02-12-2006, 08:04 PM
Quote:I was at the local bookstore and searching through the discount piles, I found a book. "The Conquest of Gaul" by apparently Caesar himself. Its published by Penguin Classics.
If it is one of the original editions (purple-bordered, line drawing of a coin of Caesar in the centre of the white area: first printing 1951) then it is a thing of beauty to treasure for all time. This series was designed for Penguin after WW2 by the renowned German typographer Jan Tschichold and the layout obeys the Golden Mean.
People like me who got into the classics via old Penguin Classics bought in booksales and musty secondhand bookshops owe Tschichold, the editor E.V. Rieu (and later Betty Radice), and the translators an eternal debt.
For all its faults (and what book doesn't have them?), Caesar's text is a great piece of self-promotion. Plus you'll even find Vorenus and Pullo in there (if you're a Rome fan).
Mike Bishop
Who used to classify Penguin Classics by smell (it would take too long to explain; trust me, it worked...)
