Book Description

Reviews (4)

Explorations
It is almost as hard to write a review of this book as it must have been for Mrs. Huxley to write it. Above all else, for the purposes of reading this review or the text itself, please keep in mind that it is not a novel but a recollection of her husband that the public had decided they knew so well.

If you haven't read Aldous' works, don't bother with This Timeless Moment as it would be as interesting and informative as reading a description of the flavour of a fruit you've never tried. If you have read his texts though and found yourself immersed in the worlds within the man's mind for all its brilliance and receptivity, then this book will give you insights you simply could not get anywhere else.

Not being an author herself, This Timeless Moment is not well written by any technical or literary means, but nor is it meant to be. This is a recollection of a husband by his widowed wife; it explores their time together and apart, describes the man she knew for the latter half of his life, and examines the misconceptions of the renowned author as communicated through the media. It is as to the point, as it is a scattered writing as any memory translated to paper promises to be; where it loses in technical merit it gains in heartfelt sincerity.

There is also as much in this text for the fans of Aldous Huxley's writing as there is for the man himself. The biggest gift included is the first and only copy of a novel he had begun before his death in which, it is explained, he had hoped to achieve a level of completeness previously unattained- a level he only came to understand as his illness took hold. There is also a great deal of reference to his last published novel, Island, as to how it related to the man himself and his experiences that he'd incorporated into the writing. Of interesting personal note are the many letters and transcripts of recorded conversations between the husband and wife, as well as letters by Aldous to his brother and son.

Included among much of the book are references to Aldous Huxley's experiments with psychedics which the media has given such focus and emphasis. It must be said that she is not advocating the use of the drugs, nor is she defending his choice to use them- she speaks of his and her own experiences with LSD and the level of consciousness found within them. Another review I read here on Amazon referred to her as being "preachy" about this issue, but I found that it was anything but. As evident by his writing, Aldous Huxley was interested in virtually every facet of life and the exploration of consciousness was but one of them.

Also check out www dot yourwords dot org for more about this text and others.

If you're looking for something mind-blowing, read Aldous' own writing itself like Brave New World, The Doors of Perception, Island or any other, and ignore this for now. If you have read these though and want more insight into the man lining each page, read This Timeless Moment and get past the sensationalism of the media into the mind of the woman he had shared it with.

Huxley's last years
THIS TIMELESS MOMENT is Laura Archera Huxley's memoir of her marriage to Aldous Huxley. Laura Archera, a young musician from Italy, married the aging and recently-widowed Huxley in 1956. Her book chronicles their life together until his death in 1963.

By her own admission, Mrs. Huxley was not a "bookish" person. Nor was English her mother tongue. Her writing style is strangely disjointed and contains both non-sequitors and inconsistent statements. Nonetheless, her love for Aldous Huxley is clear. It is this love that makes the book worthwhile.

Due to Mrs. Huxley's tact and her awkward writing style, the reader needs a background knowledge of Aldous Huxley's life and work to understand a number of her anecdotes and veiled references. I re-read Mrs. Huxley's memoir after completing David King Dunaway's ALDOUS HUXLEY RECOLLECTED. Only then did Mrs. Huxley's story begin to make some sense.

Mrs. Huxley devotes a chapter and then some to the Huxleys' drug use. This section of the work has a "crusading" tone which I found annoying. It is followed by several heartbreaking chapters describing Huxley's final illness and death. I developed a new appreciation for this great man and his wife who worked so hard to finish one final essay, "Shakespeare and Religion", just days before his death. Mrs. Huxley's reveals that Huxley was working on a novel on mysticism at the time of his death. She states that Huxley told her in his final days that he was on the verge of fitting everything together in one last novel. She then shares the first chapter of this unnamed, unfinished work. It is beautiful (and, unmistakeably, Aldous Huxley). It is the finest chapter in Mrs. Huxley's book. I kept wishing it would go on and on.

Mrs. Huxley succeeds in showing a rarely seen side of Aldous Huxley. So often, he is portrayed as cold, aloof and cerebral. Here, Huxley is a warm, vibrant, sensual human being who is utterly at peace with himself and the world.

Interesting Memoir
After reading Huxley's books for years, we finally get a glimpse into his later years through the eyes of his second wife, Laura Huxley. It is apparent throughout the book the extent to which Laura loved and admired Aldous. Nothing wrong with that.

We learn the truth about his alleged "blindness", his view of psychedelics and how he handled death. Although through my readings it was apparent that Huxley was a brilliant man of letters, the biography brought to light the kindness of the man. He was, according to Ms. Huxley, willing to avail himself and his knowledge to anyone who sought it (except perhaps reporters from whom he understandably sought sanctuary).

Even though I am sure it was unintended, we also come away with some notions about Ms. Huxley. Her devotion to Aldous, open-mindedness, and self-effacing manners shine through.

I liked the book, but somehow felt the picture was incomplete. Certainly Huxley must have had an interior struggle between his religous beliefs and his intellect. Such a struggle is not discussed in this book. Perhaps Ms. Huxley was unaware of such a struggle or perhaps Aldous had somehow transcended it by the time he met Laura.

Entheogens: Professional Listing
"This Timeless Moment" has been selected for listing in "Religion and Psychoactive Sacraments: An Entheogen Chrestomthy" http://www.csp.org/chrestomathy ... Read more

Book Description

In this vibrant, engaging biography of Albert Camus, the internationally acclaimed author of The Stranger, The Plague, and The Fall, French writer and journalist Olivier Todd has richly tapped resources never before available-personal correspondence, notebooks, public records--as well as exclusive interviews with Camus's family, friends, fellow workers, mentors, and lovers. What emerges is the study of a man caught in conflicts between family loyalties and his own passionate nature, between the call to political action and devotion to his art, between his support of the native Algerians and his identification with the forgotten poor whites. Exploring Camus's impoverished childhood in the Algerian city of Belcourt, his underground activities during the Occupation in Paris, the intrigues of the French literati who embraced him after the publication of his first novel, L'Etranger, Todd uncovers the solitary private man behind the mask of his celebrity. He shows us a writer isolated by his own success, crippled by the charms of women he could not resist, debilitated by the tuberculosis that did not kill him. The auto accident that did adds only to the ironies in the life of this international giant of twentieth-century literature. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Read the French Edition of this book.
The only real problem I have with this book was that the American edition has been abridged. Over 150 pages have been cut. As a result much of the portrait of Camus as a philosopher has been deleted. So I would recomend reading the French edition if at all possible

a biography of a biographer
If you want camus' angle on his life, read the first man, if you want an outsiders opinion, oliver todd is as good as it gets. Todd is a stickler for detail which is what anyone reading a biography really wants, so it's a must read on my list

An excellent job of capturing Camus....
This book provides an interesting portrait of someone whom most would now qualify as one of the more interesting (if not most important) authors of the twentieth century. This book documents his early life (somewhat disappointingly for anyone who has read 'The First Man'-- Camus' own account) through his dallainces with careers and women to his litery triumphs.

This is a well-written and researched book, with the only negative from me that Camus comes out a lot less heroic and a lot more bitter and stereotypically hepcat and existentialist, which was a disappointment for I, who had raised him toward being a god....

A must read for anyone interested in Camus....

