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Jean-Paul Sartre was once described as being the most famous Frenchman of the twentieth century, after President Charles de Gaulle! Certainly from 1945 until his death in 1980. Sartre was the most famous and prolific writer in France, and one of line best known philosophers of his day.
Philip Thody, a former Professor of French Literature explains the basic ideas that inspired Sartre's existential world view, paying particular attention to his concert of 'personal freedom'.
First published January 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 72 reviews
December 7, 2016
This book is a short introduction to Sartre's life, philosophy and works. Being in the format of a graphic novel (though the story is not told sequentially through panels, as a normal comic book), it is easily accessible and engages the reader's interest from the word go. However, the expository nature of the work requires the author to frequently traverse gaps in space and time - trying to the same with the graphic panels creates a jerky effect rather like an avant-garde movie.
If you want to know about Sartre, this is a good point of entry. To learn about existentialism, however, more in-depth reading will be required.
If you want to know about Sartre, this is a good point of entry. To learn about existentialism, however, more in-depth reading will be required.
March 16, 2019
I picked this up on a whim at a local second-hand bookstore. My only meaningful experience with Sartre was reading and seeing the play and the examination of Sartre and his work as presented in the (most excellent and strongly-recommended) book . I thought I could stand to learn more about the man and his philosophy. So, I thought I'd pick up Introducing Sartre and see if I could learn a little something.
I did. But very little. And something more of his political beliefs than his core philosophical examinations. I've learned more about Sartre's philosophy from Barrett's book than I did from this. Much more, in fact.
That isn't to say that the book doesn't have merit. On the contrary, the high-level overview of Sartre's work is fairly well done (if a bit disorganized, in spots). For those who know absolutely nothing about Sartre, I can see how this would be a good introduction; an interesting, but not absolutely compelling mix of biography, political, and philosophical explication.
One note that stuck out to me (that has everything to do with the times in which we now live) is the authors' take on Sartre's analysis of anti-Semitism as a weird sort of coping mechanism for weak-minded people who are seeking to absolve themselves of responsibility. This is being born out in the US, UK, and elsewhere right now, and not just with anti-Jewish sentiment. People would rather blame and persecute than do the actual work necessary to truly exercise their inherent freedom. They become trapped inside their own hatred of those they think are impinging on their freedom. Ironic.
I did. But very little. And something more of his political beliefs than his core philosophical examinations. I've learned more about Sartre's philosophy from Barrett's book than I did from this. Much more, in fact.
That isn't to say that the book doesn't have merit. On the contrary, the high-level overview of Sartre's work is fairly well done (if a bit disorganized, in spots). For those who know absolutely nothing about Sartre, I can see how this would be a good introduction; an interesting, but not absolutely compelling mix of biography, political, and philosophical explication.
One note that stuck out to me (that has everything to do with the times in which we now live) is the authors' take on Sartre's analysis of anti-Semitism as a weird sort of coping mechanism for weak-minded people who are seeking to absolve themselves of responsibility. This is being born out in the US, UK, and elsewhere right now, and not just with anti-Jewish sentiment. People would rather blame and persecute than do the actual work necessary to truly exercise their inherent freedom. They become trapped inside their own hatred of those they think are impinging on their freedom. Ironic.
July 22, 2017
يتناول هذا الكتاب زبدة أفكار سارتر -القندس-، سيرته ونبذة عن أعماله .. بطريقة مبتكرة وجد مبسطة
!تخفف وزن الفكرة فتطفو .. وتغرق اللغة في بحر التمثيل الصوري المحبب لكل عقل
يعد سارتر الأديب-الفيلسوف الوجودي، الذي رفض جائزة نوبل للأدب في 1964 لأنها ستنسبه حتماً لمؤسسة تمثل ضد ما يؤمن به، سيد فلاسفة القرن ٢٠
وأكثرهم تأثيراً <3
!تخفف وزن الفكرة فتطفو .. وتغرق اللغة في بحر التمثيل الصوري المحبب لكل عقل
يعد سارتر الأديب-الفيلسوف الوجودي، الذي رفض جائزة نوبل للأدب في 1964 لأنها ستنسبه حتماً لمؤسسة تمثل ضد ما يؤمن به، سيد فلاسفة القرن ٢٠
وأكثرهم تأثيراً <3
October 13, 2020
“كن� ذلك الوحش الذي يصنعه الكبار وهم آسفون كل الأسف �
بعد إنتهائى من الكتاب أصبحت في حيرة : هل أكتب مراجعة؟ ولو نعم .كيف أكتب مراجعة عن شخصية سارتر وهو القائل : "أنا ما لست أنا، وأنا لست ما أنا "؟ولكن بعد طول تردد كتبتها ..
