Introducing Sartre (Introducing (Icon)) (Paperback)

~ Philip Thody (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Jean-Paul Sartre was once described as being the most famous Frenchman of the twentieth century, after President Charles de Gaulles! Certainly from 1945 until his death in 1980, Sartre was the most famous and prolific writer in France, and one of the best known philosophers of his day.

Product Details

• Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Totem Books (October 25, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1840460075
• ISBN-13: 978-1840460070
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,910,278 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a Good Start on Sartre, March 17, 2002

By	Mike Anthony (Bothell, WA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you are looking for a good, quick introduction to Sartre's Philosophy, I would not start with _Introducing Sartre_ from Totem Books, but with _Sartre For Beginners_ from Writers and Readers Publishing.

_Introducing Sartre_ focuses more on Biographical information, and brief Literary analysis of Sartre's novels and plays, than on his Philosophical works and their meaning. The illustrations are frequently just "fluffy" caricaturization instead of helping us understand characterization. Why would I want to struggle with trying to determine which figure is supposed to be Aron, Nizan or Sartre?

The book lacks a Glossary (which is further indication of its Biographical/Literary approach rather than Philosophical), and there is no Bibliography (all references must be gleaned from within the text.)

While as a whole, the book was a somewhat interesting read, the weakness of its philosophical examination allowed me to only rate it 3-Stars.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Very little on existentialism - too much on Sartre , June 18, 2006

By	doc peterson (Portland, Oregon USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Introducing Sartre (Paperback)

_Introducing Sartre_ is an interesting concept: use the format of a graphic novel to expound on the ideas of one of the 20th century's greatest minds. Unfortunately, the concept falls flat in execution.

I won't go into detail about the relative merits (or not) of the artwork. The book, however, left much to be desired. It is essentially a biography of Jean - Jacques Sartre, with only cursory attention paid to existentialism as a philosophy. Admittedly the two are related, but I had really hoped for a closer and deeper examiniation of his ideas - instead I got medicore biography.

If a summary of Sartre's life is of interest, this would be a great place to begin. If, however, you are looking for information about his ideas, go elsewhere.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good bio, bad philosophy, March 3, 2006

By	Icarus Falls (Everywhere, U.S.A.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introducing Sartre (Paperback)

Just as a previous reviewer stated, this book focuses too much on the biographical Sartre, and not enough on the philosophical Sartre. The pictures don't really add much to the text either. If you are looking for an intro to Sartre's life, this book is adequate, but if you want to learn about his philosophy, then you should look elswhere.