Reviewed by annieb123 on
Lao Tzu: Tao Te Ching: A Book about the Way and the Power of the Way is a modern rendition and release of the ancient Chinese text with commentary by Ursula K. Le Guin. This book, in all its retellings and re-translations is such a part of the fabric of human existence that it's familiar to virtually everyone who's lived in the last several hundred years.There's a great deal of obscure philosophy that can be maddeningly inaccessible and even though the translations mostly start with the same source material, they can be subtly changed by the actual translation.
This edition, released 14th May 2019 by Shambhala is 208 pages and available in ebook format. Other formats are available in earlier editions.
Most of the value of the book for me personally comes from the 'liner notes' and verse commentary from Le Guin herself. I grew up with her works and it's not an exaggeration to say her books molded a great deal of my internal landscape and my views on gender, race, kindness and what it means to be human came to me from (among a few others) her. Especially since her death in Jan. 2018, I've been revisiting her earlier works and this new book with her own observations on life, death, and the meaning of everything is such a profoundly moving experience.
Five stars. I miss Ursula K. Le Guin.
Disclosure: I received an eARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.
Reading updates
- Started reading
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- 26 May, 2019: Reviewed