Michel Foucault.

Bell, Christopher

Michel Foucault

by David Macey

Reaktion Books. 160 pages, $16.95

The latest entry in Reaktion's "Critical Lives" series, which also features books on Jean Genet and Pablo Picasso, Michel Foucault provides a biographical sketch and overview of the philosopher's key works. Author David Macey penned a much weightier biography of Foucault some ten years ago; this new volume hits the high points of the French philosopher's thought and targets readers who may be new to his work. Especially helpful is Macey's discussion of how power operates in modern societies: how it involves not just the exercise of force but also a pervasive control over patterns of discourse and over language itself. On the matter of homosexuality--and Foucault was openly gay--he argued that the "invention" of homosexuality in the early 19th century gave rise to a discourse of oppression that singled out a new category of persons for policing and punishment. On balance, Michel Foucault leaves the reader with more questions than answers, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Foucault devotees would do best to pass this treatment by, while newcomers will find this volume a respectable starting point, although they may justifiably want more explication than what's contained in these pages. Those in search of juicy tidbits about Foucault's life, which was nothing if not colorful, will find much of interest here, but those wanting a sustained explanation for why Foucault emerged as one of the central theorists of the 20th century are advised to explore one of the critical texts included in the bibliography. And those who've always wanted to know the name of the donkey Foucault rode as a child will find the answer here.