“If the student of Greek literature has room on his shelf for only one volume besides his texts, lexica, and grammar, that book should be Lesky.”
—Moses Hadas, The Classical World
"This edition of A Midsummer Night's Dream is wonderfully lucid and thoughtful, offering supporting material that will appeal to readers from high school students to scholars. The introduction is especially thoughtful, offering, in addition to expected discussions of love, magic and imagination, an exploration of the theatrical history. The bibliography and filmography are both detailed and helpful, and the questions guide students to consider the play from many viewpoints without ever forcing an interpretation onto them."
—Annalisa Castaldo, Widener University
"Melvyn New's and W. G. Day's edition of Sterne's Sentimental Journey is the single best scholarly edition of that quirky but essential text available for student use. The notes are meticulous and hugely informative. The Introduction is lucid and useful, and the supplementary materials, including excerpts from Tristram Shandy and some of Sterne's sermons, provide essential background."
—John Richetti, Department of English, University of Pennsylvania
A Student Handbook of Greek and English Grammar offers a student-friendly comparative exposition of English and ancient Greek grammatical principles that will prove a valuable supplement to a wide range of beginning Greek textbooks as well as a handy reference for those continuing on to upper-level courses.
Learn MoreA Student Handbook of Latin and English Grammar offers a student-friendly comparative exposition of English and Latin grammatical principles that will prove a valuable supplement to a wide range of beginning Latin textbooks as well as a handy reference for those continuing on to upper-level courses.
Learn More"Undergraduates will join specialists in enjoying this feast of melons. Schneewind's marvelous little book is at once a primer in some key aspects of China's traditional civilization and history, as well as a case study of an obscurely understood event that took place in 1372, in the reign of Taizu, founder of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). When two melons share a single stalk, and a local grower presents the anomaly to the emperor, the symbolism, the intentions of the giver, the reaction of the recipient, and the meaning of the whole act to observers and later commentators turn out to be anything but straightforward. Divergent interpretations began immediately, and continue to the present day."
—John Dardess, University of Kansas
"Henderson has a real gift for capturing Aristophanes' voice, and does not hesitate to leap totally over the top, just like his author."
—New England Classical Journal
"One of the most entertaining short narratives of all time, the Achilleid is a stand-alone work of compelling contemporary interest that moves with great rapidity and clarity. Its compact narrative, which encompasses a brutish childhood, an overprotective mother, temporary gender bending, sexual violence, and a final coming to manhood with the promise of future military prowess, may be unparalleled in a single narrative of such brevity. . . . Until now, however, it has been virtually impossible to get a sense of the work if one did not know Latin—recent translations notwithstanding. Stanley Lombardo’s translation of the Achilleid is a dream: it’s sound, enthralling, and will fully engage readers with this enticing, perplexing, at times distressing, but ultimately rewarding work."
—Marjorie Curry Woods, The University of Texas at Austin
Rising to the challenge of rendering the poem's Latin hexameters by adopting English iambic ones, Len Krisak's Aeneid doubles down on the English poetic tradition by also featuring rhyme. In Krisak's hands, these devices provide not only a superb kind of music but the snap and power of an epic adventure that glories in what only formal poetry can do. Enhanced by an Introduction and an extensive set of notes by Christopher M. McDonough, this Aeneid works as story, voice, and verse.
