John Hellman

Simone Weil: An Introduction to Her Thought John Hellman

Albert Camus called her ''the only great spirit of our time.'' She was one of the most prominent French political thinkers of this century. She was a brilliant social activist, a vigilant and critical Marxist. Her religious and philosophical writings are remarkable in their originality. And yet Simone Weil died without ever writing a complete book and without ever formulating a major intellectual testament.

In this study of her life and thought, John Hellman synthesizes insights drawn from her varied, fragmentary writings-notebooks, essays, and letters-into a single, highly original view of the world. This fascinating book reinforces the belief that Simone Weil remains one of the most imaginative and out-of-the-ordinary forces in twentieth-century political thought and social activism.