Hi Jeff,

>
>I prefer book format. Does the Pali Text Society typically have the
>closest translations of any work...such as Path of Purity, etc.?

It depends entirely on the individual book. For Visuddhimagga, I wouldn't turn to the PTS translation to start with, but rather to Nyanatiloka's German translation or Nanamoli's English version. For diigha/majjhima/samyutta I would turn to the commendable editions from Wisdom publications. A good idea is to get several and compare the readings. All translations of Pali into English are works in progress, and some of the older translations are now completely outdated. It can be an eye-opening experience to compare, say, I.B. Horner's (PTS) translation of the Majjhimanikaaya with Nanamoli/Bodhi's version of the same. We can be grateful to past translators, while also being critical of their work. That's the attitude I believe they hoped to to foster in later generations.

best regards,

/Rett