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At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails with Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir,Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Maurice Merleau-Ponty and Others Paperback – August 8, 2017

by Sarah Bakewell (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 1,677 ratings
Editors' pick Best History
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Named one of the Ten Best Books of 2016 by the New York Times, a spirited account of a major intellectual movement of the twentieth century and the revolutionary thinkers who came to shape it, by the best-selling author of How to Live and Humanly Possible Sarah Bakewell.

Paris, 1933: three contemporaries meet over apricot cocktails at the Bec-de-Gaz bar on the rue Montparnasse. They are the young Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, and longtime friend Raymond Aron, a fellow philosopher who raves to them about a new conceptual framework from Berlin called Phenomenology. "You see," he says, "if you are a phenomenologist you can talk about this cocktail and make philosophy out of it!"
     It was this simple phrase that would ignite a movement, inspiring Sartre to integrate Phenomenology into his own French, humanistic sensibility, thereby creating an entirely new philosophical approach inspired by themes of radical freedom, authentic being, and political activism. This movement would sweep through the jazz clubs and cafés of the Left Bank before making its way across the world as Existentialism.
    Featuring not only philosophers, but also playwrights, anthropologists, convicts, and revolutionaries, At the Existentialist Café follows the existentialists' story, from the first rebellious spark through the Second World War, to its role in postwar liberation movements such as anti-colonialism, feminism, and gay rights. Interweaving biography and philosophy, it is the epic account of passionate encounters--fights, love affairs, mentorships, rebellions, and long partnerships--and a vital investigation into what the existentialists have to offer us today, at a moment when we are once again confronting the major questions of freedom, global responsibility, and human authenticity in a fractious and technology-driven world.
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  1. Print length
    464 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Other Press
  4. Publication date
    August 8, 2017
  5. Dimensions
    6.01 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1590518896
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1590518892
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From the Publisher

At the Existentialist Cafe Sarah Bakewell

At the Existentialist Cafe Sarah Bakewell

At the Existentialist Cafe Sarah Bakewell

Editorial Reviews

Review

"We're in the middle of a boom in serious popularizing books that try to bring us closer to the classics by anchoring them in the lives of their creators, books like Stephen Greenblatt's Will In The World, which explores how young Shakespeare made himself into Will Shakespeare, and Sarah Bakewell's At The Existentialist Cafe, which grounds the work of Sartre, Camus, de Beauvoir and others in their gaudy personal experience." —NPR’S FRESH AIR
 
“The apricot cocktails in her subtitle and her sometimes breezy tone— ‘I like to imagine them in a big, busy café of the mind, probably a Parisian one’— seem to promise an undemanding,  gossipy romp. Instead, [Bakewell] judges and explains the ways in which each writer responded to the moral and political crises of the 1930s and after, and her book asks demanding questions about the ways in which people think about themselves and their relations with others. She shapes her answers in the form of biographical narratives, because her central theme is that the large impersonal ideas pursued by much modern philosophy are less profound and illuminating than the varied and conflicting truths found in stories of individual lives. Those stories, in this book, include impressively lucid descriptions of what these thinkers thought and what they said in their writings and café arguments.” --The New York Times Book Review

“At the Existentialist Café is a bracingly fresh look at once-antiquated ideas and the milieu in which they flourished. Ms. Bakewell’s approach is enticing and unusual: She is not an omniscient author acting as critic, biographer or tour guide. This book is full of winning small details. Some may find the description of Camus as ‘a simple, cheerful soul,’ as surprising as Sartre’s apparently charming Donald Duck imitation… ‘When reading Sartre on freedom, Beauvoir on the subtle mechanisms of oppression, Kierkegaard on anxiety, Camus on rebellion, Heidegger on technology or Merleau-Ponty on cognitive science,’ Ms. Bakewell writes, ‘one sometimes feels one is reading the latest news.’” —Janet Maslin, The New York Times

“Ms. Bakewell’s jaunty, colloquial style very successfully brought the ideas of Michel de Montaigne to a wide and general audience in her best-selling How to Live. The existentialists and their subtle differences from the phenomenologists in the context of World War II and its aftermath are a much greater challenge, which she meets with equal elan." —The Wall Street Journal

