Rousseau in 90 Minutes
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“”"Well-written, clear, and informed, they have a breezy wit about them.
I find them hard to stop reading.”"New York Times
“”Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise.”"Wall Street Journal
In Rousseau we encounter a walking ego, naked sensibility. Feeling triumphs over
intellectual argument in his works, which are both deeply stirring and deeply inconsistent.
Yet while his contemporaries Kant and Hume may have been superior academic
philosophers, the sheer power of Rousseau’s ideas was unequaled in his time. It was he
who encouraged the introduction of both liberty and irrationality into the public domain.
In Rousseau in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of
Rousseau’s life and ideas, and explains their influence on man’s struggle to understand his
existence in the world. The book also includes selections from Rousseau’s work, a brief list
of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place
Rousseau within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.
Paul Strathern earned a degree in philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, and has lectured in philosophy and mathematics. A Somerset Maugham prize winner, he has written books on history, philosophy, and travel as well as five novels. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the Observer (London) and the Irish Times. He lives and writes in London.
Earphones Awards recipient Robert Whitfield was born in England and worked for the BBC for ten years as a radio news announcer and also worked as a narrator for the Royal National Institute for the Blind in London. In addition to narrating for Blackstone Audiobooks, he involves himself in numerous stage-acting projects in the United States and Europe.”