Voltaire

Average customer rating:

The beginnings of nihilism
Should Be Required Reading
Great book, TERRIBLE translation
Classic Satire
Has the hand of time dulled Voltaire's rapier?

Candide (Bantam Classics)
Voltaire
Manufacturer: Bantam Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0553211668
Release Date: 1984-04-01

Amazon.com

Political satire doesn't age well, but occasionally a diatribe contains enough art and universal mirth to survive long after its timeliness has passed. Candide is such a book. Penned by that Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, Voltaire, Candide is steeped in the political and philosophical controversies of the 1750s. But for the general reader, the novel's driving principle is clear enough: the idea (endemic in Voltaire's day) that we live in the best of all possible worlds, and apparent folly, misery and strife are actually harbingers of a greater good we cannot perceive, is hogwash.

Telling the tale of the good-natured but star-crossed Candide (think Mr. Magoo armed with deadly force), as he travels the world struggling to be reunited with his love, Lady Cunegonde, the novel smashes such ill-conceived optimism to splinters. Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, is steadfast in his philosophical good cheer, in the face of more and more fantastic misfortune; Candide's other companions always supply good sense in the nick of time. Still, as he demolishes optimism, Voltaire pays tribute to human resilience, and in doing so gives the book a pleasant indomitability common to farce. Says one character, a princess turned one-buttocked hag by unkind Fate: "I have wanted to kill myself a hundred times, but somehow I am still in love with life. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our most melancholy propensities; for is there anything more stupid than to be eager to go on carrying a burden which one would gladly throw away, to loathe one's very being and yet to hold it fast, to fondle the snake that devours us until it has eaten our hearts away?"--Michael Gerber

Book Description

Candide is the story of a gentle man who, though pummeled and slapped in every direction by fate, clings desperately to the belief that he lives in "the best of all possible worlds." On the surface a witty, bantering tale, this eighteenth-century classic is actually a savage, satiric thrust at the philosophical optimism that proclaims that all disaster and human suffering is part of a benevolent cosmic plan. Fast, funny, often outrageous, the French philosopher's immortal narrative takes Candide around the world to discover that -- contrary to the teachings of his distringuished tutor Dr. Pangloss -- all is not always for the best. Alive with wit, brilliance, and graceful storytelling, Candide has become Voltaire's most celebrated work.

Customer Reviews:

The beginnings of nihilism.......2007-06-01

Comedy or tragedy? Which makes for better literature? How about both? In fact, many of the greatest works of literature are both comedies and tragedies. Candide is probably the greatest example of such a work from a French author. Penned under a pseudonym by the great thinker, Voltaire, this work is superficially an adventure novel about the title character traveling the known world to find his love, while accompanied by Pangloss. In reality, the book is a parody of human society, culture, philosophy, and mentality. The result is a short, witty and insightful examination of the human condition. The textual level is appropriate for anyone at the high school level, but is great reading for anyone at any reading level.

All in all, one of the best works in young adult literature.

Should Be Required Reading.......2007-05-10

I have owned this book for quite awhile but put off reading it, fearing that it would be dull and scholarly. I was in for a wonderful surprise. His philosophy makes a lot of sense and he puts it forth in a simple story accessible to almost everyone. Many, many times I laughed out loud. It was fun as well as enlightening. The term "sixes and sevens" was used; what is the etymology of that expression? The violence is expressed in an absurd way, though we know awful things did and do happen.

Great book, TERRIBLE translation.......2007-01-08

Candide is my favorite book, and I've read it multiple times in boh french and english. This is by far the worst english translation I've come across. It makes absolutely no attempt to preserve the grammatical structure of Voltaire's original, and consequently much of the irony and wit is lost. Read Candide, but not this copy.
The Signet edition is not bad.

Classic Satire.......2006-12-12

For those who saw "Borat" and thought Sacha Baron Cohen was a great satirist, "Candide" will put everything into perspective. In less than one hundred pages, Voltaire manages to skewer religion, politics, bigotry, love, hatred, optimism, cosmopolitanism, agrarian idealization, and everything else he could get his eighteenth-century hands on. The book is not perfect (I could have done without that slight anti-Semitic barb at the very end), but is scathingly brilliant and often laught-out-loud hilarious. A must-read for anyone who wishes to be worthy of the term "cynic".

Has the hand of time dulled Voltaire's rapier?.......2006-11-12

Ouch! That hurts!

(reacting to the sorry metaphor of my subject line)

I found Voltaire's famous satire surprisingly tepid. Perhaps I've become jaded in my old age, or perhaps I should have read this in the 18th century when it caused such a sensation because of the scandalous way that Voltaire satirized the church, the clergy, and just about everybody else in any position of power or influence. Reading it now, it seems a bit tame. All the horrors and stupidities Voltaire describes seem almost commonplace considering what we have experienced since he made his attack on optimism in 1759. Today we can look back at two world wars, at the Holocaust and Hiroshima, at the war in Vietnam, at terrorism and the latest stupidity in Iraq. Nothing in Candide can compare to these real historical events that have so sorely tested human optimism. We can even look back to the French Revolution and the revolutions that followed in the 19th century, which in a sense Voltaire predicted with his devastating critique of the corrupt and degenerate European society. Or we can recall the Catholic priests and Ted Haggard from yesterday's headlines. Plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose.

It is difficult to appreciate how deliciously scandalous this was in Voltaire's time since today we are free to criticize the church and our governments, whereas in Voltaire's time such criticisms could land you in the Bastille. Voltaire's legendary reputation for rapier wit and shocking turn of phrase can be found in these pages, but much of it seems diluted because his style has so often been imitated. We have read and reread his imitators, and we have even read some who have improved upon him in some ways, people in America like Mark Twain, Ambrose Bierce and H. L. Mencken. We tend to forget where they got their inspiration at least in part. An example from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (episodic in structure much like Candide, by the way) is in the rascals that Huck and Jim meet on the river, the Duke of "Bilgewater" and the "King of France," who, like the six "kings" that Candide sups with in Venice, are out and our frauds and represent the impossible, deluded aspirations of the average person.

