IN PRAISE OF LOVE - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing - ONLY COPY OF THE FIRST PRINTING ONLINE

Badiou, Alain (Translated by Peter Bush)

ISBN 10: 1595588779 / ISBN 13: 9781595588777

Published by New York City, NY: The New Press, 2012, 2012

About this Item

1st Printing. 112 pages. Published in 2012. The philosopher/author's account on subject. One of Alain Badiou's finest achievements. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, of which there are very many. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only. Without DJ, as issued. Presents, in its First Edition hardcover format, Alain Badiou's "In Praise of Love" in a felicitous English translation. His philosophy of "rupture" and its transformative power to one's "love life", amid the hectic demands and reductive-ness of modern technology. "In a world rife with consumerism, where online dating promises risk-free romance and love is all too often seen as a mere variant of desire and hedonism, Alain Badiou believes that love is under threat. Taking to heart Rimbaud's famous line, 'love needs reinventing', 'In Praise of Love' is the celebrated French intellectual's passionate treatise in defense of love. For Badiou, love is an existential project, a constantly unfolding quest for truth. This quest begins with the chance encounter, an Event that forever changes two individuals, challenging them to see the world from the point-of-view of two rather than one. This is love's most essential transforming power. A vibrant cast of thinkers is invoked: Kierkegaard, Plato, De Beauvoir, Proust, and others, to create a new narrative of love in the face of 21st-century modernity. Moving, zealous, and wise, Badiou's paean to the unifying power of love urges us not to fear it, but to see it as a magnificent undertaking that compels us to explore others and to move away from an obsession with ourselves" (Publishers Weekly). An absolute "must-have" title for Alain Badiou collectors. This title is a contemporary - and accessible - philosophy classic. As far as we know, this is the only copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online have very serious flaws (because they were avidly read), are in multiple subsequent printings, as this was one of the most popular books by Alain Badiou, if not the most, or are the Softcover Edition. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. One of the greatest philosophers of our time. A fine copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ALAIN BADIOU TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 1595588779.

Seller Inventory # 24185

Bibliographic Details

• Title: IN PRAISE OF LOVE - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing - ONLY COPY OF THE FIRST PRINTING ONLINE
• Publisher: New York City, NY: The New Press, 2012
• Publication Date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1595588779
• ISBN 13: 9781595588777
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: As New
• Dust Jacket Condition: None, As Issued
• Signed: no

About this title

Synopsis

The renowned French philosopher’s “ode to love’s power to unite in the face of eternity, and its optimism in the face of pain” (Publishers Weekly).
 
In a world rife with consumerism, where online dating promises risk-free romance and love is all too often seen as a mere variant of desire and hedonism, Alain Badiou believes that love is under threat. Taking to heart Rimbaud’s famous line “love needs reinventing,” In Praise of Love is the celebrated French intellectual’s passionate treatise in defense of love.
 
For Badiou, love is an existential project, a constantly unfolding quest for truth. This quest begins with the chance encounter, an event that forever changes two individuals, challenging them “to see the world from the point of view of two rather than one.” This, Badiou believes, is love’s most essential transforming power.
 
Through thought-provoking dialogue edited from a conversation between Badiou and Truong, a vibrant cast of thinkers are invoked: Kierkegaard, Plato, de Beauvoir, Proust, and more, create a new narrative of love in the face of twenty-first-century modernity. Moving, zealous, and wise, Badiou’s “paean to the anticapitalist, antiessentialist, unifying power of love” urges us not to fear it but to see it as a magnificent undertaking that compels us to explore others and to move away from an obsession with ourselves (Publishers Weekly).
 
“Finally, the cure for the pornographic, utilitarian exchange of favors to which love has been reduced in America. Alain Badiou is our philosopher of love.” ―Simon Critchley, author of The Faith of the Faithless

About the Author

Born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1937, Alain Badiou is a leading French philosopher. He is the author of The Meaning of Sarkozy, Being and Event, Ethics: An Essay on the Understanding of Evil, and The Communist Hypothesis. He lives in Paris. Nicholas Truong is a writer, journalist, and regular contributor to the French daily Le Monde. Peter Bush is an award-winning literary translator. He lives in Barcelona.