Sarah Bakewell (1)Recensioner

Quick Review: I'm so happy I stumbled across this book and decided to take it home. I've never read a more insightful and enlightening, encouraging and hopeful book!

I’d recommend this book to anyone looking to bootstrap their way into existentialism. It describes why existentialism and its forerunner, phenomenology, caused such an upheaval in philosophy in the twentieth century, spilling over into popular culture, and why this movement still matters today. Bakewell even offers a one-page definition of existentialism.
The title reflects the book’s approach. It refers to an encounter at a Left Bank café when Raymond Aron explained phenomenology to his school chum Jean-Paul Sartre and Sartre’s partner, Simone de Beauvoir, by remarking that you could talk about the apricot cocktail they were enjoying and make philosophy out of it. This was audacious and ran counter to the practice of philosophy since Aristotle.
By starting with this anecdote, Bakewell signalizes what was new in these movements, with their focus on the lived experience of the individual. It also reflects her approach; she writes of her response to Sartre’s novel, Nausea, when she read it as a sixteen-year-old, making her want to study philosophy.
This mix of biography and the history of ideas results in a readable book that I enjoyed. As Bakewell writes, every one of these figures was flawed, as were their ideas. But while she makes clear the failure of Heidegger either to explain or apologize for his Naziism, she goes easier on Sartre, whose exasperating defense of Stalinism betrayed the core principles of existentialism. And even when he belatedly dropped his loyalty to the Soviets in 1968, as tanks rolled into Prague, it was only to jump to Mao. By detailing these shifts, she permits readers to make up their own minds.
I only regret coming to this book so late in life. My copy of Sein und Zeit sits on my shelf, as unmarked as when I bought it twenty-four years ago. Perhaps I’ll still tackle it, as well as Being and Nothingness, sitting near it. And then Beauvoir, Marcel, so many others! But even this introduction has already changed my thinking, which is more than many books do.
And Juliette Greco singing “Sous le ciel de Paris” keeps running through my head.

A story of the people, the ideas and the history of philosophy of Existentialism with a trace to how it reaches us today.

I can’t find faults with this book that would not just be critique of the specific choices of content emphasis.

As an introduction to existentialism for the beginner or casual reader, it would be hard to improve on this. Bakewell is a very good writer indeed (her book on Montaigne is equally excellent), and she does justice I think to most if not all of the main actors in existential philosophy. While some reviewers may quibble about someone or something that gets little or no attention in her book, the marvel is that she fits so much in and yet manages a lightness of tone, and an easy integration of biography and ideas. If you have the energy or interest to read just one book about existentialism, then this is it.

Ms. Bakewell covers 700-plus years of humanism and philosophy with grace and with.

A history of freethinking, literary immersion, and rejection of religious authority
I read Sarah Bakewell's "At the Existentialist Cafe" a few years ago, thoroughly enjoying her writing. I therefore bought this book as soon as it came out, and also enjoyed it. The goal of the book is to define humanism by reference to many of its practitioners, starting with Petrarch, and ending with a 2022 manifesto from the British humanist society. Humanists have generally been skeptical of religion, and often had to hide or delay publishing their works, because they lived in societies that were prosecutory. There writing focus on human concerns rather than theology. Boccaccio, Erasmus, Hume, Montaigne, Bertrand Russell, are famous characters in humanism. Lorenzo de Valla and Robert Ingersoll are less well known. Zora Neale Hurston appears early, Confuscius is mentioned, and several of the stories concern gay writers, so that the diversity boxes are checked, but generally this is about mainstream European philosophers. As a physician, I was especially interested in a section discussing Vesalius and de Valla promoting the study of anatomy based on dissection. I think of myself as a freethinking person, so the theme of the book made perfect sense to me. A recurrent quote from Robert Ingersoll sums up the attitude of the author and the humanists:
Happiness is the only good.
The time to be happy is now.
The place to be happy is here.
The way to be happy is to make others so.

Please follow the link to my review. Thank you.
https://polymathtobe.blogspot.com/2023/12/book-review-humanly-possible-seven.htm...

