Rilke's "Duino Elegies" form one of the most perfect collections of lyric poetry you can ever hope to get your hands on. Unfortunately for the David Young translation, however, there is much less Rilke than there ought to be; a series of strange decisions on Young's part casts a shadow over even the brighter moments of his rendering of this masterpiece.

For example, Rilke was a genius at enjambment; that is, he was a master at placing his most important words at the very end or very beginning of a line, in order to highlight them. Think of the first line, which ends with "Engel," splitting it from the first word of the next line, "Ordnungen." (Young merely gives these words together, as "angelic orders," at the end of the third line.) By divorcing the angels from their orders in the poem's very first line, Rilke sets the tone that not all is right in the heavens.

And Rilke's line breaks are even more important than those of other poets, because they are few and far between, since his lines are nice and fat, often more than 13 syllables. Young's lines, on the other hand, are broken up into tiny 2- to 8-syllable, bite-sized chunks. This changes not only the rhythm of Rilke's verse--which obviously would have changed anyway, in translation--but its compositional emphases, as the structure of the most important lines is simply whisked away. And that is a tragedy.

Young's excuse for this unfortunate decision? He happened, while he was working on the translation, "to re-read some of William Carlos Williams' late poetry," and he liked Williams' stubbier, tri-partite lines. Rilke, however, is not William Carlos Williams, and Young's rendering of Rilke as Williams suffers because of this incongruity. (Oddly enough, though, Williams is another poet for whom every line break bears an awful lot of weight; too bad Young didn't carry that respect for enjambment into his work on the "Duino Elegies.")

Those interested in Rilke should do themselves a favor and pick up Mitchell's translation. I simply can't recommend this edition. It gets three stars because, despite the muddle, there are SOME beautifully rendered lines, and some of the power of Rilke manages to squeeze through. And that's always a wonderful thing.

For me, at least, Rainer Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies are the very epitome of poetry. I know others who, even though they admire Rilke above all other poets, prefer other "Rilke" poems, such as "Evening." For me, however, it has always been, and always will be, the Elegies. Certainly they are the most extravagant and elusive of Rilke's poems, even for those who count others among their favorites.

Rilke, who longed for a place of solitude in the country, arrived at the fortress-like Castle Duino, high above the Adriatic, near Trieste, in December 1911. His hostess was Princess Marie von Thurn und Taxis-Hohenlohe, who had invited Rilke to translate Dante's Vita Nuova with her. Princess Marie, however, soon left for more sociable climes and Rilke was left alone on the stormy, wind-swept cliffs of Duino. Rilke, at this time of his life, was known to commit himself to a strict regimen of work. Nevertheless, his poems, he has written, always seemed to burst upon him suddenly, like a thunderstorm on a hot summer's afternoon. And, one afternoon at Duino, the opening line of the first elegy burst upon Rilke like a flash of lightening.

There is no problem with the Duino Elegies...if one reads and comprehends German. If one doesn't, however, the problems of translation can be enormous. Translation, always a fragile task, becomes even more so when it involves poetry, and reaches its zenith with a work as sublime as Rilke's Duino Elegies. So many versions of these gorgeous poems exist (at least twenty), that the Elegies are certainly suffering from a case of "translation overkill."

In the original German, the Duino Elegies are the most sublime expressions of awe, of terror, of love, of splendor, of Life, that have ever been set down by the hand of man. In hands other than Rilke's, however, they can seem clumsy and more than a bit melodramatic. Rilke wrote delicately-calibrated poetry, without excess words and, the dread of all translators, the hyphenated word. But, all that aside, reading the Elegies in translation, any translation, is better than not reading them at all.

No matter how "angelic" these poems may seem, never doubt that they are expression of life in the here and now. As Rilke, himself, tells us, "the world exists nowhere but within us." These gorgeous poems are about the difficulties of living in this world, of not being heard by the angels, and of the tragedy that can so easily befall us. They are about Rilke's desire for solitude and his desire to escape it, i.e., the need and the utter impossibility of understanding and being understood completely in this life.

Although many of the translations are flawed, as translation by its very nature must be, the Duino Elegies remain the epitome of poetry. They are a cry of terror, of awe, of joy, of splendor at the lonely and solitary condition of man.

