ISBN: 0241421675 9780241421673

Category: Literary Collections / Interviews

Page count: 752

<b>A witty introduction to the mind of Goethe, in a new translation for the first time in 150 years<br> <br>A Penguin Classic</b><br><br>By the end of the nineteenth century, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe was the world's most celebrated poet, novelist, critic and thinker. Today his name is echoed as that of a "great man" alongside Plato, Montaigne and Shakespeare. This book covers the last nine years of his life, partially spent having conversations with the young Johann Eckermann, who was thirty-one to Goethe's seventy-four, and who dedicated this time to recording Goethe's thoughts, ideas, observations and witticisms. The result is <i>Conversations with Goethe</i>, the most direct glimpse into the Great Man's mind, revealing a gentler, more human side to him, as well as his thoughts on art, science, poetry, philosophy and the minutiae of life. <i>Conversations of Goethe</i> is an incredibly important and enjoyable document of "the last universal genius of the West." It is often compared to Boswell's <i>Life of Johnson</i> for its enjoyability and importance.