ESSAYS of Michel de Montaigne [Hardcover]

Michel de Montaigne (Author), Charles Cotton (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 29, 2009

Montaigne is a great French Renaissance thinker who took himself as the great object of study in his Essays. In studying himself Montaigne is studying mankind. He attempted to weigh or 'assay' his nature, habits, his own opinions and those of others. He is searching for truth by reflecting on his readings, his travels as well as his experiences both public and private. The Renaissance was a period of expanding horizons, and one in which there was a vast increase in knowledge of the world and its inhabitants. At the same time Europeans were recovering Latin culture and a much more complete grasp of Greek literature. Science was developing. New horizons made previous truths seem wrong or parochial. These discoveries provided Montaigne and other skeptics with a treasure chest of new facts which they used to increase our sense of relativity of all man's beliefs about himself and the world in which he lives.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 356 pages
• Publisher: NuVision Publications (June 29, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1595475133
• ISBN-13: 978-1595475138
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,664,779 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Fraud- No Table of Contents- Don't buy, May 26, 2009

By 

Don DeFrancisco (Orange County, California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Essays of Michel de Montaigne (Kindle Edition)

Please note almost all of the reviews on this page are for the regular book version. The Kindle version claims to have a Table of Contents, which is essential since the regular book is 1344 pages! They just lie. There is no Table of Contents and this typical of the Kindle store and I'm truly sorry I ever bought the thing. [...].

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buyer Beware: as of 9/1/09, Wrong Edition! Still Wrong on 9/11!, September 1, 2009

By 

Alexander Scherr - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Complete Essays of Michel de Montaigne (Kindle Edition)

I purchased this edition on August 10, eager to read the Screech translation. Unfortunately, the link to that file is broken. Instead, I received the public domain e-book of the Cotton/Hazlitt translation. I didn't notice until today.

I'm giving 5 stars because:

-- Montaigne is incomparable.

-- I have read the Frame translation, and have heard good word about the Screech version.

-- Amazon support was excellent. They immediately deleted the version I had downloaded and helped me to test whether the file advertised on this page was incorrectly linked. They confirmed that it was, and promptly deleted all my versions, and refunded all charges.

Amazon told me that that it would take a few days to correct the problem. Make sure that you check what you buy and that you get what this page advertises, which is the modern translation by Screech, not the archaic translation by Cotton / Hazlitt.

UPDATE: I purchased this item again, having given Amazon the 2-3 days that the earlier customer service rep had said it would take to correct the link. I once again received the public domain Cotton / Hazlitt translation. Upon calling Amazon, they once again promised to correct the link (and once again gave me a refund). I told the person I spoke with about my last contact, and received assurances that I would receive an e-mail notice when the problem has been corrected. I am now less impressed with Amazon's customer service.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Still the wrong edition!, April 20, 2010

By 

DoctorJoeE (North Caldwell, NJ) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Complete Essays of Michel de Montaigne (Kindle Edition)

Be advised that as of April, 2010, you will still receive the Cotton translation, not Screech as advertised.
The link has never been corrected, despite the multiple complaints of the previous reviewer.
It does, however, have a table of contents.
If you are simply looking for a copy of the Essays and don't care who translated it, this edition is fine.
It just isn't the one specified in the description.