Great Books of the Western World

Rating:
Summary: good start...
Review: I used this set of books to cure myself of various dimensions of my own illiteracy.

Suffering from a lack, perhaps, of desirable introductions featured in other editions of the same works, the consistency of printed style makes it slightly more accessible for a serious reader. The overall aesthetics of the set may add to speed and comprehension.

I would not necessarily, however, read every word : page thru, and see what catches your eye ...

... and add such readings as Joyce's ULYSSES, FINNEGAN'S WAKE, Prousts' REMEMBRANCE, and Musil's MAN WITHOUT QUALITIES. Great Books lists abound. . .

...of course, one ought not to stop there . . . supplement your "great books" with the "missing features" included in Dr.Eliots' earlier five foot shelf of Harvard Classics.

... any student lavishing several hours on each of the classic volumes included in these sets would be well-prepared, to a considerable extent, for any college curriculum. This is entirely apart from the increased appreciation of literature and other things one derives from the Great Books.

Rating:
Summary: A Reasonable Investment
Review: My brother bought this collection when we were eight - a ridiculous request to any parent, undoubtedly - but whatever their reasons it still rests with us today, well-thumbed, especially the Syntopicons. The beauty of this collection is that it's a good introduction to aesthetics, to history and western thought. It generally captures the milestones - big or small - that permeates in influence over the world today. In America there is a growing redudancy to Freud, and Darwin relies on its PRs, extentionists who carry on his legacy in different colors. These are just some superficial examples. The only danger is that the reader may have to take a lot of effort in seeing how it has evolved and been adapted - to update themselves and not get caught with the raw material. as we grow up ( I'm eighteen now, my brother twenty one ) we still find it profound and delightful, and as we read, we learn to respect it more, we grow to liking it, like a blur picture that slowly comes into focus as the years unravel. It was a juvenile effort to cram such intellectual backbones before we hit puberty - but it doesn't come to any loss. The only problem I have with it is that it is in its core text, without much explanation besides the Syntopicon and a book that accompanies it ( timelines, etc) and I think they overlook some great people, like John Donne and include some ideas that are rather diluted in application today, like Spinoza. Of course, that's in my humble opinion, and well - it's debatable among the academias. It's a good book, with patience and some commitment it's rewarding, I'm sure.

Rating:
Summary: great books!
Review: Some 15 years ago, I bought the 54 volume version of the great books of the western civilization -and spent ten years reading them (aside from making a living and raising two children). These books have affected my life in various ways, all very positive I believe. If my comment can at least encourage one person in the world to go ahead and read this extraordinary collection, I would be very happy. The publishers have been wise in avoiding footnotes and erudite biographical notes, and of course, in the selection of the works. R Roose from Mexico City

Rating:
Summary: An excellent investment for the past, present and future
Review: Well, how does one start with an introduction to what the title already says - 'The Great Books of the Western World?' The 'GBBWW' (as they are called) more or less form what Mortimer Adler and his editorial team believed were the core of Western learning and culture, and I pretty much agree. Virtually every book in this collection is required reading in the Liberal Arts, and the ideas and issues discussed by these authors still dominates and influences debate today. Here we see the finest works of Art, Science, Philosophy, Poetry, Prose and History from the time of the Greeks until the early 20th century.

I have noticed other collections of great books often include mediocre and more obscure works which, while important in their historical context, are not part of what Adler described as the 'timeless conversation of ideas' that undergirds Western civilisation. Other collections of 'great books' more often reflect the compiler's or editor's cultural prejudices (though I know the same could be said for Adler, a 'Dead White Male') and frankly, a lot of chaff is in with the wheat. In one list for example, over 50% of the books were novels from the 20th century. The good thing about the 'Great Books' in this collection is that they are 'battle-tested' - Adler went to experts in the respective fields and asked them which works had survived the test of time, and which had not, and those that had 'made the grade.'

The other excellent thing is Adler's 'syntopicon of Great Ideas' and his extensive Bibliography at the end. The syntopicon and Bibliography together are almost a liberal education in themselves. The key ideas that have shaped western thought since its inception are cited and then Adler writes a 5,000 or so word essay explaining how they are discussed by the authors in the series, from Plato to Freud. Works that are highly relevant but not included in the collection but which also discuss these issues are included, such as Cicero, Schopenhauer, Lombard, Paine, Voltaire, etc.

In my view the collection is excellently priced. Considering a university education even in the liberal arts these days costs somewhere between $30,000 and $100,000, a book set costing only 1/30th or 1/100th of that but providing the core for a 'liberal education' as Adler puts it, is in my view a 'no-brainer.' Many people at my university have degrees in Law or the Arts but have not read a single book from this collection, and do not have any sense of where ideas like postmodernism have their actual origin; few have actually read the works of Plato or Plotinus (who Derrida refers back to a great deal in his most important works), Marx (many 'Marxists' have not actually read Marx's works aside from the 'Communist Manifesto') or Freud. Schopenhauer once said 'We need to read the primary texts (of an author of genius), for they will be far more enlightening than the mediocre mind who tries to fit him within his three pounds of grey matter.' Although Schopenhauer had Plato and Kant in mind when writing this, the same applies to the rest of these books. They are the finest of thinking the West has to offer the rest, and for better or worse, have framed 3,000 or so years of our intellectual history.

This set will be an excellent investment for anyone who seeks to learn about who we are, where we came from, and where we are going. Despite the price and the effort required to master these texts, the journey in the end is well worth it.