"Virgil’s Aeneid, though central to the Western canon, is also one of the most difficult to tackle for the translator, with its knotty syntax, its famously 'pious' protagonist, and its slippery ambivalence toward questions of truth and power. In this fresh translation, Len Krisak not only boldly meets Virgil line-for-line, but in a hexameter that answers the original meter, all while hewing to straightforward English with a weather eye on the Latin. The six-beat line has a reputation in English for dragging, but Krisak's hexameters drive along briskly. His choice to rhyme throughout, sometimes chiming ingeniously and sometimes with subtler off-rhyme effects, brings home that we are reading not only an epic narrative, but a verse performance. This work, concerned with human displacement in the aftermath of a prolonged war, with its themes of personal responsibility, duty, and leadership, and imbued with anxiety about the direction of a nation, could not be more topical." —A. E. Stallings
Learn More"Crisp, idiomatic, and precise, this is a translation for our era. The list of further reading, grounded in the writings of W.R. Johnson (who also wrote the Introduction) and Michael C. J. Putnam, suggests the context that informs the translation: here, as the translator says in the Preface, you will find an Aeneid that works more in the shadows than in the light. . . . This translation would be excellent for classroom use: not only would it incite fascinating discussions about issues of war and empire, but it also reads well aloud. . . . Together with Johnson's Introduction, this volume offers the Aeneid in terms that will resonate strongly with the general reader of today." —Sarah Spence, New England Classical Journal
"Adapting words of the ancient critic Longinus, [Lombardo] refers to the intense light of noon of the Iliad, the magical glow of the setting sun in the Odyssey, and the chiaroscuro of the Aeneid, a darkness visible. This latter phrase is the title of a famous interpretation of the Aeneid by W. R. Johnson, who contributes a splendid essay to the translation. Whether recited or read, the present volume stands as another fine performance on Lombardo's part. Summing up: Highly recommended."
—C. Fantazzi, CHOICE
"Lombardo...tends to let Virgil be Virgil, and so avoids imposing unwarranted interpretation on the unwary reader. . . . [W.R. Johnson's] introduction is masterful and illuminating." —Hayden Pelliccia, The New York Review of Books
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An exciting prose translation of the epic poem, beautifully illustrated by Merle Mianelli Poulton, with all the right pedagogical apparatus to make reading this important work a joy for any modern college or high school student. The text is complete with notes, introductory essay, glossary, and an appendix detailing the tabulation of the gods.
Learn More“John K. Thornton’s new book is another must-read. It contains both translations of the extant letters of the most significant king of Kongo’s history, Afonso I (r. 1506–1542), and a powerful, learned, and highly readable analysis of what these letters tell us about the life and times of one of the most important rulers anywhere in the world during the sixteenth century. This book will be essential reading for scholars, teachers, and students engaged with the history of the Kingdom of Kongo.”
—Toby Green, King’s College London
This new volume of three of Euripides' most celebrated plays offers graceful, economical, metrical translations that convey the wide range of effects of the playwright's verse, from the idiomatic speech of its dialogue to the high formality of its choral odes.
"Many scholars translate the works of Euripides as they should be, but Diane Arnson Svarlien translates them as they are. . . . Arnson Svarlien shows admirable modesty and restraint in avoiding . . . pitfalls, and makes choices that reveal the meaning of the text she is translating with the least imposition of her own personality. The ambiguity of Euripides is transmitted to us but not imposed on us by [her] translation. . . . The translations are both readable and playable." —Edmond Chibeau, New England Theatre Journal
Learn More"Adding entirely new annotations to the text, providing a lucid overview of the play's production history, concluding with an instructive essay on a theatrical understanding of reading plays, and illustrated with suggestive film stills throughout, Kathleen Kalpin Smith's All's Well that Ends Well is a welcome edition to the New Kittredge Shakespeare series, richly setting the play in the context of stage and screen performance."
—W. B. Worthen, Barnard College, Columbia University
“This is a splendid new translation of Brevísima Relación, the famous denunciation of the Spanish conquest of the Americas, written by Dominican friar Bartolomé de Las Casas (1483-1566). . . . The Hackett edition of Brevísima Relación . . . has a lot to offer to undergraduates. . . . Knight’s introduction to the text makes in fact for a compelling read. . . . Together with Knight’s ample annotations, which refer students to the most up-to-date secondary literature, it makes for a wonderful introduction to the history of Europe’s expansion into the Western Hemisphere.”
