A Short History of Decay

By: E. M. Cioran

Narrated by: Rick Adamson

E. M. Cioran confronts the place of today's world in the context of human history—focusing on such major issues of the twentieth century as human progress, fanaticism, and science—in this nihilistic and witty collection of aphoristic essays concerning the nature of civilization in mid-twentieth-century Europe. Table of Contents:

Foreword

Directions for Decomposition

The Second-Hand Thinker

Faces of Decadence

Sanctity and the Grimaces of the Absolute

The Décor of Knowledge

Abdications

Touching upon Man's need to worship, the feebleness of God, the downfall of the Ancient Greeks and the melancholy baseness of all existence, Cioran's pieces are pessimistic in the extreme, but also display a beautiful certainty that renders them delicate, vivid, and memorable. Illuminating and brutally honest.

©1975 Seaver Books (P)2022 Skyhorse Publishing

Brutal and Indispensable

Brilliant. Let’s not all jump off the bridge at the same time… but brilliant. Well worth a dozen short listens.

An experience worth having

I don’t know what “truth” is, but the words in this book feel like what I would imagine it to be. To see my worst fears laid bare with such elegance is a gift. Because if the worst is true, and it can be expressed with such power and magnificence, maybe I can stare into the abyss with impassivity and strength. If Sartre is right and “the dreadful has already happened” Cioran has found words that make proposition one I can accept.

One of the Most Dangerous Books Ever Written

Dangerous to all of our ridiculous delusions about life, ourselves, our species and the universe. Don’t pass up your chance to blow up everything you thought important. Cioran is the Dante for your tour of Hell on Earth and how to be indifferent to everything and everyone, including ourselves. Adam son’s reading is perfect.

Depressingly Inspiring

Found Cioran quotes on YouTube, but wanted more. Finally another human expresses what I could not regarding the frailty of mankind and its seemingly futile attempts to make sense of life. If churches and universities would make this required reading, their congregations and graduates wouldn’t believe the fantasy of “everything happens for a reason” or “God’s got a wonderful plan for your life”.

Love Cioran

I’ve always loved Cioran, and for fans of pessimism, nihilism, philosophy or a passing interest in the three, this is a must have.