10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great NEW translation, Aug 23 2011
By Bernard D. Freydberg "unhegel" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Being and Time (Hardcover)
Dennis J. Schmidt's "revision" of the Stambaugh translation is much more than a mere revision. It is a virtual retranslation that provides the best access to this major philosophical work in English by at least one order of magnitude. Non-German readers can study this text with full confidence. Schmidt is an excellent philosopher in his own right, who has thought through and written about Heidegger a great deal. He has native fluency in German which, combined with his philosophical acumen, has enabled him to produce this most valuable work.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life Changing, Dec 14 2011
By Mr. Steiner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Being and Time (Paperback)
How can I possibly write a brief review about the greatest and most significant work of philosophy of the 20th century? I can't of course. However, I can make some brief comments. First, for those of you who have never read Heidegger, you should. This text will force you to confront your life. It will change the way you think about the world and human existence. Heidegger's existentialized phenomenology is a radicalization of the phenomenology of Edmund Husserl, with the question regarding the meaning of Being as its ultimate goal. Yet in order to adequately pose the question of the meaning of Being in general, Heidegger must first investigate the being of the one who is able to pose the question, namely Dasein, or human existence. What follows is a mordantly brilliant destruktion of the history of western metaphysics. We are left with an irreversible transformation of the understanding of Being and existence. A few words on the revised Stambaugh translation. There are a few improvements, and a few disadvantages. Vorhandenheit and Zuhandenheit have been translated as `objective presence' and' handiness,' rather than the previous `ready-to-hand' and `present-at-hand.' One can see that the former is more elegant, but I still think some of the sense of the German is lost in places. However, Stambaugh often includes German terms in brackets. This is proving to be a more authoritative edition of Being and Time every year in philosophy programs. And there are good reasons why. Still, be sure to consult both in order to see where things have been altered in inadequate ways. Don't miss this astonishing masterpiece.
13 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last a real translation of Heidegger's masterpiece, Dec 10 2010
By A reader - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Being and Time (Paperback)
This is essentially a new translation of Heidegger's "Being and Time", a book which needs to be recognized as one of the great achievements of Twentieth Century thought.
The translation is now not simply accurate, but illuminating. It beautifully lets Heidegger be read in English and is much superior to the other two translations. In every respect, this is the edition of "Being and Time" to read.