Walt Whitman - best edition?

[Evaril]

Preferably, I'd like to get an edition that has both the 1855 Leaves of Grass and the 1891 Deathbed one as well. But I can't decide which commentary and edition to get... there's the Modern Library, the Library of America, the Barnes and Nobles, the Penguin, and the Norton Critical editions, among others. Which one's the best?

The Library of America one has his prose works too, which I'd like to have, but it has very scant notes on the poetry if I'm not mistaken.

[laymonite]

I tend toward Norton Critical, then Penguin. Definitely procure the Deathbed edition, either way!

[Bustrofedon]

Get the thickest. The poems are prime the commentary secondary.

[stlukesguild]

I have the Library of America editions of not only Whitman, but also Poe, Hawthorne, Emerson, Henry James, Melville, etc... These volumes are beautiful: hard-bound with non-acidic paper and cased. The Whitman volume contains both the 1955 and the Death Bed Edition of Leaves of Grass, as well as all the other known poetry and prose (including letters, etc...) You are right that the one weakness of these editions is the lack of voluminous notes. Personally, I don't find myself needing such for Whitman or Emerson as I do when reading Dante. I'm more likely seeking a well-made, beautiful book that will withstand the multiple readings that these key works will surely undergo by me... and this edition is certainly heirloom worthy.