—Martine van Ittersum, Journal of Early Modern History
C.A.E. Luschnig's An Introduction to Ancient Greek: A Literary Approach prepares students to read Greek in less than a year by presenting basic traditional grammar without frills and by introducing real Greek written by ancient Greeks, from the first day of study. The second edition retains all the features of the first but is more streamlined, easier on the eyes, more gender-inclusive, and altogether more 21st century.
Companion Website: http://worldwidegreek.com/. Please note that the audio files originally found on the companion website are now available for free here on Soundcloud. Instructor resources: PDF-only answer keys to the even-numbered exercises are also available by request. If you are a course instructor please use this form to request the answer keys.
Learn More“With its signal distinction between ‘intuition’ and ‘analysis’ and its exploration of the different levels of Duration (Bergson’s term for Heraclitean flux), An Introduction to Metaphysics has had a significant impact on subsequent twentieth century thought. The arts, from post-impressionist painting to the stream of consciousness novel, and philosophies as diverse as pragmatism, process philosophy, and existentialism bear its imprint. Consigned for a while to the margins of philosophy, Bergson’s thought is making its way back to the mainstream. The reissue of this important work comes at an opportune time, and will be welcomed by teachers and scholars alike.”
—Peter A. Y. Gunter, University of North Texas
Diane Arnson Svarlien’s translation of Euripides’ Andromache, Hecuba, and Trojan Women exhibits the same scholarly and poetic standards that have won praise for her Alcestis, Medea, Hippolytus. Ruth Scodel’s Introduction examines the cultural and political context in which Euripides wrote, and provides analysis of the themes, structure, and characters of the plays included. Her notes offer expert guidance to readers encountering these works for the first time.
Includes the unabridged text of Diane Arnson Svarlien's Hecuba, a translation featured in Patrick Wang's critically acclaimed film, A Bread Factory.
"Wang tracks a scene from a Bread Factory production of Hecuba from an uncertain rehearsal, to a breakthrough for its actors, to a searching discussion of the text and the characters, to a final performance so thrilling that I found myself wishing, while watching, that Wang would just shoot the whole play. Happily, he lets this Hecuba keep going." —Alan Scherstuhl, LA Weekly
To see Patrick Wang's article "Hecuba: A Film Record" in Didaskalia, click here. To see clips from the Arnson Svarlien Hecuba featured in A Bread Factory, click here.
Learn MoreThis new edition of Anthology of Classical Myth offers selections from key Near Eastern texts—the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh, Epic of Creation (Enuma Elish), and Atrahasis; the Hittite Song of Emergence; and the flood story from the book of Genesis—thereby enabling students to explore the many similarities between ancient Greek and Mesopotamian mythology and enhancing its reputation as the best and most complete collection of its kind. Click here to see the full Table of Contents (PDF) for Anthology of Classical Myth (Second Edition).
Learn More"In her new translation of Antigone, Ruby Blondell demonstrates an unswerving sense of what the general reader needs to know in order not only to understand Sophocles, but to relish him as well… My own students have found that this edition not only makes the Antigone accessible, but also helps them understand why it continues to fascinate, to disturb, and to grip its readers century by century." —John T. Kirby, Comparative Literature, Purdue University
Learn More"A lucid, well-paced translation, natural enough sounding in the dialogue to make a good acting version, and remarkably successful in making the choruses clear, lyrical, and yet part of the dramatic movement. Woodruff’s rendering of the choruses especially impresses me by the way he manages to render complex syntax and imagery of the original—often tangled and occasionally obscure in its allusiveness—into clear and genuinely poetic English." —Joseph Russo, Haverford College
Learn MoreAntiquity: Foundations of Western Literature offers, in its entirety, the first section (chapters 1-4) of Margaret King's The Western Literary Tradition: An Introduction in Texts, Volume 1. Available in eBook format only, it includes the general introduction and annotation to this section along with textual selections from the Hebrew Bible, major ancient Greek and Roman works, and the New Testament. Contents covers selections from works by Hesiod, Sappho, Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophanes, Plato, Lucretius, Catullus, Ovid, Virgil, Cicero, Seneca, Tacitus, Marcus Aurelius, along with selections from The Hebrew Bible and The New Testament.
