May 1, 2006
THEY CAN ILL AFFORD TO LOSE HIS LIKE:
Jean-Francois Revel, philosopher, prolific writer, noted commentator, dies (AP, May 01, 2006)
Jean-Francois Revel, a philosopher, eclectic writer and a journalist whose commentaries on the state of France and the world were for years a mainstay of the French media, died Sunday, his wife said. He was 82.Revel, who also was a member of the noted Academie Francaise, died at Kremlin-Bicetre Hospital, just south of Paris, said his wife Claude Sarraute, a former journalist herself. The cause of death was not immediately revealed.
Revel, author of about 30 books whose subjects ranged from poetry to gastronomy to politics, became known in later years for his conservative position and pro-American stance as editor-in-chief of the newsweekly L'Express and commentator at that magazine and later at rival Le Point.
Mr. Revel was wise enough to switch sides from the French model to the Anglo-American. Posted by Orrin Judd at May 1, 2006 11:59 PM
Some where in some box in my basement is my copy of 'Without Marx or Jesus' by Revel.
It was a great book, though lacking in understanding about what really drives Western civilization. I hadn't seen the name again until I read it here on OJs blog.
Here's to hoping he found the latter of the two in that Title.
Posted by: Bruno at May 2, 2006 12:46 AMBruno:
Yes, let's hope he's now meeting the second fellow and not the first.
Posted by: Matt Murphy at May 2, 2006 1:24 AMBruno -- Do yourself a favor and buy Anti-Americanism by Revel. He understood this country better than any other European. The book was an excellent translation, a lively read, and Revel was a gem of a thinker. He will be missed.
Posted by: Melissa at May 2, 2006 2:08 AMBruno:
Reread it, you'll be less impressed. He was just the one-eyed man in the kingdom of the blind.
Posted by: oj at May 2, 2006 7:23 AMI read his "Totalitarian Temptation" in 1980; in it he detailed for the French public how socialism necessarily leads to totalitarianism. He had lots of anecdotes in the book about the dirty tricks played by the various European Communist parties. At that age, it was a revelation for me. It was at that point I realized that Marxism was on much shakier ground than I had ever imagined.
Also in that year, my political science professor at the Univ. of Paris stated that Marxism/Communism was pretty much defeated as an ideology. He predicted that it would die as a movement in the next 10 to 15 years. He was a pretty good prophet, and that was before Reagan, Thatcher and Pope John Paul II had done their work.
By the way, Revel's son is a Buddhist monk, in the Tibetan tradition. He lives in Asia, Darjeeling, I think. They wrote a book together called, "The Philosopher and the Monk." An interesting read. Clever how the son managed to have an intense spiritual life while avoiding being disloyal to his father's beliefs.
Posted by: L. Rogers at May 2, 2006 11:12 AM