This is the best book I've read this year. Part biography, part history, part literary criticism, it explores Montaigne, his world, and his work.

Starting with Montaigne's Essays, and spiraling out to encompass his life, and the life of his work over the centuries since he died, Bakewell has written a book unlike anything else I have ever read.

The Whig interpretation of history, wrote Herbert Butterfield in 1931, meant writing ‘to emphasise certain principles of progress in the past and to produce a story which is the ratification if not the glorification of the present’. Humanly Possible is, by that measure, a Whiggish history of humanism. A lifelong humanist, Bakewell traces the chequered but irresistible development of her convictions from the Renaissance to the present, when they have not exactly triumphed, but have certainly proved their resilience.

Before embarking on a genealogy of humanism, Bakewell tries to say what it is. Humanism means an emphasis on the ‘human dimension of life’, although it turns out ‘almost everything we do can seem a bit humanistic’. More substance comes from its affinity with freethinking. Not all, or even most, humanists have denied the existence of the divine, but they have tried to stop it from becoming a distraction from, or obstacle to, human flourishing. As humanist advertisements on London buses advised some years ago: ‘There is probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.’ Bakewell celebrates the great people of the past who have sought in that spirit ‘just a little more of the good stuff in life, and less of the bad stuff’.

The pursuit of the ‘good stuff’ falls into four phases. In their obsession with classical times, Renaissance scholars developed a new confidence in what humans could achieve, not least because they revelled in the power of their minds and even their physiques: Leon Alberti could throw an apple over the Duomo in Florence. Writers such as the anatomist Vesalius soon went beyond revering ancient authorities to exposing their mistakes. Enlightened thinkers added to this critical ferment an open hostility to theology and a commitment to social improvement. In the 19th century, intellectuals took up their meliorism, while completing the undermining of religion’s authority over human beings. Although scientific humanists came to understand humankind as the product of evolution by natural selection, their emphasis on our animal origins merely heightened their faith in duty and intellect. The final phase of humanism’s development was embattled. The First World War and the rise of fascism and communism menaced any faith in the dignity and equality of individuals. Yet this dark time was their finest hour: humanists saved Europe’s cultural patrimony from destruction, then founded the United Nations to enshrine its protection and the recognition of human rights.

Read the rest of the review at HistoryToday.com.

Michael Ledger-Lomas is the author of Queen Victoria: This Thorny Crown (Oxford University Press, 2021).

I enjoyed this book tremendously. It's really a history of Montaigne's Essays, rather than a life of Montaigne. Obviously Montaigne himself is a very important figure in that history, and Bakewell gives him ample space, but the ideas, reception, interpretation and use of the Essays also feature very prominently.

The structure of the book is brilliant, being organised in three dimensions at once: Montaigne's life, the history of the Essays before and after publication and Montaigne's philosophy. Incredibly, despite all that going on, it's easy to follow. The organisation is so neat that when I was reading about Montaigne's life I thought I was reading a biography, when I was reading about the book's reception I thought I was reading a history of the Essays and when I was reading about his thought I thought it was a Montaigne primer. And which of these modes the book is in can change from paragraph to paragraph, even sentence to sentence.

Bakewell achieves this complexity through a combination of meticulous organisation and crystal clear, engaging prose. I imagine Bakewell's planning documents for this book would look like the exploded diagram of a luxury car - it takes a lot of work to allow you to tap the accelerator and glide forward effortlessly and an incredible eye to also make it a beautiful experience.

I'm looking forward to reading some of the Essays and finding out what all the fuss was about.

Benvenuti nel mondo di Montaigne, il filosofo rinascimentale francese del XVI secolo la cui saggezza risuona ancora oggi. Me lo fece conoscere quella straordinaria prof di francese al ginnasio, un secolo ed un millennio fa. Nella sua rinomata raccolta di saggi, Michel de Montaigne non solo esplora le profondità della natura umana, ma offre anche inestimabili spunti per navigare nella complessità della vita.