A great book about a great Author
Mr. Todd has written a wonderful account of Albert Camus' life. From his beginnings, throughout his life and his writings, to his untimely death and beyond, he includes all the information you would ever want to know about this Existentialist author. Anyone interested in French Authors, Existentialism, or just interested in Camus' life and times should pick up this book.

An outstanding and important piece of work
If you ever wanted to know anything about Albert Camus, this is the book to read. An exceptional job of research and writing. I hated to see it end. Oliver Todd is an excellent writer and his book a joy to read. ... Read more

Book Description

One of the founders of modern philosophical thought Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831) has gained the reputation of being one of the most abstruse and impenetrable of thinkers. This first major biography of Hegel in English offers not only a complete, up-to-date account of the life, but also an overview of the key philosophical concepts in Hegel's work in an accessible style. Terry Pinkard situates Hegel firmly in the historical context of his times. The story of that life is of an ambitious, powerful thinker living in a period of great tumult dominated by the figure of Napolean. Pinkard explores Hegel's interactions with some of the great minds of this period: Hölderlin, Goethe, Humboldt, Schelling, Novalis, the Schlegels, Mendelssohn, and others. Throughout, he avoids Hegal's own famously technical jargon in order to display the full sweep and power of Hegel's thought.Terry Pinkard is professor of Philosophy at Northwestern University and is author/editor of five previous books, the most recent being ^UHegel's Phenomenology (Cambridge, 1996). He is honorary Professor of the Philosophy Faculty of TÜbingen University, Germany and serves on the advisory board for the Zeitschrift fÜr Philosophique Forschung. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Brilliant!
While you are unlikely to approach Hegel aa a novice, all the same, if you were and did, this is a remarkably well written, clear presentation of Hegel's life and thinking, as well as a thoughtful setting of the philosophical questions of his time. It was a time when thinking still mattered to the spirit of a people. Pinkard has written a great account of a life of a man who sought his own voice after so many disappointments. His friendship with Holderlin, his relationship with his illegitamate son, his rancourous rapport with his nephew, the slights suffered working for philistines or in the shadows of lesser minds were the sand in his soul that ground a pearl. Pinkard details them all with a truly 21st Century American voice, and in so doing makes the drama of Hegel's life present to today.
Pinkard is another great Georgetown Hegelian in the line of Wilfrid Desan, and in so doing weaves the dynamics of Hegel's life into the dialectics of his thinking. Pinkard presents a terrifically concise and to the point analysis of the immediate momentums initiated by Kant, Fichte, Schelling and others, casts them in as true a light as possible, and so opens an entire tradition, well regarded for its complexity for consideration by those trained in this tradition as well as by those wondering what all the fuss was about. Hegel was not an Ivory Tower elitist. His life formed the ground of his philosophy, and while he was also not an everyman, he is one in whom thinking took hold at any early age and kept calling him out into its light. Hegel meant that his writings have an impact. He was not interested in building flights of fancy that had no repercussions for culture, politics, spirituality. He distanced himself from traditions that would have ensnared him, compromised his boldness, and left him in a tradition, instead of clearing new ground.
Pinkard clearly shows how and why you have to deal with Hegel in Western Philosophy, just as much as you have to confront Plato, Aristotle, Kant. Nothing was the same after Hegel. History, psychoanalysis, culture, politics were all forever changed. His was an original voice, and the call, once heard, altered everything.
I keep returning to the point that this is a great read. And it is! So novice or enthusiast, you'll find this a book you'll return to often. This should be mandatory reading for anyone pursuing a higher education. The lessons of the life as well as the philosophy produced deserve thoughtful consideration.

brilliant
It would be difficult to justify a biography of a philosophy as being essential: if you want to understand a philosopher you should read their works instead. But Pinkard manages to wage an astonishingly battle on two fronts: first, elaborating on his philosophical development with a view towards prominent influences and second, foisting off common misconceptions about Hegel.

So, for part one. Hegel is difficult. It was, as I learned, his distinguishing mark in early years: "more obscure than Fichte!" was something like a slogan. Pinkard does a marvellous job of showing the diversity and complexity of Hegel's experience (the chapters on his university friendship with Schelling and Hoderlin are especially absorbing) and pulling out some of the more unexpected sources of his thought. (Adam Smith and Gibbon and the New Testament, for example.) Ever since Dilthey more attention has been payed to Hegel's early work and for good reason. Moving from this account Pinkard gives excellent insights into the genesis and exposition of Hegel's notoriously difficult "system." Having been absoloutely dumbfounded by Hegel in the past I think this book is the best possible introduction to what Hegel is up to in his Philosophical work. Pinkard in addition to being keen has some serious philosophical chops so he brings out some aspects of Hegel that get overlooked.

As for the second front Pinkard does a great job of countering some of the more cartoonish and absurd pictures of Hegel: the pioneer of German nationalism, the doddering obscurantist, the proto-fascist conservative. Pinkard does a good job showing how the most common images of hegel are thorough characters whose longevity has more to do with the fact that few people actually read or know much about Hegel. I particularly liked the way Hegel's complex political commitments were mapped out and how the more intimate aspects of Hegel the person (his addiction to whist, his love of coffee) were brought out.

I am given to understand that Hegel scholarship is experiencing something of a revival these days, and by my account Pinkard's biography should be at the forefront of any movement. He deserves a great deal of credit for producing a skillfull, well-written and insightful work on an extremely difficult thinker.

Logical Concupiscence and the Flight from the Unconscious
Hegel's philosophical perspective digs deeply into the rhythms of the real, expressing an omnivorous quality that is remarkable for both its sheer beauty and its conceptual power. Whether or not he solved the knotty issues bequeathed to him by Kant concerning the structure and limits of consciousness (I go back and forth on this issue), he certainly probed into the ways in which self-consciousness shapes itself as entwined with history and the self-alienated realms of nature. For me, he is the model of what philosophical query should be. Such ramified query must be couragous, unrelenting, bound by what gives itself over to self-consciousness to live-through, and sensitive to the generic powers of language. In Terry Pinkard's biography we find such a Hegel. He is presented within the context of an unrelenting series of negations that push against his inner philosophical drive. We learn a great deal about how he sharpened his political awareness, both in terms of the French Revolution and its aftermath, and in terms of the always shifting realm of academic politics (as embedded in German State politics). What I especially appreciate is Pinkard's presentation of how Hegel came to know of his Stuttgart provincialism and how he overcame much of it--in particular, his Lutheran distaste for Catholicism. Pinkard pushes us past the normal left-wing vs. right-wing readings of the late Hegel by showing that both aspects were fully operative, perhaps for different reasons, and that his views on Christianity were not career enhancing expressions of Prussian sanctioned Lutheran conservativism. For example, Hegel rejected any hint of biblical literalism, an immortal personal soul, a literal reading of creation, and the notion of a personal god "begetting a son"(p. 589). It is clear from Pinkard's reading that Hegel had a strong, if feared and abjected by him, impulse toward creating a world religion (much like his despised colleague Schleiermacher). In short, Hegel's pro-Napoleonic and emancipatory tendencies remained strong until the end. A psychoanalyst would ask: what drove Hegel toward his pan-logicism? My sense is that he deeply feared madness (consider the dementias of Holderlin and Hegel's sister) and that he sensed the possibility of disintegration within himself (as argued by Alan Olson in his "Hegel and the Spirit," Princeton 1992). His materialized and thickened Wissenschaft of logic provided him with a bulwark against the unconscious (as it was presented by his friend/enemy Schelling in 1808 with his concept of das Regellose--the unruly ground). He likewise rejected Egyptian art because it merely evoked the "measureless," unlike the art of the classical Greeks that found measure (and hence, safety). Yet his desire to devour the world, perhaps motivated by his flight from the unruly unconscious, was the root source for his unsurpassed series of philosophical productions. Pinkard has a muted sense of this divide in Hegel and shows it operating, I think, in Hegel's ambivalence about the Romantic flights of some of his friends. Pinkard has done something quite impressive with this work and many of us now have a much more compelling picture of the fragmented wholeness of Hegel. We see a man on the margins who produced great works which were initially surrounded by silence. We see a justly ambitiuous thinker who had to push against the wall of mediocrity around him to gain contact with the powers who could free him from lowly high school teaching and newspaper work so that he could enter the world of the university. And we see a man who, unlike Kant, reveled in the delights of physical embodiment and the material conditions of the world. Above all, Hegel's work shines through as his profound whole-making answer to his and the world's fragmentary features. Unlike most, his flight from the unruly ground bore positive fruits, even if he left much of the unconscious of nature and the self to be explored by others.

