How's the English version of Christian Rätsch's

[Ashoka]

I'm planning to buy a copy of the Christian Rätsch's tome, but I can't decide in which language. I can read German, but I'm better versed in English.

Is the book properly translated and is the English edition the newest version?

What's your thoughts?

Thanks,

Ash

[Benzito]

I seem to recall Torsten mentioned that the English version, is actually 2 or 3 editions behind.

So, the German one should be much more up to date.

But, this is more of a vague recollection, than a surety.

[Rev]

How reliable is christian?

ive read a little of his work, and seen a little of him

hes certainly in the far end of the radical spectrum when it comes to definitions of psychoactivity and interpretations of ethnological data

several people and authors have expressed a cautionary approach to his works, in that he has some amazing work well worth looking into yet one still has to take it with a pinch of salt in particular the more interpretive claims

fWIW my opinion is that while more conservative authors will stop short of making some claims, christian has a greater tendency to do so.

Its always hard to tell whether his imbedded and interactive interpretive approach adulterates the ethnology as much as it allows him deeper access to areas other researchers do not reach. This leaves the question hanging - did he 'lead the witness' or did he really just make a breakthrough?

I like him as an author but for these reasons i dont have as much trust in what he says as i do of some other more rigorous researchers.

but LOL i do admit i share some of this same problem...and like here the same occurs, most times i am right but when i am wrong i can be very wrong, which is ok in itself, but a problem when presented as fact

[planthelper]

i only know the german version, but if your german is not very good than i would get the english version.

it's a very good book, very substantial including a lot of less known plants aswell.

i haven't read anything in this book which would suggest he make's unreliable or unsubstantiated claims.

this book has my thumbs up!

[Torsten]

There are are some instances where Christian appears to believe what he has been told a little too easily, but such rare instances do not reallyd etract from the excellent quality of the book. Just being aware of the fact is enough to filter them.

The main complaint about his book is that it contains a lot of wrong information, however this is a reflection of the reader rather than Christian. The people who complain about this (me included at some years ago) do not understand that he presents two types of information. One set of info is his own experience, which is usually very accurate. The other type is published research, which he quotes without alteration. Obviously he cannot be held responsible for restating something that was published, but later found to be in error. Such instances are always clearly marked with a reference, so people with a science background are less likely to make this mistake.

I found his chemistry to be a bit weak and hence in the first german edition there are a lot of chemistry mistakes. Most of these are however quoted from other publications. These were corrected in the second edition.

Considering the sheer size of this work it is impossible to get everything right. I think Christian does a great job with that book and regardless of a few mistakes it is still the best such book around.

[Ashoka]

Thanks,

So the consensus is: If one is able to read German, one should stick to German version since it's the sixth revision and the English version is only the second revision?

I know this is getting annoying, but it is a quite big investment on my meager budget. How is the English translation and language in the book? I borrowed a copy of "Shamanism and Tantra in the Himalayas" and I find the language in that book terrible i.e. really badly translated.

Some words on Christian Rätsch. In the summer of 2004 I went to the "exploring consciousness" conference in Bath UK and one of the top three talks was by Christian. I got to talk to him about various plant entheogens, which was very interesting. My impression is that he is very knowledgeable and has lots and lots of hands on experience. He sure was a very friendly and warm.

Ash

[Torsten]

His partner Claudia does a lot of the translations, but I don't think she did the encyclopedia. Some of her translations have a bit of german structure to it, which does not bother me as I speak german, but it can bother some.

Christian and Claudia are amazing people. We had them stay with us for a couple of weeks in 2002 and they contributed greatly to a most memorable time. They are both incredibly observant and soak up information like sponges - but are also very willing to share. And Christian was very patient with my incessant questions ;)

[Ashoka]

Claudia did a talk on aphrodisiacs, which was of top quality! Very interesting stuff. Didn't get to talk to her, though.

"Shamanism and Tantra in The Himalaya" wasn't translated by her. I'm sure she's quite capable.

When I talked to Christian, he mentioned he met some guy in Australia who was during research for an article/book on Pituri. Torsten, do you know if it has been published yet? He also talked about a newly discovered entheogenic plant from South America, if I remember correctly a member of the solanaceae, can't remember what he called it. Any ideas?

[prier]

i've been thinking about getting this book too. was the english one released recently? if not is there any word on whether the newest one is going to be translated any time soon? i can't read german at all so is it worth waiting for a translation of the sixth or should i just go and buy the one currently out?

[prier]

no one answered my question so i just went and bought it anyway. this book is amazing it makes plants of the gods look like a childrens book.

[planthelper]

congratulations, yep this book changed my life aswell.

i referre to things which happend in my life now to before and after i aquierd this book (german version bought in 99), which i call the bible!

prier, i am sure nobody answered you because simply nobody knew the answere.

and aswell people are sometimes reluctant to post something like, sorry i don't know.

and this is not because they admit, they don't know but simply because we try to reply only if we have to say something substantial.

enjoy your reading, you will find that there are many cross references in this book, which will make reading it even more of an adventure. i mean you read up on one plant and end up learning heaps about others aswell. i like the part (introduction) where christian says somebody offered dope in the schoolbus and he could not contain his excitement and yelled me, me, and it was his first score!

[botanika]

I also just had this book delivered and love it. It makes a great addition to the book collection and coffee table - especially when the relatives come around :D

[Torsten]

was the english one released recently?

Yes, middle of 2005.

is there any word on whether the newest one is going to be translated any time soon? i can't read german at all so is it worth waiting for a translation of the sixth or should i just go and buy the one currently out?

I don't know which german edition forms the basis of the english version. However, I presume it is not the latest german edition. I intend to order the german 6th edition shortly (to save my autographed first edition from getting worn out ) and will be able to tell you more then.

Christian mentioned some time ago that a new edition (7th??) would be so large that it would probably require two volumes. I've been hoping for that to be released so I could skip the 6th.

[Evil Genius]

I like the Book as it was one of my first books on this topic. It is very suitable for Beginners as it contains most infos you need to get yourself familiar with the basics. I share Torstens Opinion about some misleading infos and typos. Sometimes It is not possible to be sure what is useful first hand data and what´s just another quotation of an bogus. Christian Rätsch seems to be a very competent person.I´m not sure but i think that i once met him at an workshop he gave a few years ago.we didn´t spoke but I remember lot´s of hair so i guess it was him i´d love to see a light version of his book going more in-depth about personal experiences and insights.I have some other books of him, that are very small but informative though. "Die Regenwaldapotheke" contains some smaller infos that are allready very known.