Michel Foucault by Didier Eribon, Betsy Wing (Translator)

Product Details

Synopsis

When he died in 1984, Michel Foucault was widely regarded as one of the most powerful minds of this century. Hailed by historians and lionized in America, he continues to provoke lively debate. This meticulously documented narrative debunks the many myths and rumors surrounding the brilliant philosopher to consider that all Foucault's books are "fragments of an autobiography".

Annotation

When he died in 1984, Michel Foucault was widely regarded as one of the most powerful minds of this century. Hailed by historians and lionized in America, he continues to provoke lively debate. This meticulously documented narrative debunks the many myths and rumors surrounding the brilliant philosopher to consider that all Foucault's books are "fragments of an autobiography."

Library Journal

Michel Foucault (1926-84), whose agile linkage of contemporary literature and French philosophy with social history has provided us with seminal works on the histories of madness, prison, and even sex, shares the limelight in this first biography with the intellectual scenes of which he was but a part. Only the barest outline of his childhood and adolescence (during wartime Paris) is given, and even most of what we are told of his later life seems to take a backseat to the publication histories of his books and his impressions of his contemporary thinkers and colleagues. Eribon, a journalist, appears to have a clear understanding of Foucault the man but falls short of presenting him fully fleshed to the reader. For specialists and where interest warrants.-- Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley P.L., Cal.