-سارتر أشهر فلاسفة القرن العشرين ، الفليسوف الذي رفض جميع الجوائز التي عرضت عليه حتى نوبل ، ولم يوافق سوي علي لقب دكتور honoris causa من جامعة أورشليم!!!! (لخلق رابط بين الشعب الفلسطيني الذي أتبناه وإسرائيل صديقتي!!)
-لم تجتمع لمفكر غيره الشهرة وقوة التأثير و التنوع في الكتابة
-وأصبحت الوجودية بسبه معلماً من معالم العصر الحديث
عملاً بمبدأ أ نيس منصور "أن أيسر الطرق في الفلسفة القراءة عن الفيلسوف ثم بعد ذلك يجئ الإقتراب من الفيلسوف نفسه، أما الذهاب للفيلسوف مباشرة صعب"
قررت القراءة عن سارتر وبعدها قراءة أعماله ، فالكتاب شامل لكل شئ طفولة سارتر وجميع مراحل حياته ، نبذة مشوقة عن أعماله, أسباب كتابتها ,إسقاطاتها ,موقف الجمهور منها
-سارتر رفض فكرة فرويد عن اللاشعور الذي لا يوجد له أساس تجريبي ، ووضع التحليل النفسي الوجودي الذي يقوم علي أساس أن السن الحاسمة في تطور حياة في السابعة أو الثامنة وليست الطفولة المبكرة كما زعم فرويد
ولتأكيد نظريته استشهد بالشاعر بودلير الذي قام بإختياره فى سن الثامنة ، وسارتر نفسه اختار أن يصبح كاتباً في نفس السن كما كتب في سيرته الذاتية (الكلمات)
الكتاب يعرض أيضاً علاقاته الشخصية مع ألبير كامو و سيمون دو بوفوار ، ومواقفه السياسية و مناهضته لإحتلال فرنسا الجزائر , و مساندته لليهود و الصهاينة ,رأيه في الشيوعية, موقفه المعادي للحرب الهندوصينية ,تنبيه للحرب في كوبا
.الكتاب مفيد جداً بوجه عام
بعد إنتهائى من الكتاب أصبحت في حيرة : هل أكتب مراجعة؟ ولو نعم .كيف أكتب مراجعة عن شخصية سارتر وهو القائل : "أنا ما لست أنا، وأنا لست ما أنا "؟ولكن بعد طول تردد كتبتها ..
-سارتر أشهر فلاسفة القرن العشرين ، الفليسوف الذي رفض جميع الجوائز التي عرضت عليه حتى نوبل ، ولم يوافق سوي علي لقب دكتور honoris causa من جامعة أورشليم!!!! (لخلق رابط بين الشعب الفلسطيني الذي أتبناه وإسرائيل صديقتي!!)
