Whether working with the Free French in London during World War II, voicing early support for the reconstruction of a devastated post-war Germany, or offering new insights on peace and war in a nuclear age, Aron consistently brightened areas of inquiry by his capacity for cogent and forthright reflection. In the foreground of many of the most important political events of the twentieth century, he developed relationships with others similarly engaged figures such as Charles de Gaulle, Jean-Paul Sartre, Andr Malraux, and Henry Kissinger, all of whom appear in his prizewinning Memoirs.
Aron stimulated debate and elicited strong attachments in his roles as journalist, author, adviser, and professor in philosophy, political science, and sociology in Europe and the United States, where he contributed to periodicals such as the NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, COMMENTARY, and FOREIGN AFFAIRS. Since his death in 1983, Aron's brilliant works of social and political philosophy have found an increasingly large following among younger readers whose appreciation can only deepen with this behind-the-scenes glimpse of the man and his thoughts.
In French, Aron writes with a grace and clarity that are astonishing. Now I have finally read his memoires, one of the last things he wrote. When you compare any contemporary intellectual to him, they simply can't measure up.
must teach you how to think of politics among nations. Profound, brilliant,insightful, marvelously written, in short, this is the most important book in international relations.
Customer Reviews:
Volume Two of THE Textbook On Classical Social Theory!.......2000-06-13
This is the second of the superb two-volume treatment of classical social theory written by the famous French Professor and philosopher Raymond Aron. This volume centers around the theories of French sociologist Emile Durkheim, Italian theorist Vilfredo Pareto, and German sociologist Max Weber, all of whom examined the social and cultural tendencies of modern industrial societies. This is a masterful treatment not only of each theorist's ideas but also how each fits into the overall growth in understanding the structure and function of modern industrial society and what makes it work. Thus, his text strings together the various aspects of each theorist's work into a common thread that links them to their predecessors like Auguste Comte and Karl Marx, on the one hand, and later theorists like Sorokin, C. Wright Mills, and Talcott Parsons, on the other.
This approach works brilliantly, largely because of Aron's contribution. His treatment of Durkheim and Weber are simply the standard against which other, and much more detailed treatments are judged. The same is true of his treatment of Karl Marx in Volume One. The two books, which originally were created as part of a yearlong graduate seminar Aron taught at the University of Paris, are an artful combination of scholarship and repartee. Aron's tone is suitable scholarly and thoughtful, and yet is also eminently readable and accessible to the average reader. This two volume set, first printed in hardcover in the mid 1960s, has never been long out of print in the forty years since, and has long been the standard text for use in graduate courses in classical sociological theory.
One caution is appropriate, however. These books are not for Everyman, although they are written in a style and a language that makes them quite accessible and easy to comprehend and understand. Rather, the two volume set is more apt reading material for those readers who are seriously interested in the western tradition of classical social thought, and it acts as a suitable introduction to the heritage of critical thought and intellectual insight extending back hundreds of years in western thought. Enjoy!
Book Description
In this collection of newly translated essays, philosopher and sociologist Raymond Aron chronicles the twentieth century with the authority of an active participant. Combining objectivity with incisive questioning, Aron's reading of movements and people reminds us of what was really at stake. Whether charting the rise of Fascism and Marxism and their respective descents into totalitarianism, or the United States's role as the world's last remaining superpower, Aron was a nondogmatic thinker who emphasized realism over any devotion to theory. The result is history that is less concerned about where it falls on the political spectrum than about getting it right.
Customer Reviews:
Trying hard to find theories and systems: so French.......2004-12-11
Raymond Aron, a witness to the twentieth century, only lived from 1905 to 1983, and was most famous for being a French professor, if not the greatest French professor, as noted in the Introduction by Tony Judt, (See the first note at the end of the Introduction on page xxv). Judt himself has written books on the French left and French intellectuals. I wondered how often Aron might have left France, and Judt reveals that his sense of timing was pretty good. "A Jew and a socialist, he left France following the establishment of the puppet regime at Vichy and joined Charles de Gaulle's Free French organization in London." (p. vii). Like a government that temporarily did not have a country, he must have made a lot of plans for things to do when he was home again. "Upon returning to France Aron served briefly in André Malraux's post-war Ministry of Information before returning to the university world to teach sociology, at the same time taking up what proved to be a lifelong parallel career as a journalist and political commentator." (p. vii).
