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Princeton University Press; 1st edition (3 July 2009)
These new translations are excellent.ChoiceThe definitive edition of the Writings. The first volume . . . indicates the scholarly value of the entire series: an introduction setting the work in the context of Kierkegaard's development; a remarkably clear translation; and concluding sections of intelligent notes.Library Journal
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5.0 out of 5 starsA master of edification (or upbuilding)
Reviewed in the United States on 8 March 2011
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These upbuilding discourses display Kierkegaard's prowess as a spiritual writer. Although he goes to extreme lengths to make the reader aware that he does not possess "authority," that is, he does not write with the authority of an ordained minister, Kierkegaard nevertheless remained a preacher at heart. And his upbuilding (or edifying) writings carry all the weight of eloquent, lyrical and hard-hitting sermons.
His concern throughout consistently focuses on "that single individual," the ideal reader, who will act on Kierkegaard's prompting to live as a particular self before the Eternal, taking seriously his or her responsibility to do all and to suffer all for the Good -- and to undertake this task with the urgency that comes at life's 11th hour.
Eternity is serious business for Kierkegaard, and you can't escape his demanding call to earnestness as you read these discourses.
"Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing" ranks as the crowning upbuilding discourse of Kierkegaard's so-called "second authorship," in which he wrote specifically religious or Christians addresses in his own name. That edifying gem is included in this collection, and is alone worth the price of the book, translated by Edna and Howard Hong.
The Hongs' heroic undertaking of translating and annotating all of Kierkegaard's writing deserves nearly as much acclaim as do Kierkegaard's penetrating insights into the human condition. The Hongs' translations are engaging, thoughtful and thoroughly documented. Their expertise adds deeply to the readers' understanding of the complex, original and far-reaching ideas of Soren Kierkegaard, the greatest philosopher of the 19th century, and, in my view, the greatest Christian philosopher.
If you want to come to know Kierkegaard the preacher, whose sensitivity to his readers' (or hearers') eternal vocation is genuinely heartfelt, there is no better place to start than with the "Upbuilding Discourses in Various Spirits."