Georges Bataille

Georges Bataille is now recognised as one of the most important thinkers of the twentieth century. Fascinated by the excessive movement of life, Bataille developed a complex philosophy based upon examination of the interplay between death and eroticism. For him, eroticism was the foundation of human experience, providing a sharp insight into the basis of human society and the response of the individual to it. Largely neglected during his lifetime, Bataille's influence has grown during the last thirty years, first in France and more recently in Britain and the USA, where it has often been associated with the rise of post-structuralism and post-modernism. Although most of Bataille's works have now been translated into English, little accessible critical commentary on his work has been available. This is the first book in English to look at Bataille's work as a whole and to offer an accessible introduction to what is often seen as a difficult body of thought. Often misunderstood and conflated too readily with post-modernism, Bataille is in fact a multi-faceted thinker who does not fit in easily with any simple categorisation. The book seeks to draw out the essential qualities of Bataille's work while critically examining the concepts he used. The book will be of interest to both undergraduate and postgraduate students and is of particular value to anyone concerned with twentieth-century critical thought in France and the debate on post-modernism. Michael Richardson is a writer and translator who has edited Georges Bataille's The Absence of Myth: Writings on Surrealism .