I first read the essay "Existentialism is a Humanism" as a college freshman in an introduction to philosophy course. A shortened form of it was in the textbook we used for the class. I read [a:Albert Camus|957894|Albert Camus|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1606568448p2/957894.jpg]'s [b:The Stranger|49552|The Stranger|Albert Camus|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1590930002l/49552._SY75_.jpg|3324344] not long before or not long after. I was beginning to have some awareness of Existentialism, and I was intrigued. I still am.

This slim volume includes the full-length version of that same essay, based on a lecture Sartre gave in 1945, along with the Q/A session that followed it, which is mostly [a:Pierre Naville|1535263|Pierre Naville|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362006158p2/1535263.jpg] braying on and on about Existentialism's lack of commitment to the Marxist cause. Naville raises a few good points, but comes off mostly as someone in love with the sound of his own voice.

The volume also contains Sartre's excellent "A Commentary on The Stranger," in which Sartre masterfully analyzes that novel in light of Camus essay, "The Myth of Sisyphus."

Both the preface and the introduction attempt to put the original lecture-turned-essay into its historical moment while heaping praise, rightly, on the Camus essay. Oddly, the preface and introduction disagree about the value of the essay which gives its title to the book, one lamenting that it oversimplifies Existentialism, while the other praises it for getting to the heart of it in an accessible way.

It's a beautiful little volume and an excellent, if quirky, introduction to the basics of Sartre's conception of Existentialism and Camus' concept of "The Absurd." (Re)reading it makes me want to read more Sartre. Camus was always my favorite, and I spent much more of my younger years with his works--reading all that I could get my hands on. Maybe it's time to make up the gap. There's something quite delightful about following along with Sartre's thinking and his often beautiful prose. I'm in a better position to enjoy that now than I was when I was twenty.

A perfect introduction into Sartre's modern existentialism. I read this after a lecture on existentialism, and found it to be clear and concise - the exact opposite of Being and Nothingness. It's a short read, just over half an hour, but Sartre and his way with words... Highly recommend.

Now that I have a better grasp on Existentialism, and Philosophy, this was a much easier read. I also enjoyed the review of the Stranger at the end. It deepened my enjoyment of that already great book. This is definitely a decent introduction to his philosophy, but maybe after you have read some things online, or if you are already a fan of philosophy.

This one is a decent intro to existentialism that definitely oversimplifies (a criticism that Satre himself acknowledges as true and led to him regret that he allowed it to be published). I would have gotten more out of Existentialism is a Humanism if I had read it before The Ethics of Ambiguity. Satre seems to make the claim here that ethics under existentialism cannot really exist. As long as the an action is taken freely, it is ethically valid. This point was rejected by his life partner De Beauvoir and I believe she was correct.