1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice Perspective, Feb 16 2008
By Scooby Dude - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Signet Classics Tao Te Ching (Mass Market Paperback)
I own better than 30 translations of the Tao and this one is strangely in my top 5. There are several verses that are inferior than other translations, but there are a few that are far superior than most... and that is it's strength.
Do keep in mind that the book has Christian references intermittently throughout. I would recommend that you focus on the raw Tao verses and not the explanations and filler material. The Tao is meant to help gain control of your own thoughts, not to adopt someone else's.
Recommended.
2.0 out of 5 stars
Handy Version To Own, April 10 2008
By Stone Cold Nuts - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Signet Classics Tao Te Ching (Mass Market Paperback)
As a Chinese linguist, I have to admire the effort that goes into taking ancient poetic texts and rendering them into something usable in English. I felt many stanzas were thought-provoking and the short explanatory blurbs on each poem were often useful. The introduction is archaic in style and difficult to digest (I think I nearly dozed off).
The great misperception of the Tao Te Ching may be found in Daoist efforts to apply it as a central theological work, on par with the Koran or Bible in importance. Truthfully, it was probably a treatise written primarily for kings and other leaders rather than the common man. Therefore, it arguably takes some level of conceit to assimilate and apply it for oneself.
2.0 out of 5 stars
2 stars, Jan 2 2008
By iamhentaiman - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Signet Classics Tao Te Ching (Mass Market Paperback)
Pretty cover, too christian-slanted. The man starts out the book with a quote from the bible.