embodied in both the reductionist biological model and the conventional economic model. The biological reductionist idea that all human behavior can be reduced to a genetic basis is clearly insufficient in light of the massive importance of cultural evolution in shaping human behavior. Likewise, the all-knowing, perfectly rational economic utility or profit maximizer of the conventional economic model may be convenient for mathematical tractability, but it is so far from the reality of human natures that it is laughable. The only mystery is why, given what we know about human natures, more economists are not laughing. The case of Phineas Gage, described by Ehrlich in the book, serves to illustrate the size of the chasm between the conventional economic model and reality. Gage was a railroad worker who had a large portion of his frontal lobe removed when a 1.25 inch-thick tamping rod shot through his head in a freak railroad accident in 1848. Amazingly, Gage survived and was not even knocked unconscious by the accident. But he was a changed man. He had lost the part of the brain that we now know is dedicated to emotional responses. A surprising result was that while he could think, talk, and calculate perfectly well - he was completely "rational" - he simply could not make a decision. It turns out that rationality without emotions leads to swamping with details and the inability to make any decisions at all, even ones so trivial as what to eat for dinner. That emotions are necessary for decision making is an interesting part of real human natures, but is in direct contradiction to the conventional economic assumptions about decision-making, which considers emotions to be a hinderence to "rational" decision-making. But as Ehrlich points out: "Human emotional capacities evolved along with our cognitive capacities. Without the ability to respond to stimuli with appropriate emotions, critical decision making becomes impossible" (pp. 121-122). The challenge is to build economic models that incorporate the realities of human natures, rather than to assume them away. The weakest aspect of the book is the imbalance between its treatment of genetic and cultural evolution. While Ehrlich takes pains to acknowledge the large and growing importance of cultural evolution in shaping human natures, he gives very little space in the book to the details of how cultural evolution works and does not attempt to synthesize the research in this area in anything like the completeness with which he treats human genetic evolution. For example, he notes that cultural evolution has several unique characteristics relative to genetic evolution. Most importantly, learned behavior can be passed on through the culture to genetically unrelated individuals and changes in culture can occur with light speed relative to genetic evolution. But how does this work and what does this mean for human natures and for the future of our society? This and several other key questions about the details of the relationship between genetic and cultural evolution are hinted at in passing, but left largely unaddressed in the current volume. For example, conventional biological evolution theory is largely circular and descriptive, not predictive. It is one thing to describe how alligators evolved, but quite another to be able to predict the emergence of alligators. To do this one would need to know the underlying criteria for success in evolution that can be specified before the fact. From a predictive point of view, it doesn't help much to say that those individuals that reproduce best will survive, unless one can say why particular individuals will be able to reproduce better than others in particular situations. Most human evolutionary ecologists work on time scales that make this question moot, but it is essential for understanding cultural evolution, the results of which are observable in units of years rather than thousands of years. To use the evolutionary paradigm in predictive modeling, we require a quantitative measure of fitness (or more generally performance) that can be specified before the fact, in order to drive the selection process. Another important question has to do with the "reflexive" nature of cultural evolution - because we are capable of at least some degree of conceptualization and foresight, we can exert at least partial control over our own selection environment. The process then becomes one of conscious design and tinkering with the cultural evolutionary process rather than passive response to externally determined criteria. How does this process work and what are it's limits? Devising policy instruments and identifying incentives that can translate foresight into effective modifications of the short-run cultural evolutionary dynamics is the key research challenge. In cultural evolution, we have the unique potential to first envision our goals and then modify the selection criteria in order to achieve them. Ehrlich's book provides a solid basis for addressing these and countless other questions that are critical to understanding our human natures and how we can actively participate in changing them. Adequately understanding and controlling our complex human natures is essential to the continued survival of our so far exceptionally successful species.

