Goethe is a bit like broccoli--one should like him better than one actually does. Goethe goes to great lengths to credit everyone who helped him become the most important German author ever. It moves at a very slow pace. It also is somewhat self-deceptive and misleading, as it ends when Goethe was in his late 20's. In order to get a more accurate view of Goethe's life, Dichtung and Wahrheit is best read in conjunction with a traditional biography. Goethe's autobiography appears in 4 parts, and this volume consists of the first 3, which were written earlier, and it is more thorough than the 4th part that appears in volume 5 of this series. Anyone seriously interested in studying autobiography as a genre should read it, even if it is slow going.

This is a book with an excellent analysis of the reasons behind Goethe's attempt to discredit Newton's Opticks, specifically his work on the generation of colour in the spectrum obtained by the refraction of a "ray" of light (through a prism) emitted through a small pinhole. It must be remembered that Dennis Sepper is a philosopher rather than a physicist which means that the actual analysis of Goethe's work on 'Colour Theory' is not so deeply studied, although he does say just enough to give the impression all is not well with the standard Newtonian view and that Goethe's observations, especially the fact that the spectrum obtained by the above technqiue is a product of two spectra obtained at the edges between a dark and lighter surface e.g. a card with half black and half white colouring, remain valid today. The spectrum then only ever appears at the boundary between the two and only certain colours of the spectrum, reversing the position of black and white shows some more spectral colurs and the meeting of the two produces the green seen in standard spectra.

Sepper separates the book into sections with the first an introduction explicating both Goethe's and Newton's ideas followed by the second section on Goethe's first work on colour: "The Beitraege" and its differences to the later "Farbenlehre" and the reason for these differences. The third section discusses the inherent problems within Newton's views and his experimentun crucis. The remaining chapters discuss how Goethe was right and where he was wrong as well as his very sophisticated ideas on the philosophy of science which makes him one of the earliest student's of the discipline; something which was not fully investigated until the 20th Century.

Its a superbly argued book and Sepper never at any point verges too much in either direction. Both weaknesses and strengths are highlighted, in both instances, whether Goethe or Newton. Sepper makes the point that there is still much to colour science, even as it stands today, that needs to be more fully explored. Even with the tremendously successful wave theory which explains most of the phenomena of light and colour. I say most given that quantum theory was needed for some cases and who knows what still remains to be discovered. maybe even some of the observations of Goethe may still need to be explained.

I would say that of all the books written on the subject of the so-called non-scientific science of Goethe, this is by far the best. Having read both critiques of Goethe by scientists and other books by proponents of Goethe this one is very clear and gets to the bottom of often vague statements made by others. Only Bortoft's book on "The Wholeness of Nature" does the same kind of justice.

A timely book describing the way of science practised by Goethe and still continued today through the talents of Bockemuehl, Schad and others. Thankfully Goethe's "way" has not died the seemingly natural death expected after the assault of scientific positivism/reductionism/mechanism which has been the mainstream approach associated with science since Galileo, Newton and Descarte. In fact science has come to mean this very method. Whether it is admitted or not by many scientists, they do feel a certain dimunition in the sense of life first experienced when exposed to the original dynamic ideas of science such as general relativity, evolution or the concept of the atom. This sense, well expressed by Blake's beautiful poetic lines "universe in a grain of sand and heaven in a wildflower" is what drew them to a scientific career in the first place and shows that scientists just as much as artists are searchers for wonder in the universe. The question remains how has this sense of wonder been eradicated from the modern scientific approach. The answer is it hasn't, not completely, investigators still feel this sense of wonder as they investigate a new phenomenon for the first time and the associated flood of ideas emanating from it. However once past this initial stage scientific investigations progress in a very methodical way which leaches the life from the initial phenomenon. Goethe initiated a science which tries to maintain this "living" sense at all stages of the investigation without the influx of total subjectivity. This book demonstrates some investigators' own contemporary scientific investigations from the growth of plants to the evolution and structure of mammals. Hopefully such expositions will be read and digested by future scientists and lead to a new revitalisation of science in a creative living way, where this very approach becomes part of the life of the scientist rather than as a separate part of his world.

David Luke's edition of selected verse by Goethe provides the original German text and an English translation (usually in prose, though an exception is made in the case of "Nicolai on Werther's Grave," p. 27). This allows the reader who may not be fully conversant with German, or for whom it may be a bit rusty, to savor the word music of Goethe's original text. Significant excerpts from "Faust" appear, as well as a good cross-section of the other verse of this important world poet.

