A Political Life

This stimulating memoir from French philosopher Badiou (The Immanence of Truths) recounts the personal milestones and intellectual influences that shaped him from his birth in 1937 to the middle of his career in 1985. Writing in a conversational mode, Badiou revisits his childhood in Vichy France, early encounters with literature and mathematics, and entrance into postwar intellectual life, situating each episode within the wider turmoil of the 20th century. His accounts of shifting ideological currents, including anti-colonial struggles, the rise and fall of left-wing movements, and the enduring temptations of fascism, are brisk yet sharp. Most involving are Badiou’s insights on his philosophical formation, including the “four truth procedures”—science, art, politics, and love—that came to anchor his worldview. As Badiou blends personal reflections and theoretical explorations, he occasionally slips into abstraction, but for the most part he writes with an inviting clarity, lingering as long on his considerable achievements as he does on his failures and regrets. Students of political thought and French intellectual history will find much to savor in this rewarding and approachable volume. (Feb.)