Simone De Beauvoir

  • 15

    Catalog books

  • 16

    Works

  • 1981 to 2018

    Strongest span

Who This Author Is

Simone de Beauvoir’s America Day by Day collects notes from a month-long 1947 visit to the United States, blending travel observation with sharp cultural scrutiny. The book records conversations, city scenes, and social contrasts, showing her attention to daily life and how political and personal freedoms play out across a new landscape.

Written in Beauvoir’s lucid, probing voice, these pages balance curiosity with critique: she admires energy and possibility while noting inequalities and conventions. The diary traces moments of surprise, frustration, and reflection, offering readers a direct sense of how travel shaped her thinking about society, gender, and modernity.

Best Place To Start

America Day by Day

Univ of California Pr • 2000 • longer commitment

It helps anchor a specific period of this author’s publishing run instead of blending into the undated shelf clutter.

Author At A Glance

Best known for: Philosophical essays and existentialist thought • Feminist theory and The Second Sex • Memoirs and travel writing

Genres and themes: Existentialism • Feminism and gender • Memoir and travel • Social critique

Who this author is best for: For readers who want clear, reflective writing that blends personal experience with sharp analysis of freedom, gender, and society.

Start with any accessible essay or her memoirs to sample both philosophical argument and vivid personal narrative.

Top Books To Start With

  1. America Day by Day

    Univ of California Pr • 2000 • longer commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 2000 • 412 pages.

  2. She Came to Stay

    W W Norton & Co Inc • 1999 • longer commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1999 • 404 pages.

  3. All Men Are Mortal

    W W Norton & Co Inc • 1992 • longer commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1992 • 345 pages.

  4. Philosophical Writings

    University of Illinois Press • 2005 • longer commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 2005 • 368 pages.

  5. The Ethics Of Ambiguity

    Citadel • 2000 • quick commitment

    It stands out because it asks for less time than many of the longer volumes on this page.

  6. Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter

    Penguin Books • 1981 • longer commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 1981 • 368 pages.

  7. All Said and Done (Twentieth Century Classics)

    Penguin Books • 1995 • longer commitment

    UPB note: year signal: 1995 • 504 pages.

  8. Ethics of Ambiguity

    Open Road Integrated Media, Inc. • 2018 • commitment varies by edition

    UPB note: year signal: 2018.

  9. A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters to Nelson Algren

    W W Norton & Co Inc • 1999 • oversized commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1999 • 560 pages.

  10. The Mandarins

    W W Norton & Co Inc • 1999 • oversized commitment

    UPB note: one of the most common used-copy publishers for this author • year signal: 1999 • 610 pages.

How The Picks Compare

  • She Came to Stay is the easier short commitment, while America Day by Day asks for more reading time up front.
  • She Came to Stay gives you an earlier look at this author’s shelf, while America Day by Day leans later in the catalog.
  • All Men Are Mortal is also useful if you want a different publishing lane from America Day by Day.

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