"For beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror we can just barely endure, and we admire it so because it calmly disdains to destroy us. Every angel is terrible." - Rainer Maria Rilke, First Elegy

The Duino Elegies are quite possibly the greatest work of Rainer Maria Rilke, himself one of the greatest poets, German language or otherwise, of all time. The elegies, writen in the cold vast chambers of Duino Castle, deal with all the greatest issues of human existence: love, death, tragedy, God, and life's very meaning. Their language reflects their origin: like the Castle's empty stone hallways, the words are perfectly formed; they are fragile and beautiful; weightless and profound. Rilke's first elegy begins with a reflection on the awesome, terrifying power of beauty. He longs to experience it, but knows that it would destroy him. As he writes on, the reader grows to understand and feel not only Rilke's longing, but his fear. The terrible beauty, looming behind all the elegies, is present in the text. The poems inspire wonder, raise profound quetions with ineffable answers, and fills us with awe as it calmly disdains to destroy us.

The German text is perfect, but MacIntyre's translation is splendid and best conveys the work's haunting and desolate undertones. While it seems to me that everyone should own and cherish the Duino Elegies, it is an absolute requirement for anyone seeking to construct a serious collection of great poetry.

If you want a daily uplift but find little time to read in the morning, use this book. Each thought could be a discussion for the day. Thoughts that will help guide you with every decision you make. Each wisdon quote a little deeper a little closer your to spiritual peace. The mix of Masters quoted in here is proof to me that the message remains the same only the messagers change.

This lovely short volume contains nuggets of wisdom each of which could provide a day's worth of contemplation.Many of the sources come from non-western sages and mystics.There are many books of wise quotes out there but few as profound and beautiful as this carefully selected volume of mystical profundity.

Yehuda Amichai, on the one hand an Isreali soldier, and, on the other hand a lyric poet, expressed his own voice in his psalm-like poems. He remained the identity as an Isreali and a patriot too, but he won't hide up his personal voice, expecially his hatred towards war. In some of his poems, we can even hear his innerkmost soliliquy. The translation version of Stephen Mitchell and Chana Bloch is unquestionably the best one, which remains vitality of the original version.

Reading Yehuda Amichai in Hebrew is wonderful. His sense of word is matched only by the way in which his whimsy and depth reflect Israel. But translations in English have been so bad that the translators, editors, and publishers of such editions should probably be exiled to a supermarket in the suburbs where they are forced to listen to Rod McKuen all day. This, on the other hand, is poetry. I attribute the success of this volume to the fact that both Chana Bloch and Stephen Mitchell, the translators, are such outstanding poets and translators in their own rights. A few of my favorite poems are missing, but so many wonderful ones are here; reading them in this English is like discovering them all over again, and discovered how good he is all over again.

I use this book in my classroom for the intermediate-level CS college student. It covers detail in a conversational way, giving the Unix novice a chance at absorbing such a complex operating system. While it has it's weaknesses (not much on shell scripting), it is certainly the "bible" of Unix books.

Although I have been using UNIX for years, and have half a shelf of O'Reilly UNIX books on various subjects, I still keep coming back to the Waite Group's UNIX V Primer. The reason being that although it is not a deep treatment of any UNIX subject, it gives you the information you need to know to actually *do* something. Typically I will use it to remind me how to do something in Sed for example. Something that I don't use that often, and just need to see how to do one simple thing. Instead of hunting around in a more complete technical book, I can go to the primer and get quick no-brainer instructions on how to do it. The examples are clear and well illustrated and the writing is excellent. Highly recommended for novices and anyone who bumps into UNIX a fair bit but isn't an avatar.

Yes, it is a book of highest print quality (printed in Italy), with some wonderful photos, and very true to the movie's original dialogue(I should know, I have seen it four times...). But, it is just that....Neither it is very insighful nor is it the best example of Mr.Fry literary wit. Overall, it is a fine gift for someone, who loves Jude Law or the movie itself VERY VERY MUCH... As for the man in question himself, i.e. Oscar Wilde, this book is nothing special, because so was the movie.

If you loved the glorious film that is Wilde, this is the perfect companion, reproducing the entire script, showing behind-the-scenes photos, and featuring an interesting introduction by the great actor Stephen Fry. Large photos from the movie are reproduced in full color, showing the intricately detailed attention to historical authenticity. Even if you didn't like the movie, buy it for the photos of Jude Law as "Bosie." He is absolutely beautiful!

Mitchell and Black provide a good introduction to the key personalities, theories, and topics of psychoanalysis. As a lay person interested in the human psyche, the work was too brief and compacted for my tastes. Yet the discussion did provide a solid foundation for further investigation.