“This lively history of the existentialist movement makes a strong, if sometimes disorienting, case for the inextricability of philosophy and biography, embedding dense concepts—such as ‘being,’ ‘nothingness,’ and ‘bad faith’—in the colorful lives and milieus of those who debated them. Though the book is in many ways a group study, dotted with cameo appearances by Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, and others, it focusses on Heidegger and Sartre. Heidegger appears as oracular, hermetic, and Nazi-tainted; Sartre as intellectually promiscuous and Soviet-sympathizing. Their divergent characters and checkered reputations lend credence to Bakewell’s view that ‘ideas are interesting, but people are vastly more so.’” —The New Yorker


“Brisk and perceptive…A fresh, invigorating look into complex minds and a unique time and place.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Bakewell brilliantly explains 20th-century existentialism through the extraordinary careers of the philosophers who devoted their lives and work to 'the task of responsible alertness' and 'questions of human identity, purpose, and freedom.' Through vivid characterizations and a clear distillation of dense philosophical concepts, Bakewell embeds the story of existentialism in the 'story of a whole European century,' dramatizing its central debates of authenticity, rebellion, freedom, and responsibility." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Bakewell follows her celebrated study of Montaigne…with a lively appraisal of existentialism and its leading thinkers…With coverage of friendship, travel, argument, tragedy, drugs, Paris, and, of course, lots of sex, Bakewell’s biographical approach pays off… The result is an engaging story about a group of passionate thinkers, and a reminder of their continued relevance.” —Booklist (starred review)

“Sweeping and dazzlingly rich...This wonderfully readable account of one of the 20th centu­ry’s major intellectual movements offers a cornucopia of biographical detail and insights that show its relevance for our own time.” —BookPage

"Tremendous...rigorous and clarifying...Highly recommended for anyone who thinks." —Library Journal (starred review)

“In her instructive and entertaining study of these thinkers and their hangers-on, Sarah Bakewell… credits the existentialist movement, broadly defined, with providing inspiration to feminism, gay rights, anti-racism, anti-colonialism and other radical causes. A few cocktails can, it seems, lead to unexpected things.” —The Economist

“These days, the word 'existentialism' brings to mind black turtlenecks, French cigarettes, and a distinctly European sense of despair. But as Sarah Bakewell describes them in this vivid, vital group biography, existentialists like Jean Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvior, and Albert Camus were courageous free thinkers in an age of fascism, totalitarianism, and conformity.”—The Boston Globe

“A vivid and warmly engaging intellectual history.” —The Los Angeles Times
 
“Bakewell has made weighty, complex philosophical ideas feel exhilarating — for that she should be praised, and read.” —The San Francisco Chronicle

“Although biography provides the narrative momentum of At the Existentialist Café, much of the meat comes from the philosophy…Bakewell has a knack for crystallising key ideas by identifying choice original quotations and combining them with her own words…Perhaps the aphorism that best captures the book is one of Bakewell’s own: 'Thinking should be generous and have a good appetite.' Her hunger is infectious.” —Financial Times

“[At the Existentialist Café] offers fascinating insights into the cultural impact of existentialism on the English-speaking world…Existentialism, in all its incarnations, is really about making choices. How to live? How to be free? How to be an 'authentic' human being? In her summing-up, Bakewell makes the case that these questions remain as important today as they ever were.” —The Guardian (US)

“Bakewell writes with a sunny disposition and light touch…She combines confident handling of difficult philosophical concepts with a highly enjoyable writing style. I can’t think of a better introduction to modern intellectual history.” —Newsday

“Bakewell’s How to Live [was] a remarkably erudite and accessible study of the life of Montaigne…At first skeptical, I was soon warmed over by the author’s preternaturally smooth style. At the Existentialist Café does precisely the same for Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, and Martin Heidegger.” —Flavorwire

“This tender, incisive and fair account of the existentialists ends with their successive deaths, leaving me with the same sense of nostalgia and loss as one feels after reading a great epic novel.” —The Telegraph

