Henri Lefebvre : A Critical Introduction

This book will be a highly accessible critical introduction to French theorist Henri Lefebvre, who is recognized as one of the great social theorists on the topics of cities, space, revolution, and the state. Philosopher and sociologist, urban theorist and maverick bon vivant, Lefebvre's life and thought spanned almost the entire twentieth century, during which he authored over sixty books and hundreds of articles. He introduced the "early Marx" to French audiences and patented the sociologic... (show more)

This book will be a highly accessible critical introduction to French theorist Henri Lefebvre, who is recognized as one of the great social theorists on the topics of cities, space, revolution, and the state. Philosopher and sociologist, urban theorist and maverick bon vivant, Lefebvre's life and thought spanned almost the entire twentieth century, during which he authored over sixty books and hundreds of articles. He introduced the "early Marx" to French audiences and patented the sociological sub-discipline of "everyday life." His legacy is a fascinating body of work that, over the past decade, has begun to receive the critical attention that it merits. Lefebvre frustrates and befuddles, bewilders and bedazzles with an oeuvre that defies categorization, and English-language assessments of his work have only begun to truly grapple with the ambiguities and contradictions of his thought. Merrifield's work combines biography and theory in a chronologically-rendered critical assessment of the dynamics of Lefebvre's character, thought, and times. Henri Lefebvre explores the sum of Lefebvre's thought and the as yet philosophical roads that remain his legacy. (show less)