This book is an excellent beginners text on the history of psychoanalysis. It is by no means exhaustive, nor could it be. It simply covers too many important personalities to be more than introductory, yet it fulfills that purpose admirably. The book traces the history of thought in and about the subject of psychoanalysis. It begins with Freud's discovery of the psychogenic nature of hysteria, to his discovery of the unconscious, some of his other theories, and how he applied them in clinical management of patients. Others studied under him, and came to realize new facts about the mind, and new dimensions in the way it operates. This, in turn, gave rise to newer theories. The book traces this expansion, synthesis and sometimes clash between theories to bring us to our present understanding of the mind. The meaning of these theories is demonstrated in concrete terms by the inclusion of clinical cases to demonstrate the various types of pathological manifestations. The book flows very well from one psychoanalyst to another, emphasizing the indebtedness of each to their predecessors. Sigmund and Anna Freud, Adler, Bettelheim, Jung, Sullivan, Bowlby, Kahn and many others are revealed. It is both scientific and historical at the same time, and is very engaging. A good read!

Mitchell and Black provide an essential guide to the major theoretical developments in the field of psychoanalysis since its founding by Freud. They do just what you'd want them to do: they introduce you to each major theorist as a person as well as a thinker, they put each theoretical development in historical perspective both in the context of psychoanalysis and the larger social picture, they show how each thinker developed and how they responded to challenges in the field, and they show how unresolved issues led to the next theoretical breakthrough. All this is done in an accessible narrative style that even educated beginners will find rewarding. Social work students in my classes found this book very helpful. Mitchell and Black are both seasoned clinicians so their writing sometimes sings with clinical insight.

Having read numerous books on eastern philosopy, I was only mildly interested in yet another. However, Stephen Mitchell was appearing at a book-signing at the Harvard Coop Bookstore, and I simply could not pass it up. Accompanied by my daughter, we went, purchased the book and listened to Mr. Mitchell read portions from it. What a find! I have read Meetings with the Archangel twice and will read it again, I'm sure. Watching the development of the narrator as he progresses through several stages of spiritual enlightment was fascinating. The challenge, of course, is to launch yourself on such a mission. The story is entirely entertaining and one not to be put down once started. I suspect there is a great deal of Mr. Mitchell in this book, and it is especially wonderful to have a memory of his own voice reading selections from this excellent work of fiction. Well worth your time. Enjoy.

Even before I finsihed with this book, i found myself going back and re-reading sections. The author has the most amazing talant with words that I believe I've read to date. While the book can be a little slow, it is definately a must read for anyone with an appreciaiton for fine writing. It is funny, moving, and more than worth the time I've spent re-reading and highlighting my favorite passages. I tend to loan out books after I've read them and sometimes don't get them back. This book hasn't left my room for fear that I'll never see it again. I plan to tell any would-be borrowers that it's worth their money to buy their own copy.

I knew I had to re-read this book even before I was halfway through the first reading. I found myself stopping to breathe between fantastically worded passages, only to dive in for more. The subtitle, A Comedy of the Spirit, best describes the book's unique voice. Meetings With the Archangel is the fictional autobiography of an author who pursues a meandering but intense path of spiritual training, from Hasidic Judaism to Zen training, with studies of numerous other writings on enlightenment and angels. The Archangel Gabriel visits him to reflect the author's own state of growth, as well as to amaze him with images of the heavens almost beyond comprehension. All this is done with unabashed passion and self-depricating humor. Even if you have little interest in angels, you will find a lot to chew on (and laugh about) from Gabriel's conversations. The character's exploration of the meaning of evil is also riveting and thought provoking. Stephen Mitchell balances mysterious thought-morsels with a light-hearted commentary that makes the consideration of spiritual journeys like playing frisbee with your soul. It is a goofy but rewarding challenge to catch what's being thrown at you.

It's about time someone took the woowoo out of self-realization, and Katie's done it, because really, there's nothing mystical about "enlightenment." Realization = getting real, in the moment...and we can only get real when we examine our thoughts and find our own truth. A book or a teaching alone can't give this to you; there has to be the willingness to go deep and not know. LOVING WHAT IS is the beginning of a wild ride, should you choose to strap yourself in.