“[At] the Existentialist Café is packed with out-of-the-way knowledge and has a cast of weird characters such as only a gathering of philosophers could supply. It is written with affection. Even the horrible Heidegger is seen as human in his absurdity.” —The Sunday Times

“[E]ngaging and wide-ranging.” —Prospect Magazine

“[At the Existentialist Café is] a wonderfully readable combination of biography, philosophy, history, cultural analysis and personal reflection.” —The Independent

“At the Existentialist Cafewill prove to be one of the best books on philosophy you will read this year.” —The Wichita Eagle

“[An] invigorating book.” —Tablet

"Irresistible." —Buffalo News

"Don’t let the breezy title put you off. At the Existentialist Café, Sarah Bakewell’s group portrait of Husserl, Heidegger, Sartre, Beauvoir, and the other 'Continental' philosophers who flourished before and after World War II, is a work of deep intelligence and sympathy, reminding us how exciting those thinkers can be. And it’s a page-turner. I was so sorry to finish the last chapter that I almost—almost—ran over to the Strand to see what they had by Merleau-Ponty." —Paris Review Daily

“At the Existentialist Café: Freedom, Being, and Apricot Cocktails combines the exhilaration of initial discovery with the more considered evaluations of a mature thinker. The result is a warm and challenging work of intellectual history that retains something of existentialism’s glamor without ever sacrificing its vigorous interrogation. It also re-centers existentialism as a viable method of philosophically engaging with contemporaneity. Even if the context has shifted slightly, the question it asks remains just as relevant now as in the post-war years: what shall we make of a shattered world?” —The Brooklyn Rail


"It's not often that you miss your bus stop because you're so engrossed in reading a book about existentialism, but I did exactly that while immersed in Sarah Bakewell's At the Existentialist Café. The story of Sartre, Beauvoir, Camus, Heidegger et al is strange, fun and compelling reading. If it doesn't win awards, I will eat my proof copy." —Katy Guest, The Independent on Sunday

About the Author

Sarah Bakewell was a bookseller and a curator of early printed books at the Wellcome Library before publishing her highly acclaimed biographies The Smart, The English Dane, and the best-selling How to Live: A Life of Montaigne, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award for Biography. In addition to writing, she now teaches in the Masters of Studies in Creative Writing at Kellogg College, University of Oxford.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Other Press (August 8, 2017)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 464 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1590518896
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590518892
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.2 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.01 x 0.9 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 out of 5 stars 1,677 ratings

About the author

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Sarah Bakewell

Sarah Bakewell

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Sarah Bakewell was born in Bournemouth on the English south coast, but spent most of her childhood in Sydney, Australia, after several years travelling the hippie trail through Asia with her parents. Returning to Britain, she studied philosophy at the University of Essex and worked as a curator of early printed books at London’s Wellcome Library for ten years before devoting herself to full-time writing in 2002. She now lives mostly in London, and teaches Creative Writing at Kellogg College, Oxford.

Her four books are all biographical, and the most recent two, 'How to Live: a life of Montaigne' and 'At the Existentialist Cafe', also explore philosophical ideas. 'How to Live' won the Duff Cooper Prize and the U.S. National Book Critics' Circle Award for Biography, and 'At the Existentialist Cafe' was chosen in 2016 as one of the New York Times' Ten Best Books of the Year.

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4.5 out of 5 stars
1,677 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book well-researched and appreciate how it explains existentialism through interwoven biographies. They describe it as a readable, engaging, and entertaining exploration of 20th-century Existentialist thinkers, with nicely developed characters and plenty of biographical content. The book receives positive feedback for its connection to the subject matter, with one customer noting its warm personal touch. The style receives mixed reactions, with some finding it disappointing.

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209 customers mention "Insight"197 positive12 negative

Customers find the book insightful and appreciate how it explains existentialism, providing contextual understanding and not often heard perspectives.

"...able to poetically convey the mood of the times and the ambience of the existential café - its life, its commitment and its energy...." Read more

"...This later reading time is good for judging a book. If a book is good it will make it difficult to get out of bed...." Read more

"...As a whole, this was a worthwhile read. Recommended for those curious about existentialism. M T Philipps, author of ‘Keeping Calm’" Read more

"...Sartre & Beauvoir to life added a layer of depth & understanding that was enriching & enhancing . I highly recommend this book." Read more

142 customers mention "Readability"142 positive0 negative

Customers find the book very readable and fascinating, with one customer noting it is well researched.