Table of Contents: Click here to view the Table of Contents for Antiquity: Foundations of Western Literature (PDF).
For more information about the The Western Literary Tradition anthology, including the Table of Contents for the complete volume 1 and all four eBook-only selects from volume 1, visit: hackettpublishing.com/literature/anthology.
Ebook examination copies: To request a RedShelf or VitalSource eBook exam copy of this or other titles in The Western Literary Tradition anthology please complete this form.
Student Purchase (eBook ISBN 9781624669637): Available now from RedShelf, VitalSource, eBooks.com, and participating Follett and Barnes and Noble college bookstores that sell eBooks to students.
Learn More"The New Kittredge Series is both a delight and a steal. Kittredge's textual authority, updated by eminent scholars sensitive to classroom needs and alert to staging choices, is once again available in these slim, elegant, inexpensive, user-friendly volumes. With lucid notes and incisive introductions geared especially to popular film versions, the series also offers an overview of both stage and film performances of each play. A must for any Shakespeare class."
—Laury Magnus
"To refer to this volume as just a translation is misleading, because Smith and Trzaskoma have provided much more, most notably the best short introduction to ancient mythography—and these particular authors—available in English. . . . The translations themselves are clear and accurate. [An] admirable volume. Smith and Trzaskoma are to be commended."
—Kris Fletcher, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
“Roger Ariew and Marjorie Grene, with the help of Hackett’s modest pricing scheme, have made this challenging, infuriating, ironic and hilarious classic readily available in a faithful and well-presented translation. . . . Scholars will find this volume a fine choice for introducing students to early modern philosophy. . . . This is a welcome publication.”
—Craig Walton, Philosophy in Review
Originally adapted for the stage, Peter Meineck’s revised translations achieve a level of fidelity appropriate for classroom use while managing to preserve the wit and energy that led The New Yorker to judge his Clouds “The best Greek drama we’ve ever seen anywhere,” and The Times Literary Supplement to describe his Wasps as “Hugely enjoyable and very, very funny.” A general Introduction, introductions to the plays, and detailed notes on staging, history, religious practice and myth combine to make this a remarkably useful teaching text.
Learn More"No one, but no one, ever translated ancient comedy like Douglass Parker, and his death left a chasm in the landscape. This posthumous publication of three of Greek theatre's wildest plays, edited and presented by a scholar as eminent and learned as Timothy Moore, is not just something to welcome, it is something to celebrate."
—William Levitan, Grand Valley State University
Aristophanes's classic send-up of rivalry within the ultra-competitive world of fifth-century Athenian theatre wins a new lease on life in this fresh line-for-line translation by Peter Meineck. Premiered in 2021 by Aquila Theatre and accompanied here by Meineck’s notes and wide-ranging Introduction, this Frogs offers the best view yet of a high-stakes afterlife contest between two of Athens's late great playwrights. Both are undisputed masters of tragedy. But only one can win and return to save the city.
"Peter Meineck draws on his vast experience as both theatre producer and classical scholar in this lively and thoroughly contemporary translation of Aristophanes's rambunctious but heady Frogs. In highlighting Aristophanes's own concern for spectacle, stage action, and musicality, Meineck offers flexible guidance not only for modern producers of this comedy but also for readers eager to visualize an Aristophanic play in its original setting and to marvel at its enduring comic brilliance." —Ralph M. Rosen, Vartan Gregorian Professor of the Humanities and Classical Studies, University of Pennsylvania
Learn More"This new edition of Arthur Mervyn far exceeds any previous version of this remarkable American novel. Through exhaustive archival research, the editors have produced a reliable text constructed within the intellectual, cultural, political, and religious contexts of a society informing Brown's efforts to capture and preserve the formation of the early republic for generations of readers and cultural historians. This vital text is essential reading for anyone interested in the origins of the United States."
