An elegant introduction to Bataille’s major concepts and concerns, Bataille: A Critical Reader underlines the powerful impact his work has had, in different ways, on an entire generation of thinkers. It reveals a fascinating genealogy, marking Bataille’s pivotal position for theorists whose own work has enabled the transformation of literary and cultural studies in the Anglo-American academy in the last twenty years. The Critical Reader thus redresses what has been a gaping oversight in the reception of French thought since the 1960s. Keying their selections to The Bataille Reader, the editors provide students and general readers of both volumes with an essential and consistently clear source of reference and elucidation.Chapters included are by: Jean Baudrillard, Maurice Blanchot, Mikkel Borch-Jacobsen, Jacques Derrida, Michel Foucault, Jean-Joseph Goux, Denis Hollier, Jurgen Habermas, Philippe Sollers, with an extensive introduction by the editors.