Selected Works of Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe: Introduction by Nicholas Boyle

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.

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.

I found the reader who didn't like the editing to be well reasoned, but I found the volume as a whole great. I would have liked more letters. The poems are great, and then you have Italian Journey, perhaps Goethe's most underrated book but Thoreau's favorite, which is how I got into Goethe in the first place, along with Werther and a novella and elective affinities. It's a pretty looking volume, too (I know I know). As far as the introduction, I agree it's a bit too blah blah we love Goethe. I read a book by a guy named Strich the other day called Goethe and World Literature, written just after WW2, with great praise for Goethe and a sense of relevance as a potential unifier of Europe. As far as Goethe's writings, I honestly don't get the whole big thing about Werther. A bitchy boy in love kills himself oh woe. Italian Journey is amazing. It's nice to get a little stoned and read that book for hours.