The Essential Goethe

Wonderful book. A great start for any Goethe newbie. I have a number of his books and this edition is really a definitive English language gateway to his various writings. Excellent translations. Bought this one as a gift. But the book was damaged. Nicked and gouged. Disappointed. Had to return. No replacement offered. Four stars dedicated for these issues.

Very good quality publication. A bit daunting !

I really love this book, it's an excellent collection with wonderful translations, I'm very grateful to Princeton Press for putting this together.Yes it doesn't have the Sorrows of Young Werther, but I already have that (and there's plenty of cheap copies elsewhere, and as another reviewers points out, there's an excellent new translation by Stanley Corngold). So I really wanted a sampling of Goethe's other writings, and this hits the mark. Poetry and prose, fiction and non-fiction, even some more minor letters and odes. It's really a beautiful way to get into the mind of Goethe. I love the Tribute to Shakespeare.The only real question is whether to get the hardcover or paperback. I agonized over this and ended up ordering both. They're both beautiful and well put together. I think the hardcover wins because the font is slightly larger, which helps now that I've ended up on the wrong side of 40 (when did that happen??). But you can't go wrong with either, and I'll probably keep the paperback because I like having a lighter version that travels well and that I don't feel bad about marking up with marginal notes. Both look beautiful on the shelf, although again the hardcover wins here if you're just talking about aesthetic.

His insight is remarkable. This is as the New Yorker review noted the "best" translation of Goethe's work.

This is an excellent edition of some of Goethe's works. I purchased it because I suddenly wanted to read many things by Goethe and this seemed to be a more comfortable and beautiful way to read them than printing out the old Gutenberg translations. I am pleased with what I've acquired. Overall, it's superior to softcover editions by Penguin Classics etc., simply because of the binding and print. The cover is quite beautiful and looks nice on a shelf. The typography is almost perfect except for a weird brush script on some of the headings, which is also visible on the cover and in the table of contents. The translation of Faust is in rhyme, which I prefer.The non-fiction writing only gives a taste, but it is a good taste. This is a good book to peruse as well as to dig into.

Excellent book with an invaluable introduction.