I read this book a couple of years ago. It's a good example of how to popularize a complicated subject without dumbing it down. It stands with other useful intros to existentialism, such as those classics of the 1950s, William Barrett's "Irrational Man" and Colin Wilson's "The Outsider" (which is more a work of lit-crit than anything else).
Great essay, subject and author. Strangely enough I had not heard of William Barrett's "Irrational Man” as per Mr Spires’ previous comment. I shall remedy the matter. Thank you both.
Nicely done, Sam. I was going to mention "Irrational Man," which is beautifully done, was enormously influential, and influenced me, but I see earlier commenters beat me to it.
If anything his late and rather obscure book, "The Truants" -- about the Partisan Review Crowd, and written at the end of a long career of writing and teaching philosophy, is even better. Especially about the relationships among "Marxism" or "the Left" and Modern art, as perceived in a certain Trotsky but the the Holocaust milieu. Plus poetry.
Oh, your Unherd piece on Trump and social media is very good.
Thanks, Sam. I bought both At the Existential Cafe and Humanly Possible but have not begun reading either, which is a crime because I’m after great examples of lucid, popular writing in complicated fields. I’ll now make amends.
School of what is philosophy that says It's an argument with common confusions that runs over a few page turns. His autobiography was about his logghoria. You clarify for me contradictions I thought preceded Marxism with him that really happen then. Biography of Baudellaire where he says after a person is dead the throughlines of their achievments are available to be used/ or understood and incorporated. But he goes on to biograph Saint Genet and that seems to be for Marxist reasons. Contradicting that earlier tenet, maybe showing how dangerous it is to understanding to pretend to track/trace a soul in process? Did he lose his teeth while writing that? At all events N. Mailer went on to also liberate a man from a criminal past and Mailer's freeman went on to kill somebody. If Sartre had been told about code-switching, wld have made great hay of that, maybe people are specially persuasive when code switching? I wld like to know...
This book has been on my TBR pile for some time, and this essay has me wanting to make it my very next nonfiction read, in large part cause I’m not sure I agree with some of what’s said here and that’s often a stronger motivation for me to read something than knowing I’ll love every word. Ty for the writeup!
Great essay, thank you! I also quoted Bakewell’s book in an essay about No Exit. I love it when we’re on the same page. It makes me feel like I’m headed in the right direction.
I read this book a couple of years ago. It's a good example of how to popularize a complicated subject without dumbing it down. It stands with other useful intros to existentialism, such as those classics of the 1950s, William Barrett's "Irrational Man" and Colin Wilson's "The Outsider" (which is more a work of lit-crit than anything else).
Great essay, subject and author. Strangely enough I had not heard of William Barrett's "Irrational Man” as per Mr Spires’ previous comment. I shall remedy the matter. Thank you both.
Nicely done, Sam. I was going to mention "Irrational Man," which is beautifully done, was enormously influential, and influenced me, but I see earlier commenters beat me to it.
If anything his late and rather obscure book, "The Truants" -- about the Partisan Review Crowd, and written at the end of a long career of writing and teaching philosophy, is even better. Especially about the relationships among "Marxism" or "the Left" and Modern art, as perceived in a certain Trotsky but the the Holocaust milieu. Plus poetry.
Oh, your Unherd piece on Trump and social media is very good.
Keep up the great work!
Bakewell's book on Montaigne is a delight.
Thanks, Sam. I bought both At the Existential Cafe and Humanly Possible but have not begun reading either, which is a crime because I’m after great examples of lucid, popular writing in complicated fields. I’ll now make amends.
School of what is philosophy that says It's an argument with common confusions that runs over a few page turns. His autobiography was about his logghoria. You clarify for me contradictions I thought preceded Marxism with him that really happen then. Biography of Baudellaire where he says after a person is dead the throughlines of their achievments are available to be used/ or understood and incorporated. But he goes on to biograph Saint Genet and that seems to be for Marxist reasons. Contradicting that earlier tenet, maybe showing how dangerous it is to understanding to pretend to track/trace a soul in process? Did he lose his teeth while writing that? At all events N. Mailer went on to also liberate a man from a criminal past and Mailer's freeman went on to kill somebody. If Sartre had been told about code-switching, wld have made great hay of that, maybe people are specially persuasive when code switching? I wld like to know...
There’s a nice interview of Sarah Bakewell by Tim Madigan in the latest issue of Philosophy Now (Issue 164: October/November 2024).
This book has been on my TBR pile for some time, and this essay has me wanting to make it my very next nonfiction read, in large part cause I’m not sure I agree with some of what’s said here and that’s often a stronger motivation for me to read something than knowing I’ll love every word. Ty for the writeup!
Great essay, thank you! I also quoted Bakewell’s book in an essay about No Exit. I love it when we’re on the same page. It makes me feel like I’m headed in the right direction.
“Most of all, he seems like somebody who really needed Substack” so funny!