"A beautiful, extremely pleasurable and invigorating read. The best I've read in a long time...." Read more

"...The book started off quite well...." Read more

"...As a whole, this was a worthwhile read. Recommended for those curious about existentialism. M T Philipps, author of ‘Keeping Calm’" Read more

"This is one of the best nonfiction books I've ever read...." Read more

99 customers mention "Readable"87 positive12 negative

Customers find the book well written and easy to read, with one customer noting its extremely clear explanatory prose.

"...More than that, she is able to poetically convey the mood of the times and the ambience of the existential café - its life, its commitment and its..." Read more

"...Bakewell writes beautifully, with great insight and an obvious love and compassion for the men and women who shook the world in the middle of the..." Read more

"...That said, I enjoy her light and personal tone, and think she usually strikes a good balance between scholarship and conversation with the..." Read more

"...Bakewell’s writing is clear and concise as well as entertaining, even when trying to explain to the reader some complex points of Heideggerian..." Read more

36 customers mention "Entertainment value"36 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and stimulating, describing it as a relaxed and insightful experience.

"...my 5-star opinion of "How to Live," I nevertheless found it stimulating and enjoyable, and will look forward to any future writing by..." Read more

"...At the Existentialist Café is at times entertaining, even ingratiating. It's a quick read...." Read more

"...such a good job at summarizing everything and writing it all in an engaging style makes this a terrific read for the layperson like myself..." Read more

"...It has been an extremely enlightening and enjoyable experience to meet and get to know more about the great thinkers of the 20th century who have..." Read more

23 customers mention "Character development"23 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate how the book brings out the characters, with one review noting its well-crafted personality portraits and another highlighting its human presentation of real people.

"...Making the subject personable by being biographical , is, in my opinion, sheer genius . I find philosophy to be overly abstract...." Read more

"...well, indeed almost perfectly, with Montaigne: just the right tone of critical admiration, of historical narrative and stylistic analysis, stylistic..." Read more

"...It is a wonderful narrative of a fine cast of existentialist characters. A very enjoyable read...." Read more

"...A good example of a book that effectively weaves characters and history is “Ninth Street Women” by Mary Gabriel...." Read more

16 customers mention "Biographical content"13 positive3 negative

Customers appreciate the biographical content of the book, with one customer noting its unusual mixture of intersecting biographies and another highlighting the intriguing anecdotes about people and relationships.

"Bakewell’s book is an unusual mixture of intersecting biographies, philosophical discussions and the history of philosophy...." Read more

"I absolutely adored this book. It involves more biography and history than I was expecting when I picked it up, but that added incredible depth to..." Read more

"...It was a very readable and enoyable way to biographically and historiacally tie together a number of philosophical threads of the 20th century from..." Read more

"This book is part biography, part philosophy, and part history, thus the reader feels like they are living through this period in time in the..." Read more

12 customers mention "Connection"12 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate how the book connects readers to the subject matter, with one noting its warm personal touch and another highlighting its cogent approach.

"...It is beautifully written and at times poetic and often deeply moving. Read this book! Just read it! You will be very glad you did." Read more

"...to have encountered people who considered these ideas and feelings so worthy of analysis. Phenomenal book." Read more

"...handle on exactly what existentialism is, I have a much better feel for the people involved, the times they lived in and their interactions with..." Read more

"...She's consistently adept at being personal yet authoritative--both there, speaking to the reader, as a friend, and knowledgeable, as a brilliant..." Read more

15 customers mention "Style"7 positive8 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the book's style, with several finding it disappointing and nonsensical, while one customer describes it as addictive.