Dall’arte dell’auto-riflessione all’importanza di abbracciare l’incertezza, le regole per la vita di Montaigne sono una guida senza tempo per chiunque cerchi saggezza e realizzazione. Le opere di Montaigne, in particolare la sua raccolta di saggi intitolata “Essais”, rappresentano una testimonianza del suo incrollabile impegno a comprendere se stesso e il mondo che lo circonda. Al centro della sua filosofia c’è un profondo apprezzamento per la natura umana e il desiderio di esplorare le complessità della nostra esistenza.

A tal fine, Montaigne ha scritto ampiamente sulle sue esperienze e osservazioni sulla vita. “Il valore della vita non sta nella lunghezza dei giorni, ma nell’uso che ne facciamo… Se trovi soddisfazione nella vita non dipende dal tuo racconto di anni, ma dalla tua volontà”, ha scritto. Sebbene non abbia delineato esplicitamente una serie di regole per la vita, i suoi scritti riflettono i suoi pensieri sul vivere un’esistenza appagante e significativa.

In un’epoca segnata dall’incertezza e da una costante lotta per trovare un significato, le intuizioni di Montaigne forniscono una bussola tanto necessaria per navigare nelle complessità della vita. Attraverso i suoi saggi, Montaigne ci incoraggia ad abbracciare l’intero spettro delle emozioni umane, sostenendo l’importanza dell’accettazione di sé e della conoscenza di sé.

Sfida la saggezza convenzionale, esortandoci a mettere in discussione credenze e ideologie consolidate, poiché credeva che la vera saggezza derivi dal pensiero critico e dall’apertura mentale. Montaigne sottolinea anche il significato dell’umiltà e riconosce i limiti intrinseci della comprensione umana. I suoi scritti ci ricordano che abbracciare le nostre imperfezioni non è un segno di debolezza ma una fonte di forza e autenticità.

Nei suoi scritti, Montaigne ci incoraggia a cercare l’equilibrio in tutti gli aspetti della nostra esistenza. Ci esorta a coltivare l’amore per l’apprendimento, riconoscendo che la curiosità intellettuale alimenta la crescita personale e amplia i nostri orizzonti. Allo stesso tempo, sottolinea l’importanza del tempo libero e delle attività piacevoli, ricordandoci che la vera felicità non risiede nella produttività costante ma nell’assaporare i piaceri semplici della vita.

Queste sono una raccolta delle sue intuizioni su come vivere una buona vita. Non sono regole in senso tradizionale, ma piuttosto sagge osservazioni su come affrontare la vita con saggezza, umiltà e curiosità.

1. Abbraccia lo scetticismo
Montaigne sosteneva di mettere in discussione e dubitare delle credenze e delle ideologie consolidate. “Questa nozione [scetticismo] è compresa più chiaramente chiedendo “Cosa ne so?” Egli ha detto. Ha sottolineato l’importanza del pensiero critico e di non accettare sconsideratamente opinioni comuni. Facendo domande, possiamo arrivare a una comprensione più sfumata del mondo.

2. Ama la tua libertà
La libertà era un tema centrale nei saggi di Montaigne. Disse: “La cosa più bella del mondo è sapere come appartenere a se stessi”. Credeva che la libertà fosse essenziale per la felicità e la realizzazione. La vedeva come la capacità di pensare con la propria testa, di essere indipendente dalle opinioni degli altri e di vivere la vita secondo i propri valori. Ha anche visto la libertà come la capacità di controllare le proprie emozioni e non essere governato dalla paura o dalla rabbia.

3. Abbraccia l’incertezza
“L’unica cosa certa è che niente è certo.” Montaigne credeva che l’incertezza fosse una parte intrinseca della vita e invece di cercare di controllarla o eliminarla, dovremmo imparare ad abbracciarla. Accettare l’imprevedibilità della vita ci permette di vivere nel momento presente e di adattarci alle mutevoli circostanze. “Dobbiamo imparare a sopportare ciò che non possiamo evitare”, ha detto.

