Tao Te Ching: Gilded Pocket Edition (Arcturus Ornate Classics)

I am an obsessive collector of translations of the Tao Te Ching. This is my favorite translation to give to people who are new to Taoist texts. The translation is less cryptic than others, has a simple flow and honors the spirit of the work. It has lovely pictures throughout, "gold" leaf on the side, and is a nice size for carrying around. I buy it in packs of 3 and hand them out as last minute birthday or parting gifts. Thank you Lao Tzu! May we all rest in the embrace of the Tao as it transforms us into what is useful.

Pretty darn good, not my favorite translation though personally. I like the Sam Torode version more- so maybe check out that one too.

Great book in terms of quality. It’s a desert to savor and should be picked up often to gain the most benefit. Highly recommended.

I love the book. The quality, the translations, everything. After deciding to convert to Taoism around a year and a half ago, I decided it’s time to stop reading scriptures on internet pdfs. The book is high quality, and as a native english speaker, it’s broken down perfectly for me to understand. However, it came with a bent page. It was folded in half, and although nothing else is wrong with it, I was a little sad. Nonetheless, it’s not that big of a deal, and it could be worse.

Wonderful pocket edition, brother really liked

No matter what religion one has chosen, this is a classic addition to any collection. I had bought this in my 20's and either lost it or gave it away. But I bought this book again because it has such sound advice/ideas. This would make a nice gift to give your friends.

This is a beautiful little book with beautiful illustrations and gilt page edges. It is small: 4" x 6.5". Perfect size to slip into your purse or bag or back pocket. For the few extra dollars, it is worth getting this hardbound version that is clearly made with such care and craft.

Nothing comes close to Lao Tzu’s wisdom. This book celebrates the way, not the destination. There’s no easy fallback construct like God. At the same time it provokes wonder and inspires to keep rising. A definition of Masterpiece.

The only bas thing about it is that the hard cover finishing is made of texturized paper, it gets dirty and I'm not even able to clean it, as it's plain paper...

This is a great little Tao Te Ching to have. It has a bit of a forward explaining a bit of history, Lao Tzu, and Wu Wei. The lay out is nice in my opinion. The pages are slightly busy; but only in the sense that there was an attempt to make it look nice rather than just the bare text. I only received it today; but so far the cover seems pretty good quality, and the binding seems decent. Like another reviewer said; the gilded pages and art is maybe somewhat more gaudy than necessary for this text; but it does look good on my shelf and hard covers are nice. The size is cozy to hold when reading. I like the translation as well. Overall, I love this copy to keep as a little treasure.

A beautiful book with quality covers, gold-edged pages and lovely illustrations.

I really enjoyed this, I wish it was longer.

The exterior is nice and seemingly straight-forward, but the inside is digitally illustrated in the tackiest way. According to the sources in the back, it's a mash-up of Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons images and clip art, all of it emphasizing the ancient Chinese locus of Lao Tzu's writing. But the incredible thing about the Tao Te Ching is that its ideas can transcend time and place, making these illustrations limiting and alienating in a way that the text alone is not. I want the text and the text only. The edge of the pages are also painted metallic gold like a little Bible which is entirely the wrong tone for the book, but would be bearable if not for the silly interior. I thought this would be the last copy of the Tao I'd have to buy, but not so. If it's your cup of tea, nice. To me, it's both unsightly and woefully cringe.