Madness and Civilization Audiobook By Michel Foucault cover art

Madness and Civilization

A History of Insanity in the Age of Reason

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Madness and Civilization

By: Michel Foucault
Narrated by: Dave Gillies
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In this classic account of madness, Michel Foucault shows once and for all why he is one of the most distinguished European philosophers since the end of World War II. Madness and Civilization, Foucault's first book and his finest accomplishment, will change the way in which you think about society. Evoking shock, pity, and fascination, it might also make you question the way you think about yourself.

©1972 Editions Gallimard; English translation copyright 1965 by Random House, Inc. (P)2016 Tantor Europe Modern Philosophy Sociology

Critic reviews

"Superb scholarship rendered with artistry." ( The Nation)
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The material is fantastic, but I won't be commenting much on it here. Just wanted to mention what you could already know from the sample, the narrator has a beautiful but thick Scottish accent that some may find difficult at times to understand. I found that the more I listened, the less of an issue it became, as I got I to the groove of the narration and noticed it less. so probably a me issue but just a heads up for others with auditory processesing disorder. Adjusting the speed might help.

incredible material, good audio performance

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Strange, incongruously melodramatic reading totally distracts from the text. The reader's voice trembles with emotion, speeds up, slows down, increases then decreases volume, without following the content. This kind of hammy performance is bad enough when you hear it in a Shakespeare performance. Why the reader thinks it works for this book is hard to imagine. Not easy to take this audiobook seriously, which is really disappointing.

Crucial book. Bad reading performance.

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if you're Scottish, this probably won't bother you. if you are not, the guys meter and inflections make this reading unintelligible.

great text. terrible reader.

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If you lack the ability to appreciate complex language spoken in a beautiful yet foreign accent, or are otherwise dull and lack a taste for those things which lie beyond a comfortable horizon, then this book is not for you.

Intensely thought provoking art

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I'm sure this guy is great with other material. But he is just the wrong choice for this. It isn't the Scottish accent. He's just... too flippant. You would think he was reading light fiction. Also, his constantly changing tone makes it hard to follow the text. I

Just really the wrong choice of narrator.

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Discipline and punish in audio


Question: how did this happen? How? Editors? Producers? How? How did THIS happen? *genuinely asking

Madness and civilization by title

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Narrator reads as if it's a fairytale for kids! Don't mind his accent, totally fine. But the intonation is silly for a non-fiction book. Have read it several times but lost my analogue copy. I was sure Audible would have a respectable performances of this classic. NO! This is the only one!
K, I'm done ranting. Thanks.

Narration is horrid.

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I have to admit I was a bit shocked but then amused about the difference in opinion -- I purposefully came to comment on how fantastic the reading performance was. The text itself is excellent, but I thoroughly enjoyed Gillies rendering, and my only disappointment is that he hasn't been used more for books that I am interested in. It just goes to show that everyone has their preferences, and -- more importantly -- don't necessarily write off giving a book a try just because a certain reader doesn't work for some individuals. I only wish Gillies had been given the other Foucault texts and maybe let loose on the ponderous Heidegger to make following those more enjoyable.

Excellent performance of a classic.

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As expected, this work is confounding and stunning. I always believed in exactly this theory, but having a master immortalizing the concept/theory was stupendous.

Hard, but amazing

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Beautiful language, and hauntingly applicable to today’s swamp of ideology. Flawless in every way. A masterpiece of philosophy.

Foucault lays waste to branch covidians

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