4. Coltivare la conoscenza di sé
Montaigne credeva che l’autoriflessione e l’autoesame fossero essenziali per vivere una vita felice e appagante. Pensava che lo studio più grande e più importante di tutti fosse lo studio di se stessi. “Prestati agli altri, ma donati a te stesso”, ha detto. Montaigne credeva che avremmo potuto condurre una vita più autentica e soddisfatta comprendendo noi stessi, i nostri punti di forza, le nostre debolezze e le nostre motivazioni. La conoscenza di sé ci consente di fare scelte migliori e di allineare le nostre azioni ai nostri valori.

5. Abbraccia la moderazione
Montaigne ha messo in guardia contro l’eccesso e l’estremismo. “Le persone del nostro tempo sono così formate per l’agitazione e l’ostentazione che la bontà, la moderazione, l’equità, la costanza e qualità così tranquille e oscure non si sentono più”, ha scritto. Credeva nella virtù della moderazione in tutti gli aspetti della vita, compresi i piaceri, le ambizioni e le convinzioni. Bilanciare i nostri desideri ed evitare gli estremi può portare a uno stile di vita più equilibrato e sostenibile.

6. Rendere la ricerca della conoscenza un’abitudine
Montaigne era un vorace lettore e allievo. Credeva nel potere dell’istruzione e nella ricerca della conoscenza come impegno per tutta la vita, ma amava anche le esperienze personali per crescere in saggezza. “Possiamo essere informati con la conoscenza di altri uomini, ma non possiamo essere saggi con la saggezza di altri uomini”, dice Montaigne. Impegnarsi con una vasta gamma di idee e cercare continuamente di espandere la nostra comprensione del mondo può portare alla crescita personale e all’arricchimento intellettuale.

7. Abbraccia la solitudine
Montaigne apprezzava la solitudine e credeva che trascorrere del tempo da soli consentisse l’introspezione e la contemplazione. “Un uomo deve tenere un piccolo retrobottega dove può essere se stesso senza riserve. Solo nella solitudine può conoscere la vera libertà”, dice Montaigne. Il tempo da solo offre un’opportunità per la scoperta di sé, la chiarezza di pensiero e la pace interiore. Ci permette di ricaricarci, riflettere sulle nostre esperienze e capire meglio noi stessi.

8. Perseguire l’autenticità
Montaigne ha incoraggiato le persone a essere fedeli a se stesse ea vivere secondo i propri valori e le proprie convinzioni. “Non aver paura di dire quello che non hai paura di pensare”, ha detto. Ha criticato il conformismo e ha esortato le persone a esprimere la propria unicità. Abbracciare l’autenticità ci consente di vivere una vita più genuina e appagante, libera dalla pressione di conformarci alle aspettative della società. Vivi secondo la tua natura, non secondo le aspettative degli altri.

9. Amare la bellezza dei piaceri semplici
Montaigne ha trovato grande gioia nelle cose semplici della vita, come passare il tempo con gli amici e la famiglia, leggere e camminare nella natura. Credeva nel trovare gioia nelle esperienze quotidiane e nei piaceri semplici. “Tutte le opinioni del mondo sottolineano che il piacere è il nostro obiettivo”, ha osservato Montaigne. Ha celebrato i momenti ordinari della vita e ha incoraggiato gli altri ad apprezzare la bellezza nel banale. Assaporando le piccole cose, possiamo coltivare un senso di gratitudine e appagamento.

10. Fai pace con la mortalità umana
Montaigne ha affrontato la morte nei suoi saggi, sottolineando l’importanza di riconoscere e accettare la nostra stessa mortalità. “Turbiamo la nostra vita con pensieri sulla morte e la nostra morte con pensieri sulla vita”, ha osservato Montaigne. Pensava che siamo motivati a vivere più pienamente e ad apprezzare il momento presente in cui riconosciamo la finitezza della vita.

