Rating: 
Summary: The Best Edda Translation Available
Review: "Hear me, all ye hallowed beings, both high and low of Heimdall's children...." This beautiful and poetic translation of the Poetic Edda echoes the beauty of the original Old Icelandic. It would be better of course to read the Edda in the original, but if you don't speak Old Icelandic yet, this is the translation to use. It has the convenience of having numbered stanzas and doesn't simply omit stanzas, like some translations geared toward those wholly ignorant of the traditional lore of the Nordic people, and so is suitable for study. If you are unfamiliar with the Poetic Edda's contents: The poems, dealing with the Norse Gods, are to the people of the North what the stories of Moses, Abraham and Isaac are to the peoples of the Middle East. This book should be on the bookshelf of every educated English-speaking person, along with a set of Shakespeare and the King James Bible.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Hail! This is a highly poetic translation of the Elder Eddas, which preserves a great deal of anceint germanic lore. Those whom are interested in Teutonic Heathenism(Elder Troth/Asatru/Odinism) should purchase this book. While the translation may be a bit "off", Hollander preserves the rhyme, meter, and beauty of how the Eddas would have sounded. Their are very minor flaws in this text, and it is still an excellent text for teutonic studies. For Frith and Kinfolk, Isenwulf Wodheart
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Summary: A Difficult Translation but a Riveting Story
Review: Holander's is the standard translation of the Poetic (or Elder) Edda. It is stirring and poetic but somtimes difficultly archaic (unless you already know that "hight" means called or named). Any difficulties, though, are swept away by the power and grandeur of the Norse originals. Though imperfectly preserved, they remain he poinant testament to a proud and strong civilization.
Rating: 
Summary: Not very accurate or true to the original.
Review: Hollander sacrifices accuracy in an attempt to capture the form of the original poetry. He is also fond of using archaic English words - which makes the translation more difficult to read. The book actually includes a glossary of the words used in the translation!First time readers of the Poetic Edda would probably be better off with Larrington's translation.
Rating:
Summary: Not very accurate or true to the original.
Review: Hollander's translation is probably the most widely available and is often praised for it's style. His style is very good, poetically. No one can falt him for trying to both tell a good story or bring Eddic poetry to the modern English language. But if you are looking to actually understand the Edda Saemundar and study it, this is not for you. There is little interpretation or explanation for his editing. No footnotes tell you when he moves some stanza to better suit his liking, and why (he does this often). He uses imprecise words which mask subtleties which where important in the culture (the difference between "seith" and "spa"); using and glossing the original word is more authentic and exact. You don't know where the Edda begins and Hollander ends. Indeed, this book is more a "retelling" than a translation, and is about as scholarly as Wagner's Ring Cycle. It's good for 6'th grade reports, not if you want to understand the Eddas, Norse culture and poetry, or truly understand the Aesir and Vanir. 1 star for effort, and 1 for his English poetry.
Rating: 
Summary: Great Starter Translation
Review: Hollander's Translation of the Poetic Edda is the most widely avalible of the Poetic Edda translations. Although some of the meanings have been changed to preserve the rhyme and meter of old norse poetry, the essence of the Eddas are still there. Students of historical literature, mythology, and modern day Asatruar would all benifit from this work. The level-headed advise of the Havamal still rings true today as it did in the time it was still passed on orally in nordic society.
Rating:
Summary: Great Starter Translation
Review: Hollander's Translation of the Poetic Edda is the most widely avalible of the Poetic Edda translations. Although some of the meanings have been changed to preserve the rhyme and meter of old norse poetry, the essence of the Eddas are still there. Students of historical literature, mythology, and modern day Asatruar would all benifit from this work. The level-headed advise of the Havamal still rings true today as it did in the time it was still passed on orally in nordic society.
Rating: 
Summary: has it's charm
Review: I did not like this book when I first picked it up. The translator complicates things, in an effort to keep the form of the poetry pleasing. He makes no effort to write in plain English and uses words I could not find in an ordinary dictionary. On the other hand, his sense of sound and rythm are wonderful.
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Summary: THE NORDIC ILIAD
Review: The Edda is for the Nordic European countries, what the Iliad meant for the old Greek. It is THE TREASURY - in a poetical form - of their MYTHOLOGY and of lots of their heroic stories and the wisdom of their proverbs.
This book embodies the ethics and the cultural life during the transition period from paganism to christianity (about 8th until 13th century). A world opens of gods, supernatural beings and creatures AND of the protagonists of a heroic (pre-)history. The existence of man in his natural environment and the place of "the family" in the world they lived in, as for so gets a meaningful, coherent interpretation.
The songs of the gods make a mysterious power of attraction on the reader of today. In the "vision of the famous visionary VOLUSPA", birth and decline of the old world of gods are treated AND at the same time the author made a sketch of the new world order. This vision remains, up until these days, the peak, THE highlight of Nordic literature. The heroic poems are a true glorification of the past. The power of the characters in the poems, as well as the events that take place here, go beyond the "normal-human life" out of later times. What is more, the tragic adventures and fortunes of the family, the race of the "NIBELUNGEN" have been a tremendous source of inspiration for so many writers, thinkers, even musicians. I hereby think in special about the famous, outstanding collection of opera's by the German composer Richard WAGNER: his "RING DES NIBELUNGEN", which gives such a fantastic, colourful insight in what happened centuries ago!
This work is one of the main sources for Nordic AND German mythology which gives a splendid view on the misty (sic!!) "WALHALLA" of the Western European, more specific the Icelandic-Scandinavian AND German, Dutch even English ancestors.
THE EDDA IS A BOOK FOR EVERYONE, as the Iliad or Odyssey are, and like the two latter is SO IMPORTANT for the development and evolution of Europe. A book from the top of the shelves of REAL GREAT WORLD LITERATURE, easily readable for ALL OF YOU.
A PIECE OF MY HEART, WARMLY AND VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY WHOLE BEING !!
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Summary: Beauties of the Norse
Review: The mythology of the Norsemen is one of the most exciting and beautiful mythologies known to the modern world. These epic masterpieces are brought across in elegant poetry that is a delight to read. I've never read the Icelandic, but if the translation is this good, it's hard to imagine the strength of the original!
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