Rating: 
Summary: Gita-phobes fear not! Hawley spoon-feeds you the EZ way :-)
Review: Have you heard of the Bhagavad Gita, but that's the extent of your knowledge about it? Are you interested in reading this ancient text but are less than confident in your ability to understand it? Are you not exactly a religious or ancient history scholar? Are you more comfortable with reading paragraphs of prose than stanzas of poetry? Have you read or tried to read the Gita before but aren't quite sure you "got it"? Then this may be the Gita for you!
Jack Hawley's "A Walkthrough for Westerners" is the version used in my beginners' "Intro to the Bhagavad Gita and Tao Te Ching" class. The instructor has read many versions of the Gita and figures we semi-clueless westerners are most likely to understand this version. :-)
This version reads like a novel/sermon. If you can read the newspaper, you can successfully read and understand this version of the Gita. Helpful features for beginners include:
* A discussion of why to read the Gita - The nutshell version is that the Gita is full of advice for living--timeless advice and wisdom that is as relevant to 21st century westerners as it was to ancient warriors. And besides, we all have inner warriors.
* Advice on how to read it - Hawley tells us to be receptive, to not immediately dismiss things we read, to not take things literally, to apply the advice to our own inner battles, and to not get wrapped in issues such as whether war is justified. His discussion is worth reading, no matter which version of the Gita we select.
* Setting up the story - Hawley doesn't just launch into the Gita without explanation. He tells us, "The year is 3141 B.C.E. Arjuna, an esteemed warrior-prince at the height of his powers...is readying to go into battle. It is a righteous fight to regain a kingdom rightfully his...." Hawley doesn't provide the detailed dysfunctional multi-generational feuding family saga, but just enough to understand the Gita.
* Mysterious Sanskrit words are explained - Don't know your dharma from your karma? Not to worry! Hawley explains the Sanskrit words, often in parentheses where the word appears in the text. The reader doesn't need to break the flow of reading to look up a term. Some terms are explained many times such as jnana (spiritual wisdom or knowledge) and atma (the true self within). A beginner could turn to any page at random and probably understand what's on the page. A seasoned Gita scholar might find so much explanation a little annoying, but it's rather seamlessly done and doesn't detract from the reading.
Is there a downside to reading this version? Possibly. Ironically, the upside of writing the Gita in easy-to-understand prose might also be a downside. The Gita is an epic poem, which is generally translated stanza-by-stanza into a poem in English and other languages. We lose the poetry feel and rhythm in this translation. But this is a tradeoff, because this version is highly understandable and not everyone is a "poetry person." To picture this tradeoff, imagine the Shakespeare plays have been translated into modern English prose. Instead of "To be or not to be" we have, "Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, paces back and forth contemplating suicide." The reader doesn't have the confusion of "what the heck is he talking about?" but the reader doesn't have the AHA! moment of, "Ah yes, he's contemplating suicide." If you're a reader who likes to read poetry or symbolism and to try to figure things out for yourself, this spoon-fed version might not be best for you.
If you want to maintain the best of both worlds--a poetry and cadence closer to the original Gita but with the easy-to-understand prose of Hawley's version, you might want to read a poetry translation of the Gita such as Stephen Mitchell's translation alongside Hawley's translation. I would begin with the poetry translation, read a section, meditate on it and process it, then read Hawley's version for the plain English lowdown.
Hawley writes that his mantra in writing this version of the Gita was "clarity and flow". He has certainly achieved that! I recommend this version for beginning and intermediate "gitatologists", preferably with a poetry version alongside.
Rating:
Summary: A Gita you can finally get you teeth into!
Review: I have always had a passion for the Gita, more commonly known as the Song of God, with the deity Krishna telling his friend Arjuna why he should go into battle against people who were once his friends, as well as his family. It is a poem of devotion and love but it is a complex poem that touches philosophy, and it's not your run of the mill philosophy either. The Gita is not the easiest book in the world to understand, especially when translated from Sanskrit into English, it seems to loose something and up until now I have not been able to put my finger on what that "loss" was. Reading Jack Hawley's translation I can now see where other translators have gone wrong (for me personally). They have been quite LITERAL in their translation of the Gita and in being so literal have lost the passion that is the telling of the Gita. Jack has managed to put that passion into his translation and I cannot thank him enough. He has switched a light on inside my head and now I don't have to phone my father every five minutes shouting "Baba, what does this part of the Gita mean????" Not only that but this version of the Gita is so easy to read, with a good bibliography and index at the back for reference, plus some interesting musings from the author in the introduction and afterword. It is also a fairly compact book, which makes it easy to carry around, a bonus in my opinion, especially as most Gita's I have come across are bulky and very heavy. We could do with this translation being available in the United Kingdom; it would make life for the younger Hindus like myself so much easier.