11. Accetta i tuoi limiti senza paura
Montaigne ha riconosciuto i limiti della conoscenza umana e la fallibilità del giudizio umano. “Imparare a vivere, alla fine, è imparare a convivere con l’imperfezione in questo modo, e persino ad abbracciarla”, Sarah Bakewell cita Montaigne nel suo libro How to Live: A Life of Montaigne. Ha sostenuto l’umiltà e il riconoscimento dei nostri limiti. Ti avvicinerai alla vita con umiltà e apertura mentale quando ti rifiuti di soffermarti sulle tue imperfezioni.

12. Trova il tuo scopo
““L’anima che non ha uno scopo fisso nella vita è perduta; essere ovunque, è non essere da nessuna parte”. Il viaggio per trovare il nostro scopo può essere impegnativo, ma è anche gratificante. Quando troviamo il nostro scopo, troviamo significato e direzione nelle nostre vite. Troviamo qualcosa per cui lottare, qualcosa di cui essere curiosi e qualcosa a cui dare la nostra vita. Se stai cercando il tuo scopo nella vita, ti incoraggio a riflettere sui tuoi valori e le tue passioni, sperimentare diverse attività ed esperienze e ascoltare il tuo intuito.

Just read Montaigne.

I thought this was a great way to dip my toes into existentialism. From the subtitle, I was a bit worried that it would all be brooding photos of Camus in a trenchcoat and quips from de Beauvoir and Sartre, but there were plenty of sections actually discussing the ideas in reasonable detail. I'd mostly encountered Heidegger in the context of people saying how difficult and dense the writing was, so it was enlightening to get the backstory of his gradual movement into his own enclosed world of ideas.

Overall, a very effective gateway book.

This is a deceptively clever book which manages to imitate Montaigne's style while covering the story of his life and times; his critics and supporters over the centuries since his death; and the philosophical positions by which he lived. Bakewell also explains why Montaigne's book of essays was so revolutionary when first published in the late 16th century. It is quirw an enjoyable read and quite erudite without seeming so.

It’s tempting to despair in these benighted times of war, political populism, mendacious demagogues, religious fundamentalism, the rise of irrationalism and re-emergence of fascism, reversals of hard-won liberties in Western democracies, and institutionalised prejudice; so a book on the history of Humanism is both welcome and necessary.

Humanly Possible is a history of humanist thought and thinkers from 1300 to the present day. 700 years of freethinking, rational enquiry and questioning of received wisdom and religious and political authority; 700 years of making connections between people, recognising our shared humanity and celebrating our differences. Anyone who thinks that progress is an illusion, or is simply overwhelmed by the parlous state of the world, should read this book; it is, among other things, a chronicle of how human advancement was achieved by courageous women and men who thought and fought against the grain.

Humanly Possible made me realise that there has never been a better time than now. I don’t mean this in the sense of Voltaire’s Dr Pangloss that ‘all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds’; far from it, in fact. It’s simply that reading Sarah Bakewell’s accounts of the persecution by church and state of freethinkers down the centuries, and the horrors of fascism and communism in the twentieth century, reminded me that human history has always been a struggle between the forces of light - the Enlightener’s ‘light of reason’ - and the forces of darkness.

She makes the important point that for much of history humanist thought left out most of humanity. When philosophers spoke of the rights of man they usually meant precisely that: the rights of men. And ‘white, able-bodied, gender-conforming males’ to boot. It was for later thinkers and activists to extend these ideas to all humanity. Some reviewers have questioned whether it is entirely legitimate for Bakewell to annex so much pre-nineteenth century thought under the banner of Humanism. Personally, I think it is, because she is identifying common themes and doing that quintessentially humanist thing of making connections between diverse traditions (‘only connect’, as E. M. Forster said).

Sarah Bakewell weaves together philosophy, history and biography with great skill. Her prose is beautifully lucid and infused with wit and humour. I certainly wasn’t expecting a book about philosophy to make me laugh so much. I liked her openness to those with views very different to her own but also her anger at those who would force their views on others through statute and suppress freedom. I liked her lack of dogmatism, her broad definition of culture, and her emphasis on the sheer fun and pleasure of intellectual life; and, above all, I liked her cautious optimism and belief in the capacity of people to address the problems that face humanity and create happier societies through freethinking, enquiry and hope. An inspiring and important book.

