Full of beautiful rhetoric, and this is no flaw in itself;

the literature of liberty indeed requires beautiful rhetoric to touch the hearts and souls of readers. However, it often lacks in logical rigor, which can undermine its persuasiveness. Camus, a prominent figure in the mid-twentieth century, suffered from the typical intellectual's faith in socialism. This faith may have influenced his works and ideas, but it also brought certain limitations.

While his use of beautiful language was able to create a vivid and engaging literary world, the lack of logical consistency sometimes made it difficult for readers to fully understand and accept his arguments.

Nevertheless, Camus' works still hold great value and significance, as they reflect the social and political context of his time and offer profound insights into the human condition.

Despite the flaws in his approach, his contributions to the literature of liberty cannot be ignored.

Absolutely remarkable!

I'm seeing now that this is out of print, which is quite a pity. However, I had the good fortune to find this original copy at a used book sale. And just like always, I'm completely floored by Camus.

This particular collection is extremely poignant in 2020. It has a timeless flair that makes it relevant and engaging even in the present day.

There are so many resonant issues explored within its pages. Resistance, xenophobia, a police state, capital punishment, and even art and aesthetic are all topics that are touched upon.

The way these issues are presented makes the book feel conversational and progressively modern. It's as if Camus is having a dialogue with the reader, challenging our perspectives and making us think deeply about the world around us.

If you can manage to locate a copy of this, do so for sure. It's a literary gem that is well worth reading and experiencing.

Kamu's research on death and its logic was very good and complete in direct contradiction to the legalities of death and execution.

Kamu delved deep into the complex and often controversial topic of death. He analyzed the various aspects of it, including the moral, ethical, and legal dimensions. His research was not only comprehensive but also thought-provoking.

By challenging the established legalities of death and execution, Kamu forced people to reevaluate their assumptions and beliefs. His work shed light on the flaws and limitations of the current legal system when it comes to dealing with matters of life and death.

Overall, Kamu's research on death and its logic was a significant contribution to the field, and it continues to inspire further discussions and debates.

This book is structured in a highly logical and intelligent manner. It unfolds like a wave, and my appreciation for it only deepened as I delved further into its pages. Here, I simply wish to briefly explore some thoughts on the three distinct sections of this collection.

It commences with Camus' correspondences, essays, and interviews during and after World War II. Here, Camus is at his most patriotic, yet not in a foolish way. I was struck by his open patriotism (definitely not nationalism) for France and Europe in general, precisely because Camus is consistently inquisitive and searching. A man confident in his ideas but never too proud to question them. The writing here is passionate - the kind that could only be a product of a gruesome conflict where the lines of morality were clearly black and white, and a conflict that directly assaulted the one principle Camus always adheres to: Liberty.

This first section functions mainly as a study of rhetoric and as a snapshot of Camus at his most animated. There is such anger and belief in these early pages.

The second section is filled with Camus' thoughts on two major resistance movements of his time: Algeria and Hungary. For me, this was a rather mixed bag. While Camus' Franco-Algerian identity gives him a valuable personal perspective on the Algerian conflict, and his preoccupation with liberty and human rights makes him particularly well-suited to discuss Algeria, I took issue with some of his ideas on the subject. He makes a good case for the necessity of a compromise in Algeria and, to his credit, acknowledges the need for reparations and universal liberty. However, he doesn't seem to come to terms with the fact that the potential wrong done to the French in Algeria is not equal and opposite to the wrong already inflicted on the Algerians themselves. He acknowledges the need for reparations but not that the removal of a French presence in Algeria may itself be part of the reparations. I was most contentious with him when he said, "There has never yet been an Algerian nation. The Jews, the Turks, the Greeks, the Italians, the Berbers would have just as much right to claim the direction of that virtual nation." (145). Which, to me, actually serves to denounce his support for continued French participation (if not control) in Algeria. It's wrong that all of these nations can lay claim to this space, isn't it? So why add another? Could it be that the Algerians have never been able to have their own nation (as of the writing in '53) because they never got a proper opportunity?

Still, despite all my issues with his argument, I admire Camus' unwavering commitment to dialogue and compromise. He has a nearly Socratic approach to seemingly all issues, always assuming he can know more. Never assuming anything is absolute. And I am, of course, empathetic to Camus, given that his identity was equally French and Algerian and how he surely grappled with the conflict internally.

Regarding Hungary, his writings are far less interesting. He takes a stance on the oppressive regime and the rights of the people (a 2-10 on the bravery scale). But mostly, he assumes the role of an observer. Which was probably correct, but still not enlightening in any way.

The third section is the beautiful climax of this collection. "Reflections on the Guillotine" is Camus working in the Swiftian tradition of satire and mockery while also reverting to a full-bodied voice of refutation. The guillotine is no more (though its last use was in 1977, which is rather alarming), and the death penalty is less prevalent globally than it was when Camus was writing, so his ideas and arguments may seem a bit more obvious to us now. But it is still a masterclass in essay writing. This passage (which called to mind Foucault's investigation (if not total condemnation?) of the shadowy practices of torture and execution):

"According to a magistrate, the vast majority of murderers he had known did not know when shaving in the morning that they were going to kill later that day. As an example and for the sake of security, it would be wiser, instead of hiding the execution, to hold up the severed head in front of all who are shaving in the morning." (186) WHEW.

The final piece of the collection is an essay titled "Create Dangerously," and it is, quite simply, the best essay I've read to date. I'll leave anyone who reads this review with just a few excerpts and the recommendation that you find this essay and read it in its entirety yourself:

"There is no need of determining whether art must flee reality or defer to it, but rather what precise dose of reality the work must take on as ballast to keep from floating up among the clouds or from dragging along the ground with weighted boots. Each artist solves this problem according to his lights and abilities. The greater an artist’s revolt against the world’s reality, the greater can be the weight of reality to balance that revolt. But the weight can never stifle the artist’s solitary exigency. The loftiest work will always be, in the Greek tragedians, Melville, Tolstoy, or Molière, the work that maintains an equilibrium between reality and man’s rejection of that reality, each forcing the other upward in a ceaseless overflowing, characteristic of life itself at its most joyous and heart-rending extremes. Then, every once in a while, a new world appears, different from the everyday world and yet the same, particular but universal, full of innocent insecurity—called forth for a few hours by the power and longing of genius. That’s just it and yet that’s not it; the world is nothing and the world is everything — this is the contradictory and tireless cry of every true artist, the cry that keeps him in his feet with eyes ever open and that, every once in a while, awakens for all in this world asleep the fleeting and insistent image of a reality we recognize without ever having known it." (265)

"Great ideas, it’s been said, come into the world as gently as doves. Perhaps then, if we listen attentively, we shall hear, amid the uproar of empires and nations, a faint flutter of wings, the gentle stirring of life and hope. Some will say that this hope lies in a nation; others, in a man. I believe rather that it is awakened, revived, nourished by millions of solitary individuals whose deeds and works every day negate frontiers and the crudest implications of history. As a result, there shines forth fleetingly the ever threatened truth that each and every man, on the foundation of his own sufferings and joys, builds for all." (272).