Existentialism for Beginners

Existentialism For Beginners is a lighthearted romp through the history of a philosophical movement that had broad-reaching influence on Western culture, politics and the arts during the period of mid-19th century through the late 20th century, and still exerts influence in the 21st century. Tracing its beginning with close-up views of seminal 19th century writers like Kierkegaard, Dostoevsky and Nietzsche, Existentialism For Beginners follows the trail of existential thought and literature through 20th century German philosophers Jaspers and Heidegger, and finally through to the flowering of the movement in Postwar France brought forth by Jean Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Simone de Beauvoir and beyond.
With dazzling, gritty illustrations Existentialism For Beginners takes an affectionate, good-humored look at a style of thinking that, while pervasive in influence, has often been seen as obscure, difficult, cryptic and dark. Existentialism For Beginners helps to draw the movement’s many diverse elements together to create a palatable introduction for people who have always had difficulty defining or understanding existentialism, and an enjoyable historical review packed with richly fascinating quotes from existentialism’s most notable purveyors for those who are already appreciators of existentialism.

David Cogswell is a writer based in Hoboken, N.J. He has written thousands of articles on business, travel, politics, and the arts for various print and online publications, including Online Journal, Democratic Underground, Bushwatch, Indymedia.org, Fortune.com, Travel Weekly, the Hudson Current and the Jersey Journal. He’s the author of Chomsky For Beginners, and has contributed pieces to a number of political books, including Fortunate Son: The Making of an American President, by J.H. Hatfield; Ambushed: The Hidden History of the Bush Family by Toby Rogers; and America’s Autopsy Report, by John Kaminski. He is currently working on a book about corporatism.