The essays in this book were originally collected in 1996 in France for publication of a history, and were translated into English for this 2002 Basic Books edition. The first footnote on page 31 has an additional note revealing "All footnotes in this book are Raymond Aron's own notes to his texts," translated from the French 1996 edition. The book has an index, in which there are many entries for Vietcong, Vietminh (League for the Independence of Vietnam), Vietnam war, Johnson and, etc., which lead to a strange footnote on page 362:
"Johnson did not tell the senators that U.S. torpedo boats had been attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats while the South Vietnamese were carrying out commando operations in the same region."
This confusing mix of covert activities is not offered as clarification for the famous resolution of August, 1964, but as an explanation of the American attempt to devise a strategy for Vietnam:
"Like the French colonels in Algeria, many of the president's advisers believed that the techniques of subversion and persuasion could be effective in any circumstances. The commando operations ordered by President Kennedy in May 1961, by way of a riposte to infiltration, then resumed on a larger scale* by Johnson, had nothing in common with the organization of parallel hierarchies. Then there was the conviction, sincere in many cases, that the United States would jeopardize its role all over the world if it accepted defeat in any part of it: This theory was proved by events to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Last, we must take into account the perhaps inevitable corruption of the men who conduct high politics. . . . To be able to order such bombings in cold blood, and then enjoy a good night's sleep, calls for a kind of transformation. Such a transmogrification may be necessary, but it takes place so easily that it always amazes me when I encounter it in men I used to know before they went into public life."
This is from an essay, "The Imperial Republic," that attempted to understand "The United States and the International System," which was originally published in French in 1984, well after the reunification of Vietnam, the death of former President Johnson, the humiliation of Nixon's efforts to keep anything secret because it was a matter of national security, as he imagined the (expletive deleted) Vietnam war was in a recorded conversation with John Dean that had long been public. But Raymond Aron was dead by then, too, and this publication was actually prepared then by Jean-Claude Casanova, Pierre Hassner, Stanley Hoffmann, Pierre Manent, and Dominique Schnapper. (p. 503, Provenance of Texts). Publication of someone's work after death might allow others to emphasize something which borders on the incredible. In such instances, the crazy bit seems to be the assumption that anyone was getting "a good night's sleep," while artillery was being pounded out for H & I, ambushes at bridges, trails, roads, and rivers had to have some guard up at all hours keeping watch over the kill zone, and people expected to find a newspaper at their front door when they got up to start their day in other parts of the world. Even professors must be up at all hours to find time to put words on paper and keep track of whatever secrets they have been able to discover.
The confusion surrounding the footnote on page 362 has been so great at all times since August 1964, that it looks like a great mistake when a truth slips out in this book: U.S. torpedo boats had been attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats. The gunboats had been directed at a covert operation that was directed on a large scale by Johnson, and the North Vietnamese had expected to run into U.S. destroyers because Johnson had ordered two destroyers to cruise in the Gulf of Tonkin when the undercover operation was also approved, but small swift boats that had attacked a radar installation were able to slip away while the American destroyers were shooting at targets (phantom blips on a screen) that were miles from nowhere. The South Vietnamese were not involved in this operation, in spite of what McNamara told senators off the record. French historians are much more likely to base their accounts on information received from the North Vietnamese, who would be the only Vietnamese who had any knowledge of what happened that night in August 1964, and "U.S. torpedo boats had been attacked by North Vietnamese gunboats" was precisely what the North Vietnamese were saying.
Reading the PENTAGON PAPERS, Aron was unable to figure out Kennedy's policy. "But he refused to send in units of GIs." (p. 361). 15,000 advisers from the Pentagon seems to be about what Bush expected to leave in Iraq before 2003, and he is still trying to make that work.
Amazon.com
Intellectuals, virtually by definition, are expected to think for themselves. But the spectacle of intellectuals subordinating their independence of mind to dogmatic ideologies, whether left or right, is dismayingly common in the 20th century. The French call it la trahison des clercs. In The Burden of Responsibility, Tony Judt discusses three inspiring French intellectuals--Leon Blum, Albert Camus, and Raymond Aron--who courageously lived up to their political, moral, and intellectual responsibilities. Their courage, Judt notes, is all the more impressive since they were all outsiders: Blum and Aron were Jews, while Camus was reared and educated in Algeria, far from the training grounds of the French intelligentsia.