-لم تجتمع لمفكر غيره الشهرة وقوة التأثير و التنوع في الكتابة
-وأصبحت الوجودية بسبه معلماً من معالم العصر الحديث
عملاً بمبدأ أ نيس منصور "أن أيسر الطرق في الفلسفة القراءة عن الفيلسوف ثم بعد ذلك يجئ الإقتراب من الفيلسوف نفسه، أما الذهاب للفيلسوف مباشرة صعب"
قررت القراءة عن سارتر وبعدها قراءة أعماله ، فالكتاب شامل لكل شئ طفولة سارتر وجميع مراحل حياته ، نبذة مشوقة عن أعماله, أسباب كتابتها ,إسقاطاتها ,موقف الجمهور منها
-سارتر رفض فكرة فرويد عن اللاشعور الذي لا يوجد له أساس تجريبي ، ووضع التحليل النفسي الوجودي الذي يقوم علي أساس أن السن الحاسمة في تطور حياة في السابعة أو الثامنة وليست الطفولة المبكرة كما زعم فرويد
ولتأكيد نظريته استشهد بالشاعر بودلير الذي قام بإختياره فى سن الثامنة ، وسارتر نفسه اختار أن يصبح كاتباً في نفس السن كما كتب في سيرته الذاتية (الكلمات)
الكتاب يعرض أيضاً علاقاته الشخصية مع ألبير كامو و سيمون دو بوفوار ، ومواقفه السياسية و مناهضته لإحتلال فرنسا الجزائر , و مساندته لليهود و الصهاينة ,رأيه في الشيوعية, موقفه المعادي للحرب الهندوصينية ,تنبيه للحرب في كوبا
.الكتاب مفيد جداً بوجه عام
July 31, 2021
This does a really good job of giving of us a nice, informed overview of Sartre and his work, from being taken prisoner of war to being the first person to refuse the Nobel Prize for Literature. It covers his relationship with Simon de Beauvoir a little, but not in any great detail.
The drawing isn’t great and can be a little grubby looking, but it does its job. I thought that this really got many of Sartre’s points and ideas across pretty well and this certainly put me in the mood for reading some more existentialism and Sartre.
February 10, 2018
A reasonable introduction to Sartre’s work. I have to say I am struggling with his novels and this graphic book helped a lot. He was a complicated msn and contradictory in many of his works. However, I admire him in his beliefs and convictions. Ultimately his idea of s socialist society was s failure and capitalism won in most of the Western world.
The book is great in giving a synopsis of his major works, life and beliefs. The continuous conflict between the classes are fathers haves and have nots. I liked the summaries albeit they lacked detail. It did give me a bit more information on what is existentialism especially the quote from Nausea ‘Everything that exists is born for no reason, carries on living through weakness, and dies by accident �.
The book is great in giving a synopsis of his major works, life and beliefs. The continuous conflict between the classes are fathers haves and have nots. I liked the summaries albeit they lacked detail. It did give me a bit more information on what is existentialism especially the quote from Nausea ‘Everything that exists is born for no reason, carries on living through weakness, and dies by accident �.
December 12, 2020
Too biographical and not the best of introductions of Sartre. There are way better ones out there.
April 7, 2023
good introduction to Sartre without digging too deep into any of his topics, got my interest piqued for sure
February 16, 2020
Opened my mind to so many new dimensions!
March 6, 2017
This book provides a brief overview of a famous French author.
I found this book too rambling / disjointed - but I get the sense that Sartre was an interesting individual.
I found this book too rambling / disjointed - but I get the sense that Sartre was an interesting individual.
September 23, 2020
Jean-Paul Sartre was a French philosopher, author, and critic, and this introductory guide discusses each of those aspects in descending order of emphasis � meaning it’s largely about his philosophy but it offers insight to his literary works and touches upon his criticism. This is the third book in this series that I’ve read, and I found it to be the best, so far. The other two books I’ve read also each explored the work of a philosopher (fyi � the others were Baudrillard and Kant,) and I think this one was the most appealing to read because it was able to draw upon Sartre’s literary work to convey his philosophical ideas more narratively. Because of this, the book required less intensity of concentration to keep complicated concepts and jargon straight. (Not that any of these books is particularly challenging, but with the hook of characters and stories it’s that much easier to hang on the ideas being expressed.)