If you think meditation is "spiritual" and mentation is the devil, this isn't the book for you. If you want a way to get real, I recommend reading every single word of LOVING WHAT IS. I facilitate this process, and without exception, everyone I've sat with who has been willing to go all the way "gets" it. Kids do this work. Brain-damaged people can do it. It's simple, so simple that at first glance it can appear simplistic, unappealing to our minds that love complication and drama. If you've been looking for nirvana or satori or samadhi all your life, I invite you to suspend all concepts of how to get there, to read LOVING WHAT IS, try The Work, and use the mind to make friends with the mind. That's really all it takes.

A friend of mind literally put this book in my hands. I had been obsessing about someone for months. I have a meditation practice, a therapist, friends who had been listening to me patiently. But this book seems to be helping in a way nothing else has. This cool thing called "The Work"--where you have to write down what's bothering you and then ask four questions and turn your problem around--made me see that he had hurt me once, but I was hurting me every single day, with my thoughts, repeating the whole thing over and over, letting it take me over. I feel so much lighter about the whole thing now, even kind of amused at times by my own craziness. I really recommend this book to anyone who thinks too much. And I really want to meet Byron Katie someday--the way she talks about Reality being God--if only we were willing to truly see it, the way she talks in general is kind of startling, wakes you up. In person, she must be amazing.

I can honestly say that out of many many self-help and spiritual growth books, this has by far been the most transformative, uplifting and profound. Rather than offering ways to fix my life, it offered a way to change my thinking, so that the circumstances of my life no longer caused me pain. This requires a pretty big paradigm shift, but I can say with complete honesty, after years of seeking, that it is the only authentic way I have found (so far) to experience true - and reliable - happiness.
The book / audiobook provides instruction in and examples of a technique of self-inquiry called "The Work". It is an extremely simple technique but one which I have found extremely powerful.
Here is my testimonial...
Before I even heard of this book, I began to explore the idea that happiness comes from loving what-is, whatever it is. My first challenge came when I injured my shoulder very badly and was essentially disabled for nine months. The pain was terrible and there were times when I couldn't pick up my own baby for days at a time. During this time, however, I made a remarkable discovery. I discovered that without what Byron Katie would call a "stressful story" about pain, pain couldn't hurt me. It was possible to be experiencing extremely strong sensations of pain, and still be completely calm and happy. Fortunately, I recovered, but my "apprenticeship in pain" served me well. When I had my next baby, I went through labor at home with no pain medication and it was the most blissful day of my life.
My postnatal experience, however, was far from blissful. It was both physically excrutiating and emotionally traumatic and left me feeling eaten up with resentment towards my in-laws. In the year that followed, I desperately searched for inner peace once more, and read many self-help and spirituality books in my attempt to put my soul back together.
Browsing on www.amazon.com one day, I spotted the title "Loving What Is" and was intruigued because it was an expresion used by my teacher, Jeannine Parvati Baker. I read the reviews and was impressed, so looked up Byron Katie's website. There, under "Samples of the work" I listened to the introductory chapters of the audiobook, and two dialogues. I was blown away. The dialogue called "The work on family life" instantly cleared all the painful issues I had been struggling with with my in-laws. I felt like I had suddenly woken up.
So I ordered the audiobook and soon after, bought the paperback. I also attended a workshop on "The Work" with Rosie Stave. One of the changes in my life since I started doing "The Work" is that I have become a vegetarian. Before, I had a lot of stories about eating meat that were causing me a lot of stress. On the one hand, I believed that I SHOULDN'T eat meat for environmental and compassionate reasons. On the other hand I believed that I HAD TO eat meat for health reasons (I have been iron deficient before). In the course of doing the work, I realized that I didn't really know if any of these beliefs were true. When I sat down in front of my plate, without these thoughts, I noticed that I just didn't eat the meat. Not because I thought I shouldn't, but just because I didn't. When I approached food with the belief "It's okay if I do eat meat, and it's okay if I don't" the transition to vegetarianism happened all by itself. Incedentally, I just had a blood test (because I investigated my thoughts that blood tests are traumatic, my dr would be judgemental of my new eating habits, and I dislike drs) and my iron and everything else are excellent.
The one irritating factor I have with the audiobook is that there is no table of contents to tell you which sections are on which CD. However, it is not hard to note down your own on paper or against the table of contents in the paperback. Also, the audiobook and paperback are organized differently with some dialogues in different sections. Also note that the paperback contains some dialogues not on the audiobook and vice versa. This is one of the reasons why I highly recommend getting hold of both the audiobook and the paperback. Also, I find that listening to the dialogues is much more effective than reading them. But I prefer the paperback as a refernce on how to do the work myself. Particlarly the chapter "Deepening Inquiry". Buying both might seem [costly] but, personally, I have found that "The Work" has meant that I haven't needed to buy any other self-help books since. (A considerable saving in my case).
However, I am not asking you to order both items on my word alone. ...
So if you are looking for a way to be happy no matter what - to be able to be happy even if your soulmate leaves you or you body falls apart - I cannot recommend this book and audiobook highly enough.

