Existentialism from Dostoevsky to Sartre (Meridian) Review

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(More customer reviews)Looking for a textbook? A scholarly exegesis of Being and Nothingness? The final answers to all of life's questions? Then you've come to the wrong place. Looking for a thought-provoking anthology of existentialist (and quasi-existentialist) authors, which flows effortlessly from one section to the next, and brings a smile (or a furrowed brow) to all who read it? Then I can think of no better book.
The selections in this book were chosen for their readability, not their weight, so academic philosophers may find this book lacking. But were it not for books like this, which enchant the layman and force him (or her) to examine primary sources, would there be any philosophy majors?
From Camus' notion of a sustaining inward rebellion, to Sartre's brilliant reevaluation of ethics (prose in "Self-deception", poetry in "The Wall"), to the great battle over Christianity between Kierkegaard and Nietzsche, there is certainly something of vital importance to most people contained in these pages. As an individual's right is sovereign, I will not urge you to like this book, or even to read it - this, like all things, you must decide for yourself.

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Basic Writings of Existentialism (Modern Library Classics) Review

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(More customer reviews)I read a good chunk of this text for my German Existentialism class and will absolutely be reading the rest of it on my own. Marino does an excellent job compiling a wide range of existentialist thought and adding short, concise introductions to each philosopher. Even more difficult philosophers like Heidegger and Kierkegaard are made approachable by careful selection from their major works. For people approaching existentialism for the first time I would suggest this book in addition to William Barrett's The Irrational Man, the latter giving a better groundwork for the entire philosophy and Marino's text providing some of the best and most vivid examples of existentialist philosophy.
Existentialism is not for the meek. The texts are difficult and many of the questions they raise may result in life altering answers. For those willing to take the plunge this should not be a deterent, but merely a bump in the road. Marino has selected pieces that can at first seem utterly baffling, but with careful readings (Yes, readings. Things get easier the second time!) all of them are accessible and the benefits and real world applications (Existentialism pops up everywhere--movies, tv, music, art, politics, religion, etc. It is, after all, about existence!) of existentialism are impossible to measure.

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Edited and with an Introduction by Gordon MarinoBasic Writings of Existentialism, unique to the Modern Library, presents the writings of key nineteenth- and twentieth-century thinkers broadly united by their belief that because life has no inherent meaning humans can discover, we must determine meaning for ourselves. This anthology brings together into one volume the most influential and commonly taught works of existentialism. Contributors include Simone de Beauvoir, Albert Camus, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Ralph Ellison, Martin Heidegger, Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Jean-Paul Sartre, and Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo.

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