Reveries of the Solitary Walker (Oxford World's Classics)

I'm not a philosopher. I've been attracted to Rousseau. Wasn't sure what he was all about. So I picked what I thought might be an easier book, after reading one of his essays. Earlier in life I'd read other stuff by him. This turned out to be a good choice. Rousseau wrote this at the end of his life, after he had been ostracized by Parisian society, at least in his own mind (he seems paranoid, and this is not an exaggeration). So he withdraws into himself. Apparently he had a wife, since he refers to her. Out walking he goes, but this isn't about walking, it's about his latest thinking before he dies. He's 65 years old or thereabouts. He finds solace in reveries about this and that, including botany. What I learned about Rousseau was that besides being probably brilliant, he was basically a temperament. That is, he has the strongest feelings, and principles which grow out of these feelings, and he strives to live his life by these feelings. He is the great counter-voice to the main line of enlightenment thinking, based on reason, and shortly I will be completely out of my depth in talking about these matters. I intend to read more, even most, of Rousseau's writings, and this book made me want to hang out witi him more. I'd definitely check the book out. Not a bad place to start with Rousseau, either.

The Reveries unfold into a series of rantings against Rousseau's enemies: real and imaginary. But setting aside the rantings, the "reveries" are an important part of Western literature because they mark the beginning of a study of self-identity. From "Know Thyself" sign on Apollo's Temple to Sigmund Freud, writers and philosophers continue to seek the inner core--the soul--that constitutes our individuality. The Reveries go beyond the Confessions, and although nothing conclusive is reached, at least they break new ground and give direction for us to know ourselves. The translation is respectable. In fact, too close in language to the original to make it almost literal; the indiscriminate use of latinates (illumination, transformation, observation, etc) mars the whole work.

For a $6 book the editing is pitiful. Wrong words, bad punctuation, frequent incorrect spelling. Maybe ok for a quickly thrown together freebie - but for one of this price I expect better. I don't enjoy having to stop my reading to figure out what word was intended by the author. If you need editors for ebooks shoot me an email, I'd love to have a nice job I could do via telecommuting.

Book as described by seller.

This booklet is littered with typos of spelling and punctuation. A minor one, but useful in giving the flavor of the issue, is that "wise" often appears as "wife". In addition, the translation itself has problems, often making Rousseau sound like a plodding writer and, through infelicitous phrasing, sometimes obscuring his meaning. Rousseau deserves better.

One of the great books of all time ! --- Fred

Many people often assume that they are the final authority on what goes on in their heads--after all, who is anyone else to tell me what's going on inside *my* head? However, the continued dissolution of depth psychology (esp. Freud) into popular culture, as well as a growing body of research by cognitive psychologists, is starting to make this assurrance suspect. I mention this because *Reveries of the Solitary Walker* is an excellent example of a literary version of this; here it is the readers more so than the author that can see what's going on in these "meditations".Aristotle once thought that one's best tinking was done while walking, a sentiment later echoed by Nietzsche. In that same spirit, Rousseau offers this small book as recording of his "meditations" performed during his solitary walks. Instead of giving us some profound wisdom that comes from solitude and philosophy, this book instead serves as an amazing first-person look at paranoid schizophrenia. Rather than wise musings, we get instead Rousseau's ruminations about the extensive plot to (1) isolate him from others and politically marginalize him, (2) have him killed--witness his attribution of a near-fatal carriage accident to a deliberate attempt to run him down, and (3) systematically alter his writings and misrepresent him after his death.As a book of reflective wisdom, this small treatise of Rousseau's is an utter failure. (One reviewer claims that this book changed his life, but how it could do so I have no idea.) However, this book succeeds in doing two things Rousseau did not mean it to do. First, it gives us incredible insight into Rousseau the man--more so even than his vaunted *Confessions*. Second, Rousseau's literary style and incredible gift for expression help to make concrete how the world looks to one suffering from paranoid delusions. (Sure, even paranoids have enemies; but this is probably because persecution complexes are likely to become self-fulfilling.)This is not a book that is of much use to those looking for spiritual or philosophical wisdom, but in other ways it is indispensible. For understanding Rousseau the man, there is nothing better in his own words. Psychologists and psychology students (esp. those involved in clinical psychology) have much to gain from studying this small book. Rarely, if ever, will one find a victim of mental illness so eloquently able to bring you to an unerstanding of his world.

Rousseau's mastery of the button-holing style in its most approachable form. He would never have embarked on his solitary walks if he hadn't had you in mind walking beside him, the perfect silent and acquiesent listener from a future age, when all his enemies were dead and he could reminisce to his heart's content. Russell Goulbourne's translation can be compared with the Peter France's Penguin edition as both have referable pages on Amazon. This Oxford edition is nicely printed, excellent notes, smooth-reading translation. I guess the better of the two and am happy with my choice. Mention of Penguin prompts me to recommend William Beckford's travel writing e.g.Elizabeth Mavor's Penguin classic The Grand Tour of William Beckford (Travel Library) . Beckford also treats his readers as his only understanding friend in the whole bitter world. and manages it even more persuasively. The Grand Tour of William Beckford (Travel Library)

This book is a combination of Rousseau's thoughts and theories with perhaps a few pages of his diary in the mix.A short and satisfying read.

Fascinating insight into mental benfefits of walking to be read at least twice

Translation seems hard to follow.There are probably better transcripts out there.

Lots of scanning and spelling errors. Shame as this is a classic. Easily read in couple of hours . Star rating **