Hegel the human being
The idea of an 800-page book as an easy introduction to Hegel sounds like a morbid joke guaranteed to send any student running for Cliff's Notes or a class change. Pinkard, who teaches at an Eastern university, has produced a very readable and meticulously researched account of Hegel's life, plus 4 chapters of a very basic explanation of his philosophy - if this isn't quite "Hegel for Dummies", it's as close as you're going to get. In contrast to the complex and obscure Hegel (even Germans have trouble with Hegel), Pinkard's own writing is clear, straightforward, free from jargon, and well-organized. Hegel as a person has always tended to disappear into the great systems of his own intellect. Pinkard successfully retrieves the man behind the thought, giving us a much more human Hegel, who enjoyed playing whist, dressing up for costume balls, and eating Christmas cookies. His life is covered in chronological fashion, with considerable attention paid to the earlier years. Particularly interesting and important, however, are the last ten years of his life in Berlin. How did it happen that Hegel, who was born in Stuttgart, enthusiastically supported Napoleon, drank a toast every year on the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille, and who had never even visited Berlin until he was offered a job there, became in that short time a public figure and came to be viewed (as he often still is) as the leading apologist for - or theorist of - the Prussian state? Pinkard, whose previous books include a biography of Varnhagen Von Ense, is thoroughly at home in the time period, and offers us an striking view of the issues and infighting.

Those who have always wanted to know more about Hegel, but didn't know where to begin, and those who are studying him for a required course, should start with this book; and even old radicals who cut their eyeteeth on dialectic should find a few fresh insights.

An Excellent Biography
I was afraid that this biography would be as oscure as the infamous oscure prose of the Hegel himself. What a relief!. As a layman that likes to delve into philosophy I found this book extremely useful not only in understanding Hegel the man, but also in understanding his ideas. Pinkard succeeds in putting Hegel in the context of the turbulent political times and in the exciting cultural milieu prevalent in "Germany" at the time when philosophy flourished like it hadn't for centuries.

Hegel's single minded persuit of his career and of his own "Bildung" are described in highly readable fashion. As a bonus we also get a glimpse at the petty infighting among the pleiad of philosophical "stars" of the time. Probably at no other moment in human history since the glory days of Greece so many great thinkers where alive and interacting. The cast of characters includes Kant, Fichte, Schlegel, Schilling, Jacobi, Hamman, Holderlin and Goethe himself, with a special guest appearances by Schopenhauer and Marx.

If you are interested in the history of thought, you can't miss this book. ... Read more

Book Description

Hans-Georg Gadamer (1900-2002) was one of the greatest philosophers of our era. He was also at the center of some of the century’s darkest, most complex historical events, for he chose to remain in his native Germany in the 1930s, neither supporting Hitler nor actively opposing him, but negotiating instead an "unpolitical" position that allowed him to continue his philosophical work. In this magisterial book, Jean Grondin appraises Gadamer’s life and achievement. Drawing on countless interviews with Gadamer and his contemporaries, Gadamer’s personal correspondence, and extensive archival research, Grondin traces Gadamer’s life as an academician and the development of his ideas, placing them in the context of his times. He sheds light on the genesis and accomplishment of Gadamer’s major opus, Truth and Method, the bible of modern-day hermeneutics. And he addresses the question of Gadamer’s attitude and actions amid the catastrophe of Nazi Germany, painting a balanced portrait of a scholar who tried to preserve German culture and tradition in the face of an invasive menace. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Truth And Tedium!
The author of this thick biography, Jean Grondin, has always been one of the most astute and informed commentators on the subject of philosophical hermeneutics.

Prospective readers need not be put off by this volume's bulk (478 pages) since almost 140 pages are devoted to scholarly apparatus which most of us will ignore. That leaves only 338 pages of actual text to read (plus a few pages of pictures to enjoy). In this era of bloated biographies, we can be thankful for Professor Grondin's restraint. The average intelligent reader will probably find herself skimming chapters 2 - 5 (Gadamer's ancestry and youth) and chapters 10 - 12 (academic politics in the mid-twentieth century) thereby shortening this book by an additional 115 pages. That leaves about 200 pages of interesting reading about Gadamer, Heidegger, Nazis, poets, Habermas, Derrida, Plato, phenomenology, human finitude, etc.

Not surprisingly, Professor Grondin does a fine job of sorting out the influences of others in the formation of Gadamer's conception of hermeneutics and in communicating the gist of his major work, TRUTH AND METHOD. Unfortunately, Grondin never gets around to telling us much about his subject's life-long enthusiasm for the arts (Why did Gadamer love Rilke's poetry? What visual artists was Gadamer excited about?).

In short, this is a good biography of an important twentieth century philosopher, but not a great one (for a great one order Ray Monk's WITTGENSTEIN : THE DUTY OF GENIUS). ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Excellent Intellectual Biography
This is an excellent and dispassionate biography of Heidegger's career. This is mainly an intellectual biography with a minimum of personal detail presented. Safranski does a superb job of explicating Heidegger's thought and provides concise, insightful summaries of Heidegger's intellectual milieu. Heidegger emerges as a man of remarkable talent and ambition. His goal was nothing less than a reformulation of philosophy on radically new bases. He set out to destroy the metaphysics of Kant, Descartes, Aristotle and saw himself as the equal of Plato. He succeeded to a great extent though at the cost of greatly narrowing the scope of philosophic inquiry and as Safranski demonstrates, he did not produce positive results in the sense of the metaphysics of his chosen targets. Safranski deals very well with Heidegger's notorious period of enthusiasm for Nazism. He demonstrates that Heidegger's often fervent support for Hitler grew directly from Heidegger's philosophical preoccupations of the late 20s and early 30s. Safranski shows as well that Heidegger dropped Nazism because the Nazis were insufficiently revolutionary for Heidegger. Heidegger made no more forays into public life but spent the remainder of his career as a philosophical oracle. This biography is more than a good introduction to Heidegger's thought, it is a real contribution to the intellectual history of the 20th century.

