If This Be Treason: Translation and Its Dyscontents by Gregory RabassaNew Directions, 2005

After a discussion of translation and what a translator might or might not betray (the original words, the original language, the original author, the language being translated into, etc), Rabassa launches into his own career as a translator of books from the spanish and portuguese. His wit and word-play are pleasing, as are his discussions of the difficulties of particular books and his friendships with particular authors. Because what he says about the texts he’s translated tends to be well-explained, I didn’t feel lost for not having read many of the works in question — though by the end of the book, I had added several titles to my running list of books I want to read.