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. The book 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.
Paul Strathern earned a degree in philosophy at Trinity College, Dublin, and has lectured in philosophy and mathematics. The author of many nonfiction books and of articles for numerous publications, he has also written several novels and has won the Somerset Maugham Prize. He lives and writes in London.
Simon Vance is an award-winning actor and an AudioFile Golden Voice with over seventy Earphones Awards and seventeen prestigious Audie Awards. He was named Booklist’s very first Voice of Choice in 2008 and an AudioFile Best Voice of 2009.