WALTER BENJAMIN: SELECTED WRITINGS: VOLUME 2: 1927-1934 - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing - ONLY COPY OF THE TRUE FIRST ONLINE

Benjamin, Walter (Translated by Various Contributors)

ISBN 10: 0674945867 / ISBN 13: 9780674945869

Published by Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999, 1999

About this Item

1st Printing. 880 pages. Published in 1999. Volume Two of the author's collected essays. One of the greatest literary collections of the 20th century. The first appearance of the title in English and in the United States. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print run as a hardcover original only and as part of Harvard University's Complete Works of Walter Benjamin. The First Edition is now rare. Presents Walter Benjamin's "Selected Writings: Volume 2: 1913-1926" in a felicitous English translation. The second volume of the Series, a landmark publication in the history of modern thought and literary criticism. The body of work shows Benjamin at the peak of his intellectual powers and rather poignantly, at the top of his professional life. The sheer joy of exploring, discovering, and mastering new areas of thought (that remain central to contemporary approaches and concerns) is evident in every piece, the radiant optimism that comes with emergent greatness not yet extinguished by his own melancholy temperament and tragic world events. "In the frenzied final years of the Weimar Republic, amid economic collapse and political catastrophe, Walter Benjamin emerged as the most original literary critic and public intellectual in the German-speaking world. Displays the full spectrum of Benjamin's achievements at the pivotal stage in his career. Previously concerned with literary theory, Benjamin does pioneering work in new areas, from the study of popular culture (a discipline he virtually created) to theories of the media and the visual arts. Brings together previously untranslated writings on major figures such as Brecht, Valery, and Gide, and on subjects ranging from film, radio, and the novel to memory, kitsch, and the theory of language. Muses on the new modes of perception opened up by techniques of photographic enlargement and cinematic montage, on the life and work of Goethe at Weimar, on the fascination of old toys, the mysteries of food, and the allegorical significance of Mickey Mouse" (Publisher's blurb). Walter Benjamin's personal heroism wasn't just some egotistical idea he had about himself. He lived and then died as a hero: He committed suicide on September 26, 1940 at the French-Spanish border while trying to escape the Nazis with a group of fellow Jews. They were all arrested by the Spanish police (Franco was one of Hitler's closest allies). Moved and humbled by his desperate yet principled stand, the Spanish police, defying Franco's orders, allowed his fellow Jews to escape. An absolute "must-have" title for Walter Benjamin collectors. This title is a great book. As far as we know, this is the only copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing (American) available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. Please note: Copies available online are ALL subsequent printings or have serious flaws. This is surely an accessible and lovely alternative. A rare copy thus. The greatest literary/cultural critic of the 20th century. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER WALTER BENJAMIN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG) ISBN 0674945867.

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Bibliographic Details

• Title: WALTER BENJAMIN: SELECTED WRITINGS: VOLUME 2: 1927-1934 - Rare Fine Copy of The First Hardcover Edition/First Printing - ONLY COPY OF THE TRUE FIRST ONLINE
• Publisher: Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1999
• Publication Date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674945867
• ISBN 13: 9780674945869
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition.
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: no

About this title

Synopsis

In the frenzied final years of the Weimar Republic, amid economic collapse and mourning political catastrophe, Walter Benjamin emerged as the most original practicing literary critic and public intellectual in the German-speaking world. Volume 2 of Selected Writings, covering the years 1927 to 1934, displays the full spectrum of Benjamin's achievements at this pivotal stage in his career.

Previously concerned chiefly with literary theory, Benjamin during these Years does pioneering work in new areas, from the stud of popular Culture (a discipline he virtually created) to theories of the media and the visual arts. His writings on the theory of modernity-most of them new to readers of English--develop ideas as important to an understanding of the twentieth century as an contained in his widely anthologiied essay "The Work of Art in the Age of Technological Reproducibility.

This volume brings together previously untranslated writings on major figures such as Brecht, Valéry and Gide, and on subjects ranging from film, radio, and the novel to memory, kitsch, and the theory of language. We find the manifoldly inquisitive Benjamin musing on the new modes of perception opened tip by techniques of photographic enlargement and cinematic montage, on the life and work of & Goethe at Weimar, on the fascination of old toys and the mysteries of food, and on the allegorical significance of Mickey Mouse.

About the Authors

Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) was the author of many works of literary and cultural analysis.

Michael W. Jennings is Professor of German, Princeton University.