The longest, and arguably most exciting, chapter is devoted to Blum, whose efforts against extremists on the Left and the Right are truly remarkable. As the moral center of the Socialist Party, Blum was instrumental in keeping it independent of Moscow. When France fell in 1940, the Vichy government put him on trial, but he defended himself so adroitly that the German authorities, fearing embarrassment, ended the proceedings abruptly; subsequently, Blum survived two years in Buchenwald and Dachau, serving briefly as prime minister after the war. The chapter on Camus is, understandably, less dramatic, even despite his work in the Resistance; the chapter on Aron, best known for his work on the philosophy of history, is positively anticlimactic. Nevertheless, Judt's juxtaposition of these three intellectuals provides enlightenment not only about modern French history but also about the role of the responsible intellectual in society. --Glenn Branch
Book Description
Using the lives of the three outstanding French intellectuals of the twentieth century, renowned historian Tony Judt offers a unique look at how intellectuals can ignore political pressures and demonstrate a heroic commitment to personal integrity and moral responsibility unfettered by the difficult political exigencies of their time.
Through the prism of the lives of Leon Blum, Albert Camus, and Raymond Aron, Judt examines pivotal issues in the history of contemporary French society—antisemitism and the dilemma of Jewish identity, political and moral idealism in public life, the Marxist moment in French thought, the traumas of decolonization, the disaffection of the intelligentsia, and the insidious quarrels rending Right and Left. Judt focuses particularly on Blum's leadership of the Popular Front and his stern defiance of the Vichy governments, on Camus's part in the Resistance and Algerian War, and on Aron's cultural commentary and opposition to the facile acceptance by many French intellectuals of communism's utopian promise. Severely maligned by powerful critics and rivals, each of these exemplary figures stood fast in their principles and eventually won some measure of personal and public redemption.
Judt constructs a compelling portrait of modern French intellectual life and politics. He challenges the conventional account of the role of intellectuals precisely because they mattered in France, because they could shape public opinion and influence policy. In Blum, Camus, and Aron, Judt finds three very different men who did not simply play the role, but evinced a courage and a responsibility in public life that far outshone their contemporaries.
"An eloquent and instructive study of intellectual courage in the face of what the author persuasively describes as intellectual irresponsibility."—Richard Bernstein, New York Times
Customer Reviews:
Very Good.......2005-12-22
This is a very good appreciation of 3 distinctive French intellectuals, all of whom played a significant role in larger French culture. Blum, Camus, and Aron were all leftists, but of a moderate sort, and in different ways, opposed to the superficial and dogmatic Marxism that characterized much of the French Left. All were quite accomplished intellectuals, independent thinkers, and French patriots. All were stigmatized by the 'mainstream' of French intellectual life because of their independence. The three essays comprising this book vary somewhat in quality. The best is on Leon Blum, partly because Blum, the major figure of the interwar Socialist Party, was the most important, and perhaps the least known to American readers. Judt offers a very nice, and occasionally eloquent, analysis of Blum's career as a politician and statesman. The essay on Aron is also very good and shows nicely the range of this polymathic figure. The essay on Camus is perhaps the least interesting, but that is partly because Camus' story is relatively well known, rather than because of any deficiency on Judt's part. What contributed to the independence of these individuals? Partly it was a matter of their considerable intellects and distinctive personalities. Partly because unlike many intellectuals, they were all engaged in what might be called 'real world' activities. None was content with a purely intellectual career. Blum was a prominent politician and prior to his political career, a successful attorney. Camus worked as journalist, as did Aron, and the latter was involved in politics to some extent. All were also in different ways outsiders. Blum and Aron were both Jews, and Blum in particular was subjected to anti-semitic vilification which he bore with considerable dignity. Camus was a poor provincial boy from Algeria. All made significant contributions to French life that will probably outlive the achievements of their critics.
Tears to my eyes.......2002-05-31
Perhaps this review isn't justified (I have only read the section on Camus), but this book is a marvel. Tony Judt has created perhaps the most endearing written portrait of Albert Camus I have ever read. If you are interested in the artist's life, please do yourself a favor and read this book (then read Olivier Todd's full biography). Albert is presented here in a most proper fashion: ambiguous but dignified, somewhere between Pascal and Nietzsche. (Much like the characters in his works, no?) FYI: Judt has written a forward for the new translation of "The Plague" - due out soon, I hope. To summarize: Thanks, Tony.