As with the other books in the series, the book consists of many tiny sections, each of which uses graphics (usually in the form of cartoons) to emphasize certain information. In the case of this book, there were about seventy-five sections. Many of the sections discuss biographical aspects of Sartre’s life, and influential world events he lived through. The philosophical sections delve most heavily into the existentialist and phenomenological concepts most closely associated with Sartre, but also investigate his political philosophy. With regards to his political philosophy, there was extensive discussion of Sartre’s ideas about freedom and Marxism. Sartre was an ardent advocate of Marxism, but � like many � the theoretical appeal it held for him was somewhat tarnished by the brutal realities seen in Russia and the Eastern European satellite states. As alluded to, there are sections that discuss historical events as they pertain to shifts in Sartre’s thinking.
There are sections that explore Sartre’s various literary and philosophical publications � most notably “Nausea� which is Sartre’s most well-known literary work and which contains some of his most influential ideas. As for his work as a critic, the book focuses heavily upon Sartre’s writings about Baudelaire.
The graphics are all black-and-white cartoons, most of which serve a function similar to text-boxes in reiterating key concepts, or sometimes showing competing ideas in the form of a discussion. They are simply drawn and easy to follow.
I found this to be a useful way to gain some insight into the work of Sartre, who was little more to me than a familiar name before reading this book (though I was aware of his affiliation with existentialism.) If you are looking for a concise guide to Jean-Paul Sartre, this book is worth checking out. I read it via Amazon Prime.
As with the other books in the series, the book consists of many tiny sections, each of which uses graphics (usually in the form of cartoons) to emphasize certain information. In the case of this book, there were about seventy-five sections. Many of the sections discuss biographical aspects of Sartre’s life, and influential world events he lived through. The philosophical sections delve most heavily into the existentialist and phenomenological concepts most closely associated with Sartre, but also investigate his political philosophy. With regards to his political philosophy, there was extensive discussion of Sartre’s ideas about freedom and Marxism. Sartre was an ardent advocate of Marxism, but � like many � the theoretical appeal it held for him was somewhat tarnished by the brutal realities seen in Russia and the Eastern European satellite states. As alluded to, there are sections that discuss historical events as they pertain to shifts in Sartre’s thinking.
There are sections that explore Sartre’s various literary and philosophical publications � most notably “Nausea� which is Sartre’s most well-known literary work and which contains some of his most influential ideas. As for his work as a critic, the book focuses heavily upon Sartre’s writings about Baudelaire.
The graphics are all black-and-white cartoons, most of which serve a function similar to text-boxes in reiterating key concepts, or sometimes showing competing ideas in the form of a discussion. They are simply drawn and easy to follow.
I found this to be a useful way to gain some insight into the work of Sartre, who was little more to me than a familiar name before reading this book (though I was aware of his affiliation with existentialism.) If you are looking for a concise guide to Jean-Paul Sartre, this book is worth checking out. I read it via Amazon Prime.
August 12, 2013
As an introductory text, it barely serves its purpose. The illustrations help and seeing Sartre as a child with the style of glasses and facial features adds a humorous touch.
My issue with the book is editorializing and barely covered slights aimed at Sartre and de Beauvoir, such as the following from page 72:
Pity that she prevented what might have been the very interesting collection of her and Sartre's genes from being passed on to the next generation. She also refused the opportunity of showing how much better she and Sartre were at bringing up children than they present their parents and grandparents as having been.
Seriously? This is a valid point of critique that was deemed worthy to include? This is a point I would expect from an analysis done by someone in early high school years. A similarly cheaply phrased jab at the mid-20th century revolution in Cuba reveals an apparent utter lack of familiarity with the subject matter at hand.
This level of thought, aside from being irrelevant to the topic, serves to detract from the credibility of the text. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often.
Unfortunately, the author doesn't delve into any given topic. Every subject is given, at best, a superficial description. Yes, it's an introductory book with drawings, but it's about SARTRE! Similar books about Ludwig Wittgenstein and Noam Chomsky somehow managed to include enough side information to sufficiently introduce the topics beyond a bullet point list of features.
Not recommended.
My issue with the book is editorializing and barely covered slights aimed at Sartre and de Beauvoir, such as the following from page 72:
Pity that she prevented what might have been the very interesting collection of her and Sartre's genes from being passed on to the next generation. She also refused the opportunity of showing how much better she and Sartre were at bringing up children than they present their parents and grandparents as having been.