According to Jared Diamond, "The one book to read on human evolution." Human Natures is clear, quite readable, and concise thus bringing a difficult subject into focus. Ehrlich disabused me of several notions that I had built up over many years of reading about evolution in various publications. No longer will I blame "genes" for everything that goes right and wrong in my life or the lives of those around me. Certainly, genes will still hold a prominent position in my understanding of human natures (plural, for there are many), but our environment will be moved up as at least an equal partner. Here is an example of his excellent style; Ehrlich writes (page 119 & 120):  "Despite the uncertainties, several general points with particular evolutionary relevance about the mechanisms of the human brain seem quite will established. In summary, they key points are as follows: 1. The brain is an organ that, like other organs, has evolved a structure that serves its various functions. 2. The brain can compensate for partial damage and, often, keep thinking. 3. The brain has many "programs"--connected sets of neurons--that have been built in over hundreds of millions of years by natural selection. 4. More recently evolved programs in the brain enable us to solve problems of relationships and causation that are difficult or impossible for other animals to solve. 5. Although selection has led to these capabilities by creation of appropriate genotypes, appropriate environments (both internal and external) are essential to produce the behavioral characteristics we observe. 6. Natural selection has designed the brain's programs to bias certain perceptions and behaviors. 7. Nonetheless, the genetic code does not build specific instructions into the brain's structure for dealing with every conceivable behavioral situation or even large numbers of them. 8. Natural selection has trouble doing just one thing at a time with respect to the brain, just as with other organs. It is unlikely, for example, that selection could produce a brain program that predisposes females to desire males with curly hair without changing other programs of the brain or, perhaps, other aspects of the human phenotype."

Ehrlich then goes on to explain all these concepts in detail with easily understood supporting evidence, arguments, and theories. From genes, to religion, to cultures, our complex human natures are unraveled and put before us to see and recognize as the wonder they are. Evolution of the human species is explained in the timeframe and the manner supported by the best scientific evidence of the day. Yet, the wonder and mystery of sentient beings is not in any way denigrated. This is definitely a book to read, and perhaps the only one those of us not in the sciences needs to read for some time to come.

This scholarly opus written in a conversational style by Paul R. Ehrlich, Professor of Biological Sciences at Stanford University, sets forth the thesis that human nature is the product of genetic and cultural coevolution. He states that while genes predispose and constrain human behavior, its cultural expression is undetermined and highly variable. This view leads him to advocate the use of the expression, "human natures," which denotes cultural pluralism. In effect, he also argues against the position that genetic determinism fully explains human behavior.

One example he gives concerns the nature of language. Human beings may have inherited the genetic capacity for language, but they do not develop languages according to predetermined forms. Development of languages in human populations thus illustrates the undetermined quality of evolution in human behavior.

The book is roughly divided into two parts, so that the first makes a gradual transition into the second. In the first part, the author offers a detailed and complete account of human biological evolution. In the second part, he explores the evolution of human behavior, from its primitive counterparts in the behavior of other primates to its complex modern manifestations.

All throughout, his approach, according to his own description, is to summarize the latest scientific research and then to offer his own opinion on issues that are largely inconclusive. As an in-depth compendium, the book makes a good reference.

In the second part, Ehrlich tackles intriguing topics in evolutionary psychology--the evolution of language, sex, war, religion, art, ethics, to name a few. I believe any careful reader will come away, as I did, with insights. For example, I was enlightened by his observation that while our hundreds of thousands of years of genetic evolution as small-group hunter-gatherers allow us the capacity for meaningful personal interaction with perhaps 90-220 individuals, we live in modern societies organized around millions or even billions of citizens. This fact explains the impersonality and alienation in modern states besides the incredible inhumanity of wars waged on a modern scale.

However, I came away somewhat dissatisfied with the second part for two reasons. First, Ehrlich does not offer any unified theory upon which to interpret cultural evolution. On this question, he says that human culture is indeed vast and it awaits the next crop of geniuses to construct such a theory a la Darwin. Second, it became apparent, at least to me, that while the author is in his element when he draws upon disciplines cognate to his own, such as cultural anthropology, he is limited in covering the contributions of less related disciplines like economics or art history to understanding cultural evolution. But I would not expect anyone, Ehrlich included, to be so complete in scope.

I might suggest that the most rewarding way of reading the second part is to treat it as little essays, from as long as a chapter to as short as a section, in which the author is guided throughout by the interpretative framework of genetic and cultural coevolution.

This book is worth reading--and keeping--for anyone interested in human evolution.

Kopel and Blackman have succeeded in producing a tome which is both accessible to the average reader and meticulously documented to aid those who would take an active stand to reverse the tide of tyranny. Make no mistake--the systematic growth of federal law enforcement and its destruction of the Tenth Amendment (among others) outlined in this book constitutes tyranny.

Waco provides the initial focus and springboard, but the authors are able to bring in a great deal of detail regarding Federal law enforcement abuses that go well beyond that single, horrible incident that still cries out for justice.

No More Wacos provides, in the end, some very common sense approaches to halting this oppression. Alas, decisions like the recent Horiuchi whitewash declaring federal officials exempt from state criminal sanctions, seem to moving us in the other direction.

Every person who cares about liberty owes it to himself to read--NO--to study this book.

