Synopses & Reviews
Countless biographers have tried to unveil the
real Jean-Paul Sartre without his consent or cooperation. Only John Gerassiand#8212;the "non-godson" of Sartre, an atheistand#8212;was honored with the responsibility of being Sartre's official biographer. After drafting the commission with Sartre on the back of a menu at La Coupole, Gerassi recorded over one hundred hours of interviews with him between 1974 and 1979, and another hundred hours with Sartre's friends, colleagues, and enemies. Gerassi also immersed himself in Sartre's literary, philosophical, and personal writings. Gerassi had access to all of Sartre's files, unpublished manuscripts, and extensive notes for planned but undelivered lectures. Simone de Beauvoir gave many of Sartre's unpublished letters to Gerassi as well. Sartre trusted the integrity of Gerassi so completely that he considered Gerassi's biography to be the continuation of his own autobiography,
Les mots. As a personal friend, Gerassi writes with advantages shared by no other biographer of Sartre.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 205-207) and index.
About the Author
John Gerassiand#160;(1931-2012) was professor of political science at the Graduate Center and Queens College of the City University of New York. From 1956 to 1966, he was a journalist for
Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, and Inter-Press Service. His many books include
The Great Fear in Latin America, The Boys of Boise, Fidel Castro, The Coming of the New International and
The Premature Antifacist: Oral History of American and Canadian Volunteers in the Spanish Civil War.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Part One - The Setup
1. L'Enfant Terrible
2. L'Adulte Terrible
Part Two - The Bastard
3. The Faker
4. The Follower
5. The Loser
Part Three - The Loner
6. The Watchdog
7. The Traitor
8. The Writer
9. The Soldier
10. The Resistant
Notes
Bibliography
Index