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Sarah Bakewell

British writer, author of How to Live: A Life of Montaigne, At the Existentialist Cafe and Humanly Possible.

7 things

Heidegger: An IntroductionBook Richard Polt

loved

Richard's Polt's Heidegger: An Introduction is one of the best I've come across. It's a fantastically clear and concise exploration of Heidegger's philosophy, concentrating on his first great work, Being and Time, though he also covers the later writings of Heidegger.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

Notes from the UndergroundBook Fyodor Dostoyevsky

recommended

Another writer often mentioned is Dostoyevsky: a great way of getting into the real miserabilist side of existentialism is to read his Notes from the Underground. It absolutely captures the anguish of being an isolated individual and a misfit, wondering about your place in the world and being contrary, fighting against the normal human life that you're supposed to fit into.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

NauseaBook Jean-Paul Sartre

recommended

I chose Nausea for several reasons. One is that it's the first existentialist book that I ever read. It's what first made me curious to learn more, and that's exactly what the book does. It's readable, it's powerful, it's sometimes a bit ridiculous, but it's intense.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

Man's Search for MeaningBook Viktor Frankl

recommended

I chose this book because it's an incredibly powerful and moving example of what existentialist thought can actually be for in real life, what good it can do, how it can help people.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

The Existentialist ReaderBook Paul S MacDonald

recommended

So this is just a fantastic compilation of existentialist arrows that you might want to follow into different thinkers.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

Being and TimeBook Martin Heidegger

recommended

Then, once you've read an overview and feel equipped and ready for it, it's really worth plunging into either Being and Time itself, Heidegger's greatest and richest work, or to a compilation.

Five Books interview on existentialism

2013-06-02·fivebooks.com ↗

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