Gentzler, E. (1993) ContemporaryTranslation Theories . Routledge,New York.Contemporary Translation Theoryis an effort to provide an overviewof the theories of translation, withspecial focus on the application oftranslation for breaking culturalbarriers. The book contains a totalof 7 chapters: 1) Introduction; 2)The American Translation Work-shop; 3) The \"Science\" of Transla-tion; 4) Early Translation Studies;5) Polysystem Theory and Transla-tion Studies; 6) Deconstructionand 7) The future of TranslationStudies. By means of these topics,Gentzler focuses on both thetheory and practice of translation.In the introduction, Gentzlerpoints out the relevance of transla-tion theory and explains how itmanifests itself in contemporarytranslation. Although it is a bitdifficult to link and process all theideas of theorists, philosophers andlinguista regarding the nature oftranslation, this ambitious chapteris a well-conceived foundation forthe rest of the book and encouragesthe reader to discover more aboutdevelopments in this field. In thechapter on the American Transla-tion Workshop, Gentzler presentsvarious prominent approaches totranslation in the 1960s and '70sas proposed by I. A. Richards, EzraPound, and Frederic Will. Gentzlerdiscusses the Translation Work-shop and its contribution to thetranslation phenomenon. The thirdchapter of the book deals with theconstruction of a translation scien-Resenhas373ce by means of the highly-influ-ential grammar theories of NoamChomsky and Eugene Nida. Ad-ditionally, the influence of thesetheories in Germany, where thescience of translation predom-inated, is pointed out. Thus, theauthor deals with a number offundamental and basic aspectsconcerning translation work.Gentzler goes back to the seventiesin chapter 4, where he provides anoverview of the field of translationin those times, emphasizing thecontribution of the translators tothe development of the field in theeighties. One important part of thisbook is the combination betweenPolysystem Theory and Transla-tion Studies, presented in chapter5. But the most interesting part ofthe book, although the most dif-ficult to follow, deals with decon-struction, in chapter 6. The authorbrings ideas about translationwork, according to some philos-ophers such as Michel Foucaultand Derrida, which claimed thatsource-texts \"go beyond the limitsof language\". He, also in this chap-ter, evaluate deconstructionist ap-proach and points out that thisproject is relevant to questionsabout translation work and that theideas proposed by theorists con-cerning deconstruction are veryimportant for the understanding ofproblems of translation process.The final chapter focuses on \"thefuture of Translation Studies\where the author posits the possib-ility of a new methodology oftranslation, considering the de-velopments within this area.Finally, one characteristic ofthis book is that none of the chap-ters can be considered weak, sinceeach provides an important con-tribution to the understanding ofthe translation field. In addition,through explanations, discussionsand critics about each particulartranslation theory, Gentzler em-phasizes the need of alternativeapproaches and states that decons-truction is a first step for arrivingat a \"real intra- and interculturalcommunication\". On the negativelide, the book is admittedly a hardread, information dense, and richwith references. It's definitely nota book for the novice in Transla-tion Studies, however it is worthyto read for anyone with a seriousinterest in the field.Maria Inêz Probst LucenaUFSC