Winnetou [Abridged] [Paperback]

Karl May (Author), David Koblick (Author, Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1999

Fresh off the boat from Europe and looking for adventure, a young German named Charlie heads west. He finds plenty of excitement on the untamed American frontier. Whether it is an encounter with a grizzly, a hostile Indian, or a dishonest white man, he always manages to emerge victorious. He gets out of one dangerous situation after another, thanks to his quick wits, his skill with a gun, and his remarkable strength (which earns him the nickname "Old Shatterhand"). Along the way, he makes friends with an equally remarkable young Indian, Winnetou. Together, they embark on adventures throughout the West. This classic adventure story of the American west, along with a host of other books and stories by Karl May, shaped the perception of the frontier for generations of readers. May's books became the all-time best-sellers in Germany and were translated into many languages, but good English translations have been difficult to find-until now.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)
Original Language: German

About the Author

Karl May (1842-1912) was born in Germany to a family of poor weavers. Blind for the first six years of his life, he overcame self-doubt and despair to become one of the most successful writers of fiction in history. 70 million copies of his books have been sold in more than 20 languages. Albert Einstein remarked, “My whole adolescence stood under May’s sign.” Albert Schweitzer, “What I liked most in May’s writings is the courageous stand for peace and mutual understanding which inspires nearly all his books.” --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 226 pages
• Publisher: Washington State Univ Pr; Abridged edition (July 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 087422179X
• ISBN-13: 978-0874221794
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #802,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Winnetou, Karl May , David Koblick, March 8, 2000

By 

Uwe H. Stocks (Des Moines, Iowa , USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winnetou (Collected Works of Karl May; Ser. 2, V. 1-2) (Paperback)

I'm from Hamburg, Germany(age 50)and read all Karl May books (as a child, teenager and adult). I grew up in New York and after over 37 years, I now finally returned to the United States. Reading "Winnetou", translated by David Koblick, I am very disappointed; I intend to send Mr.Koblick a German e-mail, explaining reasons why I can't agree with his way of translating and abridging the German original. Hopefully he will answer. Therefore,I now only say, that this translation is degraded to a simple western action story - a german western, of course - and I can't believe, that american readers, under these circumstances will ever appreciate the work of Karl May. Last, but not least - reading the translation I not only missed geographical details for which the author is famous, but even more important his message. The words have been translated, but I miss the feelings Karl May has put in all of his books, the main reason why he still is the most published German author.

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars [e-mail] - 2nd review of Winnetou I, June 10, 2000

By 

[e-mail] (Des Moines, IA - USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winnetou (Paperback)

I'm happy that my first review posted March 8 has been read by so many people - in the meantime I now posted a German review of this translation on the website of the Karl May Society in Germany. As I'm now trying to translate 'Winnetou' myself -I compared the number of pages of the German Original with Marion Ames Taggart's unauthorized translation(1898) and then David Koblick's (1999) Winnetou I. I used the same font in order to compare: the original German version has almost 950 pages; the Marion A. Taggart translation has 203 pages (many parts left out)- the Koblick translation has only 135 pages. Winnetou I comes up to 309 pages in the original German version - I've used compareable fonts. What has happened to the missing 174 pages? Well, sad to say: the story has been abridged. Hello, Zane Grey. Under these circumstances nobody in the USA will ever read Karl May. The best food doesn't taste when you leave the salt and pepper out. Last but not least, comparing translations and also translating myself I noticed that Koblick sometimes uses rather difficult English words, that are not used by Karl May in this way. It is good to know the language, but a translator must also be able to use the vocabulary of the author he translates. Karl May used a simple but very common, good German. Some words that Koblick uses just don't fit in - as there exist better English words. I would be very thankful of any E-Mail regarding this review. Thanks.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A rootin'-tootin', sure-shootin' sensation, December 3, 2004

By 

Kara Ortiez (Hamilton, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Winnetou:The Collected Works of Karl May Series 2: Volumes 1 and 2 (Hardcover)

Though he is virtually unknown to the English-speaking world, May is possibly the most-read German author of all time: his books have sold an estimated 100m copies to date. The Germans have a saying: "We know Goethe, but we read Karl May".

Karl May developed a love of good stories while serving time in prison for fraud. He wrote over 70 books, many of which have been translated into over 30 languages. Among his best-known works is Winnetou, published in three volumes between 1876 and 1893. The story depicted the friendship of Old Shatterhand, an American pioneer of German descent, and Winnetou, a noble Indian chief.

Picking up where Buffalo Bill Cody's 1889 German tour left off, he came up with the ingenious idea of presenting a western adventure in which a German novice, Old Shatterhand, out-lassos, out-hunts, out-shoots and finally out-wits Yankees and Indians alike. Throw in the hero's great alliance with Winnetou, the stoical "red gentleman", and May had created both a patriotic epic and a popular monument to the Native American race. The 2,000-page "Winnetou" series, is a rootin'-tootin', sure-shootin' sensation, still a great for all western and adventure lovers everywhere.