Sartre in 90 Minutes

By: Paul Strathern

Narrated by: Robert Whitfield

Length: 1 hr and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

During his lifetime, Jean-Paul Sartre enjoyed unprecedented popularity for a philosopher, due partly to his role as a spokesman for existentialism at the opportune moment, when this set of ideas filled the spiritual gap left amidst the ruins of World War II. Existentialism was a philosophy of action and showed the ultimate freedom of the individual. In Sartre's hands, it became a revolt against European bourgeois values.

In Sartre in 90 Minutes, Paul Strathern offers a concise, expert account of Sartre's life and ideas and explains their influence on man's struggle to understand his existence in the world. This audiobook also includes selections from Sartre's work, a brief list of suggested readings for those who wish to delve deeper, and chronologies that place Sartre within his own age and in the broader scheme of philosophy.

©1998 Paul Strathern (P)2007 Blackstone Audio Inc.

Critic Reviews

"Witty, illuminating, and blessedly concise." ( Wall Street Journal)
"Mr. Strathern's books are well-written, clear and informed; they have a breezy wit about them." ( New York Times)
"Each of these little books is witty and dramatic and creates a sense of time, place, and character....I cannot think of a better way to introduce oneself and one's friends to Western civilization." ( Boston Globe)

In 90 Minutes Series overview

If you could sum up Sartre in 90 Minutes in three words, what would they be?
aka Cliff Notes

Would you recommend Sartre in 90 Minutes to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes - I've listened to each book in the series about a major philosopher that is available on Audible. Strathern's books don't have the analytical depth found in Will Durant's "The Story of Philosophy" books, but he does a good job summarizing each philosopher's biography, major philosophical points, and criticisms. Additionally, Strathern's breadth is broader than Durant's in that he covers a greater number of philosophers. I believe that the time spent listening to these books has been well-spent.

My reviews for each book in the series about a philosopher are identical.

What about Robert Whitfield’s performance did you like?
Voice is clear, well-modulated, and easily understood, even at 1 1/2 speed.

Should be advertised that this is a half takedown/biography

I don’t know what personal slight Sartre did to the author but it clearly pissed him off. Within 10 minutes it will be abundantly clear to the listener the author has a negative view and is using only the bare minimum levels of subtlety. Literally takes the time to use intentionally critical language *for a child*. I think we can excuse the 10 year old Sartre for handling his father’s death and mother’s remarriages.

It’s worth your time to find a more objective biography.

Heidegger Part II

Creepy Sartre copies ideas from Heidegger and befriends Communists, than becomes famous. The author says basically, the French didn't have any great philosophers at the time, so praise Sartre. The author goes on to explain Heidegger and his philosophy as much as explaining Sartre's.

quick and basic understanding

easy to keep up with. interesting bits about his life and philosophy. will buy others like this.

Good biography but lacks depth on his work

It has a lot of biographical information on Sartre's life but is lacking in depth on his philosophy and main ideas of his work. Read if you want to learn about the person but if you want to know his existentialist views better to just read his short work "Existentialism is a Humanism".

Great Crash Course

Another great highlight by Philosophy in 90 minutes, on the life of Sartre, and interesting insight into his philosophy.

Great book

It was about enlightenment , A man’s surch for human nature, why do we do the things we do

Excellent Introduction

a great place to start with both Sartre and Existentialism. Certainly a prompt to further reading and the quest for deeper und3rstanding.

Perfect! Just what I was looking for!

Perfect book, just what I was looking for to understand Sartre. I wish there were more books like this that would give me an excellent overview, and then allow me to decide to get more detailed volumes or not.

Jean Paul Sartre is a BEAST.

His greatest philosophical proposition is that philosophers talk twaddle. And there you have it in three words or less.