Notebooks of Simone Weil [Paperback]

Simone Weil (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1984

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a defining figure of the twentieth century; a philosopher, Christian, resistance fighter, anarchist, feminist, Labour activist and teacher. She was described by T. S. Eliot as 'a woman of genius, of a kind of genius akin to that of the saints', and by Albert Camus as 'the only great spirit of our time'. Originally published posthumously in two volumes, these newly reissued notebooks, are among the very few unedited personal writings of Weil's that still survive today. Containing her thoughts on art, love, science, God and the meaning of life, they give context and meaning to Weil's famous works, revealing an unique philosophy in development and offering a rare private glimpse of her singular personality.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Simone Weil (1909-1943) was a French philosopher, activist and thinker and one of the defining intellectual figures of the twentieth century. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 335 pages
• Publisher: Routledge Kegan & Paul (January 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0710085222
• ISBN-13: 978-0710085221
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,650,696 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shoddily produced over-priced reprint of a work of genius., July 15, 2005

By 

tepi "tepi" - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: The Notebooks of Simone Weil (Hardcover)

Simone Weil's 'Notebooks' are a major achievement and contain a staggering wealth of insights on a very wide range of subjects from a woman who has been described, without exaggeration, as the most profound thinker of the twentieth century. As such, this collection is invaluable and one doesn't have to read far in it to realize that Simone Weil could pack into a short sentence what many writers would need an entire volume to express, always supposing they had insights of such depth to express in the first place.

Sadly, however, the present edition is merely a cheaply reproduced reprint in one volume of the original 2-volume edition. Physically it could hardly be said to be a real hardbound book at all since it is in effect merely a glued-spine paperback which has been stuck between paper-covered boards, a book that does not open flat, an object masquerading as a real book but with a price tag one expects to find on a limited edition fine press book. Hence the single star.

Prospective buyers should try to find the original cloth-bound stitched edition of 'Notebooks' (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1956, 2-volumes) on the used book market where they are readily available. They will be getting permanent books that open flat and represent much better value for their money.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars don't judge a book by its cover, June 22, 2006

By 

D. Corl (Fukuoka Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Notebooks of Simone Weil (Hardcover)

Yes, the binding is cheap, and the price is exorbitant. Yes, the publisher ought to be ashamed. But the content of Simone Weil's notebooks far outweigh the slipshod production. Weil remains one of the greatest interwar thinkers, with a brilliant mind, and a saint-like intensity for the pursuit of truth, beauty and kenotic love. The works of Levinas, Agamben, Canada's George Parkin Grant and a host of other postwar thinkers, French or otherwise, would be unthinkable without Weil. As such, this book deserves more than the one star given by an earlier reviewer. I give it five stars just to even out the overall average.