Hannah Arendt's Reading List
The 5 books that shaped Hannah Arendt — political theorist.
Fled Nazi Germany and became one of the most important political thinkers of the 20th century, writing on evil, power, and freedom.
Influential Books
The Origins of Totalitarianism
Hannah Arendt(1951)
Arendt's magnum opus — how antisemitism, imperialism, and loneliness created the conditions for totalitarian rule.
Eichmann in Jerusalem
Hannah Arendt(1963)
Arendt's controversial report on the trial — the "banality of evil" thesis that changed how we think about moral responsibility.
The Human Condition
Hannah Arendt(1958)
Arendt's theory of labor, work, and action — what it means to be an active participant in public life.
Being and Time
Martin Heidegger(1927)
Heidegger was Arendt's teacher and lover. His philosophy of existence deeply shaped her thought, despite his Nazi ties.
The Republic
Plato
Arendt engaged critically with Plato's political philosophy, arguing that the philosopher-king ideal was anti-political.