—Emory Elliott, University Professor, University of California-Riverside
"Now, in the twenty-first century, Patricia Lennox broadens that understanding in her excellent edition of As You Like It where she draws on her knowledge of international film and television. She offers new meaning for modern readers who, while they savor Shakespeare’s language also understand visual signals from contemporary media."
—Irene G. Dash, Hunter College, CUNY, retired
English translation, with introductory material, notes, glossary and essay by Stephen Esposito, of Euripides' tragedy based on the mythological story of King Pentheus of Thebes.
Learn More"[Woodruff’s translation] is clear, fluent, and vigorous, well thought out, readable and forceful. The rhythms are right, ever-present but not too insistent or obvious. It can be spoken instead of read and so is viable as an acting version; and it keeps the lines of the plot well focused. The Introduction offers a good survey of critical approaches. The notes at the foot of the page are suitably brief and nonintrusive and give basic information for the non-specialist."
—Charles Segal, Harvard University
"Destined to delight readers with its vibrant, spot-on translations, this definitive collection of haiku grandmaster Bashō’s travel writings, in prose as well as poetry, conveys the exquisite pleasures and heartbreaks of the road as a metaphor for life itself." —Adam L. Kern, University of Wisconsin–Madison
"The travel writings of Matsuo Bashō are of enormous literary importance, and so it is a joy to see them collected in this compact volume, in translations of exemplary elegance, faithfulness, and accessibility. The annotations are especially valuable: they show a solid grasp of the author’s life, work, and times, and provide rich and detailed background information about allusions to Chinese and Japanese classics. Along with the high quality of the translations themselves, this thorough commentary makes the book a significant scholarly resource and will help readers appreciate the density and delicacy of Bashō’s writing. A very welcome addition to the English-language literature on one of the central poets of the Japanese tradition." —David B. Lurie, Columbia University
Learn More"Battles, Betrayals, and Brotherhood is a brilliant introduction to one of China’s best-loved heroic traditions. And of course the translations are wonderful—very lively!" —Katherine Carlitz, University of Pittsburgh
"[A] veritable treasure trove of materials in English for those interested in exploring the immediate predecessors of the Ming novel [The Romance of the Three Kingdoms]. The translations in Battles, Betrayals, and Brotherhood are, as is typical of Idema and West's work, colloquial and lively while simultaneously meticulously researched. This volume is a welcome addition to our resources on early drama and the Three Kingdoms story cycle alike, and will no doubt continue to inspire lively class discussions and productive research for some time to come." —CHINOPERL: Journal of Chinese Oral & Performing Literature
Learn More"Ringler has produced a really good translation of the poem, free of Seamus Heaney's quirks and Irishisms, keeping the rhythm and alliteration, and retaining a simplicity which demonstrates how otiose film effects are when the poem is both powerful and moving. The translation is accompanied by a marvelously straightforward introduction, eschewing all modish modern criticism and thus a useful corrective for those student-readers confused by the liberties taken by [Robert Zemeckis'] Beowulf and its writers. Tolkien would have been pleased by Ringler's version." —Carolyne Larrington, The Times Literary Supplement
"Although an audience of enamored nonspecialists embraced Heaney's version . . . other scholars gave only grudging respect to the poet whose 'Heaneywulf' often seemed to represent an Anglo-Saxon world re-created in the Irish poet's own image. Since 2002 new and revised translations have come and gone, none attracting as much attention as Heaney's. That should change with Ringler's new translation, and not just because scholars such as Tom Shippey, Frederick Rebsamen, and John Niles vouch for it. The proof is in the reading, whether one does so silently or aloud. In his comprehensive, insightful introduction and rhythmic replication of Old English poetry, Ringler offers the specialist what Heaney did not; this is a performative translation that re-creates the world of Beowulf as accurately as may be possible. Accessible and exciting for specialist and nonspecialist alike, this is the edition professors should be using to introduce the venerable poem to a new audience. Summing up: Essential." —A.P. Church, CHOICE
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Stanley Lombardo's new verse translation of the most famous free-standing sequence from the great Indian epic The Mahabharata hews closely to the meaning, verse structure, and performative quality of the original and is invigorated by its judicious incorporation of key Sanskrit terms in transliteration, for which a glossary is also provided The translation is accompanied by Richard H. Davis' brilliant Introduction and Afterword. The latter, "Krishna on Modern Fields of Battle," offers a fascinating look at the illuminating role the poem has played in the lives and struggles of a few of the most accomplished figures in recent world history.
