January 6, 2003
VOL. 32, NO. 16
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New From JHU Press
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Existential America
by George Cotkin
Existentialism was the most widely espoused and
influential philosophy of the 20th century, and its impact
on American culture was profound. Yet Europe's leading
existential thinkers--Sartre, Beauvoir and Camus--all felt
that Americans were too self-confident to accept their
philosophy. In Existential America, historian George
Cotkin argues that the existential approach to life, marked
by vexing despair and dauntless commitment in the face of
uncertainty, has deep American roots. Cotkin examines
America's long "pre-existentialist" tradition, explains how
formal existentialism first arrived in America in the 1930s
and 1940s, and traces the evolution of existentialism in
America through the works of Richard Wright, Ralph Ellison,
Norman Mailer and Betty Friedan, as well as its looming
presence in popular culture, particularly in Hollywood
films. This engaging and original work is the only
full-length study of existentialism in America. (December,
368 pages, $39.95)
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