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Although Hannah Arendt is considered one of the major contributors to social and political thought in the twentieth century, this is the first general anthology of her writings. This volume includes selections from her major works, including The Origins of Totalitarianism, Between Past and Future, Men in Dark Times, The Jew as Pariah, and The Human Condition, as well as many shorter writings and letters. Sections include extracts from her work on fascism, Marxism, and totalitarianism; her treatment of work and labour; her writings on politics and ethics; and a section on truth and the role of the intellectual.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Peter Baehr has done a great service to keeping Hannah Arendt's work accessible to a wider audience. This collection is a superb primer for this broad and challenging thinker.
36 of 38 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For all that I disagree with much of Arendt's work, I admire her contributions greatly and feel she has been sorely undervalued by many people today. She had that rare and admirable quality of being able to express complex and meaningful ideas without resorting to jargonistic imcomprehensiblity.
This collection brings together the many elements of her thinking about political theory, contemporary politics, philosophy and history, together with examples of her writings about Jewishness. I was particularly impressed that this collection unearthed some rarities as well as chunks from her more established works.
I would say that this book is for both the newcommer and the established reader of Arendt. Baehr's introduction is comprehensive and clear enough, and the choice of extracts well thought-out. Section IV is an admirable accompaniment to 'The Human Condition', her most important and most difficult work.
This collection implicitly conveys to me that, despite outward appearances, Arendt's work has an internal unity that is continually seeking to find answers in the middle of a terrible and bloody century.
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6 reviews
60 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Superb introduction to a great mind.
8 Oct 2000
Format:Paperback
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was one of the great thinkers of the twentieth century. She was equally at home in philosophy, political theory, and history, and blended all three disciplines in her pursuit of integrity in political thought and action. This fine book is perhaps the single best place to begin to get to know her thought and work. The introduction is first-rate -- clear, accessible, yet intellectually rigorous, respectful of Arendt while critical. The choices of readings -- both complete and self-contained essays and extracts from larger books such as ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM, EICHMANN IN JERUSALEM, and ON REVOLUTION -- are excellent. The annotations don't get in the way and are of much aid to the reader. The bibliography of works by and about Arendt is excellent. All in all, this is a superb addition to the VIKING PORTABLE series.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
An excellent resource for both old and new readers of Arendt
20 Oct 2009
Format:Paperback
Although this volume intends to introduce Arendt to new readers, those familiar with her writings will find some choice morsels scattered among the excerpts from her better-known works. Of these, I particularly enjoyed her analysis of enforced segregation, her startling letter to Gershom Scholem (in which she responds to his criticisms of EICHMAN IN JERUSALEM), and her conception of a wartime (World War Two, that is) Jewish army. After reading these and other pieces, you will, I think, understand why so many hail her as a truly monumental figure: a scholar who was at home in journalism, a critic of totalitarianism who was no leftist, a supporter of Israel who did not hesitate to address its flaws, a political philosopher who balked at that label.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
great starting place to read one of the most brilliant thinkers of the 20th century!
26 Jun 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
i like most of the penguin classics. this book, which includes a sample of her letters, books, articles, and speeches, is very thoughtful. the introduction was, as the previous reviewer suggested, scholarly, respectful yet, at times, engaging. she is, indeed, a political - historian - philosopher, regardless of her own denials. astute observations at times, among the very finest i've ever read. but, then, there are other times in which she just seems to gloss over the premise, analyze the process, and reach fallacious conclusions because, perhaps, the premise never even occurred to her? i don't know. it's not consistent with the rest of her brilliant work. she seemed to start out in germany very strong willed but her tenacity seemed to peter out over the decades. maybe we're all like that, huh? i've never found any of her writings for which i would proffer anyting other than an A+. this work comes highly recommended for anyone with an interest in philosophy, political theory, history, jewish studies.
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