Giving us the line of humanists and where and how they diversify. In this volume, there were a lot more participants I had not heard of, as well as many I had. Her works always lead me on new journeys. Her books are readable for the lay reader, for me they are page turners.

Bakewell does a really nice job of balancing concept and context. She makes the seminal works accessible while adding political and interpersonal context for the pieces.

Europa zerfiel nach Luthers Thesenanschlag 1517 bzw. der einsetzenden Reformation wie ein krümeliger Brotlaib und die Gegend, in der Montaigne zu Hause war, wies diese Probleme der beiden Religionen ebenso auf wie viele anderen Regionen in Europa: das einsetzende, oft tödliche Machtgerangel zwischen Kirche, Königen, Staaten und dem Volk. Sich in diese Zeit einzudecken, fällt vielen von uns heute sehr schwer, weil wir die Macht und Allgewalt der Kirche nicht richtig einschätzen können. Sie hatte damals eine zentrale Lenkrolle, die sie heute, in einem säkularen Staat, bis zur Unkenntlichkeit fast völlig verloren hat.

Montaigne genoss eine strenge Erziehung, Latein bis zum Umfallen schon als kleines Kind, mit einem Privatlehrer, der nur Latein sprach. Dann Internat und weg von den Eltern. Er wird Jurist (alleine seine Ansichten über Jura sind mehr als lesenswert) und lernt in all dem Machtgerangel zu überleben, ja, ihm gelingt es, akzeptierte Kompromisse auszuhandeln, man vertraute ihm von vielen Seiten her. Sein Vater hält schützende Hände über ihn. Er lehrte ihn trotz allem, dass alles in Milde und Freiheit, ohne Härte und Zwang angegangen werden solle.

Es gab damals noch Männerfreundschaften, denen der heutige Regenbogen nicht wie ein drohender Schatten oblag. Lebenslange Freundschaft, gemeinsames Nachdenken, Gespräche und Glück: Montaigne hatte diese seltene Gelegenheit: Mit dem Denker / Schreiber Etienne de la Boëti verband ihn eine echte Seelenfreundschaft, die aber leider nur wenige Jahre dauerte.

Der tiefe Einschnitt des Todes dieses Freundes und dessen Vermächtnis waren der Startpunkt für Montaigne’s eigenes Werk, die Essays, in denen er auch seinem Freund ein Denkmal setzt, quasi Gespräche mit ihm über alltägliche Dinge fortführt ebenso wie über jene Fragen, die unsere Welt im Inneren zusammenhalten.

Er zieht sich zurück in den Turm seines Schlosses und denkt nacht, er schreibt sein zweifelndes Denken auf und jeder - auch heute noch - entdeckt in diesen Hin- und Hergefühlen seine eigenen Sorgen und Nöte.

Montaigne hatte das Glück, reich zu sein und er machte das für ihn einzig Richtige daraus: er wollte jene Eigenschaften nicht ausbauen, die man brauchte, um in der Öffentlichkeit bestehen zu können, also Lügen und Nach dem Mund reden, Ausgleich von Egoismen und Abwendung von Niedertracht, er wollte das Glück des Selbst vollumfänglich genießen.

Montaigne erlebt den Tod des Freundes mit, er ist bei ihm und hört seinem Ende zu, er redet mit dem Sterbenden und sieht den Verfall des Leibes. Es bringt ihn schlagartig in das Jetzt und die Notwendigkeit, über alles nachzudenken, darüber wie man das Leben leben sollte.