Seriously? This is a valid point of critique that was deemed worthy to include? This is a point I would expect from an analysis done by someone in early high school years. A similarly cheaply phrased jab at the mid-20th century revolution in Cuba reveals an apparent utter lack of familiarity with the subject matter at hand.
This level of thought, aside from being irrelevant to the topic, serves to detract from the credibility of the text. Fortunately, it doesn't happen often.
Unfortunately, the author doesn't delve into any given topic. Every subject is given, at best, a superficial description. Yes, it's an introductory book with drawings, but it's about SARTRE! Similar books about Ludwig Wittgenstein and Noam Chomsky somehow managed to include enough side information to sufficiently introduce the topics beyond a bullet point list of features.
Not recommended.
November 17, 2010
كتابٌ يتناول سيرة الفيلسوف سارتر ,مفاهيمه , آراءه , وكتاباته في صفحاتٍٍ مُصوّرة -والتي سهَّلت نوعاً ما القراءة - بشكلٍ خفيفٍ وجميل .
النجوم الأربع -التي وهبت- ليست لسارتر كمُفكَّرٍ مُلحدٍ و وُجوديِّ , إنمَّا لخفّة الكتاب والإثراء الذي خرجت به .
النجوم الأربع -التي وهبت- ليست لسارتر كمُفكَّرٍ مُلحدٍ و وُجوديِّ , إنمَّا لخفّة الكتاب والإثراء الذي خرجت به .
April 9, 2018
ممتاز للتعرف على حياته وكتبه لا على فلسفته لأن الاختصار هنا كان مخل
August 18, 2024
He was virtually blind in his left eye. He used the word "Engineer" as an insult. Both he and Simone de Beauvoir were fond of cinema and jazz. He wasn't a big fan of women.
He—not Sartre, but the character in his first novel La Nausée—felt the absurdity of the universe was too much. Without God, existence would cause him nausea, which would only slightly subside when listening to a piece of music or contemplating mathematical concepts that mostly exist beyond our world.
Aesthetics, he believed, is the solution.
He thought that being aware of oneself grants the freedom and ability to change. However, he also believed that because of this constant self-awareness, we can never truly be ourselves but instead, merely play at being ourselves.
Mauvaise Foi -Bad Faith- is where people sometimes do everything possible to make others take action on their behalf. They're afraid of freedom and the responsibility it brings.
He rejected the entire Freudian notion of unconscious motives. In his view, if we allow ourselves to be influenced by our impulses, it is because we have made a free decision to do so.
He opposed the Algerian War. He believed that colonized people have both the duty and the right to shake off Western imperialism through violent revolution. He did everything in his power to prepare French public opinion to accept the fact that the idea of L'Algérie Française was a myth.
He was the first, and so far the only, author to refuse the Nobel Prize for Literature.
He tried to make sense of his experience by writing.
He—not Sartre, but the character in his first novel La Nausée—felt the absurdity of the universe was too much. Without God, existence would cause him nausea, which would only slightly subside when listening to a piece of music or contemplating mathematical concepts that mostly exist beyond our world.
Aesthetics, he believed, is the solution.
He thought that being aware of oneself grants the freedom and ability to change. However, he also believed that because of this constant self-awareness, we can never truly be ourselves but instead, merely play at being ourselves.
Mauvaise Foi -Bad Faith- is where people sometimes do everything possible to make others take action on their behalf. They're afraid of freedom and the responsibility it brings.
He rejected the entire Freudian notion of unconscious motives. In his view, if we allow ourselves to be influenced by our impulses, it is because we have made a free decision to do so.
He opposed the Algerian War. He believed that colonized people have both the duty and the right to shake off Western imperialism through violent revolution. He did everything in his power to prepare French public opinion to accept the fact that the idea of L'Algérie Française was a myth.
He was the first, and so far the only, author to refuse the Nobel Prize for Literature.
He tried to make sense of his experience by writing.
