Not a volume to be picked up lightly, unless you enjoy tussling with sentences heavily laden with philosophical jargon and...
Intellectual all-star Kristeva (Possessions, 1998) offers this study of Arendt as the first installment of her new trilogy on female genius (the next two will deal with Melanie Klein and Colette).
Kristeva begins provocatively, questioning the very existence of the female genius and purposefully leaving the question unanswered. Her stance is doubly provocative in relation to Arendt, who would seem to qualify as a genius by anyone’s standards. Born in Linden, Germany, in 1906, Arendt was an intellectual prodigy who quarreled with her schoolteachers so relentlessly that she was eventually expelled for insubordination. This bad start notwithstanding, she went on to earn a doctorate in philosophy at the University of Heidelberg and became the protégé (and lover) of the influential philosopher Martin Heidegger. She first emerged as a major figure in philosophy and intellectual life with the 1951 publication of The Origins of Totalitarianism, a monumental work that argued against humanity’s own absurdity (in response to the cultural degradation of fascism, communism, and WWII) and offered a critique of the prevailing school of existentialism. But this is not a biography; Kristeva’s portrait takes the form of an intellectual dialogue between Arendt and herself. She integrates a full range of Arendt’s philosophical work into her study, and includes many texts that illuminate aspects of Arendt’s private life (including her correspondence with Heidegger and husband Herman Clucher, and extracts from the diary of Arendt’s mother). The portrait that emerges is quirky, intentionally subjective, and finely detailed.
Not a volume to be picked up lightly, unless you enjoy tussling with sentences heavily laden with philosophical jargon and esoterica—but Kristeva fans are a diehard and hardy bunch, and they’ll find plenty to be excited about here.Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-231-12102-4
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Columbia Univ.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2001
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
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