Fascinating intellectual biography
Safranski's book makes an excellent case for the idea of an intellectual biography. It demonstrates that something material is left out when we consider a thinker's work entirely outside the life and context that produced it. For instance, Safranski's account allows one to discern the peculiarly performative aspect of this philosophy. Heidegger is revealed as a thinker who early on was quite conscious both of his great ambitions and of precisely what--in the feverish intellectual climate of the Weimar republic--was needed to fulfill them. Thus the overwhelming success of Being and Time upon its publication can be appreciated as not only a philosophic achievement, but also as a coup of intellectual self-promotion.

Another virtue of the work is the detached, and at times bemused distance Safranski adopts toward his subject. Given the gravity of the issues at stake, one might object that detachment is hardly called for; yet Safranski's relative coolness permits the damning facts to speak for themselves with that much more force. And none does so more loudly than the matter-of-fact, almost inevitable way in which Heidegger embraced National Socialism. Behind the grotesque intellectual irresponsibility of someone who must have known better we can make out--disturbingly--only a diffuse, tepid banality.

In order for this shock to hit home, Safranski must of course first convince us of Heidegger's genius, and he does not disappoint here. The chapter on Being and Time alone makes the book worth buying. Unlike other English-language expositions--especially some highly sympathetic ones--the work never produces the disagreable feeling that Heidegger's words are being "translated" for our consumption. Instead they are allowed to retain that degree of opacity which is probably so essential to their influence and evocativeness. Yet the quality of Safranski's overall exposition is such that, at those times when he chides his subject for hyperbole or obscurantism, one never feels that he i! s motivated by the impatience of Heidegger's usual no-nonsense, positivist critics.

The name Heidegger has apparently always generated strong feelings. Safranski's relatively detached approach ("balanced" is not quite the word I would use) has as one of its beneficial effects a subtle kind of displacement. It allows us to see that it is ultimately not Heidegger that is most at stake, but the nature of philosophy itself. Heidegger's thought freed from its historical and political entanglements may well be less objectionable, but also much less interesting in terms of the (ultimately philosophical) aporias they pose for his chosen discipline.

F. Gonzalez

How to begin.....
There are a lot of reasons why I was interested in picking this book up: my mentor at Georgetown, Wilfrid Desan, stressed how important it was to know the life of a philosopher, even the likes of Quine, because philosophy is ever and always about one's life. In the case of Heidegger, the mysteries of this man, the profound impact of his work on the course of 20th century thinking, the controversies of his politics all left me wondering how to get a grip on this man.
This book is not for beginners. I've spent my undergraduate and graduate years studying Heidegger. Like a moth to the flame, and it consumed me in every regard. His books have totally spun me inside out, shook me to my soul, sent me off into Asian thought. If ever there was a Dasein thrown, yers trewly is it. How to begin to come to terms with this writer?
Safranski does an absolutely brilliant job at delineating the strands of thinking leading up to the advent of phenomenology. But, as I say, this isn't for the novice or the casual reader. This is disciplined, committed writing in service of Thinking itself. There are no two ways about it, Heidegger erupted into the Twentieth Century. There seemed to be a sense among his teachers that this was an extraordinary thinker. As he gains the acceptance and posts of influence in German university life, he gains his confidence and from the point of BEING AND TIME onward, nothing, absolutely nothing will ever be the same.
This book documents the transitions remarkably and with great clarity.
Of course, one of the things that troubled me the most in my undergraduate days was the prospect of Heidegger's anti-Semitism and his political allegance to the Nazis in the early days of their rise to power, all the while entering into a passionate romance with Hannah Arendt. The book does not hide or apologize for Heidegger. But it seems clear that it is not real clear just how anti-Semitic he was. He quite directly states to Arendt that he finds his Jewish students annoying, and he somewhat buys into the supremecy of the German state espoused by the 1920's and early 30's Nazis. And he very definitely benefits from their appointments. Yet, he witholds. His wife does not. She is clearly and vehemently disgusted by Jewish people. I'm sure that her husband's affair with Arendt only added fuel to that fire. Yet Heidegger does not seem to buy the whole program. On the other hand, he does little or nothing to help Arendt get out of Germany, and nothing at all to save Edith Stein, his colleague from their days with Husserl, who had become a Catholic nun, was murdered at Auchwitz and has since been canonized. Nor is he willing to give a full and clear account of himself in the trials after the war. I am as puzzled now as I have always been. Was this incredible thinker also so filled with narrow mindedness that he could watch a people get exterminated because some of his students were annoying him?
And as his thought began to walk more Buddhist paths, how did he resolve this great beginning of thinkng with the conflicts in his life? Those questions are not answered. Still in all, this book is a remarkable achievement. I could go on about so many other aspects, but I'll leave it at this: this is a book about a man's beginning, about being thrown fully consciously into the ground of thinking, and it uncovers what he found in the clearing with great insight.

The gale that blows through Heidegger...
The epigram at the front of this brisk and efficient biography of Heidegger opens with an epigram from Arendt, 'The gale that blows through Heidegger...is not of our century...'. This is true, and evocative of the mysteries of philosophic history and origins, and yet the observation poignantly reveals the mystique that swept through the culture of the times and brought too many to a fool's ruin, among them students of Heidegger. One reviews the question ad infinitum reluctant to pass judgement on a philosophic genius, and yet the facts of the history show just this, a long grace period, viz. the postwar French devotion to this philosophy, now followed by a renewed offensive at the harsh reality of the facts of the case, and the difficulty of separating any longer the philosopher in politics from his philosophy. Hellishness beckons.
This biography is very dry, neat, but includes the assessement of the case in the light of the work of Ott and Farias. Much was clear even before the rectorship speech, the influence of Junger, Spengler, then one gets unlucky, if one is mesmerized.
How can one judge? Is there a choice? One looks at the wreckage in a hurricane and moves on.

A brilliant analysis of intellectual hubris
Any philosophy student who was had to wade painstakingly through the dry, abstract prose of 'Being and Time' will greatly appreciate Safranski's overall lucid explication of Heidegger's thought. Exhaustively researched and well-documented, with copious excerpts from lectures, correspondence and personal accounts, Safranski chronicles Heideggar's break with Catholicism, rise to academic stardom and relationship with contemporary philosophical scholars including Karl Jaspers, Max Scheler, Edmund Husserl, and Hannah Arendt.

When I initially studied Heidegger in college it was with great suprise and disappointment that I learned about his involvement in the Third Reich. Safranski's deft handling and elucidation of this controversial issue will be of interest to anyone who has pondered the reasons behind Heidegger's intellectual capitulation. According to Safranski:

'We are faced with a Heidegger who is woven into his own dream of a history of being, and his movements on the political state are those of a philosophical dreamer. In a late letter he would concede to Jaspers that he had dreamed "politically" and therefore had been mistaken. But that he was politically mistaken because he had dreamed "philosophically" -- that he would never admit, because as a philosopher who wished to discover the essence of historical time he was bound to defend -- even to himself -- his philosophical interpretative competence for what was happening in political history.' [p. 234]

The British historian Paul Johnson once said "The worst of all despotisms is the heartless tyranny of ideas," and the chief lesson humanity can learn from the twentieth century is to beware of intellectuals. Heideggar's involvement in National Socialism illustrates the danger of a mind enslaved by intellectual hubris, and should remind today's scholars to conduct themselves with care and humility.