This is the work in which we have Dr. Pangloss and his "best of all possible worlds." And this is the work which ends with Candide summing up all the philosophy he has learned in his travels with the words, "'Tis well said, but we must cultivate our gardens."

Average customer rating:

I agree, no good!
How sad that you enjoy being identified as "Silly"
What is goth?
Voltaire has the answer
Only something Voltaire could get away with

What is Goth?
Voltaire
Manufacturer: Weiser Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1578633222

Book Description

What Is Goth? is a humorous, self-deprecating look at Goth culture from the inside out. Imagine The Preppy Handbook colliding with Charles Addams. Then add a lot more melancholy and a lot more spooky.

What Is Goth? dispels the false stereotypes and reinforces the true ones surrounding Goths and Goth culture. "To the mundane," Voltaire writes, "Goths are weird, black-clad freaks who are obsessed with death; they are sad all of the time. Take a closer look at the Goth scene, however, and you will find a rich tapestry of ideas and practices and a menagerie of colorful characters. Oh, dear. I said `colorful.'"

This illustrated answer to What Is Goth? shows readers how to:

• Identify the anatomies of different kinds of Goths: CyberGoths, Rivet-Heads, Romantigoths, Goth-a-billies, and more

• Write a poem (Mad Libs style) with the Gothic Poem Generator

• Properly dance the dances of darkness: "Cobwebs in the Attic," "The Gothic Tai Chi Dance," "Pulling the Evil Taffy"

Yes, Goths are pale, wear black clothing, love black makeup (on men and women), mope, listen to real downer music, and perfect the art of living in a perpetual state of ennui and melancholy. But there's so much more to being Goth. Goths come from all walks of life. Many are teenagers who live with their parents; others are doctors, lawyers, musicians, and so on. Most Goths are highly literate and creative, but all real Goths have to dress the part. In other words, "Abandon all hope ye who enter a Goth club in khakis!"

Eerily illustrated, What Is Goth?is the perfect book for any Goth, Goth wannabe, or "mundane" who is hopelessly confused by all the gloom.

Customer Reviews:

I agree, no good!.......2007-06-17

I mean..people that belong the scene can understand this book and find it funny..but this can reforce labels that most people have, goths are just teenagers playing dressing trying to get attention..com'on, you guys!!I know is nice to say to an all-black-dressed-depressed-face-poser "smile, goth!=D", but goth it's not just this remember???I think Goth Chic is still the best book
A big label that this one brings..since when being goth is just make fun of yourself and the scene, hun???
This way the serious side of the scene will die, really..nowadays in the scene, when you try to talk to someone something serious, the only thing they can do is laugh..THE ONLY..
ps:sorry any language mistakes, my first language is portuguese

How sad that you enjoy being identified as "Silly".......2007-06-01

...and someone to be laughed at.

Yes, there are silly, silly moonbats out there who think that they are vampires (so *not* goth, ok?) as they retire to the "crypt" of mom's basement, where they will awake the next morning and eat Frosted Flakes before raking the leaves (Undead, indeed!).

But is Voltaire laughing at them? With them? At himself? Or at you?
He looks the part, he has infiltrated your world, only to mock you and profit from you.

For a true Goth who is not delusional or playing dress-up once a week at a club or school, this is offensive.

Voltaire is the ultimate poseur, and look at all of the cash that you throw at him. I salute him for turning Goth into the money making venture that the rest of us could never achieve.

Voltaire my old friend, SALUTE!

What is goth?.......2007-04-11

Very funny first book by Voltaire. If you are a Voltaire fan,this is the book for you. Or if you want to read about the gothic scene from a fun perspective, I highly reccommend this book.

Voltaire has the answer.......2007-02-23

Out of the numerous times I have heard the same question asked as it appears in this book's title, Voltaire is one of the few writers who has managed to give the right answer.

A witty and intelligent read, with great illustrations.

Only something Voltaire could get away with.......2007-02-20

Loved the book...Very amusing and poking fun at oneself.:)

The Portable Voltaire (The Viking Portable Library)

Average customer rating:

Voltaire's ideas are good but this is heavy going for a modern audience
Fast Service
Voltaire, or a tale of pessimism
Best Volume of the "Old sinner from the eighteenth century"
An excellent selection of the work of a despicable genius

The Portable Voltaire (The Viking Portable Library)
Voltaire , Francois Maria Arouet De Voltaire , and Ben Ray Redman
Manufacturer: Penguin (Non-Classics)
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0140150412

Customer Reviews:

Voltaire's ideas are good but this is heavy going for a modern audience.......2007-06-16

(****) for the presentation but (**) for the contents.

If you love Voltaire then this is an excellent volume gathering together many of the highlights of his writing.

One can see why the major work in this volume "Candide" was a stunner in its time but as an entertainment for today it is woefully inadequate.
Voltaire makes his point about the "Best of all Possible Worlds" early on but then bores us silly with an idiotic plot about Candide's journey in which characters disappear, reappear, die, come back to life, etc. The book is "oh-so-clever but we don't feel that Candide has made any kind of personal journey by the end.

I bought this volume because I am a great admirer of Voltaire's ideas but like many of the "great works" the IDEAS are compelling but wading through the actual source material is heavy-going indeed.

"Candide" was turned into a opera by Leonard Bernstein in the 1950s who identified with Voltaire's humanist philosophy in reaction to the paranoia of the McCarthy era. This opera was a failure - not due to the music which is often magnificent - but due to the silly plot. Trying to turn this into an opera was ill-conceived from the start.

Judging from the other (generally glowing) reviews of "Candide" I know I am going to be vilified but I think people need to be warned that they may be in for disappointment.

Fast Service.......2007-02-16

The book arrived in great condition in a couple of days even though I had selected ground service. It's nice to get a product that was in better condition than advertised.