Esta novela es un perfecto género de romanticismo, no simplemente por ser una novela "romántica" sino porque tenemos a un personaje dispuesto a perder su vida antes que vivirla renunciando a los ideales artificiales que se ha creado sobre ella.

En este caso particular, el Joven Werther sufre y es bendecido con una gran sensibilidad que al tiempo que le permite vibrar con cada pequeño detalle cotidiano, le impide relacionarse con los demás de una manera que sea indiferente a sus personalidades. Lógicamente su vocación de solitario sufrirá un shock cuando encuentra una mujer que, aunque prometida para casarse con otro y por lo mismo, fuera de su alcance debido a las convenciones de la época, le mueve el piso de manera tal que toda su energía vital la dirige a lograr su atención y dedicación, aceptando anticipadamente su destino al fracaso, pues aunque la desee, debido a que ella es su imagen de la pureza y la nobleza, si lograra su objetivo destruiría su ideal y con eso la esencia misma de su búsqueda.

Por ello al colocarse en una situación en la que solo puede optar por el desengaño o el sufrimiento opta por este último.

Como los suicidios por amor no han pasado de moda y tristemente aún son muy frecuentes los estúpidos que los practican por esta causa, la trama de esta novela aún puede acompañar emocionalmente a uno que otro lector de este siglo. De hecho Goethe se esfuerza en justificar la conducta de su personaje durante la novela cuando le hace afirmar:

"N se trata, pues, de saber si un hombre es débil o fuerte, sino de que si puede soportar la extensión de su desgracia, sea moral, sea física; y me parece tan ridículo que un hombre que se suicida es un cobarde, como absurdo dar el mismo nombre a quien se muere de una fiebre maligna".

The great German poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was also an enthusiastic amateur scientist saying that of all his work he considered his scientific work to be the most important. This is no trivial matter considering the great works of prose and poetry Goethe produced eg Faust, Erlkoenig etc etc.

Probably the most well developed of his scientific investigations is his book on colour theory which studied many aspects of the formation of colours. Proskauer in this book reviews and also extends some of Goethe's work on colour as well as allowing the reader to experience the phenomena first hand through a small prism attached to the book with special cards to serve as "light/dark" sources.

The book starts with an introduction to Goethe's work which contradicts Newton's theories such as the notion that ordinary "white" light is constructed from a combination of the colours and that the prism separates the colours already present in it. Proskauer demonstrates that the spectrum observed by the prism is in fact a construction which arises due to two distinct spectra overlapping and that a spectrum is noticed only in the presence of a light/dark boundary. Further fascinating aspects are disclosed and provide a strong argument for a scientific approach akin to Goethe's. The colour phenomenon is observed without abstraction used to construct a colour theory.

These are the good aspects of the work, however the writing is at times speculative and goes counter to Goethe's original approach to "never leaving the phenomenon". Somehow it never quite convinces but nonetheless it certainly wakes up the mind from the mechanistic slumber of ordinary science. Perhaps a deeper approach would remove some of these problems.

A good book with great potential.

Disregard this warning at your own risk! Martin Greenberg believes that everything should be translated according to Wordsworth's dictum that poetry should be in the "ordinary speech used by men"--regardless of the language of the original. Could you imagine Shakespeare's sonnets being translated into common, slang-filled, modern-day say French or Spanish??? Well, that is what this absurdly dumbed-down version of Faust manages to do. By all means, read either the Oxford World's Classics paperback version by David Luke (easily the best) or the Stuart Atkins version in Princeton's Collected Works series. This book is trash, pure and simple!

This is an excellent translation of an amazing book.

Not only does Greenberg's translation rhyme (as opposed to the free-verse versions of lesser translators), but it's a great deal more intelligible to modern American readers than the other translations I've read. Nothing has been dumbed down, this book radiates the same brilliance and wit as the German original.

I highly recommend it.

