Aesop's Fables (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

~ Aesop (Author), (Translator)

Editorial Reviews

Review

`'Laura Gibbs has recently brought out a splendid translation with a very helpful introduction of the bulk of the fables in the Oxford World's Classics.'' Gabriel Josipovici, TLS

Product Description

The fables of Aesop have become one of the most enduring traditions of European culture, ever since they were first written down nearly two millennia ago. Aesop was reputedly a tongue-tied slave who miraculously received the power of speech; from his legendary storytelling came the collections of prose and verse fables scattered throughout Greek and Roman literature. First published in English by Caxton in 1484, the fables and their morals continue to charm modern readers: who does not know the story of the tortoise and the hare, or the boy who cried wolf? This new translation is the first to represent all the main fable collections in ancient Latin and Greek, arranged according to the fables' contents and themes. It includes 600 fables, many of which come from sources never before translated into English.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (April 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192840509
• ISBN-13: 978-0192840509
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #560,898 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 600 fables! great!, August 19, 2005

By	mythgirl (US) - See all my reviews

This translation of Aesop's fables (600 of them!) contains detailed references for people interested in finding out more about the Greek and Latin originals. And contrary to the comments of jennal24, the gender of the animals in this translation follows the gender of the animal names in Latin and Greek - since the fox (alopeks) is feminine in Greek, that's why monkey is a "she". there's nothing feminist about this: it's just grammar. too bad jenna124 has no idea what s/he is talking about. anyway, if you want to find out about the hundreds of Greek and Latin fables and need an English translation, this is a great place to begin. none of the other books of Aesop's fables in English contains as complete a selection of fables as this Oxford World's Classics version.

48 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best English Translation in Print, March 2, 2006

By	Willis G. Regier "Billinois" - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Perhaps there are versions of Aesop that readers would enjoy more, and there are plenty of editions that come with engaging illustrations, but if a reader wants to get as close as possible to Aesop's Greek, this is the edition to buy. All of the prior great translators of Aesop have been British--Caxton, L'Estrange, Ogilby, Croxall, Clarke, James, Townsend, Jacobs, and Jones--and of these only Jacobs was a serious Aesop scholar. Laura Gibbs is a scholar as well as a translator; she bases her translations on the best editions; she includes more fables (to show historical variation, some fables appear twice); she provides a better introduction and much better notes than competing editions. Gibbs's volume also has the best index of any Aesop in English. This is an edition worthy of the Oxford imprint, and the first thorough translation of Aesop by an American since Lloyd Daly's AESOP WITHOUT MORALS (1961, now out of print). To experience the immensity and complexity of Aesop, try this.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engaging work by a brilliant scholar, March 7, 2007

By	filmnoirfan "filmnoirfan" (Japan) - See all my reviews

Since I cannot read this in the original, I am not qualified to evaluate the work as a translation, but as a piece of literature in its own right (which is what any great translation should be), I think it's highly engaging.

In the interests of full disclosure, I must admit I studied with the translator when we were both at Berkeley in the early 80s. She awed me with her brilliance then and she continues with this excellent work. The reviewer below who rants about the work being shamelessly PC, failed, obviously, to read the translator's introduction.