Voltaire, or a tale of pessimism.......2006-07-10

It is said that Voltaire never lost an argument. It is strange to note, therefore, that this brilliant author and scholar, this celebrated sceptic, philosopher, and wag, reknowned throughout the world for his views and regarded still today as one of the principal leaders of ''the age of reason'', was a prejudiced and spiteful man, a nihilist and atheist whose most barbaric and sinister attacks were often directed against those who least deserved them: specifically, the Jews.
Anti-semitism, or at least some semblance of it, was not uncommon in Voltaire's age, even among the more educated and cultured members of the elite upper class of French, as well as world, society. Voltaire's contemporary, Historian Jules Michelet, wrote ''There is no better, more docile, more intelligent slave'', than the Jew. And ''intellectual'' writer Pierre-Joseph Proudhom asserted ''The Jew is the enemy of mankind''. Yet Voltaire himself was certainly among the most vocal of anti-semites, referring to his enemies as:

An ignorant and barbarous people, who have long united the most sordid avarice with the most detestable superstition, and the most invincible hatred for every people by whom they are tolerated and enriched...still, we ought not to burn them.''

The outrageous irony, hypocrisy, and sheer imbecility of this statement are glaring: even more astonishing to note is the manner in which this splendid thinker, this savant who supposedly never lost an argument, could allow his hatred and xenophobia to stand so firmly in the way of reason, going so far as to accuse the Jews of ''barbarism'' and ''superstition'' while simultaneously overlooking the trials and witch burnings that had taken place in America only a century earlier, and which, needless to say, were perpetuated by gentiles. In describing the Jews as ''ignorant and barbarous'', Voltaire seems only to be describing himself and his fellows, giving voice to his own despicable hatred and fear towards that which he did not understand and of which he was ignorant.
Voltaire's enmity towards the Jews could perhaps be overlooked, however, were it not for the fact that it consituted such a blemish, as well as such a determining factor, in his art.
In ''Candide'', for example, one of Voltaire's sharpest satires and best known writings, the author's anti-semitism and ignorance concerning all things Jewish is given stark expression in the character of one ''Don Issachar'', a repulsive old man who is regarded as one of the principal forces of evil in the world, and who attempts to rape the heroine as part of his ''Sabbath rights''.
''Candide'', on it's simplest level the tale of an optimist who in his pursuit of happiness is confronted with the randomness of life and the ugliness and barbarity of human nature, is a brilliant and scathing, if broadly painted, self-righteous and exaggeratedly pessimistic critique of human hypocrisy, a case against the existence of God and the way in which human happiness is blunted by it's own flaws. On yet another level, ''Candide'' is essentially a catalogue of man's ills. How ironic then, that Voltaire's own íntolerance and racial bigotry make their appearance so frequently (another racially slurred moment occurs in the depiction of an evil black pirate) within his story, yet are, unsurprisingly, excluded from the number of diseases that plague mankind!
One part of ''Candide''s episodic narrative involves the accidental discovery of El-Dorado by the titular character. ''El-Dorado'' is essentially a vaguely defined utopia, a magical and beautiful dream-land in which the citizens are compassionate and gentle (though none, of course, are applied with any specific racial characteristics), the streets are paved with gold, and each day is a cheerful pleasure-fest. Needless to say, Candide benefits from this situation immensely. There is a catch, however: for Voltaire states that, once one deserts it, the magical paradise of El-Dorado can never be regained. What he overlooked, though, was that the land of ''El-Dorado'' is possible to regain, granted one sows one's life with the seeds of love, tolerance, and most importantly, racial acceptance.

Best Volume of the "Old sinner from the eighteenth century".......2005-10-09

The portable Voltaire is the best single volume representing all his works. You don't just get the finest short novel ever written (Candide), you get Zadig, Micromegas, selections from the Philisophical Dictionary, Letters from England, and more.

This is the volume to get if you want to find out why that weird looking character was always smiling...

An excellent selection of the work of a despicable genius .......2005-09-18

Voltaire was a giant of his age, but as writer he left behind very little which is read with interest today. 'Candide' is perhaps the only work which still appeals to anyone outside the realm of scholarship.
Voltaire was the great fighter against superstition , irrationality, cruelty and oppression. Yet he himself was often superstitious, irrational, cruel and oppressive. A person of pique and of pose, and a very good hater .He certainly does not present an example of a lovable and kind human being, a good person.
His vast intellect was devoted to learning many different kinds of things most of which are outside the canon of our knowledge today. He did not really after all have a scientific education and worldview, and was much closer to being a Continental theorist than a good common - sense empiricist.
His spite and his hatred in regard to Christianity, took a specially malicious turn in relation to the Jews. Instead of sympathizing with arguably the most oppressed group in Christendom he oppressed them further.
He is a thin man, with a razor - sharp pen, and a very cutting way of describing his fellow human- beings.
If all of mankind were created to be objects of satire, then he would be the great understander of humanity.
His writing leaves a bad taste in the soul, because even when he is trying to right an injustice in it, one feels that there is no real love of people or of humanity in it.

Candide: Or, Optimism (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Average customer rating:

Great Cover
Great edition; better book
Take a closer look at the cover!

Candide: Or, Optimism (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)
Francois Voltaire
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0143039423

Book Description

One of Western literature's most glorious and incisive satires—now in a brilliant new translation with a bold new cover by Chris Ware With its vibrant new translation, perceptive introduction, and witty packaging, this new edition of Voltaire's irreverent, tragicomic masterpiece belongs in the hands of every reader pondering our assumptions about human behavior and our place in the world.

Candide tells of the outrageous adventures of the naïve Candide, who doggedly believes that “all is for the best” even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair. Controversial and entertaining, Candide is a book that is vitally relevant today in our world pervaded by—as Candide would say— “the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well.” This new translation of one of Western literature's most glorious satires tells of the outrageous adventures of the naïve Candide, who doggedly believes that “all is for the best” even when faced with injustice, suffering, and despair.

