[2] It is both a controversial and seminal work[3] that covers a great deal of new ground and has remained the most thorough book on this topic since its publication.

"[4] Daniel Hahn at ContemporaryWriters.com wrote that "It is extraordinary in making a real contribution to translation studies, while remaining fairly self-contained and accessible to people who have never before given the matter a second thought.

[6] "Trust" and "restitution" honour the source text and its author's intentions, while "aggression" and "incorporation" benefits the translator.

[8] Despite the significance of After Babel as a central work in the philosophy of translation, the book has been criticized by many authors.

In 1992 a second edition was published by Oxford University Press with major revisions by Steiner, including a new preface, and new and expanded notes and references.