Resistance, Rebellion, and Death: Essays

I cannot recommend this book highly enough. It has provided me with the strongest, most clear-headed confidence in the face of unrelenting hypocrisy and struggle. Camus was on the side of the angels for all of the conflicts of his time, a time that saw the darkest face of humanity. His arguments for compassion and justice are utterly transfixing and revelatory, and written with a clarity and insight that are simply breath-taking. I challenge anyone that supports the death penalty to read "Reflections on the Guillotine" and walk away with their arguments intact. In this piece Camus utterly demolishes every argument for state-sanctioned murder while defending the right to live with dignity, a right that can easily encompass the self-defense by combat necessitated by circumstance. Camus was a moral, intellectual, and physical hero, and reading these essays one is almost overcome by his sense of humilty, justice, and compassion. His writing is so crystalline, it's almost jolting. This is a powerful tonic for all those that despair of creating a place for the best qualities of the human race in times of utter darkness. A must-read.

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Camus provides an historical and philosophical backdrop for understanding European and Arab relations since the fall of the Ottoman Empire which may help to explain why there is so much animosity toward Europeans (and Americans) in the Middle East today. While Camus did not live to see the events of the "Arab Spring" unfold, he certainly was aware of the factors that have led the world to focus, in our present time (and quite intently), upon both Arab culture and the spread of the influence of Islam today. Camus was neither a Muslim nor a Christian but he felt a close bond to those people who professed belief in both faiths; however, he realized a greater rift was growing between Christianity and Islam and between the Middle East and Europe and their respective allies. The social and political events, mentioned in this book, that concerned Albert Camus during the 1940s to the 1960s, in particular, are still continuing to unfold and the conclusion has yet to be written. There is more to this book than what I have extracted for my limited review; it is a worldview of the struggle for liberty, freedom and truth in a world saturated in tyrannical manipulation and exploitation.

Albert Camus has been labeled an "existentialist" and an "atheist," but please ignore these labels and allow author to reveal himself to you through his own words. Camus's philosophy and reflections on social justice, human rights, and the human condition are full of profound and timeless wisdom. He frames his arguments in terms that will appeal to anyone concerned with the fate of mankind - regardless of whether they are religious or agnostic. These essays are extremely well written - challenging but eminently readable. Camus discusses the horrors of human evil with graphic honesty, but he always points us to a realistic hope that is based upon authentic struggle and redemptive sacrifice. I loved this book. It is one that I shall return to frequently.

At their best, the essays in Resistance, Rebellion and Death are strikingly clear and profound defences of human dignity and liberty that are reminiscent of the best of Orwell's essays, and reflect a real awareness of both the constraints imposed by the exercise of responsibilty in the real world and the reality that all men (including the author) are imperfect, but may at least strive to be better. In my view, the strongest essays in this collection are those dealing with Algeria (where he ruefully noted his pleas for moderation had almost no chance of acceptance) and Hungary, and his defences of freedom of conscience such as that in The Unbeliever and Chrtistians. While Reflections on the Guillotine is powerfully written, I would disagree with some of the reviewers that it is the definitive argument against capital punishment - it persuaded me that anything other than a clinical means of execution reserved for the very worst of crimes is wrong, but in my view Camus failed to close the door on the possibility that those who commit the most terrible crimes don't deserve an opportunity to seek redemption. For my taste, a few of the essays in this collection were a bit too obtuse for me to find particularly compelling (Create Dangerously is an example, although I note other reviewers strongly recommended it), but there are certainly works in this collection I will revisit and quote again.