The essential companion to Stieg Larsson's bestselling trilogy and director David Fincher's 2011 film adaptation

Stieg Larsson's bestselling Millennium Trilogy—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest—is an international phenomenon. These books express Larsson's lifelong war against injustice, his ethical beliefs, and his deep concern for women's rights. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy probes the compelling philosophical issues behind the entire trilogy. What philosophies do Lisbeth Salander and Kant have in common? To catch a criminal, can Lisbeth and Mikael be criminals themselves? Can revenge be ethical? Drawing on some of history's greatest philosophical minds, this book gives fresh insights into Larsson's ingeniously plotted tale of crime and corruption.

• Looks at compelling philosophical issues such as a feminist reading of Lisbeth Salander, Aristotelian arguments for why we love revenge, how Kant can explain why so many women sleep with Mikael Blomkvist, and many more
• Includes a chapter from a colleague of Larsson's—who worked with him in anti-Nazi activities—that explores Larsson's philosophical views on skepticism and quotes from never-before-seen correspondence with Larsson
• Offers new insights into the novels' key characters, including Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, and investigates the author, Stieg Larsson

As engrossing as the quest to free Lisbeth Salander from her past, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Philosophy is ideal reading for anyone interested in unraveling the subtext and exploring the greater issues at work in the story.

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ERIC BRONSON is a visiting professor in the Humanities Department at York University in Toronto, Canada. He is the editor of Baseball and Philosophy and Poker and Philosophy and the coeditor of The Lord of the Rings and Philosophy and the forthcoming The Hobbit and Philosophy.

WILLIAM IRWIN is a professor of philosophy at King's College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. He originated the philosophy and popular culture genre of books as coeditor of the bestselling The Simpsons and Philosophy and has overseen recent titles including House and Philosophy, Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy, and Mad Men and Philosophy.

"In this excellent and timely addition to the series, Bronson (humanities, York University, Toronto) pulls together 18 international scholars and writers who examine both Stieg Larsson's novels and the movies based on them. Main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist each receive a section devoted to essays on identity politics, feminist dimensions in culture, and other salient and philosophical concerns they personify. Larsson is treated in a third section of essays, with the final two sections taking on secrets and ethics. Contributors include Karen Adkins (philosophy, Regis Coll.), Ester Pollack (journalism, Stockholm University), Andrew Terjesen, who has contributed to other volumes in the series, and James E. Mahon (philosophy & law, Washington and Lee Univ.). They take up such specific considerations as Lisbeth's sexual identity, Mikael's investigatory methodology, and the ethical nature of social institutions; of course, each essay suggests philosophical assertions that can be and are argued against as well as for, making for a heady and welcome whole. You'll learn how Aristotle and Kant—among others—can be illuminated through the "Millennium Trilogy." VERDICT This volume belongs in both popular and scholarly collections." [The book is not an officially licensed product of the Larsson books or the movies.—Ed.]—Francisca Goldsmith, Infopeople Project, Berkeley, CA (Library Journal, November 15, 2011)