Read the book

I was recently reminded of the difference between the interpretation or "CliffsNotes version" of work and the actual work. The most common examples are religious texts, but philosophical texts are a close second. As a result, quotes are often taken out of context. For instance, the Nietzche "quote" "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Admitting to translation issues, the person and tense variation can be ignored, but the line in my copy reads "Out of life's school of war: What does not destroy me, makes me stronger."

I recently read the Communist Manifesto and again find that the interpreters have taken what they found useful and ignored what they found arguable.  The abolition of the family went by the wayside a long time ago.  The guideline: "Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country." now seems antiquated while "Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production..." is indeed an obvious necessity for modern society.

Descartes' Meditations on First Philosophy starts out as a foundational work of epistemology but ends in drivel.  The last paragraph of The Gift of the Magi changes a great short story to a bludgeon.  The Iliad contains no reference to the Trojan horse.

I will skip interpretations of religious texts and the catastrophic effect they have had on human history.

The sheer volume of material that is published yearly makes it impossible to read everything.  However, it seems that the interpreters have, by and large, been those with an obvious agenda.

But don't take my word for it.  Don't take anyone's word for it.  Only by experiencing do we grow.  Anything else is a shortcut.  Go to the source  You will learn much about the author and the interpreters.