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Post by Rob Allen on Mar 31, 2015 11:46:27 GMT -5
Sartre I haven't read much at all - just some of his fiction and not much even of that: his early novel, La Nausée, and one of his plays, Huis Clos - both highly recommended. I'm saving his philosophical books like Being and Nothingness until after I read more of his 19th and early 20th century predecessors. I hadn't any idea he wrote fiction. That I might find more readable than his philosophy. I read the English translation of his screenplay " Les jeux sont faits", which was published as a novel with the idiomatic translation " The Chips Are Down". It was well-done, an interesting premise that I remember clearly many years after reading it. Based on that, I'd read more Sartre. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chips_Are_Down_%28screenplay%29 |
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Post by berkley on Mar 31, 2015 18:49:08 GMT -5
I hadn't any idea he wrote fiction. That I might find more readable than his philosophy. I read the English translation of his screenplay " Les jeux sont faits", which was published as a novel with the idiomatic translation " The Chips Are Down". It was well-done, an interesting premise that I remember clearly many years after reading it. Based on that, I'd read more Sartre. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chips_Are_Down_%28screenplay%29Don't think I've heard of that one; I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Someone earlier listed Alexander the Great, which made me wonder who else from the ancient world I'd like to hear talk. Turns out there are too many so I'll start with famous generals from the Greco-Roman history: Alexander the Great - arguably the greatest of all time in terms of success; his astounding achievements render him something of an enigma; pretty much every famous general who came after him tried to model himself on Alexander in one way or another, some of them (e.g. Scipio) even imitating his hairstyle. Pyrrhus of Epirus - if you haven't heard of this guy look him up, or better yet, read his entry in Plutarch's Lives; he came a generation or two after Alexander and was considered one of the top 3 military leaders of all time in the ancient world, usually ranked with Alexander and Hannibal; his adventures and exploits read like something out of fiction. Perhaps the last great general who was also a great warrior in the sense of engaging in personal, one-on-one combat with the enemy. Hannibal - the last great challenger to Roman domination; another larger than life character who seemed to rise to any challenge no matter what the odds. Polybius's history is for me the best source for Hannibal's conflict with Rome. The Greek Polybius was more neutral and IMO a more serious historian than the Roman Livy. Sulla - first Roman general to march on Rome, setting a dangerous precedent; he was an interesting personality, an urbane, pleasure-loving sort who liked to hang around with actors and musicians as a young, impoverished aristocrat; an extremely able military leader, he nonetheless liked to ascribe his success to Fortune rather than skill (actually a smart propaganda move, as it fostered the idea that he was favoured by the gods). Julius Caesar - what would he have thought of the history of the Roman Empire after his death, I wonder. Would he have approved of Augustus's measures? What would ha have done differently? |
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Post by Nowhere Man on Mar 31, 2015 19:14:39 GMT -5
Great list, berk. I recently finished a massive podcast history of Rome and was fascinated every step of the way. If we isolated it to great military/political leaders of the Greco Roman world, I'd probably choose: Alexander, Julius Ceasar, Trajan, Hadrian and most likely Marcus Aurelius. Beyond Greco Roman, Cyrus the Great would have to be first on my list. From what I've learned of his general attitude toward other tribes and their beliefs, I like the cut of that guys jib.
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Post by berkley on Mar 31, 2015 23:07:38 GMT -5
I've been fascinated by ancient history since reading a Penguin paperback of Casar's Conquest of Gaul as a teenager. I've read more of the Greek than the Roman historians, but I hope to remedy that over the next few years.
And yes, I agree, it's too bad that we don't have more histories written by other peoples. I'd love to read about the Greek-Persian wars from the Persian POV, for example, or about the Romans' conquest of Gaul and Britain from the POV of the Gauls and Britons.
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Post by Duragizer on Dec 6, 2017 4:46:16 GMT -5
Laura Bertram
Philip K. Dick
Heather Langenkamp
Paul Tillich
Simone Weil
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Post by Deleted on Dec 7, 2017 0:00:14 GMT -5
Laura Bertram Philip K. Dick Heather Langenkamp Paul Tillich Simone Weil Interesting list here. two gorgeous actresses and I'm a fan of Laura Bertram and Heather to a lesser extent and combining them with philosophers; especially with Mr. Tillich would make this dinner discussion very much a social event that would be highly interesting with a wide range of discussion. It would make you think in a broader sense of understanding. You would be talking, talking, and more talking and realize it's already 3am in the morning! |
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Dec 7, 2017 13:23:20 GMT -5
I've decided that the three dead people I'd most like to have dinner with are Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and Rupert Murdoch.
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Post by berkley on Dec 7, 2017 23:24:33 GMT -5
I think I'd rather be a fly on the wall (with magical powers of understanding all languages, living or dead), than actually be one of the participants in any imaginary situation of his knd. so with that in mind, I'd like to listen in on some of the historical figures who are reputed to have been conversationalists, like Lord Byron, for example. But rather than put him together with other people who are supposed to have been great talkers, I think it would be better to hear him and his friends and peers - so perhaps the Diodati group of Byron, Percy and Mary Shelley, Dr. Polidori, and Claire Claremont. But also some of his other male friends, so perhaps Byron, Thomas Moore, and some of his university buddies like Hobhouse, and I'd have to look up his bio to refresh my memory on the other names. And apparently in his London days he used to have some great talking and drinking bouts with some of the older generation of writers like Richard Sheridan, a renowned wit himself.
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