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Product Description
Walter Benjamin - philosopher, essayist, literary and cultural theorist - was one of the most original writers and thinkers of the twentieth century. This new selection brings together Benjamin's major works, including 'One-Way Street', his dreamlike, aphoristic observations of urban life in Weimar Germany; 'Unpacking My Library', a delightful meditation on book-collecting; the confessional 'Hashish in Marseille'; and 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction', his seminal essay on how technology changes the way we appreciate art. Also including writings on subjects ranging from Proust to Kafka, violence to surrealism, this is the essential volume on one of the most prescient critical voices of the modern age.
Contains: 'Unpacking My Library'; 'One-Way Street'; 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction'; 'Brief History of Photography'; 'Hashish in Marseille'; 'On the Critique of Violence'; 'The Job of the Translator'; 'Surrealism'; 'Franz Kafka' and 'Picturing Proust'.
About the Author
Walter Benjamin was born on July 15, 1892 to a German-Jewish family in Berlin. He was educated at the Albert Ludwig University in Freiburg and the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin. An essay on Goethe's Elective Affinities published in 1924 earned him swift recognition but he struggled to find a position to support himself and build on its success. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Benjamin fled to Paris and became a prominent critic of Hitler's regime. During this period he worked on his immense study of 19th century Parisian life known as The Arcades Project (which was posthumously published in unfinished form).Following the Nazi invasion of France Benjamin attempted to escape to the United States where a visa had been obtained for him.Trying to get through to neutral Portugal, Benjamin was prevented from crossing the Spanish border and committed suicide on September 27 1940.
Amit Chaudhuri is a novelist, poet, critic and musician.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Bad selection of a great writer,
By
This review is from: One-Way Street and Other Writings (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
This Penguin selection of Walter Benjamin's work is a rip-off. It has the same title as an earlier Verso selection, but the Verso selection was far bigger and had an illuminating and generous essay by Susan Sontag. The Penguin selection has fewer essays and a somewhat less helpful introduction by Amit Chaudhuri, which is quite interesting about Amit Chaudhuri but not so useful about Benjamin. If you really want to experience Benjamin's work and have time and money, you need the four-volume Belknap/Harvard Selected Writings (or else learn German and get his complete works from Amazon.de for slightly under £150.)The Verso selection is far better value for money, if you can find it. The Penguin selection is definitely bad value. The only selection of Benjamin's work that everyone needs is Illuminations, although One-Way Street itself is a wonderful work - but you're better off getting the Verso version.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A great introduction,
By Mister C (London, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: One-Way Street and Other Writings (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
This book makes for a great introduction to the work of one of the most significant and influential cultural critics of the 20th century. Among the ten essays included here are the ever-relevant "On The Critique of Violence", the sharp urban observations of the eponymous "One-way Street", and the seminal "Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction."It's a good place to start for students trying to get to grips with Benjamin, but also makes an ideal (if somewhat heavier) companion piece to George Orwell's Essays (Penguin Modern Classics)
1 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Complicated or what?,
This review is from: One-Way Street and Other Writings (Penguin Modern Classics) (Paperback)
Don't bother with this unless you've got a Ph.D. in philosophy or something. (I'm not sure the translator understood it either.)
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