The Human Condition (2nd Edition) (ISBN 0226025985)

Hannah Errant:
I'd had this book for quite some time so I thought I might take a look at it. After reading it from cover to cover, all I have to say is, "What a waste of my time". Arendt jumps back and forth from ancient Greece and Rome to the modern and post-modern eras, sometimes in the space of a few words in a paragraph, in a single-minded quest to put her stamp on what it is that gives value to existence. Turns out that it isn't happiness (too vulgar and egotistic and Bentham was a dirty crude little egoist) or even God (although He shows up in both the Heavenly and Nazarene versions). Nope, it's politics. The why is unclear to me; something to do with the mind (too vulgar and egotistic) and its inability to really know God's creation (never mind that Genesis says mankind was created in God's image, Arendt puts a governor on the intellect and proclaims it incapable of understanding) and how action for the sake of action is the greatest achievement of man (the working animal). Throw in some rationalizing of immortality based on her understanding of then up-to-date physics and you've got it in a nutshell (with emphasis on the 'nut').

Unbelievably verbose and difficult to read:
I should forewarn those who are about to the buy this book that you ought to first be well read in ancient Greek Culture: philosophy, political city-state as well as Greek mythology. Arendt uses a lot of Greek terminology which can make it incredibly difficult for the average Liberal Arts student or international student, for that matter, who are unfamiliar with these these terms. No doubt the concepts she spoke of in the mid-50s are more than applicable to todays society. She was clearly a woman ahead of her time, but much too brainy for her own good. Chapter 2 on the "Public and Private Realm" is a 50+ page drag, emphasis on the word DRAG. I'm barely scraping through this chapter. Had Arendt chosen to write in a taut, less opulent but fluid fashion, she could have easily connected to average readers and would have been an instant bestseller. If she did in fact become one...then more power to her. Two cents worth from a frustrated liberal arts student.

The Color Purple:
To judge this book by it's cover, I would say that it's red violet. I hope the content covers the spectrum of the human condition. Enjoy your lunch.

Not quite what I expected but a classic nonetheless:
Arendt's book is really more a disquisition on political theory than an explanation of the human condition in all its endlessly tragic vicissitudes. It was interesting, and I learned more about ancient Greek and Roman political theory than I really wanted to know; with the most interesting facet being the defining of the terms "labor", "work", and "action" as they pertain to the the means by which the human animal has his being in the world. But by and large, it really didn't touch on the human condition in a way that enlarged my understanding of the essence of its gestalt. The most interesting chapter is the one on action as the public realm in which some men choose to live and act, and how that affects both the present and the future. While action is essentially ephemeral in nature, its impact on the human condition is one that can and often does have unintended consequences reaching far into the future like ripples on a pond spreading outward from a central occurence. It is that very unpredictability that is its foremost feature. Labor too is ephemeral in nature, in its attendance on the basic needs of mankind, food and shelter. Only work, in Arendt's estimation is durable and in this category she places all forms of art. It is not an easy book to read but, given a little effort, accessible to even a novice at political theory.

What it is that We are Doing:
Arendt begins her opus magnum with a proposal: she states that the launch of Sputnik in 1957 (similar to Vaclav Havel's proposal of the moon landing) has hearkened in a new age of humanity. Following this proposal is one of the most mysterious but rewarding books of the 20th century, in my humble opinion. I first encountered "The Human Condition" in an undergraduate class regarding the post-modern community. To this day, I still have not completely digested this work. Her objective, in her own words, is to determine "... what it is that we are doing", and her choice of a goal is challenging considering what is to follow. Situating herself between a Greek model of society and a Marxist interpretation of labor, Arendt calls into question our ideas of progress, technology, and even forgiveness, and aims a withering critique at the subjective personality of the post-modern world. I won't go into a broad summary of her points to convince you to read it, but instead implore the reader of this review to see for themselves what Arendt is doing. Some will give up on this book after a few pages, calling it semantical nonsense. Yet for those who forge a path through Arendt's intelligent interpretation of history will come out on the other side with a new appreciation for the way in which they live their lives, participate in this thing we call "work", and interact with the human community. I can't stress enough how much this book means to me.