Selected Works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe: Introduction by Nicholas Boyle (Everyman's Library)

This is a great collection of Goethe's work. This collection contains the writings of Goethe that are the most well known in the English speaking world. This is a pretty varied collection, containing a sampling of his poetry, his two short novels (The Sorrows of Young Werther and Elective Affinities), a large excerpt of his travelogue Italian Journey, some of his letters, and his magnum opus Faust (parts one and two).If you enjoy what you find in this collection, I recommend also getting The Essential Goethe, which is a collected works published by Princeton. The Essential Goethe seems to focus on Goethe's work more famous in German, such as: Wilhelm Meister's Apprenticeship, Egmont, Iphigenia is Tauris, Torquato Tasso, and many essay by Goethe. Along with those, The Essential Goethe also includes a verse translation of Faust, Part One.The Everyman's Library edition is great to look at on your bookshelf, and has a nice, high-quality cloth binding. Hopefully Everyman's Library will continue to publish new translations of Goethe's other works.

The works included in this volume include short novels, plays, essays and letters. It is a wonderful introduction to Goethe for those who haven't read him before and a fine collection for sampling of the wide ranging style of his particular genius. My personal favorite is his Italian Journey , a travelogue that is fascinating for it's description of geography, people and culture in straight forward language that has a casual reflective pace drawing the reader in to specific scenes as if there. This is a book to keep on the shelf or bedside table to be picked up again and again with pleasure. Great translations make all the selections accessible in English. Great stuff.

Beautiful edition. As for the author, he who does like Goethe, does care for literature.

Perhaps the single best thing about this book is the collection of works in it; they're all indispensable. The book itself feels nice in your hand and the typefaces are comfortable too. Now; are the translations the best? There are no "best" translations of Goethe; are there any "best" performances of Bach's "St. Matthew Passion"? No, that's why I have three sets of Bach's masterwork. But I can tell you that after reading much of about eight different translations of "Faust," the one here ain't too shabby. Perhaps the translation of the great "Italian Journeys" is the "best" here, but the translator didn't have to make it rhyme or anything like that. So if you like Goethe, you should have this one. Full recommendation.

If you like Von Goethe's work, but you aren't making him your life's study, this is pretty much all inclusive, and looks beautiful.

For those of you who want to read Faust in verse, this is not your book. Not exactly pleased with Amazon's description, which includes the phrase, "...The cosmic drama of Faust goes far beyond the realism of the novels in a poetic exploration of good and evil..." That could very well be taken to mean that this is a poem, right?Well, this version is prose. I was looking for a poetry version, and because Amazon doesn't have "Look Inside" for this, the misleading description, and because this is possibly the only version on the market that has it in prose, I purchased it. Big mistake. I blame Amazon for the lack of information, and the misleading nature of the existing information.

For those to whom the literary experience could not be deemed complete withoutan appreciation of Goethe, there will be little to quibble about in this volume ofthe German master's most significant writings. Werther, Elective Affinities, ItalianJourney, Faust, and selected poems and letters, pretty much covers all the bases.Of course Goethe was not only a major figure in world literature (Bloom cites him asone of it's greatest creative geniuses), but an important philosopher, theologist,scientist, and art historian. His Italian Journey highlights many of these diversetalents in an engrossing reminiscence and reflection of a journey he took as a youngerman. This work alone, inspired many young artists and writers to travel to Italy insearch of culture and inspiration. Faust (I and II) are remarkable achievements, butmy personal favorite is Elective Affinities, a novel that explores the complex andvolatile relationship between the mind and the heart. Goethe's poetry didn't strikea chord with me, but his letters were interesting, and helped form a more completepicture of the man's ideas, beliefs, and intentions.

I picked up a copy of this book at the local library when I recently become interested in Goethe, and as an introduction to his life and work I found it really useful. The book's Introduction is written by Goethe's biographer (who has currently published two volumes of a planned three volume biography) and it helps establish the context of Goethe's life and legacy. Of all the texts, I found 'The Italian Journey' to be amazing as well as some the selections from Goethe's letters.I find Goethe to be a fascinating figure and as an excellent writer, he was able to articulate the dynamism and the changing societal forces of the times he lived through - having been born into the era of wigs and knee breeches, he died in the 1830s wearing pants in a Europe revolutionized by Napoleon. Anyone seeking to understand the differences between the 18th Century and the 19th, or even the 20th and the 21st Centuries could gain some valuable insight from reading Goethe's works.

The product comes with a dust jacket. The seller did not provide this.