Customer Reviews:

Great Cover.......2007-02-12

It was in perfect condition; no tears, rips, and a hilarious cover to top it all off.

Great edition; better book.......2007-01-01

When I imagined what 18th-century literature would be like, I figured there'd be lots of dated, archaic humor and cultural references I'd never understand. CANDIDE, as it happens, contains anything but the former, and very few of the latter.

In fact, this turned out to be the funniest book I've ever read--and I've read Pynchon, Vonnegut, and plenty of others. The absurdity of the novel and the nonchalance of its delivery are simply hilarious. Voltaire makes no attempt to conform to his time's--or even ours'--standard of decency: expect a slew of satire, an unprecedented (by 1759) dark sense of humor, and a message that the author will stop at nothing to convey. Voltaire will force his thesis down your throat, and you'll feel no desire to resist. Voltaire exposes the imperfection of our world and the fallacies of blind optimism with relentless wit and bluntness.

Penguin's Deluxe Classics edition of this is very handsome, and has laugh-out-loud material plastered all across the cover and inside flaps of the book--though watch out; minor spoilers abound!

This is a quick read, a classic, and a blast that you'll regret ends as soon as it does. Highly recommended.

Take a closer look at the cover!.......2005-11-05

I read Candide years ago; however, while looking through the shelves of the local bookstore I was stopped dead in my tracks by this new presentation. Enlarge the image of the new cover at the top of the page to be treated to a whimsical stick figure rendition of a majority of the story (complements of Chris Ware, some of his graphic novels include : The Acme Novelty Library, Quimby the Mouse and Jimmy Corrigan: The Smartest Kid on Earth). However, read the book, not just the cover, for one of the smartest satires ever written.

Candide tells of the outrageous adventures of the naïve Candide, who steadfastly believes that "all is for the best" even when faced with the injustice, suffering, and despair of the world. Following his eviction from his home for a tryst with his stepsister, he sets out to find the "best of all possible worlds" that his mentor Dr. Pangloss cannot stop extolling. Althewhile Candide and his friends barely keep from being killed or tourtured at every turn. Controversial for its time (the 18th century) and entertaining still today; Candide is a book that is relevant even now in our society, where "the mania for insisting that all is well when all is by no means well" prevails.

I am an avowed classics hater who could never make it through a single volume of anything in any Literature class. Never in a million years would I have picked up this book if not for a recommendation by Kurt Vonnegut in one of his autobiographical works. He highly recommended Candide, and being my favorite author, I could not help but be intrigued. I found it in the bookstore and it was short enough to read in one sitting.

The sight of this clever new edition brought a wonderful work of literature back into my mind and I just had to read it again. Beware, if you do not have a sense of humor about the human condition or do not understand sarcasm, you may not like this. Everyone else, enjoy!

Candide, Zadig, and Selected Stories (Signet Classics)

Average customer rating:

More Bang for your Buck with the Signet Classics volume
Uplifting
A highly recommended translation!

Candide, Zadig, and Selected Stories (Signet Classics)
Francois Voltaire
Manufacturer: Signet Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0451528093

Book Description

With Candide-a classic parody of the romantic, coming-of-age story-and the fifteen other stories in this indispensible collection, Voltaire derided the bureaucracies of his day with ruthless wit. His dissections of science, spiritual faith, legal systems, vanity, and love make him the undisputed master of social commentary.

Customer Reviews:

More Bang for your Buck with the Signet Classics volume.......2005-09-02

This Signet edition of Voltaire's finest works is THE Candide to buy. It has 15 other classic Voltaire works FIFTEEN!! Now that's a great deal without all the bells and whistles!

I remember first being introduced to Voltaire (1694-1778) when I was looking ahead in my history book in school, as was my "pasttime" and was one of the ways how I became a trivial nerd who can name dates and events almost like Rain Man. His picture attracted me because of that smart-aleky grin always on his face. This was a bit surprising considering everyone took serious portraits in that time.

Before long after starting to read this good stuff, you'll have a grin on your face too.

The Age of Reason is where Marie-Francois Arouet, better known by the pen name of Voltaire comes from and it is the setting of one of the most famous satires of all time.

Published in 1759, Voltaire takes apart the philisophical quote by Gottfried Lebniz (1646-1716) which states that, the seventeenth/eighteenth century was "The Best of all Possible Worlds." In Candide, the title naiive character is about to find out just how "great" an era the eighteenth century was.

Next to Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift (1667-1745)-whom Voltaire knew and admired, Candide is the most famous satire ever written. It has the best tragical irony and is combined to make it one very memorable and funny reading experience. It seems to me that the eighteenth century was just begging, bowing, scraping, and grovelling to be taken apart by satire and parody, and who would be better to expose the woes of its society than Voltaire, Swift, Alexander Pope (1688-1744), and all the rest of those satirizing cats?!

Probably Mikhail Bulgakov and/or Nikolai Gogol, but those two cats were LATER.

That brings us to the conclusion that there was

NOBODY, THAT'S WHO!!!

Uplifting.......1999-04-23

Although, perhaps, it wasn't ment to be, Volatire's work is uplifting. Sometimes a man faces something that enraged him to such a depth, he either has to cry or laugh about it. Its good to be able to laugh about injustice, betrayal, and every other inborn, basic flaw of the pompous human race we all have the pleasure to be part of. This is one of the best satires I've ever read.

A highly recommended translation!.......1999-04-07

Candide is one of my most favorite philosophical works because of the humor, honesty, and original perspective that Voltaire brings to this story. This translation is recommended because it also contains many other excellent works from Voltaire, such as Zadig and Micromegas. The translator's notes are very helpful, and in many cases shed light upon Voltaire's intended meaning when the English is not able to convey everything.

Philosophical Dictionary (Penguin Classics)

Average customer rating:

I really enjoyed his reflections over religion ...
Ever Evolving Dialogue
Philosophical Dictionary
Great read!
Any man who loves freedom should read this book.

