Against the Pollution of the I [Paperback]

Jacques Lusseyran (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2006

This inspiring title new to paperback presents six little-known essays by the blind French author and Resistance leader Jacques Lusseyran. Two of the essays delve more deeply into the human drama and heroism of his interment in a Nazi prison camp at Buchenwald, which Lusseyran described so movingly in his autobiography And There Was Light. Others explore the mystery and wonder of the world that his remarkable inner vision revealed and offer a comparison of sight both with and without eyes.

Imagine experiencing senses far beyond the usual five — true and vivid sight without eyes, sound from trees, pressure from inanimate objects. Imagine reading the words of a man whom many consider a modern day saint. Against the Pollution of the I possesses the ingredients that make for success: the heroism of World War II, clear-sighted hope, and a full-hearted love of life. Blindness, for Lusseyran, invited him to pay more attention, enabling him to discover the divinity of the world available to all people. And in this remarkable collection of essays, Lusseyran offers us a way to access our precious light-filled inner self — our I — and transform our lives!

Product Details

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Publisher: Morning Light Press (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 159675009X
• ISBN-13: 978-1596750098
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #125,942 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #40 in Books > History > Historical Study > Essays

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating look at the benefits of blindness, July 18, 2008

By 

Kentucky book lover - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Against the Pollution of the I (Paperback)

Jacques Lusseyran, who was blinded at age 7, speaks in this fascinating book about how blind people can "see" by using their other senses and tuning into spiritual realities. He also talks about the gifts that accompany his blindness. This is an amazing exposition of phenomena not usually discussed (or perhaps even acknowledged) by blind people. It is certainly a message of optimism for them. But it is also inspiring for sighted people who realize how much they may be missing by relying so heavily on the sense of sight. Extremely interesting and insightful.

The book would be best read after And There was Light, Lusseyran's autobiography, which describes his adjustment to blindness, his involvement in the French resistance during World War II, and his survival in a German concentration camp.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Against the Pollution of the I, May 5, 2009

By 

Ryan Shaw (monterey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Against the Pollution of the I (Paperback)

A wonderful collection of six essays by Jacques Lusseyran, the brilliant, fluent, compelling author who was blinded from a childhood accident. After reading the essay entitled "Jeremy," I read it again and again. It's a masterpiece, giving lucid insights into the essence that unites us all. I am ever so grateful for becoming acquainted with this remarkable man through his writings.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read "Jeremy" and "Poetry in Buchenwald", May 21, 2009

By 

Paula (Massachusetts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Against the Pollution of the I (Paperback)

Like Ryan, I too read "Jeremy" over and over again. It is perfect and the most amazing piece of writing I've read outside of the Gospel of John in the New Testament. That's high praise, but try it! I sent "Jeremy" to many people, along with "Poetry in Buchenwald," also in this book. You can read my "Light Dream" I had in April of 1980 by googling "Ruth Schumeister" or by reading it in the Amazon.com reviews of "Embraced by the Light." So when I read Lusseyran, I KNOW he knows what he's talking about. My life was incredibly enriched by both his books - I can't tell you how much!

He's uncovered a layer of life that must always have been there -- but that few find -- his whole life a "being in/going toward" that 7th Heaven St. Paul talks about seeing and being in when The Light knocked him off his horse and then gave him a little 'talky-poo'! No disrespect intended! :-)

I look forward to meeting Jacques Lusseyran some day, if life is as they say it is! Read his amazing stories!

The only author that comes near Lusseyran for me, outside the Bible, is Varlam Shalamov ("Graphite" and "Kolyma Tales") with his short stories of the Gulag. Shalamov is a poet, and his prose is amazing (translated by John Glad). I spoke to a Russian Jew in Framingham, MA at the pool, and we discovered a mutual love for Shalamov. He said he floated on air for three days when he discovered him, reading, reading, reading! He was able to rib me about the fact that he got to read him in the original Russian! How I envied him!

The ending (especially) of "Peace Like a River" by Leif Enger -- the Heaven sequence -- is wonderful writing too. May I also suggest (corny as the front cover is) "Embraced by the Light" by Betty Eadie (her two subsequent books are excellent, too) and Betty Malz's "My Glimpse of Eternity" (wonderful!) and even what's his name's "Saved by the Light"? All these last three "Light/Eternity" books contain life reviews that are great - not to mention what they "saw"!

Ah, but return to Lusseyran -- he towers, he towers! And he indeed "saw" -- and it was in THIS life!!!