Incidentally, the book touches upon the Nazi attempt to enlist Nietzschean philosophy as a resource for propaganda. Given Nietzsche's popular depication as an anti-semite, it was a suprise to learn that Nietzsche actually came under heavy criticism by Nazi philosophers, one of whom, Arthur Drews, went so far as to describe him as an "enemy of everything German", an out an out individualist whose philosophy was completely antithetical to the National Socialist principle that the common good comes before personal advantage.

Drews' lament that "most people today who make statements about Nietzsche are only picking the 'raisins' out of the cake of his 'philosophy' and, given his aphoristic way of writing, have no clear idea at all about the context of his thoughts" echoes Walter Kaufman in 'Nietzsche: Philosopher, Psychologist, AntiChrist'. Of course, it was only by this very method that the Nazis were able to enlist Nietzsche as a resource in their propaganda.

Perhaps Safranski will have more to say on this matter in 'Nietzsche: A Philosophical Biography' (which I am currently reading). Meanwhile, I heartily recommend 'Between Good and Evil' to anybody interested in Heidegger. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Wonderful !!!
What a wonderful book!! Ricoeur talks about his life, his journey through philosophy, his thoughts, feelings and much more. He talks about his encounters with some of our centuries great philosophers, such as Heidegger, Jaspers, Marcel and Gadamer. From his childhood to his experience as a prisioner during W.W.II; talks about his teaching years in both Europe and USA (he makes an excelent analysis of the two cultures). A must read for anyone interested in philosophy, ethics, history, phenomenology, psychanalysis, religion, art, education, politics, european and american culture. A great introduction to his work and life. Very pleasant book. I highly recomend it!! ... Read more

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Reviews (1)

A walk to remember!
After reading 5 of his books now, I'm not sure there's much that Jacques Barzun can't do. Honestly, I, like most people, think they understand William James and I, like most people, found out that I was further from him than I thought. In an engaging thrill of a book, Barzun explains James- dare I say it- better than James explained James. Of course, WIlliam James, who, when pragmatism is differentiated from pragmaticism, pioneered a completely new system of thought. As such, he did not always express himself well. His "Pragmatism" befuddled more people than not and "The Meaning of Truth," meant as a clarification, confused those not already scratching their heads. In the end, James fell by the philosophical wayside until Barzun dusted our friend off and re-introduced us.

Barzun explains James' pragmatism from the ground up, so to speak. He starts with "The Principles of Psychology," which is really one of the best written pieces of American non-fiction on the planet and James' philosophical starting point. Next, he goes into "Pragmatism" and "The Meaning of Truth" taking much of the ambiguity out of a philosophy already difficult to the unaccustomed. Next, "A Pluralistic Universe" gets a summation along with "Varieties of Religious Experience." I hope I am not leaving you with the imppression that Barzun is doing any of this in an academically dry, sardonic manner. Nope. Just like James, his words bubble with excitement and humongous energy.

Honestly, before I started this book, I wasn't the biggest fan of William James and after, I'm still not the biggest fan of Wiliam James (preferring John Dewey much more). Still, I've come away the better for getting to know Barzun and James; i've read a great book and learned a bit more about a great (if tragic) philosophy. Also, read "The Metaphysical Club" and James' own "Principles of Psychology." ... Read more

Reviews (43)

I never thought philosophy could be so much fun!!!
I have read the best book on the history of philosophy that one could ever imagine...and then, some! Will Durant makes the greatest Western thinkers come alive and breaths their thoughts into one's head as he writes down the pages of this lively tale. It is on a par with the best novels I've ever read, complete with excitement and drama on every page. In college, I always wondered why anyone would want to study, much less, major in such a "boring and unintelligible" subject as philosophy. Now, thirty-five years later, I wish that I had read this book before entering college. It may have changed the course of my life's work. As it is, being 55 years old, now, it has changed whatever course is left to me. I can never look on the world in the same way I did before reading this wonderful book. Now, I have actually picked up books about and by Spinoza, Aristotle, Plato, Voltaire, and even Kant and Hegel, and have had the courage to read from their actual musings. I recommend this book to anyone who has ever looked up at the hundreds of billions of stars at night and wondered, "What part do I play in this magnificent and vast universe?" Will Durant did what no one else has ever done for me...he made philosophy intelligible!

Will ignite within you a love for philosophy
Among laymen, philosophy is, perhaps, the most oft-berated and easily-dismissed subject of them all, surpassing even esoteric science and higher mathematics in that regard. This is unfortunate because, as anyone who has studied it knows, philosophy is a beautiful and perpetually-interesting subject ripe for years of study and enjoyment. The negative light in which philosophy is often portrayed is primarily due to its inherently esoteric nature and specialized nomenclature that scares off many would-be pundits and leaves many a common man shaking their proverbial head. The solution, then, is to introduce this interesting and beautiful subject to the masses in a way that portrays it as interesting, practical, and vital without being overly complex or intimidating. Will Durant's The Story of Philosophy does just that. Starting with Socrates (through Plato) and going through the late 19th century European and American philosophers (wrapping up with John Dewey), the book hits most of the high points of Western philosophy while also being, inevitably, incomplete. Most of the truly major philosophical figures (Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Bacon, Spinoza, Kant, Nietzsche, etc.) are covered adequately, and a handful of lesser-known names are gone over as well. In addition to summarizing the major points of the various philosophies, the book does one other thing that I see as very important: it also gives a short biography of the philosopher in question, as well as general background information and a note on the times in which they wrote. This is important because it allows the reader not only to see the philosophy they created, but WHY they created it, and how the circumstances of their time and place contributed to it. This is very important, especially in those not-infrequent cases where the philosophy in question seems absurd or ridicilous today. I agree with other reviewers in that the book's strongest chapter is the one on Voltaire. Although not even considered a true philosopher by some, Durant shows how important Voltaire was to the philosophical traditon as a compiler of knowledge and as an influence on virtually everyone who lived during his time and everyone who came after. The book is very well-written -- scholarly and erudite, while also levied with a subtle sense of humor and an endering educational slant. Another strength of the book is that it leaves out aspects of philosophy that are either tangental or would scare off the average reader -- i.e., epistemology, which the author harbors an obvious disdain for. Kant's philosophy, though its high points are covered adequately, is, as the author himself admits, somewhat glazed over -- but certainly it is covered adequately enough for the average reader (books several times the size of this one have been written critiquing just one small aspect of Kant's critique.) The book, however, does have its limitations, which the average reader will not care too much about, if they even notice them at all, but which a scholar or professor of philosophy would decry. First off, the book skips pretty lightly over some major philosophical figures (Descarte, Hume, Locke, Rosseau.) Also, since it was originally written in the 1920's and then later updated in the early 60's, it misses some more contemporary philosophers and philosophical movements (notably, Sarte and the existential movement.) Still, this is a very practical and useful introductory text to philosophy that is time-honored and hard-to-beat. I reccommend it to you if you have even a passing interest in the subject. If you read it and enjoy it, you will be forever a lover of philosophy. In my own personal case, it introduced me to two philosophers with which I was only vaguely familar (Spinoza and Schopenhauer), and that I now plan on reading more of. Hopefully it will do the same for you.