Philosophical Dictionary (Penguin Classics)
Francois Voltaire
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 014044257X

Customer Reviews:

I really enjoyed his reflections over religion ..........2006-02-23

I purchased this book because I wanted to know more about this great writer of the 18th century. This book is full of history, you learn lots of stuff about religion and the origin of some words and, of course, you always find his particular humor.

I really enjoyed his reflections over religion and undoubtedly, this is a good book to read and grow in knowledge.

Ever Evolving Dialogue.......2004-04-11

It is humbling and therefore difficult to even think about rating a piece of work by Voltaire. Nevertheless, it was an amazing experience revisiting this book recently after reading it some 10 years ago. Much has changed over such a decade -- my own life, our surroundings, my beliefs, and, therefore, the ways I relate to literature. In that sense, it is not surprising THAT the same text would now take on rather different meanings. What fascinates me is HOW -- much of the text managed to touch me deeply both times, via totally different angles through the prism of life. It is interesting enough that the insights would evolve with one's personal development; what is even more amazing is that the ideology would also be applicable in an era nearly 300 years after the book was written -- a demonstration of what a classics is really all about.

Philosophical Dictionary.......2004-01-25

Voltaire is one of the greatest philosophers that ever lived on earth. Even today his writings are so relevant and they surely make to much sense still so there's nothing old-fashioned or unfamiliar in any page!
Candide is his masterpiece but for a start I would reccomend you this lovely essays book that will certainly make you wiser once you finish reading them.

Great read!.......2003-08-24

One of the best books I ever read. It changed the way I looked at the world. This man was a genious pure and simple. He also had great literary skills and a good sense of humour too.

Any man who loves freedom should read this book........2002-12-31

This book is about man's freedom: freedom of thought,freedom of worship, freedom of the mental encroachments that make a man think he has the right to despise, oppress, kill a fellow human being because he is different. This book is about the power of Reason,about the absurdity of racism, war, greed and violence. Voltaire was the father of modern man. His errors were the errors of his age: his wisdom is the wisdom of the better part of man.

Average customer rating:

Phantasmagorical!
Pathetic
Masterpiece! Best Comic out there.
Not only for Goths!
Gothicly (yes that's a word) funny

Oh My Goth! Version 2.0
Voltaire
Manufacturer: Sirius Entertainment
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

A supreme being named Hieronymous Poshe arrives on Earth. His mission? To find signs of intelligent life and keep his species from turning the entire globe into a colossal landing strip. Instead, he's found time and again how pathetic humans can be! Aliens, vampires, teenagers, the Goth scene itself... everyone's a target in this hilarious book! Loaded to bear with satirical dark humor by the world's leading authority, Goth rocker Voltaire!

Customer Reviews:

Phantasmagorical!.......2006-02-14

First thing you should know about me, the lowly reviewer, is i'm a comic geek and a (somewhat former, I just don't have the energy anymore) goth. But even though I've essentailly cast off my gothic ways I still adore this book.
Our dear boy Voltaire isn't afraid of poking fun at many aspects of the overly serious goth lifestyle that really do need a poking.
It's hilarious, obsured and overall just a very good read. It's printed on high quality paper and my copy has held up very well the past three or four that it's been in my proud possesion. Though I do seem to have, tragically, misplaced it during a recent move *i'm weeping inside* It's good enough that I would consider buying it again.
The only thing I could say against it (and it's a slight one at that) is that he tends to ramble a bit in the last issue, though he makes a joke about just making the last issue up as he went along so that very well might be what happend.
A fine read, good laughs all around and very entertaining, even if you're not a goth.

Oh, and I'd recomend checking out Voltaires music aswell, very funny, my personal favs are "No one loves you when you're evil", "My future ex-girlfriend" and "Dead girls".
Happy reading :)

Pathetic.......2005-07-01

This "book" is terrible. It's not funny, "goths" are lame, and he stole the name of the greatest satirist of the eighteenth century. Lame. I recommend this book to retards and "goths", although they really are the same thing.
P.S. Goths are (well, were) actually an East Germanic tribe that conquered parts of the Roman Empire. God, do "goths" steal everything?

Masterpiece! Best Comic out there........2005-03-26

From the moment I saw the mail man pull up my drive way I knew my comic was finally here! And after running full speed to him ( and tripping on a few bushes...that by the way did jump out at me) I grabbed from him the most genious, humourous thing I had ever had the pleasure of beholding. I sat down on a the closet thing I could find ( which might have been a cat ) and read that book until the very last page...and then I read it agian..It took me on a marvolous jouney to Hell and back...literally...going through a handful or maybe a silver semi truck painted black ful of funny events and happenings...If you have any sense of humor what so ever even f your not a goth....you should order it today...it's phantasmagorical!

Not only for Goths!.......2004-07-20

I picked this book up as soon as it came out a few years back. I have left my Gothness since then but I still enjoy Voltaire's work. It has a sense of humor and isn't afraid to make fun of everything. And I mean everything. It is an enjoyable diversion from reality and it won't make you dumb. Hmm, something uncommon.

Gothicly (yes that's a word) funny.......2003-09-08

This book is by far the best Gothic comic i have ever read. I think that even if you do not read this you should check out Voltaire's Music or Stop-motion animation. Visit his web site, www.voltaire.net

Paint It Black: A Guide To Gothic Homemaking

Average customer rating:

paint it black
cute little book
Nice day for a BLACK wedding!!!!
Morbid Curiosity
For decorators of all levels.

Paint It Black: A Guide To Gothic Homemaking
Voltaire
Manufacturer: Weiser Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

Home decorating will never be the same. Close your curtains! Throw away your summery linens! Forget about those white eyelet pillow covers! And for Goth's sake, buy some black lights! Voltaire is here to help you with your home decorating dilemmas, guide you through the hardware stores and decorating centers (which are so difficult for Goths to navigate), and lay it all out on the line about which shade of black goes with which shade of black. Who knows?! One day soon he might have his own decorating line at a discount store. In this world of pastels and plaids, it's so hard for Goths to find anything aesthetically appealing. You go in search of Edward Gorey and wind up with an eyeful of Eddie Bauer. With Voltaire's Paint It Black you can turn the unbearably mundane into the delightfully macabre with little more than a touch of creativity and a can of black spray paint.