"...On the other hand I felt the book was rather disappointing in several respects...." Read more

"...right tone of critical admiration, of historical narrative and stylistic analysis, stylistic rather than philosophical, as Montaigne is not a..." Read more

"I found this to be a pretty boring and nonsensical book, with two exceptions:..." Read more

"...She weaves an artful thread through the lives and words of the key existentialists (including both their influences and followers) using a deft,..." Read more

Marvelous philosophy and biography!
5 out of 5 stars
Marvelous philosophy and biography!
This is a wonderful book book for two main reasons. 1. It is a biography of not only the philosophers but a supporting cast of very interesting folks. The author's style is engaging and witty. I have read many dry books on philosophy and philosophers. This is not one of those. 2. It is a great overview of these interesting thinkers' ideas and the mileu in which they lived. I strongly dislike the way in which they live their lives. As a Christian, I see that their outlook on death was bleak and gave no hope - neither to themselves or for anyone else. I do like that they really put their feet to their philosophy, so to speak. They did things, and sometimes very good things. They realized that they lived in history and approached their philosophy that way. I have already several books by the phenomenologists on the to read list! The great thing this book did for me was to pique my interest in these great thinkers. While I don't agree with a lot of things they thought, they are consistency in many cases is something anyone can respect. Ask the picture shows, I made many notes and plan to refer back to them from time to time. I hope to read other books by the author, and hopefully she will write another one very soon! If Ms. Bakewell reads this review, I really want to thank you for engaging my mind for the past couple of weeks! Your book was a good page turner and opened my thoughts to see some things differently!
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Top reviews from the United States

  • jeffrey quinzer
    5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, extremely pleasurable and invigorating read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 26, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    A beautiful, extremely pleasurable and invigorating read. The best I've read in a long time. It brought back the 'heady' exhilarating times when I first encountered existentialism as an 18 year old freshmen in college in 1970. It was my first encounter with existentialism. But initially not through the philosophical works themselves but through a course in 20th century literature: Sartre, Hesse, Camus, Malraux, de Beauvoir. It was eye-opening for an 18 year old who grew up in what was still a "1950's" suburban life. I was then so fortunate to take small seminars (6 - 8 students) on "Nietzsche", "Being and Time", and "The Later Heidegger" with professors such as Joseph P. Fell ("Emotion in the Theory of Sartre" and "Heidegger and Sartre") and Ernest Keen ("Three Faces of Being: Toward An Existential Clinical Psychology" and " A Primer in Phenomenological Psychology" and "Ultimacy and Triviality In Psychotherapy") . I will always be grateful for what they taught me to see and question.

    I didn't know of Sarah Blakewell until this book. I don't where she might have been "hiding" but she is a tremendously gifted writer and extremely well-read scholar. I have never seen such complex concepts translated into such accessible explanations. More than that, she is able to poetically convey the mood of the times and the ambience of the existential café - its life, its commitment and its energy. As she herself said, after 30 years of being enthralled with the "ideas", it was the lives that mattered and were most interesting. No, I wasn't there, but she makes you feel as if you had been. Nothing in my ongoing reading of existentialism and phenomenology has touched me as this has. There is so much I lost to the "herd" mentality over the years as a hospital; social worker in constant conflict with ridiculous government regulations, insurance companies' greediness and a mentality regarding technology (specifically computerized records) that dictate that physicians and nurses spend more time at their computers than with patients (Heidegger was right:: the essence of technology is not technology at all but how we relate to the world, the Earth and each other).

    In conclusion, I hope this has not been too rambling a review. But Bakewell's book has invigorated me to reassess what I do every day, how I do it and why I do it. It is by far the best read, and most motivating read, I've had in years. I recommend it most highly, especially to those like me, who lived through the tumultuous '60's and were inspired by a philosophy of freedom and engagement. May this book bring us back to those heady days of freedom and future that we thought we were destined to have - but unfortunately thought could be achieved without the sacrifice and commitment necessary. And maybe, to some, whose lives are governed by their "life" on the technology of FaceBook, Twitter etc, may they come to understand that technology is not the essence of life, of Being, or anything else. There is no "authenticity" in Facebook....it is a technological "bad faith"

    I didn't know who Sarah Blakewell was until this but she is marvelously informed and extremely well-read.
    13 people found this helpful
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  • J. A. Goska
    4.0 out of 5 stars Black Turtleneck Time
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    There is a witticism by Steven Wright, you have probably heard it, which goes "I have an existential map. It has ‘You are here’ written all over it."

