Alex Murray and Jessica Whyte. The Agamben Dictionary. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011. 219p. alk. paper, $40.00 (ISBN 9780748640584). LCCN 2011-431345

Alex Murray and Jessica Whyte. The Agamben Dictionary. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2011. 219p. alk. paper, $40.00 (ISBN 9780748640584). LCCN 2011-431345. Born in 1942, Giorgio Agamben is considered a leading figure in philosophy and political theory, one who is known for challenging the Western political tradition. After completing his studies in law and philosophy, and earning his doctorate, he taught at various universities in Europe and was a visiting professor at various universities in the United States. Agamben is no stranger to controversy. His entry to the United States was accompanied by a controversy upon his refusal to submit to fingerprinting as requested by the U.S. Immigration Department following the attacks on September 11, 2001. In no uncertain terms, he stated his objection to this “biopolitical tattooing” in an article that appeared in Le Monde: “I have no intention of submitting myself to such procedures and that’s why I didn’t wait to cancel the course I was supposed to teach at New York University in March” (Jan. 10, 2004). His radical critique continues to redefine and fashion concepts and terminologies in areas such as ethics, law, epistemology, language, and logic, among others. To this end, Murray and Whyte bring together a collection of essays written by renowned and emerging experts to illustrate Agamben’s influence in a broad spectrum of disciplines. Murray and Whyte are no strangers to Agamben. Alex Murray began his appointment as English Literature Lecturer in 2007 at the University of Exeter’s English Department. He is extensively published in literary studies and critical theories and has written several monographs, articles, book chapters, and reviews. The Encyclopedia of Literary and Cultural Theory (Oxford, 2011) recently published Murray’s entry on Agamben. In addition, he is coeditor of The Work of Giorgio Agamben: Law, Life, Literature (Edinburgh Press, 2008), an indepth treatment of the philosopher’s work. Later, in 2009, he wrote “Law and Thought: on the Work of Giorgio Agamben” (Law & Critique 20:3), and, in 2010, Murray summarized his key ideas in Giorgio Agamben (Critical Thinkers Series, Routledge). Currently, Murray is cofounder of Parrhesia: A Journal of Critical Philosophy (www. parrhesiajournal.org). His collaborator, Jessica Whyte, is a lecturer in cultural and social analysis at the University of Western Sydney, Australia. She completed her doctorate on the political thought of Giorgio Agamben in 2010 and published widely on contemporary continental philosophy, including Foucault and Ranciere, and critical and legal theories. In addition to the reviewed publication, she coedited the Theory and Event Symposium “Form of Life: Giorgio Agamben, Ontology, Politics” (2010), as well as the Australian Feminist Law Journal special edition “Law, Crisis, Revolution” (2010). Until now, scholarly publications focused on the philosopher’s individual works. This is the first attempt to illustrate the complexity of his body of work as a whole. Carefully researched and assembled, The Agamben Dictionary is a collection of short essays that introduce key terms and concepts spanning the gambit from Abandonment to Zoē. Each essay includes cross-references to other terms, in bold type. The dictionary concludes with a comprehensive biography of Agamben’s works to date, cited works, further readings, and notes on contributors. The dictionary is a valuable reference for researchers interested not only in Agamben’s work but also in understanding his place in contemporary philosophy and political critique as overall disciplines.— Ethan Pullman, Carnegie Mellon University.