Customer Reviews:

paint it black.......2007-04-11

Very fun read,Voltaire's second book. Alot of great and creative ideas on how to goth out your home. And as always,very funny observations by Voltaire. Highly reccommend for Voltaire fans and goth fans.

cute little book.......2007-02-20

This book would've served me well in my Goth period but alas even Goths must sometimes grow up. Though I've since passed this book on it was a delightful little read and only Voltaire could've pulled it off.

Nice day for a BLACK wedding!!!!.......2006-11-09

I found his chapter on gothic weddings the most amusing, although some of it seemed too far out for me. His book was throughly entertaining to read has a artist and one of the darker-fashion inclined crowd. :) I reccomend this book because it's ideas are practical, inexpensive, and leave lots of room for the gothic imagination!!! BUY THIS BOOK!!!! :)

Morbid Curiosity.......2006-06-16

Another autobiographic introduction by Voltaire leads this volume. It explains from whence came his urge for "turning drab living spaces into fantastic locales": "I survey the world around me and wonder how we came to live in such a boring and mundane culture...What happened to the romance and pageantry of the past? How did we come to live in a world inundated by blue jeans and khakis and baseball caps, where the average person dresses like a mechanic or farmer or baseball player?

Paint it Black shows countless ways "how to take the horribly mundane and turn it into the wonderfully macabre." A splendid sibling to "What is Goth?", this "Guide to Gothic Homemaking" is loaded with nicely photographed, inexpensive, step-by-step projects via which one can "Transform a plain sketchbook into your very own skull-covered Book of the Dead," "Pimp Your Ride, Dracula-style," bake (recipe included) and decorate a "Graveyard Cake," and many more craft tactics enabling one to "Turn your room into a lair."

"Deconstructing Goth from the Catacombs Up" covers the basics of the look and different cultural variations to take for inspiration. As explained in his intro, Voltaire's work as a stop-motion animator taught him "model-making, building sets and props, [and] painting faux finishes," techniques which he passes on to us.

One lengthy chapter is loaded with suggestions for staging "Gothic Weddings," followed by final tips on "Pulling It All Together into a Gothic Love Nest." As with "What is Goth?", Voltaire's satiric asides and scattered philosophic comments spice the book. Another winner from Weiser Books, famed for publishing "books across the entire spectrum of occult and esoteric subjects."

For decorators of all levels........2006-05-09

This book is a great read and is a good launch pad for decorating darkly. The great thing about the projects in this book is that they are easy and versatile. The materials are not difficult or costly to obtain, the instructions are easy to follow, and there is a lot of room for personalization. I especially liked the section on goth weddings. I refer back to this book a lot, and hopefully the 66 missing pages will pop up somewhere!

Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)

Average customer rating:

Is Life Good?
for lovers of Voltaire
Decadence and disillusion? Must be French Lit
The genius was also a world class author!
A classic must

Candide and Other Stories (Oxford World's Classics)
Voltaire
Manufacturer: Oxford University Press, USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Amazon.com

Candide, the wittiest and best-loved book of a genius who is still unequaled in his ability to spin art out of philosophy, became a huge bestseller in Europe after it was published in 1759. Voltaire, skeptical of the systems of philosophy that were floated about to explain the workings of the world, used this satirical story about the optimist Candide and his friend Dr. Pangloss to interrogate and discredit the philosophies and approach more closely the truth about human life, suffering, and happiness in the real world. Now, the short novel Candide is considered one of the most important texts of the enlightenment.

Book Description

'If this is the best of all possible worlds, then what must the others be like?' Young Candide is tossed on a hilarious tide of misfortune, experiencing the full horror and injustice of this 'best of all possible worlds' - the Old and the New - before finally accepting that his old philosophy tutor Dr Pangloss has got it all wrong. There are no grounds for his daft theory of Optimism. Yet life goes on. We must cultivate our garden, for there is certainly room for improvement. Candide is the most famous of Voltaire's 'philosophical tales', in which he combined witty improbabilities with the sanest of good sense. First published in 1759, it was an instant bestseller and has come to be regarded as one of the key texts of the Enlightenment. What Candide does for chivalric romance, the other tales in this selection - Micromegas, Zadig, The Ingenu, and The White Bull - do for science fiction, the Oriental tale, the sentimental novel, and the Old Testament. This new edition also includes a verse tale based on Chaucer's The Wife of Bath's Tale, in which we discover that most elusive of secrets: What Pleases the Ladies.

Customer Reviews:

Is Life Good?.......2007-06-05

Voltaire is a master saterist, not a comedian. As with all satire, it hslps if we understand the contemporary world in which the author writes, but Voltaire's skill raises Candide above this level of satirical writing. He is masterful in the use of comedy to poke fun at the customs, mores, and beliefs of his time and show us the silliness to shich theunenlightened mind can go in the pursuit of perfection in an imperfect world. As a commentator on human culture he is followed by Mark Twain. Not that Twain can match Voltaire in his skill, only in some of his perceptions. This is an "old" book by new world reckoning, but as a masterpiecce well worth the time and effort of exploaration it is a timeless masterpiece. I highly recommend it to both believer and non-believer.

for lovers of Voltaire.......2006-02-28

As a lover of the french philosopher and his time i can only
recommand with passion his works and especially Candide together with the other stories issued by the so prestigious Oxford
world's Classics -its a genuine pleasure

Decadence and disillusion? Must be French Lit.......2005-05-21

Voltaire's Candide is a scathing satire on one of the more popular metaphysical theories of his day: that is, we live in the best of all possible worlds. In spite of the disasters and disappointments that befall mankind, Candide and an array of companions attempt to make sense of their personal tragedies while shoehorning it into the Leibniz theory.

