The Anatomy of Melancholy (New York Review Books Classics)

The Anatomy of Melancholy (New York Review Books Classics) Review

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There are many reviews of Burton's "Anatomy" ranging from the 'best book ever written' downwards. I have been involved with many editions of this work over the years, and have a couple of things to add to what's been so eloquently said. First, it's a reference book and not a novel, and therefore shouldn't be read in a continuous way. It becomes tedious and incomprehensible. Like grandma used to say: "Take small bites so you don't choke!" There are parts of it that are dated but much that is totally applicable today. Second, it is a book about society, and the hypocrisy of the way different people get treated:"A sheep-stealer is hanged for stealing necessary victuals but a great man in office may safely rob, pillage, and destroy, and be honored for good service, and no man had best find fault with him." This prefigures much of Enlightenment thinking and can be seen to relate to Culturalist Analytic thinking, like the works of Karen Horney. Third, it is a historical contemporary look at the Jacobean age, and even the Elizabethan world. If you're interested in the cultural climate of Shakespeare and his contemporaries, here is an overview of what was known and opined by a scholar. One wonders how melancholic he really was (in the modern sense) since the preparation and writing of such a compendium certainly requires motivation and energy, not generally associated with chronic depression. I would suggest the Preface and the Digression of Air as fascinating views of knowledge in the early 17th century. Even if you don't like it (which I didn't for about 5 years), it tends to grow on you as long as you go slow!

The Anatomy of Melancholy (New York Review Books Classics) Feature

• ISBN13: 9780940322660
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

One of the major documents of modern European civilization, Robert Burton’s astounding compendium, a survey of melancholy in all its myriad forms, has invited nothing but superlatives since its publication in the seventeenth century. Lewellyn Powys called it “the greatest work of prose of the greatest period of English prose-writing,” while the celebrated surgeon William Osler declared it the greatest of medical treatises. And Dr. Johnson, Boswell reports, said it was the only book that he rose early in the morning to read with pleasure. In this surprisingly compact and elegant new edition, Burton’s spectacular verbal labyrinth is sure to delight, instruct, and divert today’s readers as much as it has those of the past four centuries.

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Customer Reviews

Another faulty e-edition - Kent B. Erickson - seattle, wa
The book deserves 5 stars, but not this electronic edition. Something has gone wrong with this edition: Only the sample of this edition has a linked TOC. Also, all the mostly unreadable Latin is there. It seems that the edition you get is not the one you expect. Oh well, it is cheap.

Be cautious which edition you purchase! - B. Smith - California
The Anatomy of Melancholy may be a worthwhile read. However, the publication of this text by CreateSpace (check the publisher for the book you're considering) is awful! It's ugly, cheaply produced, and missing large quantities of text without reason or explanation.

To begin, the cover is an eyesore. The plain black text indicating the title and author is surrounded by a hideous orange border. "Voted #1" is emblazoned in the corner; a tacky, transparent marketing ploy. I would be embarrassed to have someone see this book on my bookshelf.

Opening this tastelessly bound book, after being warned that the contents may not be accurate due to the rapidly changing nature of the internet (???), you will find that the text appears to have been formatted in Microsoft Word. It is hideous and pretty much unreadable.

If one does make the mistake of trying to read it, one will find that most of the book is missing! I think that this book may actually be "Part 1" of The Anatomy of Melancholy. Is the publisher even aware of this? Who knows. There is no introduction, no translations for the Latin passages, nothing. For all appearances, the publisher googled _The Anatomy of Melancholy_, copied the text he found into Microsoft Word, and printed out copies using a book binding machine he bought off of Ebay.

Do yourself a favor and avoid this publication. CreateSpace (aka Helpful Solutions) is manufacturing kindling, not literature. Buy the book from another publisher.


Jul 03, 2010 16:56:06