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Product Description
Review
"Mitchell's rendition of the "Tao Te Ching comes as close to being definitive for our time as any I can imagine. It embodies the virtues its translator credits to the Chinese original: a gemlike lucidity that is radiant with humor, grace, largeheartedness, and deep wisdom."-- Huston Smith, author of "The Religions of Man""Mitchell's great talent is to communicate with the profound simplicity utterly appropriate for this task. The obscure has been made transparent and available."-- "Common Boundary""Beautiful and accessible; the English, as 'fluid as melting ice, ' is a joy to read throughout."-- "The New Republic"
Product Description
An elegant, two-color, pocket-size edition of the bestselling spiritual classic in its finest translation.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
38 of 39 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When my wife Sandy was diagnosed with terminal cancer, this is the ONE book she kept nearby at home and in the hospital. She found great comfort in it words and wisdom.
When she died I picked it up and began to read. Several passages fell right open (8 & 16). These were the passages that she must have been reading the most. So I read those passages at her funeral. I'm still reading this book and finding something new with each reading. Even if a passage may not make sense on the first or second reading, it may become clear by the fifth or sixth. Or maybe it will take years.
Sandy was a poet and teacher who studied many translations of the Tao, but this was her favorite. It may not be the most literal translation, but it surely is the most poetic. If this translation was good enough for her, then it's good enough for me.
In fact, this book is so good, I've given away at least 8 copies in the two months since her death. This book has helped me deal with and survive the most difficult time in my life. I'm much wiser and more open having read this book. My friends to whom I've given copies agree and are sharing it with their friends.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Mitchell's work is not for purists of textual criticism or hermeneutics. Literal translations of ancient documents tend to be dry and awkward. Mitchell's loose paraphrase and notes are refreshing and agreeable. The spirit of this work is both heartfelt and delightful. It is a joy to read.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
The Tao has always been one of my favourites. Never to be flipped through like a novel but a page at a time and some inner contemplation. A quiet place indoors or outdoors with a bit of sunshine and nature at your feet [no motorway sounds]. I, like some other purchasers, have given this book to many as a gift and some of these in turn have imitated and passed on the gift therein. I like this flowing translation and have read a couple of others - some of whom like to stick closer to the literal translation. The deviation from the literal to this edition is carried out with the hand and mind of a master who exhibits a true understanding of the way.
I always wanted a hardcover copy of this book and purchased this one. Sorry but I do have one problem with this and that is - the paper quality and the book binding does let it down but - hey if this is the only criticism I have then yippee. If you think about it maybe printing onto recycled paper is the ONLY way to go with this masterpiece! Enjoy over and over and over and drive yourself crazy when you mislay your copy or lose friends by lending and not getting it back ! If they are indeed a true friend buy them their own copy ! They'll love you forever !
Highly recommended !
I always wanted a hardcover copy of this book and purchased this one. Sorry but I do have one problem with this and that is - the paper quality and the book binding does let it down but - hey if this is the only criticism I have then yippee. If you think about it maybe printing onto recycled paper is the ONLY way to go with this masterpiece! Enjoy over and over and over and drive yourself crazy when you mislay your copy or lose friends by lending and not getting it back ! If they are indeed a true friend buy them their own copy ! They'll love you forever !
Highly recommended !
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A treasure that you can have with you always.
I have bought more than one copy of this treasured book to give to friends, one of whom has just departed for a world tour. Read more
Published 6 months ago by K. Campbell
Masterpiece translation
The soul of Chinese literature is poetry: from oldest "Book of Odes" to TangShu (Tang poetry) to SongZu (Song dynasty poetry) to YungQu (Yung dynasty poetry) . Read more
Published 21 months ago by Reflection Haiku
My Favourite Interpretation
There is nothing much to say really. I already owned the Mitchell interpretation but I was looking for a pocket version. This was it. Read more
Published on 20 Mar 2010 by H. Reinert
Amazing version of TTC
This is not just a trnslation of the classical chinese book, but a modernization of it for the western minds, keeping the spirit and adding some poetry and a zen touch.
Published on 17 May 2009 by matawan
Deeper than you can imagine
..Meaning Book of The Way, or book of the Word. One of the best books ever written. I recommend this version because:
The Chinese language has less specific gender... Read more
The Chinese language has less specific gender... Read more
Published on 10 May 2009 by L. Power
Fresh, Vibrant & Full of Depth
Mitchell's New English Version is the fourth and most enjoyable to read translation that i have been fortunate enough to encounter. Read more
Published on 10 Nov 2006 by Mr. Adam J. Smith
Sorry - this is the most annoying version I've seen.
As to whether this is a translation or a paraphrase, see the other reviews. What totally ruined the book for me is that the author continually switches between the pronouns 'he'... Read more
Published on 8 Feb 2001 by J. Scott
Deadly dull.
Like most writers, Stephen Mitchell has no talent for reading aloud. His voice sounds like a seminary student trying to read a difficult passage of the Bible for the first time. Read more
Published on 14 Jun 1999
new age taoism
As a Taoist I am offended when I read people saying that it's irrelevant whether Mitchell's interpolation is a good "translation" of the Tao Te Ching, irrelevant whether... Read more
Published on 22 Mar 1999
This book changed my life.
Between the pages of are rare treasures indeed. The original text of the Tao could never be translated directly to English without sacrificing it's inherent simplicity; Mitchell... Read more
Published on 28 Jan 1999
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