Michel Foucault’s life can be read in different ways. Born in 1926, he was a “progressive academic success” story (1). He was also a tormented suicidal homosexual man who died of AIDS before his 60th birthday in 1984 (2). Regardless of how you read his life, he must be placed alongside Derrida and Lyotard as the most significant French Postmodern philosophers. (Side note: James K. A. Smith treats these three figures brilliantly in Who’s Afraid of Postmodernism.)

Garry Gutting’s very short introduction of Foucault does an admirable job explaining the diverse themes of Foucault without getting buried in the complexities. He begins by introducing Foucault’s ideas of archeology and genealogy (they’re not what you’d expect), before taking the reader through the Foucault’s literary output.

Admittedly, this entry in the Very Short Introduction series was more densely written than the others I’ve read, reflecting the complexity of the subject matter. If you’re interesting in exploring the thought of Foucault, this is a great place to start.

Gutting, Gary. Foucault: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford UP, 2005. Very Short Introductions 122.