Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love - Softcover

Andrew Shaffer

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0061969818 ISBN 13: 9780061969812

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2011

Synopsis

[ { By Shaffer, Andrew ( Author ) GREAT PHILOSOPHERS WHO FAILED AT LOVE Jan-04-2011 Paperback } ]

About this title

Review:

"A fun way to learn about the lives and loves of the great thinkers."--William Irwin, co-editor of The Simpsons and Philosophy

"A funny and oddly moving history of philosophy as tortured erotic dysfunction."--Neal Pollack, author of Stretch: The Unlikely Making of a Yoga Dude

"Indispensable advice for all lovers--and especially for those who think they should learn about the art of love from philosophers. A wonderful summary of the musings on love by some of history's greatest and most idiosyncratic minds."--Clancy Martin, editor of Love, Lies, and Marriage

"'Great Philosophers Who Failed at Love' extends the schadenfreude to the boudoir."--New York Times Book Review

"[A]n entertaining romp through the seamy side of philosophy... highlighting the hypocrisy and downright ineptness of those who too often counted as our 'greatest thinkers' in this crucial, if so often overlooked, area of sexual politics..."--Martin Cohen, editor of The Philosopher

"Fascinating, thought-provoking and mildly disturbing... Also, if you are considering dating an eminent philosopher, you need to buy this right now."--A.J. Jacobs, New York Times Bestselling Author of The Year of Living Biblically and The Know-It-All

"Amazing stories! Incredible quotes! Sordid details! This book shows that a genius in the realm of thought can be a dummy in the land of love. It's a hilarious and provocative warning, full of cautionary tales for us all. Enjoy it and share it with someone you love!"--Tom Morris, author of If Aristotle Ran General Motors

"[An] amusing essay in highbrow schadenfreude...most of the philosophers, giant throbbing intellects and all, simply screwed up like the rest of us."--Maclean's

"If you're in dutch with your valentine, give him Andrew Shaffer's book, which recounts the tortured love lives of 37 thinkers. Compared to them, you'll look as saintly as St. Thomas himself--who, Shaffer tells us, once chased a prostitute out of his room with a hot poker."--Martha Stewart Whole Living

"Shaffer's jaunty compendium of highbrow heartbreak provides proof positive that even the most brilliant of minds can fall afoul of Cupid--and offers some measure of hope to the lovelorn."--Publishers Weekly

From the Back Cover:

Few people have failed at love as spectacularly as the great philosophers. Although we admire their wisdom, history is littered with the romantic failures of the most sensible men and women of every age, including:

Friedrich Nietzsche: "Ah, women. They make the highs higher and the lows more frequent." (Rejected by everyone he proposed to, even when he kept asking and asking.)

Jean-Paul Sartre: "There are of course ugly women, but I prefer those who are pretty." (Adopted his mistress as his daughter.)

Louis Althusser: "The trouble is there are bodies and, worse still, sexual organs." (Accidentally strangled his wife to death.)

And dozens of other great thinkers whose words we revere--but whose romantic decisions we should avoid at all costs.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0061969818
• ISBN 13: 9780061969812
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208