Madness and Civilization

A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

By: Michel Foucault

Narrated by: Dave Gillies

Length: 10 hrs and 36 mins

Publisher's summary

In this classic account of madness, Michel Foucault shows once and for all why he is one of the most distinguished European philosophers since the end of World War II. Madness and Civilization, Foucault's first book and his finest accomplishment, will change the way in which you think about society. Evoking shock, pity, and fascination, it might also make you question the way you think about yourself.

©1972 Editions Gallimard; English translation copyright 1965 by Random House, Inc. (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Superb scholarship rendered with artistry." ( The Nation)

Crucial book. Bad reading performance.

Strange, incongruously melodramatic reading totally distracts from the text. The reader's voice trembles with emotion, speeds up, slows down, increases then decreases volume, without following the content. This kind of hammy performance is bad enough when you hear it in a Shakespeare performance. Why the reader thinks it works for this book is hard to imagine. Not easy to take this audiobook seriously, which is really disappointing.

great text. terrible reader.

if you're Scottish, this probably won't bother you. if you are not, the guys meter and inflections make this reading unintelligible.

Intensely thought provoking art

If you lack the ability to appreciate complex language spoken in a beautiful yet foreign accent, or are otherwise dull and lack a taste for those things which lie beyond a comfortable horizon, then this book is not for you.

Just really the wrong choice of narrator.

I'm sure this guy is great with other material. But he is just the wrong choice for this. It isn't the Scottish accent. He's just... too flippant. You would think he was reading light fiction. Also, his constantly changing tone makes it hard to follow the text. I

Madness and civilization by title

Discipline and punish in audio


Question: how did this happen? How? Editors? Producers? How? How did THIS happen? *genuinely asking

Narration is horrid.

Narrator reads as if it's a fairytale for kids! Don't mind his accent, totally fine. But the intonation is silly for a non-fiction book. Have read it several times but lost my analogue copy. I was sure Audible would have a respectable performances of this classic. NO! This is the only one!
K, I'm done ranting. Thanks.

Excellent performance of a classic.

I have to admit I was a bit shocked but then amused about the difference in opinion -- I purposefully came to comment on how fantastic the reading performance was. The text itself is excellent, but I thoroughly enjoyed Gillies rendering, and my only disappointment is that he hasn't been used more for books that I am interested in. It just goes to show that everyone has their preferences, and -- more importantly -- don't necessarily write off giving a book a try just because a certain reader doesn't work for some individuals. I only wish Gillies had been given the other Foucault texts and maybe let loose on the ponderous Heidegger to make following those more enjoyable.

Hard, but amazing

As expected, this work is confounding and stunning. I always believed in exactly this theory, but having a master immortalizing the concept/theory was stupendous.

Foucault lays waste to branch covidians

Beautiful language, and hauntingly applicable to today’s swamp of ideology. Flawless in every way. A masterpiece of philosophy.

A very interesting and gripping read

I cannot recommend enough that this book be read as apprised to listened to by this narrato, his pronouncements are fine and he is familiar with the words but the cadence at which he reads is brutal. He speeds through complex narratives and sentence, and then drags out the last few word or shorter sentences to take the same amount of time to read. It alternates between speed readings and the slowest.... narration.... possible for dramatic effect.