Dostoevsky, Kierkegard, Nietzsche and Kafka [Paperback]

William Hubben (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 1997

Previously published in 1962, a portrait of our philosophical times seen through the lives and writings of Dostoevsky, Kierkegaard, Nietzche and Kafka.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Scribner (May 13, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684825899
• ISBN-13: 978-0684825892
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,420,458 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Promising Premise Stifled, September 26, 2002

By 

eric birdsall (Boston, MA- United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dostoevsky, Kierkegard, Nietzsche and Kafka (Paperback)

I'm rather surprised that only one previous reviewer (Mr. English) seemed to be distracted by the Christian-centric focus of Mr. Hubben's book. While not without value or at least some interest, it became almost difficult to read the words on the page from beneath the thick Christian polish covering it all. Please don't mistake this for any kind of anti-Christian rant on my part. Not in the least. However, it can not be overlooked that the thesis of this book, even if not spelled out to us in such exact words, is that the lives of these philosophers/writers (and, I'd gather, all man), as well as nothing less than the history of Europe, would have been far brighter and more meaningful should they all have embraced Christ. Again, there's no problem with that as a thesis or even, I'm sure, as a personal belief. Unfortunately, however, if one goes into this book without already knowing that there would be a truly overt pro-Christian slant to every aspect of the essay, it will prove for some frustrating reading. Also, I do have to add that the theory not-so-subtly put forth by the author that Kafka's misery stemmed from being Jewish (and that simply being Jewish, in itself, was a possible line of reasoning for any Jewish misery), and that it could have been avoided should he have been Christian.... Well, that seems to be just blatantly offensive and over the top. It's this type of end-logic to every problem raised that makes for some less than satisfying reading-- especially when one considers the four men that have been chosen as subjects.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short, Sweet and unbiased......, September 12, 2008

By 

Medusa (Troy, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dostoevsky, Kierkegard, Nietzsche and Kafka (Paperback)

This book about three of my favorite thinkers was one of the easiest books I have read, I'm grateful that it also introduced me to the work of a forth great thinker: Kierkegaard.

Although I might disagree that the four men are directly related to existentialism (If Nietzsche was alive he would've agreed with me.), but there is no doubt all four writers were alienated from the society they rejected, and each in his own way embarked on a quest to find the truth.

I'm at a loss to explain why this book is accused of having a "Christian-centric focus", Mr. Hubben simply presented the biographies objectively, and related them to the work's of other great authors.
Let us not forget that the theme of the four men's lives was being rejected (mainly by the church and society) for not believing what was believed and not going blindly with the flow.

Mr. Hubben accurately reports the suffering of the four men on totally different levels, he didn't suggest in any way that embracing Christ would've been a better choice:
1- Kierkegaard who opposed the church not Christianity.
2- Dostoevsky who chose a leap of faith, and talked of Christ almost in all of his work, but still never stopped questioning and doubting.
3- Nietzsche who decided to revolt against all rules and chose to be an atheist.
4- Kafka, a non believer among Jews, who felt a profound sense of alienation from society as well.

How can the enumeration of the facts surrounding the lives of these four men be described as pro-Christian???

The religion/faith factor in these four men's lives can't be ignored while studying their lives, but that doesn't mean necessarily the author is presenting a pro-Christian point of view. The four men were not chosen as the subject of this book to challenge any religious values, but simply to celebrate great minds and free spirits that were not afraid of expressing themselves.

This book is a good objective overview of four remarkable thinkers, who were never appreciated during their lives.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Lack of clarity or unified direction muddle the celebration, November 4, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Dostoevsky, Kierkegard, Nietzsche and Kafka (Paperback)

Some pages should have been ripped out. Mostly the ones where Hubben asserts his opinions . . . if they are his opinions; you can't always tell because he doesn't distinguish when he's talking for the writers (by way of explication), or when he's merely blowing off some personal steam about the current state of Christianity in the world. Contrary to the blurb, I found the book to be a miserable resource for expanding my knowledge on the merits of existentialist thinking. Hubben is very narrow-minded in his approach to existentialism; he's good about saying he understands where it came from, but he's not so good about addressing the possible arguments to his (basic) point that existentialism exalts the "via negativa." Also, I found his treatment of Kafka downright despicable in its oversimplification and lack of aesthetic appreciation. I gave this book 2 stars instead of 1 because it wasn't completely banal; not only did it get me to think (however angry and contrary those thoughts were), but it also actually turned me on to Nietzsche and Dostoevsky in a way that I don't believe Hubben intended. Hubben, contrary to his seeming intention, actually did a lot of work to validate the philosphical-religious musings of the 2 writers . . . the absolute best part of this is where Hubben appears to have convinced himself and then come under the hypnosis of the idea that, as Nietzsche claimed, God is dead, as he goes on to repeat this in chapter after consecutive chapter. It's like, in trying to discover and prove one thing, thinking out on paper, he came across the opposite, but out of stubborness or shame, or whatever, he continued to take his "unfortunate" (for him) discoveries to their extremes and, mostly futilely, bend them to support his thesis. So 2 stars instead of one, but 2 basically mocking stars. Big deal . . . you don't need this book; it mostly doesn't achieve what it purports to achieve.