Rating: 
Summary: Accessible to all
Review: I have struggled over the past few years to try and make sense of various translations of the Gita. I would need to have glossary in hand and still, became increasingly confused by the language and felt I was lost in finding the meaning of this important piece of yogic literature.
Jack Hawley has allowed me to find the beauty and the message of the Gita through a version that tells the story so clearly, that there is no confusion as to the lessons we are given.Key elements are continuously reinforced so we do not have to flip back for reference. A valuable addition to a yoga library of books and recomended as a first exposure to the famous scripture before attempting a more traditional version.
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Summary: The best book on Bhagawad Gita
Review: I have studied quite a few versions of Bhagawad Gita and I find this book the best for modern age. It is accessible, readable and above all authentic. It contains the essence of the Gita with graceful flow and coherence. It is one of my few classics. I can't help but see Jack Hawley as modern " Vyasa".
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Summary: A long awaited gift
Review: I have tried to read the Bhagavad Gita many times over the years. After all, it is one of the greatest scriptures ever written. The problem has always been that the translations were difficult for me to read or understand. This is the gift Jack Hawley, and his wife Louise, have given us. A translation by a Westerner for Westerners. My husband and I have already read it several times and we look forward to rereading it many times over the coming years. Whether you have read the Gita before or want to read this timeless, magnificent "love song" for the first time, this "Walkthrough for Westerns" is a perfect choice. Jack has captured the true spirit of the Gita while translating the ancient, sacred text with a scholar's eye to detail and devotee's sense of Divinity. I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: A long awaited gift
Review: I have tried to read the Bhagavad Gita many times over the years. After all, it is one of the greatest scriptures ever written. The problem has always been that the translations were difficult for me to read or understand. This is the gift Jack Hawley, and his wife Louise, have given us. A translation by a Westerner for Westerners. My husband and I have already read it several times and we look forward to rereading it many times over the coming years. Whether you have read the Gita before or want to read this timeless, magnificent "love song" for the first time, this "Walkthrough for Westerns" is a perfect choice. Jack has captured the true spirit of the Gita while translating the ancient, sacred text with a scholar's eye to detail and devotee's sense of Divinity. I wholeheartedly recommend this wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: The captured essence of the God¿s Song
Review: It is evident from the outset of this book that Jack Hawley is more concerned with delivering the spirit and meaning of the Bhagavad Gita than a scholarly translation. On my way to India I began reading this book, and when I arrived, I found that there were many aspects of the Bhagavad Gita expressed very simply by Jack Hawley that some of the Hindus didn't fully understand themselves! Although, some of the beauty seems to be lost in over westernization of terms a couple times, it is very good through out. (Sorry, I can't remember the words I'm referring to here...) I think this book would be perfect for people looking to understand the Bhagavad Gita; either as by itself as an introduction, as a supplement to a more scholarly version for the student, or as a refresher for those already familiar with Hinduism.
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Summary: Now everyone can enjoy reading the Bhagavad Gita
Review: Jack Hawley has done a yeoman's job in translating this gem of Hindu scripture into readable English. Now everyone can enjoy reading about Arjuna's quandaries and Shiva's resolutions. More importantly, perhaps, Hawley's work enables students, theologians, and philosophers to more easily compare Hindu philosophy with Christian theology. His translation clearly sets forth the essentials of Hindu philosophy and how it compares favorably and unfavorably with Indian Christian philosophy. I wish I had had this trasnaltion when I was laboring with my dissertation. An interested reader can complete an initial reading of this translation in two hours.Jay longace, Th. D.
Rating:
Summary: Accessible to all
Review: Jack Hawley has done great service to the Holy Ghagavad Gita.
Making it clearly more readable while maintining good accuracy of the message it gives us. For those who seriously wish to see Krishna's personal and detailed intructions on the spriritual life, I doubt if there is a revlation so far in the world that surpasses the Gita.
Rating:
Summary: The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners
Review: Jack Hawley has taken an honored ancient story from a distant tradition and put it in language that brings not only the story but the principles within it into clear focus, thus making it both inspiring and easy to understand. This is an outstanding piece of work and is, by far, the best translation I have come across.
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