Best introduction to Philosophy
Durant, in this masterpiece, explains the history of Philosophy from before Socrates all the way to Santayana, James and Dewey. His combination of wit, insights into life and encyclopedic knowledge of the subject makes this book a page turner.

He may have popularized philosophy but he hasn't lost the essence as some other authors have done by watering down the messages. It's still there in its original form but he doesn't use pretentious prose to appear learned. You know he knows what he is talking about without him having to resort to the 'specialized' language that other authors speaking about philosophy turn to.

This is one great expositor, and he will get you interested in the subject if you were only lukewarm about it before. He explains how a Philosopher develops; he describes the personal influences as well as the societal. You understand by reading him that philosophies do not appear in a vacuum, they are an answer to previous questions and philosophies and the problems most pressing at that time. So you have Durant explaining Schopenhauer's lack of affinity with women and those around him and his almost schizophrenic fear having an effect on his philosophical views. You also understand why Kant wrote the Critique of pure reason and who it was in response to. I found it hard to understand Kant before, but Durant has made his main ideas so lucid that I will now attempt to read _The critique of pure reason._

You also get to know the philosophers in a personal way; you feel with Plato the sorrow of losing a master, who goes stoically to his death because he believes in his philosophy. Only a great author can make you feel for someone who lived thousands of years ago.

I must make a note to the Christian reader. Many of the philosophers discussed by Durant were Atheists and many of their philosophies were a reaction to the dominant Christian theology at the time. I found though that some of these philosophers were not attacking Christianity per se, but the organized religion that had called itself by that name. I read this book keeping in mind that these philosophies, although very illuminating, are man made and fallible. I think if you are strong in your faith, you can read this book and take some of their bitter attacks against Christianity as their personal views about the subject, without worrying yourself too much. The greatest thing this book did is introduce Philosophy to me in a straightforward way. I would highly recommend this book to anyone with even a fleeting interest in Philosophy. The writing is so plain and clear that the only things that may be difficult to understand are the philosophies themselves rather than the prose. Good luck to you.

Great reading.!!!
This is such a great book...not just for people interested in Philosophy but also in general History...It is interesting ,FUN ...really a pageturner.....Im not finished reading it yet , but I am really enjoing it...and learning a lot!!!!.

A MAGNUM OPUS
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The author, U.S. historian and Pulitzer Prize winner Will Durant (1885-1981) has written an exceptional book for any reader who wants to survey the history and development of philosophical ideas of the Western world. However, this book is just not your typical survey! It is also a stimulating introduction and enthusiastic invitation to philosophy of the Western world.

This book concerns itself with fifteen influential Western world philosophers. Each of them has their own chapter title. These thinkers are as follows:

(i) Spinoza, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Bergson*(ii) Croce* (iii) Plato, Aristotle, Kant, James^(iv) Spencer, Dewey^, Russell* and (v) Bacon, Voltaire, Satayana^. (The three *asterisked* names are under the chapter title "Contemporary European Philosophers" and the three ^arrowed^ names are under the chapter title "Contemporary American Philosopers.")

Other Western philosophers that are not as thoroughly discussed have their own sections (or sections in collaboration with others) within these chapters. These include Socrates, Locke, Rousseau, Hegel, and Comte. As well, yet other Western philosopers are briefly mentioned in the main body of the book.

Why do I call this book a Magnum Opus (that is, a Masterpiece)? There are several reasons for this:

(1) The INTRODUCTION. Even though it is brief, it is written brilliantly and is a treat to read. The reader, especially the first-time reader of Durant's works (such as myself) gets an idea at how skillful Durant is with words. I even recognized some disguised Shakespeare!

(2) The BOOK'S CONTENT. This book is not just about philosophies but also about philosophers and the time in which they lived.

The author combines his witty and dazzling narrative with excerpts from each philosopher's works so as to weave an interesting story.

The author not only quotes the philosophers throughout but he directs the reader to the actual texts from which the quotations came. As a result, when I finished reading the book, I had a desire to read more.

(3) A USEFUL CHART (or Table). It is entitled "Table of Philosophic Affiliations" and is located near the beginning of the third chapter. It indicates the main lines of philosophical development in Europe and America by including the names and lifespans of almost fifty philosophers (including the ones detailed in the book) of the Western world.

This chart divides the fifty philosophers into five groups where each member of the group practices a similar philosophy. The reader can also tell at a glance the name of the previous philosopher or philosophers that influenced a future philosopher (and vice versa). It also shows how a philosopher in one group can be influenced by a philosopher in another group.

As an example, the groupings of the fifteen philosophers in paragraph three (above) of this review are based on this chart.

(4) A HELPUL GLOSSARY. Philosophy can introduce many new, unfamiliar words. To aid in deciphering these words, there is a small glossary found at the back of the book.

There are two irritations I have with my paperback edition. It should be emphasized that these are NOT the author's fault and they do NOT interfere with the story flow of the book.

First, on the front cover of the book there is an omission. It is that the word "Western" should appear in the book's subtitle. It should thus read "The Lives and Opinions of the WESTERN World's Greatest Philosophers."

Second, the important chart of (3) above is very easy to miss. It should be indicated in the Table of Contents that it even exists. As well, it would be easier to refer too if it was placed at the back of the book with the glossary.

In conclusion, if you want a brilliant and concise account of the lives and ideas of the greatest philosophers of the Western world that's written with wit for the nonspecialist, then get this profound book!!

*************************************************************** ... Read more

Amazon.com

William and Henry James are well known for their master works ofpsychology and fiction respectively, but the celebrated brothers amassed an impressivecollection of letters to one another as well. Through their copious correspondence,readers are privy to the private thoughts of these intellectual heavyweights. Sure, theirletters expound on philosophical, political, social, and cultural subjects with imaginationand wit, but more often they focus on the quotidian: health, news of friends and family,mutual praise, advice, complaints, and good-natured ribbing. What makes these 216epistles remarkable is the quality of writing and the keen observations made by thebrothers James during their wide and frequent travels across America and Europe. Theletters contained in William and Henry James: Selected Letters span more than50 years and are infused with the history and events of their era. This volume illuminateseach man's distinct personality and reveals the relationship the two crafted out of equalparts of criticism and support. ... Read more

Book Description

This biography of a first-century CE holy man has become one of the most widely discussed literary works of later antiquity. With an engaging style, Philostratus portrays a charismatic teacher and religious reformer from Tyana in Cappadocia (modern central Turkey) who travels across the known world, from the Atlantic to the Ganges. His miracles, which include extraordinary cures and mysterious disappearances, together with his apparent triumph over death, caused pagans to make Apollonius a rival to Jesus of Nazareth.

In a new two-volume Loeb Classical Library edition of Philostratus's third-century work, Christopher Jones provides a freshly edited Greek text and a stylish translation with full explanatory notes. Apollonius of Tyana is by far the longest biography that survives from antiquity. Jones in his Introduction asks how far it is history and how far fiction, and discusses its survival from Late Antiquity to modern times.

