The Tao

I have read a few different translations of the Tao Te Ching, including versions by Stephen Mitchell and John Wu. I have another version by my former boss and colleague, Stanley Lombardo that I have not made my way through yet. At this time, I prefer the version of John Wu, because Wu translates more faithfully to the actual Chinese text. Again, when you are dealing with poetry, the idea of translation becomes rather slippery. However, Mitchell in his notes admits that he has made sometimes major changes to the text because he feels he has a better sense of what the author meant to say. I'm obviously paraphrasing Mitchell here, but I think it does give the gist of Mitchell's method for reworking Lao Tzu. I'm not comfortable with that sort of interpretation, because it is not really translating if you change not so much the words, but the thoughts of the original author and text.
Regardless of these pedantic asides, anyone unfamiliar with the Tao should check it out.
Czar