Monumental figures as human beings........2000-02-21
Though this book is not intended to offer three character sketches per se, it has done more to bring these great twentieth-century Frenchmen to life for me than any other work I've read. Judt is able to bring some continuity to the idea of intellectual integrity by not only describing what each of these men stood for but also what they stood against. Yes, they all stood against Communism (with a big C), but each of them stood against elements of political and intellectual fashion in defense of their own convictions as well. Blum stood against malice. Camus, against moral relativity. And Aron, against intellectual ignorance and conformity. Together they did more to defend the human condition from political and intellectual tyranny than all other twentieth century French intellectuals. This is a powerful look at how the temptations of intellectual and political affiliation need not take the place of rigor and conviction. And, to be honest, it's lucid presentation of each character nearly brought this one to tears. Deserves to be read by a general audience, or anyone who continues to be mystified by these great French figures.
I'm not raring the book, but the prof........1999-10-26
The author of this book is my prof. at NYU and he is simply amazing. He is the best history prof. I've ever had, and words can't describe how intelligent this man is. I'm enrolled in his course titled "History of Europe since 1945" and I must say that the prof. is a walking encyclopedia, and really knows everything there is to know about Europe. I haven't had the chance to read any of his books yet, but I will look them up at the NYU library soon.. I have so much reading for his class I don't think I'll be able to do any leisure reading for the rest of the semester, but I'll pick up one of his books this winter break.
Excellent Companion Volume to "Past Imperfect".......1999-06-18
Tony Judt's "The Burden of Responsibility" makes a fitting companion volume to his earlier "Past Imperfect" (1992). While that volume was concerned with how some of the most important post-war French intellectuals willfully blinded themselves to Stalinist atrocities, "Burden" shows us the obverse. Judt presents us with three clearly-written and balanced portraits of men who refused to let ideology shield them from confronting the complexities of their times. Each of these three men - Leon Blum, Albert Camus, and Raymond Aron - were men of the Left but they refused to adhere to the (then-)standard line of justifying Communist political violence and terror in the name of the higher goal of revolutionary social transformation. The difficulties that each of these men faced in trying to etch out a moral and practical political position between the bitterly divisive ideological contests of their times, in Judt's view, makes each of these men distinctive. Yet, the author is even-handed enough to point out each of his protagonists' failures - Blum's inability to create a workable governing coalition or a rational economic policy, Camus's philosophical ineptitutdes, and Aron's rather mandarin arrogance, for example. Judt is fair enough to accept that many of their opponents's criticisms of them were justified (he doesn't turn his protagonists into saints or martyrs) but convincingly argues that each man gauged the issues of their day - (Socialism for Blum, Algeria for Camus, and Marxism for Aron) more accurately than their more ideologically-driven counterparts. All this is by way of saying that "The Burden of Responsibility" carries an unstated but not-so-discreet warning against the theoretically-driven academic left of our day. In his intelligent appraisal and recognition of three men who moved past the boundaires of ideological thinking and faced the contemporary issues as they actually existed, Judt also presents us with a model of intellectual enagement that goes beyond mere word-spinning. Both an compelling history of men caught in conflicts of their times (and Judt situates them in their epoch with masterly ease) and an engaging polemic, "The Burden of Responsibility" is an essential read for anyone interested in modern intellectual history.
Customer Reviews:
After My System and Chess Praxis.......2002-04-19
If after reading Nimzowitsch's two books, you crave more, this is the book to use. It goes over the portion of his career after Nimzowitsch's books, though it focuses on his entire career. An interesting interview with Bent Larsen is included, as well as some thoughts by Nimzowitsch himself on learning how to play chess.
It is a solid effort from Keene. If you like Nimzowitsch, you should get it. Others could safely stay away from it and read from Nimzowitsch himself.
Fantastic Journey into the mind of Nimzo !.......2000-07-22
First let me say that this is a book for intermediate to advanced chess players. Beginner or novice players should look elsewhere for chess instruction.
This book contains many revelations of positional chess as inititally "discovered" and expounded by the father of hypermodern chess - Aron Nimzowitsch.