    This bit of wit is much admired. It is quoted endlessly on the internet, it has been printed on tee shirts. But when I heard this joke for the first time, years ago, I could only say to myself “I don’t get it.”

    It is not that I find Steven Wright impenetrable. When he said “I tried some spot remover on my dog, and now he’s gone,” I got that one right off. But the existential map thing went right by me.

    It seemed obvious that this was due to the fact that I knew next to nothing about existentialism. My knowledge of this philosophy was limited to a smidgeon of Kierkegaard and half a teaspoon of Sartre.

    Perhaps, I thought, I should read a book. But not “Being and Nothingness.” I was not, after all, in pursuit of a complete understanding of existentialism. If I were ever to make a claim to such a thing, a legion of (possibly French) philosophy majors would spring up out of the earth and assure me in no uncertain terms that I am delusional and should stop parading my ignorance. And I have it from D. J. Soccio, author of “Archetypes of Wisdom,” that “too many people talk about existentialism as if it were a clearly defined school of philosophy. It is not.”

    In “At the Existentialist Café,” author Sarah Bakewell does offer her own, personal, definition of existentialism, but does so from a sort of hunkered down position, perhaps anticipating a human wave assault by French philosophy majors.

    My goal in reading Ms. Bakewell’s book was modest. I just wanted to learn enough about existentialism to get Steven Wright’s joke. To this day people will, from time to time, repeat this quip to me, and then laugh in a prompting, “ain’t that a beaut?” fashion. I have always valued my honor too highly to even pretend to smile in reply. In particular, I remember one young lady who repeated the lines to me so charmingly, so beautifully, and then looked at me in anticipation, the moment seeming to suggest that if we could share an appreciation of this one thing, then perhaps we could share other things. What she got from me in response was a look that was probably a good match for the face on a “Have a Day” button. I suppose our budding relationship died in that moment. It was to this lady (I have long since forgotten her name) that I dedicated my reading of “At the Existentialist Café.”

    The book started off quite well. At a bar in Paris in 1932 we meet elegant, brilliant Simone de Beauvoir and dwarfish, wall-eyed, hunchbacked (well, actually just “round shouldered”), dumpy Jean-Paul Sartre. Beauvoir had taken up with Sartre after a flirtation with Maurice Merleau-Ponty, who, while a wonderful person, was just too contently bourgeois: “Oh, how untormented he was! His tranquility offended me.”

    I do most of my reading in bed, before I fall asleep at night, or after waking up, as I frequently do, long before I actually need to get out of bed. This later reading time is good for judging a book. If a book is good it will make it difficult to get out of bed. Reading the opening of “At the Existentialist Café” made me want to stay in bed, and in Paris, and forget about my own day’s existential challenges. But then a dark cloud appeared. Sarah Bakewell began talking about how existentialism is now passé, and has been subjected to severe criticism by adherents of other philosophies (if you can imagine such a thing). What did this mean for my quest? What if Steven Wright’s immortal lines referenced not existentialism per se, but a critique of existentialism by, say, a deconstructionalist? Would I now have to read a book on deconstuctionalism? As if.

    Bakewell introduces the reader to the Phenomenology of Husserl, that sent Sartre rushing to Berlin to learn more, and the “Dasein” of small, beady-eyed philosopher and Nazi Party member Martin Heidegger. These become major parts of the foundation of Sartre’s existentialism.

    Sartre does mescaline, has a very bad trip, and writes his novel “Nausea,” which makes him famous. WW II comes, Sartre lands in German POW camp, gets out, returns to now occupied Paris, where, Simone de Beauvoir at his side, he writes his magnum opus, “Being and Nothingness.” He writes some of it, anyway, he never does finish it. Apparently this is okay. Philosophy majors seem to be quite forgiving about this sort of thing. They are probably familiar with what it is like to lose a train of thought. Sartre and Beauvoir meet and bond with Albert Camus and Jean Genet.