Book Description

Ecce Homo is an autobiography like no other. Deliberately provocative, Nietzsche subverts the conventions of the genre and pushes his philosophical positions to combative extremes, constructing a genius-hero whose life is a chronicle of the incessant struggle to overcome himself.Written in 1888, a few weeks before his descent into madness, the book sub-titled ""How One Becomes What One Is"" reviews all of Nietzsche's previous works so that we, his ""posthumous"" readers, can finally understand him on his own terms.He reaches final criticism of his many enemies--Richard Wagner, German nationalism, ""modern men"" in general--and above all Christianity, proclaiming himself the Antichrist. Ecce Homo is the summation of an extraordinary philosophical career, a last great testament to Nietzsche's will. ... Read more

Reviews (8)

Boring
I bought this book because I know that Nietzsche is considered one of the most important philosophers of all times and wanted to learn something about him. I tried before to read "Thus Spake Zarathustra" but it was very hard to understand anything, so I decided to buy his autobiography in the hope of finally learning something.
The book is hard to read, his ideas are not clear, but at least the book is thin so you can read it fast (one day is enough). Thanks god (oh, I forgot he is dead!)! I would not read it to the end if it were thicker.
The conclusion is: if you are not an expert in philosophy or had not attended to many lectures explaining Nietzsche, do not waste your time reading this book. Read the explanations of Nietzsche's thoughts by other authors and you will learn much more.

Celebrate Self and Life!
I first read Nietzsche's Ecce Homo in August 1988. I bought another copy in October 1989 to read again to decipher more of Nietzsche's wit. On the inside cover of the first reading I wrote, "The style and the language of the writings of Nietzsche are ingenius! He stands alone with honor and respect. Psychologically dangerous to one's health for its extravagant and eloquence of expressed ideas, it is nevertheless psychologically beneficial as an eye-opener to affirm SELF and celebrate LIFE!"

nietzsche's most bizarre book--and that's saying something
"ecce homo" is certainly the most, eh...'unusual' autobiography i've ever encountered, and has a fascination all its own, but i would take nietzsche to task for his constant criticism of scholars and those prefer to live in the imagination and language rather than in what he preferred to think of as 'reality. this kind of positivistic nonsense is what makes me prefer schopenhauer's philosophy to nietzsche's, in the end. its odd that a man with the sensitivity, perceptiveness and intelligence of nietzsche never seemed to realize that after awhile, the external world of people, things, egoism and power seeking simply becomes a tiresome bore. still, though, the concept of the dionysian is intriguing and the fiery, poetic quality of nietzsche's prose keeps the reader riveted to his unbelievably original thoughts and indispensable critique of christian beliefs and ascetic ideals.

the titles of the chapters are slightly amusing--"why i am so clever", "why i write such good books", "why i am a beginning". this isn't a question of not worrying about modesty, but one of impending insanity. its almost as though on some level nietzsche was aware that the end was near and that he needed to write something that expressed his heart and soul before he fell apart completely. one of the most stunning parts in the book are nietzsche's wholly accurate predictions for the twentieth century:"there will be wars such as mankind has never seen before." he said it with a certain delight, no doubt, but nonetheless, this man possessed the intuition and foresight of an almost mystical kind, although he would punch me in the mouth for saying that. he also admits some curious things about himself that contradict his professed philosophy more than slightly:"i know nothing of the 'heroic', i know nothing of 'will'. my being would rather say 'no' than 'yes'; in fact, it would rather say nothing at all." this, from the eternal yea sayer? "ecce homo" offers some curious insights into the actual psyche of the man who preached life affirmation with his more formal works.

How to Truly Write Autobiography...
"I possess a perfectly uncanny sensitivity of the instinct for cleanliness, so that I perceive physiologically, smell the proximity, or - what am I saying? - the innermost parts, the 'entrails', of every soul... I have in this sensitivity psychological antennae with which I touch and take hold of every secret: all the concealed dirt at the bottom of many a nature, perhaps conditioned by bad blood but whitewashed by education, is made known to me almost on first contact."

-- Friederich Nietzsche, Ecce Homo

Ecce Homo is not a book of philosophy. It is not, for that matter, a book that conforms to any conventional genre of literature to which one can relate from ordinary reading. Rather, it is an elaborate anamnesis, a haunting excursion into the strange world of a moral hygienist, written by one of the most peculiar, though no less intriguing, minds of modern European history.

Very much out of line with the spirit of autobiography, Nietzsche ridicules with remorseless cynicism the very idea of writing a book about oneself. He begins his chapters with such titles as, "Why I Am So Wise", "Why I Am So Clever", "Why I Write Such Good Books", and "Why I Am A Destiny". Such titles, so egregious and perverse, deride the sheer arrogance presupposed by the writing of autobiography. For, if we are to be honest with ourselves, autobiographies are little more than shameless excercises in self-indulgent egotism, written exclusively for the scandalous purpose of public consumption. At no point does Nietzsche exhibit the sort of false modesty with which autobiographers make a mockery of their readers. What is presented in this book is something quite different. The readership here is never assumed to be a general audience. Marketing played was given no consideration in the writing of this book. Nietzsche takes little care (none, in fact) not to offend the reader. He writes absolutely whatever springs to mind, laying bare in defiantly candid terms his essential line of thinking, more rightly described as his 'essential attitudes', esteeming everything pleasing to his instincts and lashing out with utmost violence against every conceivable source of putrefaction and disease - German culture, Christianity, modern industrialism, the obsessive 'scholar' and bibliophilic pedant, dispiriting weather, and even English cookery. Herein lies Nietzsche's famous declaration: "I am the anti-ass par excellence and therewith a world-historical monster - I am, in Greek and not only in Greek, the Anti-Christ..."

Ecce Homo follows no chronological order. It reads quite erratically, touching upon the most random points of concern (one might say fetishes) in Nietzsche's brief, but profound life. He elaborates with great passion upon his love of Wagnerian music, his intimate hatred for false 'idealism', and the destructive consequences of excessive rationalism. " 'Rationality against instinct. 'Rationality' at any price as dangerous, as a force undermining life!" He emphasizes endlessly the importance of intellectually and spiritually conducive surroundings, of "[s]electivity in nutriment; selectivity in climate and place", making it painfully clear that Germany was thoroughly godforsaken in this respect. The reader is given a refreshing sense of what is means to be cultured and civilized in Nietzsche's view. He reveals his love of Italian life, French cuisine, and Moorish architecture. He also has been described as having an extraordinary perception for diagnosing symptoms of social rot. Nearly all of Europe, with its embrace of industry and technology, was condemned by Nietzsche as being sick to the bone. Christianity is used as an unfailing example of what it means to be truly dirty in both body and mind. Surprisingly thrown into this wild mix of bitter damnation is alcohol, entirely shunned by Nietzsche for being an influence as criminal and destructive in its effects as Christianity itself: "Alcoholic drinks are no good for me; a glass of wine or beer a day is quite enough to make life for me a 'Vale of Tears'...To believe that wine 'makes cheerful' I would have to be a Christian, that is to say believe what for me is precisely an absurdity".

Of practical value and written in the most coherent fashion are the individual chapters devoted to each of Nietzsche's books. These chapters present a 'lightning tour' of his philosophy, giving concrete definition to his most celebrated ideas. The reader is given a taste of the elevated euphoria that went into the writing of the Gay Science. Nietzsche generously quotes from Thus Spake Zarathustra, highlighting its most graceful passages in which his lyrical talents shine forth in resplendent brilliance. In the chapter titled, "The Untimely Essays", Nietzsche offers his views of scientific management and modern industrialism, unveiling "what gnaws at and poisons life, in our way of carrying on science: life sick with this inhuman clockwork and mechanism, with the 'impersonality' of the worker, with the false economy of 'divison of labor' ". Such openly Marxist overtones belie all attempts to characterize Nietzsche as the unsuspecting prophet of fascism.