"Lucid, detailed, and erupting with fearsome visions, the Bhagavad Gita has baffled English-language translators for 250 years. Stanley Lombardo is the first to recognize that at its root the Sanskrit Gita was oral performance. Beyond word and meaning, past nuance or doctrine, Lombardo restores the archaic tradition of voice and conch shell. When you read this edition aloud the hair on your neck will stand up. Add a drum and it’s a performance. A grand old culture comes to life. Both essays by Richard Davis are superb, placing the Gita in historical context, back then, and more recently." —Andrew Schelling, Naropa University
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Remarkable products of a nation deeply implicated in the Atlantic slave trade, the seventeenth-century Spanish plays Juan Latino, The Brave Black Soldier, and Virtues Overcome Appearances appear together in English for the first time in this volume. The three protagonists not only defy the period’s color-based prejudices but smash through its ultimate social barrier: marriage into the white nobility. Michael Kidd’s fluid translations and extensive critical introduction, bibliography, and glossary are enhanced by Hackett’s title support webpage. Black Protagonists of Early Modern Spain is essential reading for students of theater history, Spanish literature, and the African diaspora.
Additional Online Resources: Illustrations and maps referenced in the book are available for free on the title support page.
Learn More"Talk about 'persistent cultures'—this translation of the great epic, mythic tellings of the Miao/Hmong peoples is a window into a huge ancient soul of sustainable spirit and practice. Mark Bender's commentary provides context and details of places and singers that makes it even richer. This book provides new insights into how deeply oral recitation and performance can be embedded in a whole society, and some fresh, stunning stories."
—Gary Snyder, author of Mountains and Rivers Without End
"Along with a brisk and very readable rendition of the text, this edition provides the material necessary for understanding the point of Voltaire’s satire. Wootton’s Introduction gives an excellent account of the dispute over optimism, and the supplementary texts show both the opposing points of view in this dispute, and its development on other texts of Voltaire." —Christopher J. Kelly, co-editor, The Collected Writings of Rousseau
Learn MoreSet in Ireland prior to its achieving legislative independence from Britain in 1782, Castle Rackrent tells the story of three generations of an estate-owning family as seen through the eyes—and as told in the voice—of their longtime servant, Thady Quirk, recorded and commented on by an anonymous Editor. This edition of Maria Edgeworth’s first novel is based on the 1832 edition, the last revised by her, and includes Susan Kubica Howard’s foot-of-the-page notes on the text of the memoir as well as on the notes and glosses the Editor offers "for the information of the ignorant English reader." Howard’s Introduction situates the novel in its political and historical context and suggests a reading of the novel as Edgeworth’s contribution to the discussion of the controversial Act of Union between Ireland and Britain that went into effect immediately after the novel’s publication in London in 1800.
Learn More"Brian Walters has given us what too few translators of classical poetry do—an authorial presence. Here is Lucan himself in all his drastic modes—everything from his enraged indignation to his paradoxical aphorisms—recreating the ruptured Neronian world he lived in as he recounts the nefarious civil war that destroyed the Roman Republic."
—Stanley Lombardo, University of Kansas
Companion Website: A free Classical Latin companion website with exercises, audio, flashcards, and more is available here.
