Announcement for English-speaking readers regarding the post-war philosophical and critical writings of Georges Bataille. After World War II, the French thinker and writer Georges Bataille charted a unique path through the ethical and political dead ends of his time. In 1946, motivated by “the need to live the events more and more consciously,” and to reject any division within spiritual life, Bataille founded the magazine Critique.

The second volume of this third collection of Bataille's work gathers his essays and reviews from the years 1949 to 1951, continuing the publication of his post-war writings. During this period, characterized by intellectual isolation and intense reflection, Bataille developed and defined the genealogy of ethics through ongoing contemplation of the fate of the sacred in the modern world.

He provided a critique of the limits of existing ethics, particularly in denying excess, while outlining the characteristics of a new super-ethics. Bataille's extensive analyses stay true to the spiritual mission of Critique, which he founded as a platform open to broader approaches of the present. Besides discussing notable figures such as Samuel Beckett, André Gide, and René Guénon, Bataille also offers exciting insights on American politics, Nazism, existentialism, materialism, and play.

The connecting thread in these diverse essays remains Bataille's concern with the extremes of human experience and the possibilities of surpassing the boundaries of societies based on utility and restraint. His writings continue to be a provocative challenge to reflect on the limits we impose on expression and existence.

Pages: 390, Year of Publication: 2007, Dimensions: 15.2x15.2cm