This book is both an exhibtion catalogue to a show Derrida curated at the Louvre of drawings on the theme of blindness (complete with many reproductions of works) as well as a brillant investigation into the art of drawing by dealing with blindness as evidence of 'blindness' itself in every act of looking (and of course reproduction). As stated by Derrida, "every drawing of 'the blind' is a drawing 'of' the blind." More than just an example of applied deconstruction, Derrida's reading of these drawings questions the very foudnation of western ideologies of 'looking' and 'seeing' taken for granted as self-evident by artists for centuries. By the end, one wonders who is the author, the artist, the curator?, as Derrida does more with these drawings 'for drawing' than they ever did for drawing themselves. This book is a necessity for any visual artist producing critical work in the 21st century.

I haven't read this book, but have read most of the obits. The introduction I read in the excerpt here was strong, and if the rest of the material is anything like what I have already encountered (espec. Levinas and Deleuze), it is a remarkable book. Derrida writes beautifully and compassionately when writing of the beloved Other; his infamous turgidity is infrequent in these pieces. Well worthwhile.

Derrida, the renowned French postmodernist and author of, among other things, "Writing and Difference", is at it again in his latest effort, "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas." His work is designed to cast great doubt on the classical notions of truth, reality, meaning, and knowledge. The goal is reprehensible, but Derrida can usually pull it off. "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas" is thus a major disappointment to all those fans of outmoded deconstructionist French philosophers. The book suffers from being far too personal, and lacks detail. Anecdotes abound, but they are, in toto, not particularly interesting or helpful ones, mostly along the lines of childhood vacations to the beach and the like. As for the few attempts Derrida makes to actually deal with PHILOSOPHY, detail is sorely lacking. When a reader comes upon phrases like "the hermeneutics of orangutans," he/she really deserves to have some idea what the author is talking about. Sometimes you just want to read about eschatalogical polemics or signifier/signified interrelations, but you won't find that here. Seen in this, or any other light, "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas" falls pancake-flat. Spend your money on something that makes sense to somebody other than the author. I am sad now and it is Jaques Derrida's fault.

Contrary to an above reviewer of this book, Derrida's project is not "designed to cast great doubt on the classical notions of truth, reality, meaning, and knowledge." Especially not in Derrida's writings of the last 15 years, following his so-called "ethical" or "religious" turn. This volume includes two essays, "Adieu to Emmanuel Levinas" and "A Word of Welcome." The former is the eulogy Derrida gave at Levinas's burial, and the latter is an excellent analaysis of Levinas's ethics in the terms of "hospitality." Valuable for anyone interested in Levinas, recent developments in ethics, or Derrida's later philosophy.

This book is not really three essays. It is three lectures. For Derrida, this is a big difference. Derrida is both a brilliant writer and a brilliant lecturer, but his lectures don't read that well. I think its admirable that publishers are making so much of Derrida's material available, but this book is inferior to much of the rest of Derrida's available work (such as: Margins of Philosophy, Glas, Of Spirit, ...) This book is really only for those who have worked their way through at least a couple of Derrida's other books.