- Paperback: 288 pages
- Publisher: Yale University Press (5 Jan 2010)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0300159013
- ISBN-13: 978-0300159011
- Product Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.2 x 2.2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 625,312 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Talking with Sartre: Conversations and Debates
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Product Description
Product Description
What would it be like to be privy to the mind of one of the twentieth century's greatest thinkers? John Gerassi had just this opportunity; as a child, his mother and father were very close friends with Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, and the couple became for him like surrogate parents. Authorized by Sartre to write his biography, Gerassi conducted a long series of interviews between 1970 and 1974, which he has now edited to produce this revelatory and breathtaking portrait of one of the world's most famous intellectuals. Through the interviews, with both their informalities and their tensions, Sartre's greater complexities emerge. In particular, we see Sartre wrestling with the apparent contradiction between his views on freedom and the influence of social conditions on our choices and actions. We also gain insight into his perspectives on the Spanish Civil War, World War II, and the disintegration of colonialism. These conversations add an intimate dimension to Sartre's more abstract ideas. With remarkable rigour and intensity, they also provide a clear lens through which to view the major conflagrations of the last century.
About the Author
John Gerassi, currently professor of political science at Queens College, City University of New York, is the author of 'Jean-Paul Sartre: Hated Conscience of His Century'.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
Format:Paperback
Here are a few morsels taken from these interviews with the greatest thinker of the twentieth century:
Never felt guilty about anything ... slept in the same room as his mother till she betrayed him by remarrying ... substance abuser ... claimed to have escaped from POW camp, when in reality was liberated thanks to the influence of French fascist ... happy about the Nazi-Soviet pact ... supporter of USSR, Maoist China, Castro ... relaxed about political terror/bloodbaths in pursuit of the revolution ... defender of Kim Il Sung and the North Korean regime ... his war-time writing includes eulogy of German officers giving their seat to old ladies in the metro, and condemnation of allied airmen causing civilian casualties ... this winner of the Nobel prize for Literature describes his enemies as merde, foutu salaud, porc, crétin, con, imbécile ...
Read this book for the laughs; then give thanks that the left-wing consensus of that far-off age has long since crumbled. Whatever the technical accomplishment of his philosophical work, whatever his literary achievements (and I love The Age of Reason and Les Mains Sales), Sartre's personal moral qualities are straight from the sewer.
Never felt guilty about anything ... slept in the same room as his mother till she betrayed him by remarrying ... substance abuser ... claimed to have escaped from POW camp, when in reality was liberated thanks to the influence of French fascist ... happy about the Nazi-Soviet pact ... supporter of USSR, Maoist China, Castro ... relaxed about political terror/bloodbaths in pursuit of the revolution ... defender of Kim Il Sung and the North Korean regime ... his war-time writing includes eulogy of German officers giving their seat to old ladies in the metro, and condemnation of allied airmen causing civilian casualties ... this winner of the Nobel prize for Literature describes his enemies as merde, foutu salaud, porc, crétin, con, imbécile ...
Read this book for the laughs; then give thanks that the left-wing consensus of that far-off age has long since crumbled. Whatever the technical accomplishment of his philosophical work, whatever his literary achievements (and I love The Age of Reason and Les Mains Sales), Sartre's personal moral qualities are straight from the sewer.
Format:Paperback
If you're interested in Sartre and/or existentialism you will absolutely love this book. It is a series of interviews which John Gerassi (a political science professor at the City University of New York) conducted with Sartre between 1970 and 1974 when Gerassi was researching for his biography on Sartre.
Gerassi was part of the Sartre/Beauvoir 'family'. As a child, his mother and father were very close friends with Sartre and Beauvoir, and the couple were like surrogate parents for Gerassi. As a consequence, Sartre really opens up in these series of interviews with Gerassi. We listen to Sartre talk about his troubled childhood and teenage years; we see Sartre wrestling with the apparent contradiction between his views on existensialism/freedom and his communist beliefs; we read about his thoughts on the Spanish Civil War (Sartre believed it was a lost cause but Gerassi's father insisted on fighting Franco because 'one must fight fascism because it's fascist'); we learn about Sartre's feelings on the May 1968 riots in Paris - and why he thinks they failed to become a full-blown revolution; we read his thoughts on America and the evils of capitalism. The list of things Sartre discusses is just too long for this review - but they are all utterly gripping.
