17 h 16 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if seeing every side of a question leaves you unable to choose how to live?
In Amiel's Journal, Henri-Frédéric Amiel, a Swiss professor of philosophy in Geneva, turns his attention inward. His private diary follows moods, friendships, lectures and books, alongside his fear of wasting his life. His colleagues see a gifted man who never quite delivers. In these pages, he examines the gap between understanding and action.
Beyond the study, weather moves over the lake and storms gather above the mountains. Amiel watches the light on a winter morning and considers the mood of his own soul. Raised in Geneva's Protestant tradition, he returns to faith and doubt without settling into certainty. The question of how to live stays close throughout.
What you’ll discover
- A mind watching itself Follow the uncomfortable honesty of a thinker who keeps questioning his own motives and moods.
- The weight of choice Explore how seeing every side can make even a gifted mind hesitate to act.
- Landscapes of the soul Watch lake weather, mountain storms and winter light become companions to inward reflection.
- Faith without easy certainty Meet a man whose thoughts return to God, doubt and the question of living well.
- The fear of waste Recognize the restless self-questioning of someone afraid that his gifts may never become deeds.
Who will love it
You will love this if you enjoy private diaries, quiet reflection, Alpine landscapes, questions of faith and duty, and the company of a mind that thinks aloud about everything.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- An orphaned boy becomes a lifelong reader
- Berlin teaches him to crave the whole
- Geneva welcomes him, then shuts its doors
- Too much thought stops the hand from acting
- A private journal becomes his one real work
- Conscience is the one fixed point in the doubt
- He distrusts equality and defends the individual
- A sharp critic of books, music and nations
- Illness narrows his days and deepens his peace
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 17 h 16 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Il diario di Amiel in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Il diario di Amiel
by Henri-Frédéric Amiel · 1882
A Geneva professor fills thousands of pages with private thoughts while his public work stays unwritten.
Challenging10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
What happens to a gifted man who sees every side of every question and cannot choose one? Henri-Frédéric Amiel, a professor in Geneva, publishes almost nothing in his lifetime.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
An orphaned boy becomes a lifelong reader
Henri-Frédéric Amiel is born in Geneva in 1821, into a family of Protestant exiles from southern France. At twelve he loses both parents, and the household breaks apart. He goes to one relative, and his two sisters to another.
The boy is frail, dreamy and serious about religion. He reads enormously and prefers the company of older men. The lectures of the scholar Adolphe Pictet on beauty, given in 1840, leave a mark he remembers gratefully for years. Then comes a year in Italy and Sicily, and his first reviews, written with a solemn tone and a faint note of sadness.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Il diario di Amiel
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Amiel's Journal about?
It is the private journal of Henri-Frédéric Amiel, a Geneva professor. It records his thoughts on faith, duty, nature, books, music and politics, along with his doubts about himself and, in later years, his failing health.
Why is it called Journal Intime?
Journal Intime is the French title and means private or intimate journal. Amiel wrote it for himself as a confidant and not for readers, which gives the entries their frank, searching tone.
Who was Henri-Frédéric Amiel?
He was born in Geneva in 1821, lost his parents at twelve, studied in Berlin, and taught at the Academy of Geneva from 1849. He published little in life, and the Journal made him known after he died in 1881.
The author
Henri-Frédéric Amiel
1821–1881 · Swiss philosopher and diarist
Henri-Frédéric Amiel was a Swiss philosopher and poet, born in Geneva in 1821. He studied in Berlin and later taught aesthetics and philosophy in Geneva. He wrote poetry and kept a journal from 1839 until 1881. He died in Geneva in 1881. Selections from his journal were published after his death.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
