Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Transparency and Obstruction - Tapa dura

Jean Starobinski, one of Europe's foremost literary critics, examines the life that led Rousseau, who so passionately sought open, transparent communication with others, to accept and even foster obstacles that permitted him to withdraw into himself. First published in France in 1958, "Jean-Jacques Rousseau" remains Starobinski's most important achievement and, arguably, the most comprehensive book ever written on Rousseau. The text has been extensively revised for this edition and is published here along with seven essays on Rousseau that appeared between 1962 and 1970.

Jean Starobinski is professor emeritus at the University of Geneva. His book "Montaigne in Motion," also translated by Arthur Goldhammer, is published by the University of Chicago Press.