After comparing most of the major English translations of Faust (Luke, Kaufmann, Arndt, Wayne) I found Martin Greenberg's to be the most beautiful and accessible of them all. Greenberg does an excellent job of suiting the tenor of the verse to the dramatic occasion, ranging from low comical to sublime lyric. Whereas the majority of previous English translations tend (mistakenly) strive for a uniformly "elevated" tone, Greenberg's translation gets the nuances right. A central idea running throughout Goethe's works is that in any comprehensive formulation of life, extremes must be united. The range of poetic styles in Faust--from high to low, comic to tragic, beautiful to sublime, "volk" slang to epic vaunt--also follows this general rule, and again Greenberg's sensativity to this range is wonderful. While the other translations are not bad, if you really want to experience the fantastic emotional-intellectual rollercoaster ride of Faust, this translation does it best.

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."

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.

goethe's morbid tale of a man madly in love is purely emotional and beautifully unrestricted. some call it over-exaggeration but when reading the book one must understand when goethe wrote it he wasn't trying to be subtle. the book, written in the form of werther's letters to wilhelm, already gives the reader a personal front. what werther thinks and does eventually, and how goethe writes it, is the strongest reason for this book's attractiveness. this is deep reading best for those who want to uncover a darker side to the human heart and mind

The Suffering of Young Werther is a sad tale of young Werther's love for Lotte, told through letters to his friend Wilhelm. Lotte is promised to marry another man and Goethe relates the tale of their turbulent relationship. A classic example of romantic literature, Werther demonstrates violent emotions, often displaying passion and fury as if he were bipolar. Werther often depicts reality, or nature, as an extension of the way he feels towards toward Lotte. This novel is an excellent example of romanticism. I would not recommend it for those who think logically and analytically, or those who do not like dark imagery or to be depressed by a novel. However, if you are inspired by intensity, believe passionately about an ideal or rebel against the confines of mathematical reasoning, read Goethe's The Sufferings of Young Werther.

This book is an absolute must for anybody who wants to understand the spirit of the romantic era and the "Sturm und Drang" time. The feelings and emotions are driven to their limits, what lies in all of us is expressed unrestrictedly. The translator does NOT use the old English style (which some other translators inappropriately do), so he sucessfully comes very close to the German original.
Read it! You may discover how human you are!

a suicide and the love that precludes, defines, and concludes the life of a man. it's hard to describe a book of this magnitude, as it's likely that everyone who reads it will release different thoughts and emotions. definitely a human novel.

One would be hard pressed to find a better subject for a literary biography than Goethe. Not only is he a major literary figure, one of those few who could be said to have truly shaped their national culture, not only is his enormous oeuvre is little read outside his home country, not only is he so marginal in the minds of English readers that his name is perpetually mispronounced and his most significant work, Faust, is continually assumed to be identical to other works of the same name, but--perhaps not so incredibly considering all else I have mentioned--there is absolutely no competition in the market for biographies of this amazing man. Which makes Nicholas Boyle's work all the more unfortunate, I'm afraid.

There can be no question that Boyle is well-familiar with Goethe's work, and the context of his long life. However, he communicates neither very well. A few bright moments poke through in the text, such as the fine description of the household in which Goethe grew up, but the reader generally finds himself at a loss when attempting to picture the type of life which Goethe lived. Esoteric religious concerns and theories about the effect of the German political situation on the souls of its people cloud what could have been a fascinating look at another time and place with distracting, and ultimately useless, complexities. Even worse is Boyle's approach to Goethe's work. One should have perhaps been warned by the author's decision to regiment "life" and "work" into alternate chapters that the work would be subjected to, and ultimately consumed by, a light but continual barrage of literary theory which, while it does not reach the absurd heights of which academia is often capable, manages to render the power of Goethe's poetry and fiction effectively lifeless. That is a formidable achievement indeed, and one which literary biographers, as a whole, should strive to avoid.

I am still waiting for a biography of Goethe worthy of him, a man whose literary relevance is unquestionable--Pushkin, Hugo and Shakespeare, perhaps, are the only others who can match him, and whoever writes the story of his life should attempt to show this truth, rather than obscure it unnecessarily, as Boyle has done.

Two stars, one for the minimum, and one for what it might have been.

If a person enjoys a scholarly biography with a lot of esoteric detail, this is a biography for him. However,If a person finds scholarly biographies tough going,he will be bored by this book.

Boyle's Goethe supasses just about anything available--including what one can find in German (i. e. Conrady). Granted, it is not easy going. Boyle offers extensive contextualisation of his subject and thereby provides something of an introduction to such figures as Herder for the uninitiated. If you want the latest word on Goethe, this is it.