Books about Diderot from Amazon.com

With this widely acclaimed work, Fried revised the way in which eighteenth-century French painting and criticism were viewed and understood

"A reinterpretation supported by immense learning and by a series of brilliantly perceptive readings of paintings and criticism alike. . . . An exhilarating book."—John Barrell, London Review of Books

First paperbound edition of 485 remarkable plates (over 2,000 illustrations) that accompanied landmark work of the Enlightenment Sharply detailed royalty-free images depict agriculture, military science, metalwork, mining, textile manufacture, masonry, carpentry, much more. Invaluable resource for art and craft use. Introduction and detailed captions by Charles C. Gillispie. Bibliography.

From Diderot's monumental illustrated record of 18th-century European arts and sciences: elegant renderings of architectural landmarks; drawings and plans for windmills, bridges and boats; renderings of palatial interiors and furnishings; elevations and floor plans for many well-known European theaters; scenes of 18th-century craftsmen at work in the building trades; and much more.

Philosopher, literary critic, translator (of Nietzsche and Benjamin), Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe is one of the leading intellectual figures in France. This volume of six essays deals with the relation between philosophy and aesthetics, particularly the role of mimesis in a metaphysics of representation.

Comment [1997]

“Typography is a book whose importance has not diminished since its first publication in French in 1979. On the contrary, I would say, it is only now that one can truly begin to appreciate the groundbreaking status of these essays. The points it makes, the way it approaches the questions of mimesis, fictionality, and figurality, is unique. There are no comparable books, or books that could supersede it.” —Rudolphe Gasché,

State University of New York, Buffalo

“Lacoue-Labarthe’s essays still set the standards for thinking through the problem of subjectivity without simply retreating behind insights already gained. But this book is much more than a collection of essays: it constitutes a philosophical project in its own right. Anybody interested in the problem of mimesis—whether from a psychoanalytic, platonic, or any other philosophical angle—cannot avoid an encounter with this book. Lacoue-Labarthe is a philosopher and a comparatist in the highest sense of the word, and the breadth of his knowledge and the rigor of his thought are exemplary.” —Eva Geulen,

New York University

Review

“In demonstrating how mimesis has determined philosophical thought, Lacoue-Labarthe provokes us into reconsidering our understanding of history and politics. . . . Together with the introduction, these essays are essential reading for anyone interested in Heidegger, postmodernism, and the history of mimesis in philosophy and literature.” —The Review of Metaphysics