Tao Te Ching

Compare book prices at www.BookkooB.co.uk
BookkooB : Cheap books, whichever way you look at it.
Cover of Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu 1856263967title:

Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way

author:Lao-Tzu
format:Paperback Buy Tao Te Ching Now
publisher:Kyle Cathie
released:September 14, 2000
isbn:1856263967
isbn-13:9781856263962
storeavailabilityitem pricedelivered 
Amazon UK    
The Hut    
Sprint Books    
Blackwells    
WH Smith (collect in store)    
Base    
The Book Place    
WH Smith    
Pick a Book    
Global Investor    
Waterstones    
The Book People    
zavvi    
Play.com    
Another Bookshop    
History Bookshop    
Tesco Books    
BookFellas    
Foyles    
Samedaybooks    

Above you will see price and availability details for Tao Te Ching: The Book of the Way by Lao-Tzu from the leading UK book stores.

To allow you to quickly compare prices, the stores are arranged in order of delivered price, cheapest first. Click on a store name to buy this book or to view further details.

Books Related to Tao Te Ching Lao-Tzu - ISBN: 1856263967

View other editions of Tao Te Ching.
View books by Lao-Tzu.

Customer Reviews

Poor on several levels - Rated 1/5
The inclusion of detailed commentary on the meaning on each of the 81 chapters of the original text is a good idea, but let down by having to flick from the main text to the notes at the back of the book all the time. It makes reading the book very cumbersome on a purely physical level. Putting the notes on the facing page to the original text would have made both elements of the book much more accessible.

The alternation between masculine and feminine terminology for the Master is not clever, only distracting.

Mitchell says he has completed a fourteen year course in Zen training - so why then does he overlay this fine Toaist text with Christian terminology? It might not be so bad if he confined this to his personal notes but including phrases like "saints and sinners" in the translation of the original Chinese is dumbfounding in the context of his apparent personal exposure to Zen training. It put me off completely and I didn't make it beyond chapter 5.

If you are looking for a Christian interpretation of this ancient text then you might like this version, but I think you would then be missing the point. I am now searching for an English translation of the Tao Te Ching which uses language true to its heritage.


Hold on to the center. - Rated 5/5
I can't judge this book good or bad, it's meaning is way beyond these polar opposites. Words are just signposts, they point somewhere else. I don't really care how close this translation is to the original text, I have found it to be very transformative, it has gem-like lucidity.

I purchased Stephen Mitchell's translation as it was recommended by Eckhart Tolle. Incidentally, I have found that by reading The Power Of Now first has made the Tao Te Ching resonate with much more power. Had I attempted it in reverse I think this book would have been quite meaningless.


An accessible book - Rated 5/5
I have read one other translation of this book (the name escapes me) and found this one to be very accessible in comparison. I am not interested in scholarly comparisons, but to me the feeling of what The Tao is about came across very strongly in this book, to the extent that I don't feel the urge to read a different translation.


good but... - Rated 4/5
A good and eye opening read, but it's important to note that this was writen years ago, and has been translated aswell. This means that the book shouldn't be taken word for word, as much that was common then dosen't apply now. All that said it's an interesting read and gives a new way of looking at the world. Just don't take it to the point of mania.


This is not a translation, but a personal interpretation. - Rated 2/5
This is not a translation so much as a series of musings based on Paul Carus's literal version and the translations of others. Stephen Mitchell lacks the clarity and perceptiveness of Arthur Waley, the simple elegance of Jane English and Gia-Fu Feng, the scholasticism of D C Lau, and the current relevance of Robert Henricks. His main innovation is in attempting to resolve the 'male bias' he perceives in Lao Tzu by using such techniques as "The Master can keep giving because there is no end to her wealth" (ch 77). However Ursula Le Guin handles the gender issue far more successfully in keeping to the spirit of the original Chinese character by making the central figure neither male nor female (rather than alternating between the two). Although Stephen Mitchell draws heavily on his experience of various religions (he has written books on both Buddhism and the Old Testament), his commentaries fall far short of Lao Tzu's own sparkling humorous 'sharp but not cutting' observations on the eternal Way which can not be talked about.

Click here to return to the price comparison table

search for books

similar books

Making Your Thoughts Work for You A Thousand Names for Joy Loving What Is Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life Tao Te Ching Tao TE Ching Personal Question Your Thinking, Change the World Change Your Thoughts Change Your Life CD A New Earth I Need Your Love - Is That True?

bestselling books


compare other prices

Cheap DVDs at dvdspot
Cheap Games at playspot

quick links

subject directory : Biographies, Business, Children's, Fiction, Food & Drink, Health, History, Home & Garden, Horror, Humor, Religion, Science Fiction, Society, Sports, Travel, other subjects.

information pages : About BookkooB, Release Dates, Bookmarklet, Disclaimer, Privacy Policy. Compare Book Prices.