My favourite Sartre quote from these interviews is this one: 'to capitalists, liberty means to say what you want, but never do.'
How true.
We can express our thoughts in writing and so on, but as soon as we go that step further and hold a protest - just watch the police intimidate or, worse, crush you.
I agree with Gerassi: Sartre was the twentieth century's greatest prophet.
Highly recommended.
Gerassi was part of the Sartre/Beauvoir 'family'. As a child, his mother and father were very close friends with Sartre and Beauvoir, and the couple were like surrogate parents for Gerassi. As a consequence, Sartre really opens up in these series of interviews with Gerassi. We listen to Sartre talk about his troubled childhood and teenage years; we see Sartre wrestling with the apparent contradiction between his views on existensialism/freedom and his communist beliefs; we read about his thoughts on the Spanish Civil War (Sartre believed it was a lost cause but Gerassi's father insisted on fighting Franco because 'one must fight fascism because it's fascist'); we learn about Sartre's feelings on the May 1968 riots in Paris - and why he thinks they failed to become a full-blown revolution; we read his thoughts on America and the evils of capitalism. The list of things Sartre discusses is just too long for this review - but they are all utterly gripping.
My favourite Sartre quote from these interviews is this one: 'to capitalists, liberty means to say what you want, but never do.'
How true.
We can express our thoughts in writing and so on, but as soon as we go that step further and hold a protest - just watch the police intimidate or, worse, crush you.
I agree with Gerassi: Sartre was the twentieth century's greatest prophet.
Highly recommended.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
6 reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
WOW!!!
8 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback
For those who think philosophical ideas are only for philosophers, this book will change your mind. Gerassi has the type of relationship with Sartre that allows true "Conversations" and "Debates" to take place. There is give and take, history and humor. At times you can almost see the two of them facing off over one of those small, round French cafe tables challenging the ideas of the other. If you want to read two great minds passionately engaged in ideas as well as the reflections of two old friend, be sure to get this book. You won't regret it.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
A Winner!
16 Jan 2010
Format:Paperback
Gerassi's conversations with Sartre are witty, insightful, and deeply human. It reveals the complexities of the French philosopher while also disclosing new aspects of his thinking. It's hard to book this book down. Get it, you won't regret it!
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A Window Inside One of the 20th Century's Greatest Minds
7 Nov 2009
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
What John Gerassi has done here is nothing less than opened a window to one of the greatest minds of the 20th century.
Where much of Sartre's philosophical prose is difficult to tackle for lay readers, the interviews/conversations in this book allow the philosopher to convey his ideas with straightforward clarity as he and Gerassi discuss topics ranging from existential philosophy, to Cold War party politics and superpower imperialism, to literature and drama.
Gerassi explains that these conversations were culled from 2000 single spaced typed transcript pages of interviews he conducted with Sarte in the early 1970s. The topics discussed here--American aggression, the individual's responsibility in history, the misplaced faith in the messianism of a man or movement--are as relevant today as they were forty years ago when the original discussions took place.
Hopefully Yale University Press will release more of Gerassi's fascinating and edifying conversations with Sartre and hopefully Gerassi himself will set down the his own story and the story of his larger than life father and mother. An important, tremendous book!
Where much of Sartre's philosophical prose is difficult to tackle for lay readers, the interviews/conversations in this book allow the philosopher to convey his ideas with straightforward clarity as he and Gerassi discuss topics ranging from existential philosophy, to Cold War party politics and superpower imperialism, to literature and drama.
Gerassi explains that these conversations were culled from 2000 single spaced typed transcript pages of interviews he conducted with Sarte in the early 1970s. The topics discussed here--American aggression, the individual's responsibility in history, the misplaced faith in the messianism of a man or movement--are as relevant today as they were forty years ago when the original discussions took place.
Hopefully Yale University Press will release more of Gerassi's fascinating and edifying conversations with Sartre and hopefully Gerassi himself will set down the his own story and the story of his larger than life father and mother. An important, tremendous book!
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