Nietzsche possessed, among other things, an exceptional gift for conveying seemingly simple ideas with a profound, hammering intensity. In these pages, one will encounter a uniquely superior command of language, in lines of unrivaled grace, eloquence, and passion, and laced with the sort of formidable literary power that will violently shake the ground beneath one. It is said that Ecce Homo is "one of the supreme masterpieces of German prose". I would go so far as to suggest that R.J. Hollingdale's translation of this magnanimous work is one of the supreme masterpieces of *English* prose.

"I can write in letters that make even the blind see." -- Nietzsche, The Anti-Christ

Portrait Of An Ubermensch
In Ecce Homo, Nietzsche, clocked in the overt convention of the critical autobiography, lashes out at the practice of divorcing art from action. He takes aim at the reification of the linguistic world, which he believes has grown at the expense of the pre-linguistic world and his quarrel is with those who use words to mediate their experiences in the world in order to deny their own heroic capabilities.

"Saying 'Yes' to life," says Nietzsche, "is its strangest and hardest problem; the will to life rejoicing over its inexhaustibility even in the sacrifice of its highest types--that is what I call Dionysian, that is what I understood as the bridge to the psychology of the tragic poet." This Dionysian status, he goes on to say, is not gained through "thumbing through books," but by suffering through experience and rejoicing in the vitality of living.

Nietzsche also writes, "In questions of decadence I am experienced." In this he intimates his own experience of life denial through words and his imagery compares intellectual endeavors with physical conditions, e.g. digestion.

"The German spirit," he says, "is an indigestion: it does not finish with anything." Nietzsche uses the human stomach as a metaphor of the reification of the linguistic world. The stomach digests food by breaking it down into its component parts, readily recognizable to physiology but having little to do with the original product.

An orange, after all is not just vitamin C. Furthermore, says Nietzsche, what the body cannot use is rejected as waste product. When disorders of the stomach occur, the body cannot distinguish between waste and nutrient and consequently it churns endlessly, causing distress to the entire organism. Nietzsche, himself, is not embarrassed by his experience of decadence but sees it as something which has given him a special sensitivity to the "signs of ascent and decline."

For Nietzsche, the world is a chaotic place, given order only by the imposition of human will. Humans, in this way, says Nietzsche, create something out of nothing. However, in the face of the "abyss," man creates and acts as if his creation is real, in such a manner as to allow himself the vital and joyous activity of affirming the very importance of his creation. The heroic figure then moves on towards greater acts of creation using each personal, willful creation as a stepping stone, not towards an ultimate goal, but towards other projects. Nietzsche tells us to beware of the organizing "idea" which "...leads back from side roads and wrong roads...as a means towards a whole." The endless road of "becoming" is traveled by a will which is excited and invigorated by its trip, enjoying its stops along the way, but which ultimately has no other purpose but to go further and further as the journey becomes more and more exhausting.

For Nietzsche, the battle is always emphasized over the goal. It is a simple matter, he tells us, to conquer that which is already beneath you. To move beyond that which is your equal is the real test of the will. This is the essential process of "overcoming" which leads one higher and higher, eventually reaching the experience of the "tragic." As the linguistic world becomes more and more complex, its position in relation to nothingness becomes more and more precarious. This situation threatens a fall of apocalyptic proportions, for it is necessary for the tragic aesthetic that there be a certain height to the descent. For Nietzsche, rejoicing in the sacrifice of the highest types is a key element in experiencing tragedy.

"...and whoever wants to be a creator in good and evil, must first be an annihilator and break values." Creation, according to Nietzsche presupposes the willingness to destroy. The order we impose upon the world is a constraint upon us when the time to overcome occurs, and at such times, the spirit of the Ubermensch is needed in order to decimate the linguistic constructs that we have come to depend upon. For original, creative activity to be allowed, there must be nothing available to plagiarize or react against. Nietzsche refers to this resignation in the face of the void as "Russian fatalism" which occurs when the individual no longer attempts to "...accept anything at all--to cease reacting altogether."

In the end, for Nietzsche, nobility of spirit is akin to a meniscus, relying on the tension created by contrasting nothingness with creation. It can tolerate very little unequal pressure; too much and it ruptures. And aesthetically pleasing life is to be sought in that in between area inaccessible to words or to action alone. Ironically, Nietzsche's severe philosophy seems to advocate a kind of moderation. For the truly heroic figure is valued for his ability to live a life in which he moderates the need for order with the desire for creative action. Standing between empowerment and dissolution, as he must, the hero, says Nietzsche, is as deserving of "songs of praise" as is any god. ... Read more

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Reviews (2)

A rare glimpse into the mind of a great 20th-century mystic
Have you ever wondered what it might be like to see inside the mind of a great psychic? To be able to access information about people and places that reaches far beyond the physical dimension? Edgar Cayce's biography, expertly compiled by a professional journalist and editor from Cayce's never-before-published autobiographical notes, a personal diary, and lecture records, allows us just such a rare glimpse. Cayce (1877-1945) is the world's best-documented psychic, with over 14,000 verbatim transcripts of 'readings' on topics ranging from health concerns, reincarnation, astrology, spiritual development, earth change predictions, and other metaphysical topics catalogued in the Library of the Association for Research Enlightenment in Virginia Beach, VA.

Edgar Cayce is also known as the "Father of Holistic Medicine," whose unorthodox naturopathic cures, while helping many regain their health who had been given up as hopeless by the medical establishment, once led to his arrest on grounds of practising medicine without a licence.

In "My Life As a Seer," we get to know the Edgar Cayce who struggled with self-doubts regarding his psychic gift, and with concerns about the impact which the information from his readings might have on those who sought his counsel. We meet Cayce the family man, a photographer by profession, whose deep faith sees him through a series of defeats, including the destruction by fire of his studio; the closure, for lack of funds, of the hospital he had spent years trying to build; an eviction from his home; and physical injuries suffered while being the target of a humiliating attempt to expose him as a fraud. Through it all, Cayce remained a sincere and humble man,who was motivated not by fame nor by riches (which eluded him all his life), but by an overwhelming desire to serve God and help his fellow human beings.

"My Life As a Seer," as grandson Charles Thomas Cayce says in the foreword, represents "the first account of Edgar Cayce's life told completely in his own words. He does not dwell on all of the personal aspects of his life, but focuses primarily on those experiences that marked him since childhood as decidedly different from anyone else in his world."

Reading this fascinating book is the closest most of us will come to talking with Edgar Cayce in this lifetime.

Ok, but I'd rather have it in paperback
Much of the Kirkus review was accurate, although, the point that New Agers will find little that resonates is probably the most compelling reason to buy this book. It isn't New Age mystical garbage---I wasn't levitating when I read this book.

Cayce is a fascinating character. Because of his deep faith, he wrestled with the concept of reincarnation and tries to reconcile a biblical explanation for what he experienced in the "life" readings. I found the final chapters of the book more interesting than much of the rest of the book. But it deserves better treatment overall than was given by Kirkus. ... Read more

Book Description

Graphics and text are combined to give a full overview of this philosopher. ... R