from: Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated
Discount Price: $995.00
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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 081
EAN num: 9780852295311
ISBN number: 0852295316
Label: Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated
Manufacturer: Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 37000
Printing Date: March 01, 1994
Publishing house: Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated
Sale Popularity Level: 503271
Studio: Encyclopedia Britannica, Incorporated
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
There is no better way to own and appreciate the world's greatest written works. Great Books of the Western World is one of the most acclaimed publishing feats of our time. Authoritative, accurate, and complete, this collection represents the essential core of the Western literary canon, compiling 517 of the most significant achievements in literature, history, philosophy, and science into a color-coded set as handsome as it is affordable. From the ancient classics to the newest masterpieces of the 20th century, Great Books traces the ideas, stories, and discoveries that have shaped modern civilization. Volumes 1 and 2 of this collection is the Syntopicon, a unique two-volume guide (not sold separately) that enables you to investigate a particular idea and compare what different authors have to say about it. The Syntopicon comprises a new kind of reference work -- accomplishing for ideas what the dictionary accomplishes for words and the encyclopaedia accomplishes for facts. Also included is the Great Conversation, featuring fascinating background information, extensive timelines, photos, and quotes from the classic works and their authors. 60 volumes Individual Volume Size: 9 1/2' H x 1'-2' W (Across Spine) x 6 1/2' D Overall Width of Set: 65'(5'5') Special colors on the Great Books' spines guide you quickly to the four subject areas -
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
My husband had always wanted this set of books and, thanks to Amazon, I was able to purchase them for almost half the price of new ones. The volumes arrived safely and still wrapped in their original plastic, except for two books, which were in excellent shape.
Thanks, Amazon!
Rated by buyers -
The Great Books played a significant role in my early education process and I have always placed considerable value in what they represent. Over the many years I managed to get separated from my original set. I've recently replaced them and was quickly reminded of their importance. I'm truly looking forward to re-familiarizing myself with them during this stage of my life.
Henry W. Kappel
Rated by buyers -
When I was 16, my father bought me a set of the Great Books. They changed my life. Tocqueville, Aristotle, Shakespeare, Tolstoy, et al.
They teach compassion, reason, understanding, social responsibility, and every other conceivable virtue.
Rated by buyers -
These books are worth their weight in Gold. You can find most, if not all, of these writings for free on the internet since there is no copyright anymore; however, if you are looking for physical books then this is the way to go. Very well made and if you go to the Britannica website you may a good deal or at least a payment plan for the hefty price.
Rated by buyers 
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I had heard of the Great Books Project some time ago but had never actually had a chance to see these translations until this past semester at my school library. They were located on the top floor right subsequent to the bathroom so I sort stumbled into them by accident one night. After sifting through a few of these I can't say that I was anything other than supremely disapointed. It was a noble endeavor on Adler's part but it just didn't pan out for a number of reasons.
I'm not one of these diversity crackpots and I personally think schools that use this collection (albeit losely) as a foundation for their curriculum (St. John's in Annapolis particularly) are vastly more rigorous, comprehensive, and rewarding than those of practically every other American University. Four years of science, three of mathematics, three of intensive Greek and French, weekly seminars in Western Literature and Philosophy. It's no wonder that this environment produces among the highest acceptance rates into top professional and graduate programs in the country.
However, as I mentioned before these schools use Adler's collection as more of a suggestion than anything else mostly because this hodgepodge of some 37,000 poorly translated and at times even obsolete pages of loseleaf paper couldn't possibly offer the coherence required of a college program.
To be fair though this was not Adler's intention with this collection. Still, one is left wondering what exactly Adler's intention was with all of this. One would assume that the intention was to get these books into as many homes and minds as possible. That's a great idea in principle but if folks aren't interest in reading these books individually what would lead you to believe that assembling them in one giant mass makes them more intriguing? Certainly he couldn't have done this to make the books more affordable ($1000+)...oh dear God, I believe he did.
I found the translations to be cumbersome, utterly oblivious to the language of the author's time and location, and unnecessarily small in size. Oh and the paper is of extremely low quality as well at least in the series I read out of.
These are all problems but what I find most unfortunate is the lack of coherence to the whole thing. First off, WHERE are the history books? Aside from the two big Greeks there are absolutely none to be found in the entire collection. Tens of thousands of pages with no history whatsoever to put any of into context for the young reader who I'll assume is the target audience of this collection.
Secondly, I support the endeavor to expose the general public to the beauty of mathematics and especially science. But seriously, is there any point in adding something like Newton's Principia to this collection other than to show off? Really, what percentage of the population can make sense of a book like that? Cambridge prints short introductory texts to dozens of subjects in the sciences that are more relavent to that 99.99% of the population that doesn't have an advanced degree in Physics of Mathematics. Next.
Third, if you're selecting works based on influence then how do people like Kierkegaard, Marx and Nietzsche only get one of work apeice included whereas folks like Chaucer, Pascal and Ibsen get numerous selections? How can it be that Pascal has had more influence than a man whose philosophy spawned worldwide panic, violence and revolution for most of the 20th Century?
Finally, if you're going to try and produce a comprehensive collection of the Greatest the Western World has produced why not select each authors most notable contributions to that legacy. Nobody remembers Thomas Mann for "Death and Venice." Nobody remembers Joyce for "A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man."
But then again I could be wrong. Regardless, I am still going to give this book 4 stars for fighting the good fight against relativism, multiculturalism and the general degeneration of the human race.
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