The Imperfect Past French Intellectuals 1944-1956

The focus of Tony Judt's last posthumous book is the uniquely distinguished role of French intellectuals in European cultural and political life after the Second World War. The author analyzes the most divisive conflicts of this intellectual community: how to approach the promise and subsequent betrayal of communism, how to maintain commitment to radical ideals in the face of the hypocrisy of the Soviet Union under Stalin, the newly established socialist states of Eastern Europe, and France itself.

Judt shows why this created an obsessive moral dilemma in French thought, how their reactions were determined by the conditions of war and occupation, and how post-war political choices occupied an uneasy place in the conscience of subsequent generations of French intellectuals.

Judt's analysis goes beyond the writings of popular "existentialist" figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, and Simone de Beauvoir and covers a broad intellectual community, including Catholic philosophers, independent journalists, communist and non-communist literary critics, and poets.

“With deep knowledge and a wonderfully readable form of critical insight […] Judt examines French intellectual life in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War. […] Bursting with ideas, this book offers a comprehensive intellectual theory. “In an exciting polemic style, it keeps the interest alive and provokes people to think.”

-The Washington Post

“A work of expertise that will chill the blood of those who have enjoyed wandering through the pages of twentieth-century French literature and is breathtakingly shocking. […] A book to be read carefully.”

-The American Spectator

“The Imperfect Past is a frank and unusually exciting examination of the ups and downs of intellectual life [1944-1956]. Judt […] goes beyond describing the ideological acrobats he subjects; "He blames intellectuals for their ruthlessness who do not test their political ideas with political reality."

-New York Times Book Review

(From the Promotional Bulletin)

Dough Type: 2nd Dough

Number of Pages: 320

Size: 16.5 x 24

First Print Year: 2020

Number of Printings: 1st Edition

Language Turkish