Who is "Richard Nadeau"?

If you've been browsing the shelves of Time Tested Books lately, especially the philosophy or politics sections, you are bound to have seen the name "Richard Nadeau" written on the front flyleaf of a book. It could be a volume of Hegel or something by Adorno or perhaps a book by Arundhati Roy. Book after book, you see the name Nadeau and think, "Man, this guy had some great books! I wonder who he is?"

Well, Richard was a writer, a scholar, and political activist. And he was a good friend of the bookstore. A student of the philosopher Herbert Marcuse, he had a razor sharp mind and, because of that and his great sense of humor, it was always a pleasure when Richard visited the store. A trip to the bookstore was never an in & out affair for him, at least not at our shop. After a few minutes of browsing, either Richard would get suckered into a conversation or sucker one of us into one and the next half hour would pass over discussions of politics, philosophy, or jazz. The store always perked up when he passed through our doors. For the last few years, Richard had been sick with cancer of the liver. He fought it with what strength he had but in late November it finally took him.

For about a year, Richard's books have made their way into the store. It is a wonderful collection. Going through boxes and boxes of great books is a pleasure. All the words, and thoughts, and classic volumes of literature - it is a rush to sort through Richard's collection. But it is also quite sad. We regularly get collection of books from people who have passed on, but when the person is one of your own, the books are more than just books. We lost a good friend and he will be missed. RIP, Richard.

More on Richard Nadeau.
Some of Richard's writings.