June 27, 2020
The best thing about this book is the accessibility it provides for beginners to Sartre. The writings about Sartre's Marxism are satisfactory as a springboard for the reader to delve further at their own leisure.
Unfortunately it seems a bit too sparse in providing an introduction to Sartre's philosophical work. Also the author's biases seep into some parts of the book (specifically the comment about Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's lack of children which provides very little to the readers understanding of Sartre).
It's a serviceable introduction but I wouldn't limit myself to only this book if I wanted an overview of Sartre.
Unfortunately it seems a bit too sparse in providing an introduction to Sartre's philosophical work. Also the author's biases seep into some parts of the book (specifically the comment about Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir's lack of children which provides very little to the readers understanding of Sartre).
It's a serviceable introduction but I wouldn't limit myself to only this book if I wanted an overview of Sartre.
March 9, 2021
I think that the book was a good introduction into his ideas and helps me build connections to other philosophies that I will hopefully read later on and some that I have already read, such as Aristotle's belief of what constitutes as voluntary action and involuntary action, in which I actually still disagree with Sartre and Aristotle because I cannot bring myself to believe that a tortured person could possibly be making any voluntary actions. The only true problem that I have with this is that I will have to add many more books and people to my lists.
January 21, 2018
Intelektualnu i političku slobodu koju je slavio s toliko rječitosti i uvjerenja na početku svoga djelovanja očito ne uživaju građani u socijalističkim režimima kojima se divio, nego oni u kapitalističkim zemljama koje je najviše mrzio.
(Ali samo ako su ti građani pažljivo odabrali svoje roditelje!)
(Ali samo ako su ti građani pažljivo odabrali svoje roditelje!)
April 30, 2019
This book spends literally a single page explaining the existential tradition he came out of. It treats him less like a philosopher and more like a writer. I don't feel like it contributed a lot to my understanding of Sartre. It also jumped around a lot and had some pretty torturous sentences, not too good for an introduction to anyone. Plus the illustrations weren't so good.
June 22, 2020
An introduction to famed French philosopher and writer Jean-Paul Sartre. He founded the philosophy of existentialism and was a revolutionary writer against bourgeois capitalism. He was also an activist against the transgressions of colonial powers, like his home country.
This introduction was very good.
This introduction was very good.
July 30, 2021
This a convenient read for me studying Sartre at the moment, in that is breezy and short. As a supplement to reading his writing, I think it works, even if it’s cursory, because it allows for a greater picture of his ideas in a quick manner, and its undeveloped issues are developed through his actual writing.
March 17, 2021
This was an interesting introduction to Sartre and his impact. Seemed more like a veneer than a deeper examination and that was by design. I think it is suitable enough for a person to decide if further delving is warranted.
November 27, 2022
Quite depressing, and it must be said, I disagree with Satre on most accounts. The most intriguing thing he ever wrote was that, when elderly, he wished to have played with the other children as a boy and not grown up to be a famous philosopher
April 24, 2024
Why is goodreads owned by amazon? Sartre would strongly disagree with the policy amazon. The book was captivating, but my god how it tears my heart that this platform is commercialized and become profit-oriented.
December 19, 2017
ممتاز في بابه.
March 29, 2018
Interesting in parts
April 1, 2018
الكتاب مشتت و مختصر زيادة عن اللزوم.. لم أستطع إكماله
July 4, 2018
Sartre: An Introduction
Excellent synopsis of a very obtuse writer. The real triumph of this work is that you feel compelled to read Sartre again. At least try!!
Excellent synopsis of a very obtuse writer. The real triumph of this work is that you feel compelled to read Sartre again. At least try!!
September 17, 2018
Nice clear explainer of some complicated existential thoughts with some cute humor and illustrations.
December 15, 2019
Words, words, words
This book is a good summary of how useless was Sarte and colleagues. Contributions to the society? 0, just more nonsense about the sex of the angels...
This book is a good summary of how useless was Sarte and colleagues. Contributions to the society? 0, just more nonsense about the sex of the angels...
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