As a Hispanic Democrat, I was shocked to read how certain Federal agencies behave. Not even 5% of the real Waco story has been told. Minorities mistrust police for good reasons but with the ATF and FBI behaving worse than German Gestapo thugs, every person in America must start to wonder if America is becoming the 5th Reich. While Waco was not a conspiracy in a sense, bungling and BLATANT disregard of the law brought about a series of events. Minorities MUST remember, most of those gassed and burned to death were minorities, women, and children. Where was Johnny Cochran and F. Lee Bailey when Fuhrmann X's 100 attacked Waco? Oh the religious sect didn't have millions to spend....

This is not simply a study of the Waco tragedy, but a indictment of current lawless Federal "law enforcement," along with constructive suggestions for its reform. It is well-written, thorough, thoughtful, and very well documented. And its credibility has been given a boost by the recently acknowledged lies and coverup of the FBI about Waco. Let the FBI shill rant all she/he/it wants, every American should buy and read this book.

This review and the stars are limited to the Kaufmann translation rather than the substance of Faust. Though confessing personal irritation as to reviews dealing with translation (for after all, who cares, and we would rather have your learned opinion of the book, please), after enduring this translation, I have happily passed the forgoing neophyte point of view, being here subject, as one in a symphonic pit, to questionable playing destroying some very good music. One hesitantly criticizes a dead man(Kaufmann) credited with such a large and apparently well done body of work (though Kaufmann's translation of Heine appearing in Norton Second Edition of Faust (2001) is similarly scrummed up.),including Kaufmann's introduction here, which takes pain to reveal that translators take liberties with Goethe, but that the Kaufmann translation is faithful and literal, where possible. But, like a gullible freshman, Kaufmann sets himself up by (laudably) including on the left the original German so that line by line comparison with his translation on the right is possible, at least for those with rudimentary German. Proceeding on past the intro, and faced with the constant page by page temptation to actually read the German, suspicions of "mistakes", and more disturbingly an awkward and tortured text begin their insidious accumulation. Such problems the reader is to attribute directly to Goethe, for Kaufman has warned in his intro " Goethe was not always at his best", that Goethe's style is like "sapphires in the mud" with a lot of mud and an occasional sapphire, and further, forwarding the implication that much of Part II is only questionably worth persevering through, a statement which might be big news to some very reputable critics. The phalacy of blaming Goethe becomes palpable, even shocking, on comparison of the Kaufmann with the Walter Arndt translation in the Norton Second Edition, and also by reading of Goethe's letters and conversations in the Norton which reveal with certitude the always eloquent writing of this genius who took such obvious pains to communicate artistically and clearly his every word. Where Kaufmann is clumsy, off the mark, constantly mistranslating basic German words, and misinterpreting meaning so as to cause impossibility in understanding, the exact same lines in the Norton are understandable, poetic and eloquent. These are two different books, one hesitant, choppy and questionably accurate, while the other appears to create in English the masterpiece that is Faust. Recognizing that any translation is at least partly a matter of individual preference and taste, this reviewer would nevertheless have to recommend at least a glance at the Norton prior to spending the considerable time necessary to make it through this timeless classic.

I apologize for my ingorance if I'm wrong about this, but I don't believe anyone's translated Faust into English without trying to maintain a rhyme scheme. Readers of Homer will appreciate what I'm talking about when they consider Robert Fagles' wonderful new translations that are especially faithful and powerful because they don't compromise word-choice for what, in translation, can only be a synthetic kind of rhyme. I would much prefer a metrically unbalanced, blank verse extremely faithful word-for-word translation of Goethe than the forced-into-rhymed-verse Kaufmann has presented. I don't mean to belittle Kaufmann's abilities - for what his Faust is, it's great, possibly the best. But I feel like it's Kaufmann's Faust, not Goethe's. Some will argue that this is always the case with translation, but can't we come closer? Is the rhyme THAT important to us? I, for one, would gladly sacrifice it to authenticity.
**************
Actually, Stuart Atkins' translation is not force-rhymed, so that's probably the one to go with.

I want to open up by saying that this particular translation is above all others. The penguin version is awful. Secondly, I will say that "Faust" is beautifully written, putting Goethe on par with Shakespeare. Goethe captures the phenomena of boredom and low capacity of freedom. The Doctor, Faust, has studied philosophy, science, literautre, and so on, but still feels empty and disatisfed. What would you do? Would you, as he does, take company with the Devil?

There is humour, wit, eloquence of language, and detail. There has to be some reason why it is so praised by scholars today. Even Oscar Wilde, who wrote "The Picture of Dorian Gray," borrowed from it.

Be aware, though, of how difficult the play is to read.