The Outsider Summary and Reviews

The Outsider
by Colin Wilson

The Outsider
List Price: $15.95
Our Price: $9.06
You Save: $6.89 (43%)
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $3.31 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions


or

Book Summary Information

Author: Colin Wilson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1987-09-01
ISBN: 0874772060
Number of pages: 320
Publisher: Tarcher

Book Reviews of The Outsider

Book Review: "The Outsider" is a treasure of erudition.
Summary: 5 Stars

When I discovered "The Outsider" in May of 1977, I was convinced it was the finest book of its kind. Colin Wilson displayed boldness, originality, and fearlessness in attacking some of the more dubious aesthetic and philosophical ideas of the past hundred years, and establishing his own brand of existentialism which centered on human efforts to become more godlike. Central to Wilson's philosophy is the idea of training the mind to see beyond the "triviality of everydayness," to grasp higher states of consciousness. Wilson's lifelong goal, in all his writings, has been to discover a way for man to will his consciousness to higher levels without the use of artificial stimulants such as sex and drugs and violence. He wrote "The Outsider" to describe man's attempts, through literature, to explore the problem of meaninglessness in everyday existence. His central conflict rested with a respectful but solid refutation of Sartre whom Wilsom considered far too gloomy and negative. But Wilson totally ignores politics and social issues which, of course, Sartre tackles head-on. As I've grown older I've come to recognize that Wilson created in "The Outsider" a philosophy which borders on solipsism and brought navel-gazing to a higher level. Wilson's philsophy is essentially a reaction to forces that prey on all of us. His solution is to concentrate the mind to overcome those forces. Wishful thinking. Most of the world is too hungry and worried about making ends meet to have the luxury of an artistic existence that allows a person to revel in mind games. Most of us have experienced Wilson's descriptions of higher consciousness, such as our feelings at the beginning a vacation or at Christmas. His aim is to invoke that kind of excitement at will. After 40 years of writing books, he is no closer to a solution. He has steadfastly refused to take politics, economics, social, and cultural isues into account, and this would have to be crucial to begin to change our consciousness. Wilson thinks evolution will carry us to a higher level. Someday it may, but as long as most of us are mired inescapably in that "triviality of everydayness," we will have to rely on outside stimulants to raise our consciousness. Still, Wilson's book gives us a key to search ourselves in ways we may not have recognized. Best of all, he reminds us epistemological searchers that there is a whole library of literature out there to guide us on inner journeys. Read the entire "Outside" series. Wilson gets more into sociology in "The Stature of Man," but still he dismisses it too easily.

Literature & Fiction Books

Book Subjects
Most talked about in Literature & Fiction Books
Little Women ImageLittle Women
by Louisa May Alcott
Scribner; Published: 1986-06-30; Paperback; Book
Best price: $3.49
Price in other shops: $5.00
The Killing Ground ImageThe Killing Ground
by JACK HIGGINS
HARPERCOLLINS PUBLISHERS LTD; Published: 2007; Hardcover; Book
Saving Fish from Drowning ImageSaving Fish from Drowning
by Amy Tan
4th Estate; Published: 2005; Paperback; Book
Life Expectancy ImageLife Expectancy
by Dean Koontz
Harpercollins Pb; Published: 2005-08-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Constant Princess ImageConstant Princess
by Philippa Gregory
Touchstone/Simon & Schuster; Published: 2005; Hardcover; Book
Wolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1) ImageWolf of the Plains (Conqueror, Book 1)
by Conn Iggulden
Harper; Published: 2007; Paperback; Book
Sahara ImageSahara
by Clive Cussler
Harper Collins Pb; Published: 2005-03-21; Paperback; Book
Perelandra (Cosmic Trilogy) ImagePerelandra (Cosmic Trilogy)
by C. S. Lewis
Voyager; Published: 2005-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.79
Price in other shops: $10.50
The Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towers ImageThe Lord Of The Rings: Part 2 The Two Towers
by J. R. R. Tolkien
Harper Collins Publishers; Published: 2001; Paperback; Book
Red Mars ImageRed Mars
by Kim Stanley Robinson
Trafalgar Square; Published: 2001-06; Paperback; Book
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness ImageThe Anatomy of Human Destructiveness
by Erich Fromm
Holt Paperbacks; Published: 1992-02-15; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.90
Price in other shops: $24.00
The Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (Bollingen) ImageThe Myth of the Eternal Return: Cosmos and History (Bollingen)
by Mircea Eliade
Princeton University Press; Published: 2005-04-18; Paperback; Book
Best price: $16.34
Price in other shops: $22.95
On Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician ImageOn Becoming an Alchemist: A Guide for the Modern Magician
by Catherine MacCoun
Trumpeter; Published: 2008-12-23; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.10
Price in other shops: $18.95
Uncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path ImageUncle Setnakt's Essential Guide to the Left Hand Path
by Don Webb
Runa-Raven Press; Published: 2011-03-03; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.97
Price in other shops: $16.00
The Aleph and Other Stories (Penguin Classics) ImageThe Aleph and Other Stories (Penguin Classics)
by Jorge Luis Borges
Penguin Classics; Published: 2004-07-27; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.52
Price in other shops: $15.00
Irrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy ImageIrrational Man: A Study in Existential Philosophy
by William Barrett
Anchor Books/Doubleday; Published: 1990-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.00
Price in other shops: $15.00
The Philosopher's Stone ImageThe Philosopher's Stone
by Colin Wilson
Jeremy P. Tarcher; Published: 1989-06; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $39.95
Super Consciousness: The Quest for the Peak Experience ImageSuper Consciousness: The Quest for the Peak Experience
by Colin Wilson
Watkins; Published: 2009-05-05; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.69
Price in other shops: $19.95
The Mind Parasites ImageThe Mind Parasites
by Colin Wilson
Monkfish Book Publishing; Published: 2005-10-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $8.98
Price in other shops: $14.95
Beyond the Occult: Twenty Years' Research into the Paranormal ImageBeyond the Occult: Twenty Years' Research into the Paranormal
by Colin Wilson
Watkins; Published: 2008-10-07; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.30
Price in other shops: $19.95