"To all my Latin colleagues: switch to this book! I have taught from half a dozen different Latin texts over the years, and have always wished there was something else I could be using. Finally that something else has arrived! I was pleasantly surprised at its accessibility, liveliness, and clarity. I have used it for two years now at the University of Delaware with great results. It fits extremely well into a two-semester elementary program. Each chapter features clear explanations of a manageable amount of material, with a variety of exercises ranging from simple to difficult, so the instructor can select what to give the students. The most capable students can do more difficult exercises, the average student is challenged but not overwhelmed, and the students with weaker language abilities are able to make it through the language requirement successfully. I have told all my friends in the field to try this book!" —Lynn Sawlivich, University of Delaware
Learn MoreOriginally published in the 1960s, this standard illustrated work covers the gods and heroes of the Classical world, with special emphasis on the influence Classical mythology has had on literature, art and music in Western civilization.
Learn MoreJeffrey Henderson, noted Greek scholar, has translated into English one of Aristophanes' greatest comedies. Offered with detailed notes and an enlightening introduction, this modern translation brings to life the wit and elegance of the language while putting the text in historical and cultural context.
Learn More"Since the appearance of Sommerstein’s very successful literal translation less than twenty years ago, there have been at least five further new published attempts at rendering the play into English. It is certainly a bold enterprise to introduce yet one more translation onto the scene, but Peter Meineck has risen well to the challenge. The translation is straightforward and idiomatic, as well as well-paced and funny. . . Ian Storey’s Introduction is perfect for undergraduates.” —Max Nelson, Bryn Mawr Classical Review
Learn More"Columbus had been the subject of many biographies, but the approach of Columbus on Himself is unique. Fernández-Armesto has created, as far as it is possible, an account of Christopher Columbus's life based on his own words. Columbus left far more potentially autobiographical writings than his contemporary explorers from the age of European expansion, but there are gaps in the record. Fernández-Armesto has arranged Columbus's writings chronologically so readers can see Columbus's development, and intersperses them with his insightful commentary. The translations are Fernández-Armesto's own. Recommended."
—R. Fritze, Athens State University, in Choice
"In this expanded edition of his distinguished Sappho: Poems and Fragments (2002), Stanley Lombardo offers over 100 fragments not included in the original edition, as well as the new poems discovered in 2004 and 2014. His translation of this latter material yields fresh insights into Sappho’s representations of old age, two of her brothers, and her special relationship with Aphrodite. Pamela Gordon’s engaging, balanced, and informative Introduction has been revised to incorporate discussion of the new fragments, which subtly alter our previous understanding of the archaic poet’s corpus. Complete Poems and Fragments also offers a useful updated bibliography, as well as a section on ‘Elegiac Sappho’ that presents the reception of the Lesbian poet in later Greek and Latin elegiac poems. A wonderful find for any Greekless reader searching for a complete and up-to-date Sappho."
—Patricia A. Rosenmeyer, Department of Classics, University of Wisconsin-Madison
"This translation is already a classic. It is the translation that has guided three generations of students and readers into a renewed appreciation of the beauty and urgency of a masterpiece of Christian autobiography. This is largely because the translator has caught not only the meaning of Augustine’s Confessions, but a large measure of its poetry. It makes the Latin sing in English as it did when it came from the pen of Augustine, some sixteen hundred years ago. Deeply rooted in the tradition of which Augustine was himself a principal founder, this translation is not only modern: it is a faithful echo, in a language that has carried throughout the ages, of its author’s original passion and disquiet." —Peter Brown
"To my ears, Sheed’s translation is the most beautiful English translation available. The same electric current that runs through Augustine’s original can be felt in this translation, which combines a slightly elevated style (more elevated in direct prayers) combined with the immediacy and transparency of a street preacher (not that different from Augustine’s own style). The latest edition includes an introduction by Peter Brown, the best biographer of Augustine, and notes and commentary by Michael Foley, a truly excellent reader of Augustine." —Jared Ortiz, Hope College, in Catholic World Report
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