I guess it depends on how you define "accurate". Mandelbaum is definitely a prose-like beast, but from what I understand he conveys the intended word-for-word meaning of the text accurately at the expense of an accurate poetic flow. I do blame him for never actually getting very far into reading Purgatorio. I bought his three volume set as my first Dante experience in the early 90s (before the recent deluge of Inferno translations). It is generally agreed that Inferno is the best of Dante's trilogy and most fun to read under any condition, including the dense blank verse of Mandelbaum. Purgatorio was made extra challenging and extra boring by Mandelbaum's translation and I just couldn't get through it.
By the way, this is actually my first introduction to Dante (http://www.darkridethrills.com/page.cfm?pagea=5). I spent many summers on the New Jersey shore, including this pier in Wildwood. I used to stand outside this ride, staring up at it, too terrified to go in but simultaneously attracted to it. The large mural on the front was filled with ghastly depictions of various tortures described in the poem. I hear it has since been repainted and tamed down to an appalling kid-safe level. But I credit this ride with inspiring my interest in Dante's work.
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By the way, this is actually my first introduction to Dante (http://www.darkridethrills.com/page.cfm?pagea=5). I spent many summers on the New Jersey shore, including this pier in Wildwood. I used to stand outside this ride, staring up at it, too terrified to go in but simultaneously attracted to it. The large mural on the front was filled with ghastly depictions of various tortures described in the poem. I hear it has since been repainted and tamed down to an appalling kid-safe level. But I credit this ride with inspiring my interest in Dante's work.