Stephen Harrison's book is not so much a translation of Lao-tzu's TAO TE CHING, as a poetic rendering of the Chinese original. Because he does not know Chinese, Harrison acknowledges in the book's Foreward that, in addition to working from dozens of literal translations of Lao-tzu's "Book of the Way," he completed "a fourteen-year-long course in Zen training," which brought him "face to face with Lao-tzu" (p. x). Despite the fact that Harrison has taken great liberties in paraphrasing, expanding, interpreting and reworking the text of Lao-tzu's original, he has nevertheless created a Tao-inspired poem that stands on its own when read as such. "If I haven't always translated Lao-tzu's words," Harrison explains, "my intention has always been to translate his mind" (p. x).

Lao-tzu's words speak to those searching for a meaningful way of life in a society where values are degraded by ecomonomic, military, and modern interests. In its emphasis of mastering oneself, Harrison has done a good job in capturing the Tao essence of Lao-tzu's book. "Knowing others is intelligence," we're told; "knowing yourself is true wisdom" (Chapeter 33). Harrison follows the classic 81-verse format of Lao-tzu's original, which teaches simplicity, patience, and compassion. For those readers new to the TAO TE CHING, just as "the journey of a thousand miles starts beneath your feet" (Chapter 64), Harrison's rendering should be considered only the first step toward the Tao. It has been said that understanding the TAO TE CHING is the journey of a lifetime. For those interested in taking another step, I recommend the more literal and more challenging translations of the TAO TE CHING by Red Pine, Robert Henricks and Moss Roberts.

G. Merritt

Next to the Bible, the most translated book in the world is the Tao Te Ching, the ancient Chinese Book of the Way. It lays the philosophical foundations for one of the world's great wisdom traditions, Taoism. Written approximately 2,500 years ago by the legendary sage Lao Tzu, this classic continues to inspire readers today. To translate a work that has been translated so many times before--and so well--may seem almost an act of hubris. But as the English language continues to evolve, it is the duty of the translator to attempt to restate a classic for his or her generation, in a language that they can best understand. Stephen Mitchell, in Tao Te Ching: A New English Version, has done that for our generation. And to him we owe a debt of gratitude. Huston Smith has called this translation "definitive," and he has spoken well. At first, a traditionalist may be startled by, for instance, Mitchell's referring to the master as alternately "he" and "she;" whereas, the original refers to the master as masculine, only, thereby reflecting the truth of things in sixth century B.C. China. But when one remembers that the translator is duty-bound to bring the ideas of the text to his or her contemporaries in a way that will have most meaning for them, then one can see the wisdom of taking such a liberty. And, after all, it is in the spirit of Taoism to adapt to the circumstance. As water sometimes comes to earth in the form of rain, sometimes snow, and sometimes sleet, but always in accord with the season, so this classic comes to us now in a form that is right for our own day. Thus, once again, this time with the help of Stephen Mitchell, the Tao Te Ching speaks to humanity, pointing the way.

If you choose only one Tao te Ching translation... this shouldn't be it.

BUT.... if you choose 2 or 3, this should definantly be among them :)
It is also the best for introducing a Westerner not familiar with Taoist thought to Taoism.

There have been complaints by many Taoists about this translation, and I understand their complaints, BUT some people are not interested in Taoism as a Dogma or "religion" or a history lesson.... but in the *WISDOM* of the Tao, which is what this book conveys perfectly.
Though it is not literal I do not find it to be in any way inconsistant with the spirit or wisdom of Lao Tzu's teaching.

The language, poetry, and insight in this book as well as the utter simplicity make it a WONDERFUL read... and the "liberties" help make Taoism more accessable to those not accustomed to interpreting the meaning of the literal translation and giving it modern application.
This is one of 2 Tao Te Ching translations I know by heart, I highly recomend it.