Candide is well-written, and sprinkled with cute and clever irony. I also enjoyed the references Voltaire makes to his personal enemies in Candide. However, the optimistic theory that prompted this satire has been rejected, which leads me to believe there isn't much purpose for this book any longer. Really the only reason left to read Candide is to become 'culturally literate', I suppose. Don't get me wrong; the ultimate message of this book is a good one. However, I hope readers don't think Candide's lesson must preclude optimism all together, or love, or friends, or God. That fact is obscured to make a literary point.

The only interesting question that remains to be asked from this book is: why does such cyncism accompany 'enlightenment'? Both French and American societies are rife with it after all, so much that I doubt even Voltaire could manage much of a smirk. All he could do would be to join the choir and tend the garden he has sown.

The genius was also a world class author!.......2003-11-22

A great selection of stories where Voltaire shows off his literary style and espouses his philosophy on different topics.
He is a great story teller and has a great sense of humour too.

A classic must.......2003-06-04

This was a first source cited in "A Visit From Voltaire" which turned me on to the man with its lightly comic approach to a formidable subject, BUT I have to add that I only understood it bettert after knowing what role Candide played in the political mayhem of his life fighting "infame," and only after I knew more about his social/irreligious context, did I really "get" what he was doing in Candide. I'd send light readers to "Voltaire in Love," and wannabe scholars to the Portable Voltaire and whatever basic biographic texts they can find, as well as Visit from Voltaire, A which is hilarious fun.

Average customer rating:

Brilliant, witty and clever: you'll laugh so hard at Candide
Life's too mysterious, don't take it serious
Some Candides Are Better Than Others
VOLTAIRE THE RETROSPECTIVE
Voltaire's Amusing Intellectual Masterpiece

Candide (A Norton Critical Edition)
Voltaire
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Customer Reviews:

Brilliant, witty and clever: you'll laugh so hard at Candide.......2005-05-18

Candide is another one of those books I wish I'd been forced to read at some point in my education, whether in my comparative literature classes in high school (which as previously mentioned, wasn't very comparative if the teacher didn't care for the author) or in one of my several philosophy classes in university. Either way, it's been on my list of books to read for ages now, and seeing as David had it on a shelf, unread and lonely, I decided to pick it up and give it a go.

Candide is a fast read, something that I was three-quarters of the way through after my commute on Monday (thirty-five minutes each way) and finished after another half-hour of light reading this afternoon after returning from the doctor's surgery. The only real way to describe it is to imagine what would happen if Camus travelled back in time and decided to write a book with Swift. Candide is funny, sarcastic, satirical, and incredibly entertaining, which is surprising considering I didn't exactly have the best translation in the world at my disposal. It's the story of a young and naïve servant to a nobleman and how his journey in life, most of which is taken up with seeking after his unrequited love, is filled with sadness and joy, and how his outlook determines the course of his action.

Like most satirists, Voltaire did not stop to consider friends or enemies: he took shots at everyone from the Catholic clergy to Protestants and even his own philosophers who continue to espouse beliefs even after they no longer believe in them because "it is the proper thing to do." Brilliant, witty, and clever, this is probably one of my new favourite satirical works, right up there with "A Modest Proposal." It's definitely not something that would be enjoyed in a required university class, but anyone who's studied comparative religion or philosophy, or is at least familiar with the absurdities in all philosophical systems, should enjoy this book.

Life's too mysterious, don't take it serious.......2003-01-24

Having enjoyed Leonard Bernstein's Candide for a long time and just read my way through the Candide inspired Sotweed Factor, it was time to get through to the source.

Upon completing the original French version, it is no wonder that this book is such an inspiring perennial classic. I very much object to the notion that this book is an anti-everything nihilist manifesto. Some words of explanation.

During the age enlightment mankind made big strides in some areas of science. The development of differential calculus by Newton and Leibniz suddenly allowed mankind a better understanding of the way "God ran the Universe". Based on these supposedly universal laws, Leibniz took the stance that our world could not be anything else than the one and only perfect solution that a divine power had found to the self-imposed problem of creation. The best of all possible worlds.

Against this backdrop Voltaire wrote his satiric redux of Homer meeting Cervantes to discuss the book of Job. In a style that (in the original French) is light and whimsical Voltaire debunks the notion that life takes place in an ordered universe. He certainly is not against everything, but rightfully speaks out against idiotic notions on the virtue of war and cruel religious blindness.

Voltaire has left us with a very light, funny and user-friendly fairytale, that may not be quite up there with the great Homer and especially Cervantes, but deserves a place on every bookshelf.

Some Candides Are Better Than Others.......2002-12-08

No the story doesn't change from edition to edition, but the supplementary material provided does change. Candide isn't just some hectic adventure story. It really fails as literature in this regard, and certainly Voltaire's purpose was not to make you chuckle while you whiled away a few empty hours. He would weep to think that you missed out on what he was really trying to tell you. Rest easy. I am not going to launch into a stuffy monologue on Leibnitz and 18th century French Catholicism, but in essence you should know that this is the essence of the story. The philosopher Leibnitz (who with Isaac Newton independently invented Calculus) explained the existence of evil in the world thusly: God, in his infinite wisdom, thought of all possible worlds that he could create, and he chose this one; therefore this must be the best of all possible worlds. Voltaire was also continually chastising the Catholic Church for it's lack of tolerance of other beliefs, and for its aristocratic pomp.

Enter now the Norton Critical Edition of Candide. This book presents the 75 page story along with 130 additional pages of various articles and essays on the times in which it was written; commentary by Voltaire and by his contemporaries; and critiques of the story by modern writers. Sure there are always a few dull, academic essays making their mandatory appearance in a book like this, but my suggestion is just to skip them. After all there are a lot of them to choose from.

