Definitive: The Illustrated Complete Works of Shakespeare : New Illustrated Edition (Hardcover)

from Mromano

Its a common question posed somewhere in one's life, if you were on a deserted island and you only could have five books-- Well, if I were on a deserted island and I could only have ONE book, this would be it. Shakespeare's complete works, which is large enough to qualify as three books but it st...

from fugitive

I used this as an undergraduate taking "Shakespeare for non-English Majors" at UCLA and have kept it to this day. This is pretty much the definitive stand-alone resource to Shakespeare's plays. Each play is preceded by an essay by an expert on that specific play. Extensive footnotes indicate vari...

from argente17

This is a monstrous tome, with paper thin pages, small writing, and charming, intricate illustrations. It's not good to read in bed, as you can only hold it for about five minutes. That's no surprise, as it contains the complete works of William Shakespeare, together with comments by literary gre...

from Telute

One of my favourite shakespeare comedies. The plot is simple, a group of men agree to go without love to further their learning and are then visited by a group of women who decide to thwart them. Staggering amounts of wordplay make notes almost essential for a first read and this edition has by f...

from thfloreth

If you, too, are nerd enough to need a handy Complete Works to carry on the subway, this is a fine option. One wants (at least one) another edition with notes et al., but this has a pretty standard version of the plays, though now rather out-dated (e.g., my edition has No Noble Kinsmen, alas).