    At the war’s end, Sartre exhorts his readers “to decide what kind of world they want, and make it happen.” The Church puts all of his works on its Index of Prohibited Books. Simone de Beauvoir’s “The Second Sex” also makes the Index. Marxists decide that existentialism needs crushing. “Such attacks only enhanced existentialism’s appeal for the young and rebellious.”

    Sartre gets hooked on amphetamines, scribbles incessantly, becomes an apologist for Soviet communism, loses all his friends, supports independence for Algeria, which gets his apartment bombed. He is troubled by the Soviet invasions of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, but praises Mao and Pol Pot. Sartre’s old schoolmate Raymond Aron damns him for being “merciless towards the failings of the democracies but ready to tolerate the worst crimes as long as they are committed in the names of the proper doctrines.”

    Sarah Bakewell theorizes that the aging, drugged-up Sartre pushed himself past his limits in his attempts to harmonize existentialism with totalitarian communism, as the two are inherently incompatible. Sartre felt that the condition of the wretched of the earth required this struggle on his part.

    Students of existentialism, “sick of pretending,” seek to uncover and express their authentic selves, and want the freedom to do so, despite any expectations that society may have for them. They reject what self-proclaimed existentialist Norman Mailer called “a slow death by conformity, with every creative and rebellious instinct stifled.” 1955’s “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” becomes the existentialist novel of the day. Existentialism feeds feminism, gay rights, anti-racist and anti-colonial struggles.

    The disparate and bitterly quarreling existentialist philosophers were united by, at least, “the ability to put experience into words and the fierce desire to do so – to the limits of human ability.”

    Sarah Bakewell concludes “existentialist ideas and attitudes have imbedded themselves so deeply into modern culture that we hardly think of them as existentialist at all.”

    And I did, finally, get Wright.
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  • M. T. Philipps
    5.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining a review of existentialism
    Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2025
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    Pithy takes on some key philosophers of existentialism, for example, a good section on Heidegger. Some of the history on such figures as Sartre somewhat less interesting but informative. As a whole, this was a worthwhile read. Recommended for those curious about existentialism.

    M T Philipps, author of ‘Keeping Calm’
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  • Aaron
    5.0 out of 5 stars Brings Existentialism literally to life
    Reviewed in the United States on January 21, 2025
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    To me as a psychologist, this book is the most graspable book about philosophical subject I have ever read . Making the subject personable by being biographical , is, in my opinion, sheer genius . I find philosophy to be overly abstract. Bringing Sartre & Beauvoir to life added a layer of depth & understanding that was enriching & enhancing . I highly recommend this book.
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars This is an excellent introduction to the popular and valid philosophy called existentialism
    Reviewed in India on October 2, 2017
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    This is an excellent introduction to the popular and valid philosophy called existentialism. All those who wish to understand this ground breaking vision of human life must read this book and reread it. It is an intellectual pleasure and a stylistic delight. The writer writes with an authentic voice.
    vishram gupte
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  • anonymous
    5.0 out of 5 stars Great service
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 10, 2022
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    As described. Great condition. No complaints.
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  • Norman Douglas
    4.0 out of 5 stars at the extentialist café
    Reviewed in France on March 9, 2018
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    An engaging exposure of some of the leading figuresof this movement..Sartre is not a philosopher. He is a cut & paste novelist, an essayist and playwrght mixing Heidegger, Husserl and others.into his philosophy.. He is an early example of a media personality. This book is an excellent fresh look at the ideas and milieu in which these people developed.Exhilarating
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  • Juan Z.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Existentialism for introduction
    Reviewed in Germany on September 3, 2021
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    It feels like a trip through history combined with entry points of existentialist philosophy making it accessible for non-experts. All this while having a great style of writing which makes you be stuck to the book. Definitely a page turner
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  • Salvadore
    5.0 out of 5 stars Knowledge of the history in a friendly way
    Reviewed in Mexico on July 14, 2019
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    I've not finished reading this book however the reading is not tedious on the other hand the outhor uses very comprehensive sentences for a non philosopher or specialist in the subject. For me this book is very interesting full of new vocabulary As a foreign language speaker it's helping me alot.
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