Learn the story behind the story so to speak. After all it is the background of Candide that makes Candide the forceful satire that it is.

VOLTAIRE THE RETROSPECTIVE.......2002-11-30

The French writer Voltaire's (1694-1778) novel 'Candide' is a biting, satirical, cynical, and inimical story of an inexperienced and innocent young man who is much misled early in life by Pangloss, his philosophy teacher. Tragi-comical in style, the whole work is certainly the spiritual forefather of 'Waiting for Godot', but it is vastly inventive, the satire is funny, and the action rollicks around the world in a rapid succession of colorful and exciting places. Candide alternately fights for his life, flees for his life, ponders the meaning of life, makes his fortune, or simply travels to stave off boredom. If this were a Mel Brooks film it would be a cross between 'Blazing Saddles', 'Men In Tights', and 'Life Stinks'. There is a grisly and surreal cartoon element to the proceedings with characters constantly being killed by sword, fire, hanging, earthquake, drowning, and whatever, who then come back to life when you least expect it, looking much the worse for wear.

Candide may be on a journey of discovery, but he is just not able to understand anything he discovers. In the school of life he is certainly bottom of the class, and seemingly aspires to stay there. Pangloss has taught him that however things appear, life is arranged so that, 'all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds' - which sounds to me like a parody of a famous scripture from the New Testament letter to the Romans. This absurdist Positive Mental Attitude is then slowly and relentlessly beaten out of the hapless Candide, who learns some of the practical lessons of life while never actually being in danger of learning anything about its meaning and purpose. All in all, anyone who believes in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the empirical philosophy of the good and sensible British school, or any Eastern religion in general, will find their ideas roundly lampooned, insulted, and mocked herein.

Candide starts life in Germany, rattles around Europe, travels to South America and finds El Dorado, gains and looses a vast fortune, returns to Europe, visits Turkey and Persia, and is thrashed by three philosophers in Denmark. The narrative obiter dicta may state that 'In life everything grows wearisome', but the Candide view is: 'Everything is not so good as in El Dorado; but everything is not too bad'. An exhaustingly banal conclusion.

It is difficult to see what positive views are contained in this book. Everyone is denigrated. Nothing is sacred and therefore nothing really matters. Everything finishes downbeat, so this is a dangerous work to read with a too-open mind. In fact, the whole book reeks of what sociologists self-congratulatingly call the 'debunking motif', which explains the tenor of the whole. Voltaire was famed abroad and prolific in his lifetime, but time has proved that trenchantly 'being against things', however right you may be, does not bring a lasting fame worth having. 'Candide' is but a small sliver of Voltaire's life output, and his situation reminds me of the works of the ancient Greek Archilochus, who, a century after Homer and Hesiod was dubbed the first 'poet of blame'. But unlike the classics of Homer and Hesiod, only slivers of Archilochus' works remain to this day, whilst his waspish reputation has survived quite well.

Voltaire's Amusing Intellectual Masterpiece.......2002-01-11

"Candide," subtitled "Optimism" and purporting to be "translated from the German of Doctor Ralph with the additions which were found in the Doctor's pocket when he died at [the Battle of] Minden in the Year of Our Lord 1759," is the single work of Voltaire that continues to be read and recognized as a canonical work of Western literature. A mere seventy-five pages long, it is an amusing and, at times, cruel book that satirically lays waste to many philosophical ideas of its time while simultaneously illuminating the mind, the temperament and the personal conflicts of its author, a man who, perhaps more than any other, came to define the intellectual spirit of eighteenth century France.

At its most abstract level, "Candide" examines the age-old question of why a supposedly omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent god would create a world so afflicted with evil and suffering. This question particularly troubled Voltaire following the great Lisbon earthquake and fire in November 1755, which killed as many as forty thousand people.

Hence, in the very first page of "Candide," the reader encounters one of literature's most famous characters, Pangloss, the learned tutor of Candide, who "gave instruction in metaphysico-theologico-cosmoloonigology." Echoing the popularizers of Leibniz, the early eighteenth century German philosopher, Pangloss espouses the notion that there cannot be cause without effect, that we live in the best of all possible worlds:

"It is clear, said he, that things cannot be otherwise than they are, for since everything is made to serve an end, everything necessarily serves the best end. Observe: noses were made to support spectacles, hence we have spectacles. Legs, as anyone can plainly see, were made to be breeched, and so we have breeches. Stones were made to be shaped and to build castles with; thus My Lord has a fine castle, for the greatest Baron in the province should have the finest house; and since pigs were made to be eaten, we eat pork all year round. Consequently, those who say everything is well are uttering mere stupidities; they should say everything is for the best."

From the introduction of this philosophical idea, Voltaire proceeds to narrate a dizzying tale (really, a series of tales, like Chinese boxes or Russian dolls or the Arabian Nights) of the adventures of Candide, Cunegonde, Pangloss, Cacambo, and a host of other characters, adventures that include war, torture, dismemberment, and death and utterly confound any claim that we live in the best of all possible worlds. At the same time Voltaire satirically challenges certain prevailing ideas, however, he also introduces a plethora of personal, political and historical references, thereby making "Candide" a sort of literary and intellectual cornucopia of Voltaire's thought. In the words of Robert Adams, the able translator and editor of the Norton Critical Edition of the work, "`Candide' is at the same time a novel of abstract ideas with long, complex histories and a highly personal book, into which Voltaire poured an immense amount of himself-his experiences, his enmities, his learning, his desires, his anguish."

The Norton Critical Edition of "Candide" contains extensive and useful background materials on the text, including valuable discussions of the philosophical ideas adumbrated in Voltaire's tale and excerpts from critical studies, books and letters that have been published over the years since the book was written. Among these materials, "Gestation: `Candide' Assembling Itself", an excerpt from Haydn Mason's 1975 book on Voltaire, is particularly useful in understanding the context in which Voltaire wrote, including the effect that the catastrophe in Lisbon and the Seven Years' War had on his thinking.

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