Looking at some reviews by other reviewers, I realized that not everybody has heard of Faust or of Goethe, and I was pretty shocked.

The first part of what I'm saying is about this translation. As Luke so graphically showed in his "Translator's introduction", there are many things that pull at the translator's central agenda: rhyme, metre, primary meaning, nuance, and so on, and the translator has to achieve a balance. Among the translations I've read and from snippets of what I've seen of other translations, Wayne's translation has the most smooth-flowing, elegant rhyme I've seen.

As positives for this translation: The elegance is unparallelled; the wit is sparkling; the metre is almost flawless; the deviation from Goethe is usually acceptable; and there is never, repeat, never, an obvious rhyme-holder word.

As negatives for this translation: There is in a few cases too much of deviation from the original; Wayne at times infuses his own interpretation and character into the work; and the English, though just perfect for, say, a 1950's speaker in England (and those of us used to that kind of word-flow), may be distracting for Americans in 2000.

An example of the latter: "What depth of chanting, whence the blissful tone / That lames my lifting of the fatal glass?" This is pretty representative: if "lames my lifting" does not sound pretentious or obscure, and if the elegance of it strikes you, Wayne's translation is the one for you. If on the other hand, "lames my lifting" sounds straight out of a mediaeval scroll (as I believe is the case with many Americans), then look elsewhere for a translation you will enjoy (read: Luke).

Another, more involved example is in the final lines of Faust II: Wayne translates "Das unbeschreibliche / Hier ists getan" as "Here the ineffable / Wins life through love". Now that, of course is hardly a translation; but it fits in with Wayne's scheme of things - and that IS the point; Wayne has his "scheme of things", which you may or may not like.

The second part of what I'm writing is about Faust itself, the Masterwork: as any German will tell you, Faust is one of the centrepieces of literature, and it is worthwhile learning German JUST to read Faust. Each person comes away from "Faust" having found that that he/she was looking for. Every person is reflected in Faust; "Faust" is the ultimate story of Man. What tempts us, what keeps us, what draws us on, what tears us, what defines us, what lies in store for us - it is all there. "Faust" is a journey everyone should undertake. There is nothing controversial here - no "God", no "Hellfire", nothing but Goethe's straightforward but not blunt, sensitive but not compromised, philosophical but not dreamy, analysis of the human situation. "Faust" is the Master thinker Goethe's sincere attempt at looking at it all; and it does not fall visibly short of the task.

Part I should be read by everyone; Part II is not strictly a sequel, but in many ways is, as Wayne shows in his Introduction. Part II requires some knowledge of Greek Mythology; and does in many ways "complete the story". Only, it goes way beyond that.

Dealing with Faust as subject for painting without straying into a pictorial exegesis of its literary source, Nabil Kanso's paintings flow freely in expressing the characters vibrant intimacy, and their physical and spiritual torment.

Grappling with the intricate entanglement of human relations, the paintings carry their own vocabulary in tackling the sensuality and eroticism imbedded in various scenes of the human drama.

The vast range of works expressing the great intensity brought in the struggle between good and evil coalesce into a vigorous series in which each image relate its world and field of luminosity. The abundance of intermingling images appealing for both the eye and the mind offers a joy to the spirit and an exhilarating experience to the senses.

An Indispensable Book in understanding German Idealism, particulary Fichte's Idealism. This Book is a must for students of Fichte's thought and readers of his "Science of Knowledge" and "Foundations of Transcendental Philosophy".
Ashraf Mansour, University of Alexandria, Egypt.

Those who love Goethe or love Italy or love traveling might have come across The Italian Journey, Goethe's late-in-life rendering of his experience "fleeing" Weimar and hopeless love to fulfill a lifelong dream of being in Italy. I can't say staying in Italy or visiting Italy or studying Italy because Goethe's quest was so much more profound and fundamental; in Italy Goethe hoped to BE. This diary and these letters, however, are Goethe's immediate impressions, un-editted and not reconsidered. These are his immediate considerations and his emotions expressed in the diary he wrote for Frau von Stein, the woman he loved more or less hopelessly for several years. I love both books, but this one, unlike Italian Journey, is not neatly refined and carved and considered from a mature viewpoint; this is full of the urgency and passion and longing that propelled Goethe across the Brenner and up the slopes of Vesuvius. It's just GREAT.

Bach's French Suites are probably his best set of Suites (Maybe besides the Harpsichord Partitas). This edition is a complete urtext edition- no editorial suggestions, what so ever (so when it comes to Bach, it means no fingerings, no nothing. Only the notes themselves), and that can be quite refreshing. The book itself is made of good quality- good paper, good binding, and I also like the printing. And of course- the price. Such a low price for an Urtext edition, almost unbelievable (actually, I talked with a sheet music dealer, and he claims that for this price, it's impossible to conduct a real research for the edition. This might be true. But I don't care where does the editor finds his resources from, as long as Konemann keeps on publishing more and more new titles).

Pachelbel is famous for a single work, but he wrote a trainload of beautiful music. In Seventeenth Century performances of the Magnificat the organist was expected to improvise short preludes in all eight of the medieval modes. Or he could draw on this collection of 95 fugues in all the modes. Pachelbel generally uses short fugue subjects (typically 8 notes) to keep the pieces short, but there are some exceptions, including a few double-fugues. Most of the fugues require manuals only. (I play them on harpsichord.) Most are easy (for fugues). A few are two-voice fugues. Most will delight listeners just the way the famous canon does. Typography is superb and the price is unbeatable.

The story of Georg and Edvard Scheutz is a well written and entertaining scientific book. A young schoolboy, Edvard Scheutz, succeeds in his kitchen to construct a difference engine that works better then that of the famous Charles Babbage. The story of how father and son struggle together to make their difference engine a profitable invention is incredibly interesteting both in a technical and economical aspect but also in a social aspect. Interesting is of course also why a genious invention like theirs becomes such a financial failure.
This is a book to read both for those who have a general interest in history of techology and for those who have a particular interest in swedish history and inventors.

Collaboratively edited by Nicholas Boyle (Professor of German Literary and Intellectual History, and Head of the Department of German, Cambridge University) and John Guthrie (Fellow in German and Director of Studies in Modern Languages, New Hall, Cambridge), Goethe and the English-Speaking World: Essays for the Cambridge Symposium for His 250th Anniversary is an impressive compilation of informed and informative college-level essays and thoughts about Goethe's work, ranging from close readings of the well-known "Faust" and "Wilhelm Meister", to scrutiny of recent translations of his poetry, to a look at how Goethe's texts have affected Ireland literary culture in particular. Goethe And The English-Speaking World is strongly recommended reading for its deep, varied, and eclectic compilation of erudite contributions on the classic works of an immortal master writer.

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

The book considers many aspects such plant metamorphosis, colour theory, the concept of the archetype and even some of Goethe's own thoughts on the philosophy of science. There are even pieces which I've seen nowhere else such as the eras of science, merely pointed out but not elaborated upon. In this way the book grabs your attention and doesn't let go, it was my second introduction after Bortoft's having been recommended by him and it is well worth it.

A beautful collection of large color photos of antique gold art through history with a quality 30 page text introduction. Large photos are also perfect for removal and individual framing (if one so desires).