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Review
Extraordinarily intelligent - The lectures are as erudite as they are profound - An astonishingly fresh and perceptive discussion of what identity means today. --Jason Burke, Observer
An alternative journey through philosophy, history and anthropology - a powerful, quasi-religious, meditation on the power of humbling oneself in the face of the unknown. --Joy Lo Dico, Independent
Kapuscinski's case for humanity to accept and acknowledge 'otherness' is cogent and invites further contemplation. --Financial Times
An alternative journey through philosophy, history and anthropology - a powerful, quasi-religious, meditation on the power of humbling oneself in the face of the unknown. --Joy Lo Dico, Independent
Kapuscinski's case for humanity to accept and acknowledge 'otherness' is cogent and invites further contemplation. --Financial Times
Product Description
Ryszard Kapuciski witnessed and reported on major wars, coups and revolutions as they happened throughout the developing world and global South. In this distillation of his reflections on a lifetime of travel, he takes a fresh look at the Western idea of the Other: the non-European or non-American. Looking at this concept through the lens of his own encounters in Africa, Asia and Latin America, and considering its formative significance for his own work, Kapuciski traces how the West has understood the Other from classical times to colonialism, from the age of enlightenment to the postmodern global village. He observes how today we continue to treat the non-European as an alien and a threat, an object of study that has not yet become a partner in sharing responsibility for the fate of the world. In our globalized but increasingly polarized post-9/11 age, Kapuiski shows how the Other remains one of the most compelling ideas of our times.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
First, I should point out that I am a big fan of Kapuscinski, and the slightly negative score is not a reflection of his writing in general. However, this "book" is really just a very short collection of lectures which Kapuscinski gave around his general conception of the "other". To be honest, even then it is more a distillation of the thoughts of the philosophers who influenced him in this regard. Overall, it all feels very superficial, without any real penetration. Add to the fact that each lecture effectively repeats the same points as the previous one (they weren't envisioned as a series, but are just separate talks he gave in different places on the same theme), and this becomes an expensive book for the ridiculously small amount of original content. I suspect Kapuscinski would have been dismayed to think this was being sold as one of his books. If you are a first-time reader of K, please don't judge him on this. Go and read "The Shadow of the Sun" instead, and you will get a much more complete and fascinating understanding of Kapuscinski's experiences with the "other". If you have read everything else he wrote, then this slim volume might have some value for you (it isn't bad or uninteresting per se, just less complete than I anticipated).
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If you are looking for another book of Kapuscinski's global travel writings with those perceptive observations on all that he saw especially in rapidly developing or changing countries, then I fear this slim item is probably not for you.
Sadly it seems with his recent death (2007) and a seeming lack of unprinted travel writings, this book may evidence a danger of our seeing books printed that are at risk of ruining the man's hard earned lifetime reputation.
The book is a collection of lectures given by the author to different Central European forums, the earliest one being 1990 but the majority being from late 2004. The subject of all the lectures is the same and an interesting idea, being the impact of how we have interacted in our approach to people from other continents and cultures throughout history. The dangers of the European attitude especially, to other cultures (the "Other" of the book title) and how in a more easily traversed globe having a colonial "centrism" mindset wastes opportunities for interaction and mutual improvement is well made.
The problem is the same point is made repeatedly in the different lectures and by the end of the 80 odd pages, the repetition gets as frustrating as it is enlightening. The book is also not helped by having a lecture style that is very formal and intellectual, one assumes in part driven by the audience the author was addressing. Continual references to certain writers and anthropologists most of whom are one suspects not well known, in turn suffers from repetition especially in the cases of Levinas and Malinowski.
The main benefit of the book is to make some very simple perceptive observations on the subject which get the reader thinking but as a fully conceived and structured body of arguments, it was frustrating to read.
Sadly it seems with his recent death (2007) and a seeming lack of unprinted travel writings, this book may evidence a danger of our seeing books printed that are at risk of ruining the man's hard earned lifetime reputation.
The book is a collection of lectures given by the author to different Central European forums, the earliest one being 1990 but the majority being from late 2004. The subject of all the lectures is the same and an interesting idea, being the impact of how we have interacted in our approach to people from other continents and cultures throughout history. The dangers of the European attitude especially, to other cultures (the "Other" of the book title) and how in a more easily traversed globe having a colonial "centrism" mindset wastes opportunities for interaction and mutual improvement is well made.
The problem is the same point is made repeatedly in the different lectures and by the end of the 80 odd pages, the repetition gets as frustrating as it is enlightening. The book is also not helped by having a lecture style that is very formal and intellectual, one assumes in part driven by the audience the author was addressing. Continual references to certain writers and anthropologists most of whom are one suspects not well known, in turn suffers from repetition especially in the cases of Levinas and Malinowski.
The main benefit of the book is to make some very simple perceptive observations on the subject which get the reader thinking but as a fully conceived and structured body of arguments, it was frustrating to read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Like Travels with Herodotus this is a fascinating posthumous insight into the creator of those wonderful travel books (my pick of which is Imperium). Out of the two posthumous books I prefer The Other. It is more focused than Travels with Herodotus and introduces several more thinkers on top of Herodotus.
In particular this book discusses:
* Emmanuel Levinas (know yourself through the other)
* Bronisaw Malinowski (to know something, you have to be there)
* Father Josef Tischner (dialogical openness; dialogical perspective; dialogical awareness)
Through these essays Kapuscisnki's travels take on deeper significance. Students of multiculturalism can use this slim book as a springboard to many key thinkers. Makes me want to read and reread Kapuscinski's earlier books.
In particular this book discusses:
* Emmanuel Levinas (know yourself through the other)
* Bronisaw Malinowski (to know something, you have to be there)
* Father Josef Tischner (dialogical openness; dialogical perspective; dialogical awareness)
Through these essays Kapuscisnki's travels take on deeper significance. Students of multiculturalism can use this slim book as a springboard to many key thinkers. Makes me want to read and reread Kapuscinski's earlier books.
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