Dieses Buch ist ein Geschenk, tief von Montaigne her gedacht, recherchiert, es extrahiert jene zentralen Punkte, die Montaigne als die Essenz des Menschlichen ansah. Dabei stellte er sich nie in den Vordergrund oder maßte sich eine wie auch immer geartete Allgemeingültigkeit an. Sein Denken war jenes der Skepsis, immer und auf den Punkt gebracht, auch von seinen griechischen Vorbildern her gedacht. Weniger Stoiker als vielmehr Epikurer war er: also nicht durch Probleme hindurchgehen, sondern diese eher umschiffen.

Wenn er beim Tod seines Freundes anwesend war, über Tage, dann ging er aber doch durch Probleme durch, er wich ihnen nicht aus, aber doch sah er im täglichen Leben die Notwendigkeit, allen negativen Einflüssen eher auszuweichen, um die Guten zu betonen bzw. sich diese bewusst zu machen.

André Gide schrieb: Ich habe ihn (Montaigne) mir so zu eigen gemacht, dass es mir vorkommt, er sei ich selbst.“ Vielen wird es ebenso ergehen, weil Montaigne eben nicht für den Erfolg schreibt, sondern um schlicht sein gewöhnliches Leben zu hinterfragen, radikal ehrlich, bis hin zur totalen Selbstentblößung. Er ist sich selbst der härteste Kritiker und stellt jedem Essay ans Ende, dass es auch ganz anders sein könne. Der Vorteil davon: man muss selber denken, beginnt intuitiv ein Gespräch mit den Essays bzw. Montaigne, ein Freund, von dem man alles weiß und sein Suchen, sein Sehnen mehr als gut verstehen kann.

„Wie das zitternde Licht den Raum durchflirrt, so werfe sich auch ein untätiger Geist ziellos hin und her und erzeuge im grenzenlosen Feld der Einbildungen fantaisies oder rêveries, sagt Montaigne und genießt seine runde Bibliothek im Turm, die man heute als Museum besuchen kann. Die Inschriften in den Balken wurde restauriert und man liest dort z.B.: Einzig dass nichts gewiss ist, ist gewiss, und dass es nichts Erbärmlicheres gibt als den Menschen, und dabei nichts Hochmütigeres. (Plinius der Ältere)

Montaigne nahm Bücher zur Hand als seien es Menschen, und mit diesem Buch von Sarah Bakewell wird uns der schwache, nachdenkliche Mensch Montaigne auf so unmittelbar erleb-bare Weise nahegebracht, dass man nicht anders kann als seine Essays zu lesen oder wieder zu entdecken. Die Eröffnung zu einem lebenslangen Gespräch mit Montaigne!

This was and audible listen for me. I found the historical perspective fascination. As a result of listening I purchased a copy of the paperback version to go back read sections, especially those pertaining to Merleau-Ponty. Listening to the recording was a great help in coming to grips with some of the ideas of existential phenomenology that were still a bit fuzzy.

I didn’t know anything about Montaigne before reading this, and now I feel like I’ve had a great introduction to a very influential writer and also a bit of an introduction to late 16th century France. I thought the author did a great job, I liked the way she organized the chapters, sort of a combination of chronological but also by theme. And she has a great, dry sense of humor which adds a lot.

Nothing to haggle on the great value of Montaigne and his Essays, but this introduction was a bit disappointing. Maybe my expectations were too high, but Bakewell’s approach is far too elaborate, and at the same time didn't add incredibly much. As with many things, nothing beats the original. It’s a pity, because I liked her “At the Existential Café" very much.½

Started out slowly, and I skimmed many of the early chapters. It caught hold later, and I actually looked forward to reading the later chapters. Hard to put a finger on what I liked or didn't. Maybe it was just the man himself coming thru the words.

nicely detailed, well written

Ich mochte es, das trifft es ganz gut. Es ist unlangweilig, es ist unterhaltsam, ohne sich auf Albernes zu beschränken und selbstredend will ich jetzt Montaigne lesen. Großes Plus: die Autorin sieht extremst sympathisch aus.

A book both pleasant and interesting, and of course it gives me a strong desire to finally tackle Montaigne himself. The large number of unlabelled illustrations annoyed me at first, but fully won me over in the end. Highly recommended.