The Myth of Sisyphus by Albert Camus

The Myth of Sisyphus is a philosophical essay by Albert Camus. It comprises about 120 pages and was published originally in 1942 in French as Le Mythe de Sisyphe; the English translation by Justin O'Brien followed in 1955. In the essay, Camus introduces his philosophy of the absurd: man's futile search for meaning, unity and clarity in the face of an unintelligible world devoid of God and eternal truths or values. Does the realization of the absurd require suicide? Camus answers: "No. It requires revolt." He then outlines several approaches to the absurd life. The final chapter compares the absurdity of man's life with the situation of Sisyphus, a figure of Greek mythology who was condemned to repeat forever the same meaningless task of pushing a rock up a mountain, only to see it roll down again. The essay concludes, "The struggle itself...is enough to fill a man's heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy." The work can be seen in relation to other works by Camus: the novel The Stranger (1942), the play Caligula (1945), and especially the essay The Rebel (1951).

The 150th greatest nonfiction book of all time


This book is on the following lists:

  1. - 36th on The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of the Century (National Review)
  2. - The Bigger Read List (English PEN)

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Name Binding Sales Rank Lowest New Lowest Used Published
The Myth of Sisyphus : And Other Essays Mass Market Paperback 1152928 $41.25 $180.00
The Myth of Sisyphus, and Other Essays. Hardcover 1669968 $219.46 $44.89
THE MYTH OF SISYPHUS Paperback 1964286 $6.99 $4.00
The Myth of Sisyphus Mass Market Paperback 4939246 $3.00
The Myth of Sisyphus Hardcover 6896421 $50.00
MYTH SISYPHUS ESSY V75 Paperback 538178 $8.44 $0.01 1959
The Myth of Sisyphus: And Other Essays (Vintage International) Kindle Edition 15303 $7.99 2012
The Myth of Sisyphus Paperback 1977576 $0.84
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Audio CD 6466094 $22.74 2019
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Paperback 393331 $10.50 2015
Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays, The Paperback 1386854 $6.96
The Myth Of Sisyphus And Other Essays Hardcover 3918313 $125.00
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Mass Market Paperback 6550125 $3.13
Modern Classics Myth Of Sisyphus Paperback 4731612 $474.99 $8.56 1975
The Myth of Sisyphus Paperback 790535 $5.96 $5.85
The Myth of Sisyphus ( First Paperback Edition ) Paperback 6518083 $9.74 $4.18 1955
El mito de Sísifo / The Myth of Sisyphus (Spanish Edition) Paperback 2082342 $13.30 $30.00 2013
The Myth of Sisyphus Hardcover 5554622 $50.00
Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Kindle Edition 40192 $0.49 2022
The Myth of Sisyphus (Vintage International) Kindle Edition 60798 $11.99 2018
The Myth of Sisyphus Hardcover 1639405 $20.72 1955
Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Paperback 3331955 $5.00
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Paperback 207281 $8.25 2016
Myth of Sisyphus, the (Twentieth Century Classics) (Spanish Edition) Paperback 4209385 $2,420.43 $5.62
The Myth of sisyphus Paperback 536938 $7.00 2016
The Myth of Sisyphus (Chinese Edition) Paperback 2758561 $33.65 $27.76 2013
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Paperback 6065 $9.29 $3.79 1991
Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Kindle Edition 84279 $0.99 2021
El Mito de Sisifo (Spansih Edition) (Spanish Edition) Paperback 270894 $8.00 $7.60 2016
[Great Ideas Myth of Sisyphus (Penguin Great Ideas)] [By: Camus, Albert] [November, 2005] Mass Market Paperback 2813082 $11.93 2005
El mito de Sisifo / Sisyphus's Myth (13/20) (Spanish Edition) Paperback 15837771 $44.95 2006
El Mito De Sisifo / The Myth of Sisyphus (Biblioteca Clasica Y Contemporanea) (Spanish Edition) Paperback 17522954 $99.99 1997
The Myth of Sisyphus Audible Audiobook 1 $18.37 2019
The Myth of Sisyphus Hardcover 2521624 $27.59
El mito de Sísifo (Spanish Edition) Paperback 490565 $5.95 $7.11 2014
El extranjero & Caligula & El mito de Sisifo / The Stranger & Caligula & The Myth of Sisyphus: 1913-1960 (Biblioteca De Autor / Author's Library) (Spanish Edition) Paperback 3844754 $168.89 2010
Great Ideas Myth of Sisyphus (Penguin Great Ideas) Mass Market Paperback 388315 $6.04 $9.70 2005
The Myth of Sisyphus and Other Essays Paperback 3309952 $3.00
The Modern Classics Myth of Sisyphus (Penguin Modern Classics) Paperback 339322 $8.90 $9.00 2013