This book is easier to read, and more fun than "My System" or "Chess Praxis" written by Nimzo himself.
It esentially examinines most of the same topics; prophylaxis, overprotection, restriction, blockade, centralization, doubled pawns, etc. In addition, the second part of the book contains a huge collection of games played by Nimzovich throughout his career. They are reasonably well annotated by Keene with some reflections about how they might stack up by todays standards.
I would probably recommend that you read "My System" or "Chess Praxis" first and then tackle this book for re-inforcement. But keep in mind that this book is easier to wade through than the other two due to a more modern writing style.
The diagrams, binding, text , game collections, interviews, and notes are all first rate. This is a great book and worthy of study by anyone wanting to add depth to your game.
Average customer rating:
|
Lecciones Sobre La Historia
Raymond Aron
Manufacturer: Fondo de Cultura Economica USA
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 Relations
| International
| Politics
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Spanish
| Foreign Language Nonfiction
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
Internacional
| Política
| No-Ficción
| Libros en español
| Formats
| Books
ASIN: 9681648358 |
Customer Reviews:
Raymond Aron's Sociological Masterpiece, Volume One!.......2004-02-17
This is the paperback edition of the first of the superb two-volume treatment of classical social theory written by the famous French Professor and philosopher Raymond Aron. This first volume centers around the theories of a number of early sociological theorist, ranging from the eccentric theorist and philosopher Auguste Comte, to Alexis deToqueville, to Montesquieu, and finally to Karl Marx. Professor Aron traces how the contribution of each helped to create the foundation of modern social theory, and he masterfully threads these collective contributions together into a narrative of theory that later masters of sociological thought like Durkheim, Pareto, and Max Weber then built upon. This is an acclaimed and masterful treatment not only of each theorist's ideas but also how each fits into the overall growth in understanding the structure and function of modern industrial society and what makes it work. Thus, his text strings together the various aspects of each theorist's work into a common thread that links them to their successors.
This approach works brilliantly, largely because of Aron's contribution. His treatment of Karl Marx is particularly masterful, and is perhaps the standard against which other, and much more detailed treatments are judged. The same is true of his treatment Durkheim and Max Weber in the second volume. The two books, which originally were created as part of a yearlong graduate seminar Aron taught at the University of Paris, are an artful combination of scholarship and repartee. Aron's tone is suitable scholarly and thoughtful, and yet is also eminently readable and accessible to the average reader. This two volume set, first printed in hardcover in the mid 1960s, has never been long out of print in the forty years since, and has long been the standard text for use in graduate courses in classical sociological theory.
One caution is appropriate, however. These books are not for Everyman, although they are written in a style and a language that makes them quite accessible and easy to comprehend and understand. Rather, the two volume set is more apt reading material for those readers who are seriously interested in the western tradition of classical social thought, and it acts as a suitable introduction to the heritage of critical thought and intellectual insight extending back hundreds of years in western thought. Enjoy!
Books:
- The Power of the Powerless: Citizens Against the State in Central-Eastern Europe
- The Redhunter: A Novel Based on the Life of Senator Joe McCarthy
- The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
- The Seventeen Traditions
- The Unfulfilled Prime Minister: Tony Blair's Quest for a Legacy
- The Walls of Jericho : Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Richard Russell and the Struggle for Civil Rights
- Truman
- Truman
- Truman
- Ulysses S. Grant : Memoirs and Selected Letters : Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant / Selected Letters, 1839-1865 (Library of America)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
- Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province
- I Never Did Tell You Did I
- History: Fiction or Science
- I Heard That Song Before: A Novel
- Physics: Principles with Applications
- Kingbird Highway: The Story of a Natural Obsession That Got a Little Out of Hand
- Federal Taxation of Computer Software
- KISS Guide to Managing Your Career
- The World Database of Business Information Sources 1998
Memoirs: Fifty Years of Political Reflection
The Burden of Responsibility: Blum, Camus, Aron, and the French Twentieth Century
The Reckless Mind: Intellectuals in Politics
The Passing of an Illusion: The Idea of Communism in the Twentieth Century
The Seduction of Unreason: The Intellectual Romance with Fascism from Nietzsche to Postmodernism
Confused and complex criticism of communism.......2007-03-15
