Michel Foucault: the philosopher everyone quotes but almost no one actually reads. This book fixes that. Forget the dense jargon, the endless footnotes, and the cult of French intellectual mystique. Foucault in Plain English unpacks the life and ideas of one of the 20th century’s most influential thinkers with clarity, irreverence, and a healthy dose of plain speaking. Inside you’ll find: A no-nonsense biography of Foucault’s turbulent life—madness, politics, sexuality, and all. Clear explanations of his core concepts: episteme, discourse, power/knowledge, biopolitics, governmentality, parrhesia. Walkthroughs of his major works, from Madness and Civilization to The History of Sexuality. His intellectual duels with Marx, Freud, Sartre, Derrida, and Deleuze (spoiler: no one leaves unscathed). An honest look at Foucault’s death during the AIDS crisis, and how his thought continues to shape feminism, queer theory, cultural studies, and politics today. This is not a worshipful portrait or a dense academic commentary. It’s Foucault with the smoke cleared: sharp, witty, and immediately useful. By the end, you’ll know why he still matters—and how to use his “toolbox” to see through the stories power tells us. Whether you’re a student drowning in theory, a curious reader who wants to know what all the fuss is about, or just someone who likes their philosophy with a little bite, this book is for you.
