Status
Available
Genres
Publication
Boston : Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005.
Description
Reconstructs the life of the French literary genius whose writing changed opinions and fueled fierce debate on both sides of the Atlantic during the period of the American and French revolutions.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Stbalbach
Until Damros published this 2005 National Book Award finalist, there has not been a good single-volume biography of Rousseau in the English language. This is because Rousseau's own auto-biography, "Confessions" (1782), is so well done and the number of sources for Rousseau's first 40 years are
Rousseau's influences are so vital and important to so many aspects of modernity that they seem like second nature: the idea of government existing for the good of the people it governs, and not for the people to be good "subjects" of its rulers (which is why he was called the "prophet of the French Revolution"). Confessions was the first auto-biography to focus on mundane events in life, particularly childhood traumas (and adult sexual escapades), which he saw as influential in creating personality - an original idea for the time which saw childhood as a time to be forgotten. His concept of "natural man" in a natural state as the height of good, and civilization a downfall, are at the roots of Romanticism.
Rousseau's personality can best be describe as immature and "sharp at the edges". He either loved a person with all his heart, or hated them as his worst enemy. Usually, it started with the former and ended with the later, fueled by his paranoia and over-active imagination. These are traits one normally sees in a child, a black and white world view of love and hate unable to deal with the ambiguities of human weaknesses - which makes sense given Rousseau's brilliant genius combined with his abusive child-hood; lacking a mother he needed to trust someone, but at the same time could trust no one because of his abusive past. This fueled his desire for self-sufficiency and subsequent rejection of dependent relationships - thus he was naturally conflicted in an 18th C French society which was based on hierarchies of dependencies, where everyone was either the master of someone, or mastered by someone (and usually both)--Rousseau found a way to both live and preach an isolated life of self-sufficiency and inward reflection, hallmarks of the modern man. The master of no one, mastered by no one, and completely isolated from everyone. All of this is directly reflected in his works and ideas, so it is possible to fully understand Rousseau's works by understanding Rousseau the person - this biography paints the full portrait and answers many questions.
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otherwise so weak, that writing a new biography is mostly a retelling of what Rousseau has already said. The strength of Damros' biography is to summarize Rousseau's life, his evolving thinking and his major works, including historical significance and context, while weaving in some of the best scholarship available after two centuries of reflection.Rousseau's influences are so vital and important to so many aspects of modernity that they seem like second nature: the idea of government existing for the good of the people it governs, and not for the people to be good "subjects" of its rulers (which is why he was called the "prophet of the French Revolution"). Confessions was the first auto-biography to focus on mundane events in life, particularly childhood traumas (and adult sexual escapades), which he saw as influential in creating personality - an original idea for the time which saw childhood as a time to be forgotten. His concept of "natural man" in a natural state as the height of good, and civilization a downfall, are at the roots of Romanticism.
Rousseau's personality can best be describe as immature and "sharp at the edges". He either loved a person with all his heart, or hated them as his worst enemy. Usually, it started with the former and ended with the later, fueled by his paranoia and over-active imagination. These are traits one normally sees in a child, a black and white world view of love and hate unable to deal with the ambiguities of human weaknesses - which makes sense given Rousseau's brilliant genius combined with his abusive child-hood; lacking a mother he needed to trust someone, but at the same time could trust no one because of his abusive past. This fueled his desire for self-sufficiency and subsequent rejection of dependent relationships - thus he was naturally conflicted in an 18th C French society which was based on hierarchies of dependencies, where everyone was either the master of someone, or mastered by someone (and usually both)--Rousseau found a way to both live and preach an isolated life of self-sufficiency and inward reflection, hallmarks of the modern man. The master of no one, mastered by no one, and completely isolated from everyone. All of this is directly reflected in his works and ideas, so it is possible to fully understand Rousseau's works by understanding Rousseau the person - this biography paints the full portrait and answers many questions.
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LibraryThing member sblake
I really enjoyde this book.It is the only full biography of Rousseau in English and has a quiet confidence in its prose and covers both the biography and philosophy sympathetically. I was drawn to read it after enjoying reading Rousseaus dog (see below)
LibraryThing member stillatim
This book and I have completed a no-fault divorce. I was not the reader the book thought I was, and it was not the book I thought it was, and that's fine. We're both okay with it.
I thought I was getting more about the 'genius,' and this book really wanted to give me more about the 'restless.'
The book did not, however, deal with Rousseau's ideas in any depth at all. What I wanted to read about was the great contradiction in Rousseau's thought: that society ought to be a contract between a bunch of people who are unsocialized and, therefore, incapable of making contracts. This is one of the great philosophical conundrums of modernity, but this book... well, it doesn't even bring it up.
I thought we'd make it work, but this break up is probably for the best. You're pretty, "Restless Genius," but you don't really have the personality I thought you did.
I thought I was getting more about the 'genius,' and this book really wanted to give me more about the 'restless.'
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Damrosch writes perfect non-fiction prose, clear and engaging. He paints (as they say) Rousseau's times and his personality, the houses he lived in and women he loved (if that's the right word), he pokes a bit of fun, but is generally sympathetic. I did not know, before reading this, that JJR just *was* a picaro, which makes me rethink a lot of 18th century novels. Maybe all the wanderings aren't plot devices--maybe that really was how a large number of people experienced their lives? The book did not, however, deal with Rousseau's ideas in any depth at all. What I wanted to read about was the great contradiction in Rousseau's thought: that society ought to be a contract between a bunch of people who are unsocialized and, therefore, incapable of making contracts. This is one of the great philosophical conundrums of modernity, but this book... well, it doesn't even bring it up.
I thought we'd make it work, but this break up is probably for the best. You're pretty, "Restless Genius," but you don't really have the personality I thought you did.
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LibraryThing member lschiff
This is an excellent biography, very informative and readable and I definitely walked away with a much richer understanding of Rousseau's philosophy than I had going into the book and it also made me want to reread The Social Contract. The only drawback was that I found Rousseau more and more
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annoying as a person the more I learned about him. Show Less
Awards
National Book Award (Finalist — Nonfiction — 2005)
PEN New England Award (Winner — Nonfiction — 2006)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Nonfiction — 2005)