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)

Excellent Introduction

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

Brilliant!

I’ve listen to quite a few of these philosophers and 90 minutes, and they’re all pretty good, but this one really set a new bar. Informative, accurate, cheeky, well written, and absolutely beautifully narrated.

Straightforward understanding of Sartre

We should know Sartre to know how we came to be who we became and will become through being and the inherent responsibility of being.

Well done thumbnail sketch

Strathern does a decent job of interweaving Sartre’s life and thought. I particularly liked his tracing of the roots of his Existentialism to Husserl and Heidegger. Would have liked deeper analysis of Sartre’s works’ relation to that of Camus. Still, a good introduction to a complex thinker. Four Stars ****

Condensed history. Interesting tidbits.

Its contents are well described by the title. I enjoyed the quick overview of the man, his times and some of his thoughts. Apparently his philosophy teacher said something like: "Excessive elaboration of insufficiently clarified ideas." Sounds like an pretty good philosophy burn.

a little too fast to absorb everything at times

it is a little fast to absorb at times, but still a good listen.

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".

Alright

Some casual sexism and seemingly snobbish attitudes on the authors part distracted a bit from my enjoyment of the book.

Great book

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

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.