A pornographic fantasy in which the young male narrator and his lovers Simone and Marcelle embark on a sexual quest involving sadism, torture, orgies, madness and defilement, culminating in a final act of transgression.

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This selection of Bataille's work recognizes the full breadth of his contribution as a key thinker in debates on modernity and postmodernity, to critical theory, and as a major influence on Foucault, Derrida and Baudrillard.

Takes up Nietzschean thought where Nietzsche left off - with the death of God. Written against the backdrop of Germany under the Third Reich the book explores the possibility of a spiritual life outside religion. In so doing it weaves an astonishing tapestry of confession, theology, philosophy, myth and eroticism.

Features essays that are the result of reflection in the wake of World War II. These essays comprise a study of surrealism, insisting on its importance as a cultural and social phenomenon with far-reaching consequences. They explain Bataille's links with the surrealist movement, and describe his complex relationship with Andre Breton.

Explores the paradox of utility: namely, if being useful means serving a further end, then the ultimate end of utility can only be useless. In these volumes, Bataille examines this paradox from an anthropological and ethical perspective.

Presents a radically interdisciplinary inquiry into the origins of human consciousness, community, and potential. This title collects essays and lectures on research in anthropology, comparative religion, aesthetics, and philosophy. It provides a universal imagination and thought for our own potential community.

Literature is not innocent, Bataille declares in the preface to this unique collection of literary profiles. It is guilty and should admit itself so. Bataille explores this idea through a series of remarkable studies on the work of eight outstanding authors: Emily Bronte, Baudelaire, Blake, Michelet, Kafka, Proust, Genet and De Sade.

The Satanic Rites of Gilles De Rais. The spectre of Gilles de Rais, satanist and child-killer, eclipses French history like a dark star. A fallen general, once the champion of Jeanne d'Arc, de Rais' riches and experimentations led him to the very gates of Hell.

Complete essays, poetic aphorisms, and polished lectures by French philosopher Bataille (1897-1962) are augmented by unfinished lecture notes, , transcripts of discussions, notes for essays and aphorisms, and texts like Method of Meditation that are difficult to classify but afford a particular reading experience. The Kendall's, freelance

In the autumn of 1924, two men met in Paris for the first time. Georges Bataille was 27 and had started working at the Bibliotheque nationale. Michel Leiris, 23, was beginning his studies in ethnology. Their friendship endured for more than 30 years. This book includes their letters which show that their intellectual affinities were extensive.

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