Walter Benjamin

by Esther Leslie

Drawing upon a wealth of journal writings and personal correspondence, Esther Leslie presents a uniquely intimate portrait of one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century, Walter Benjamin. She sets his life in the context of his middle-class upbringing; explores the social, political, and economic upheaval in Germany during and after World War I; and recounts Benjamin’s eccentric love of toys, trick-books, travel, and ships. From the Frankfurt School and his influential friendships with Theodore Adorno, Gershom Scholem, and Bertolt Brecht, to his travels across Europe, Walter Benjamin traces out the roots of Benjamin’s groundbreaking writings and their far-reaching impact in his own time. Leslie argues that Benjamin’s life challenges the stereotypical narrative of the tragic and lonely intellectual figure—instead positioning him as a man who relished the fierce combat of competing theories and ideas.


Closing with his death at the Spanish-French border in a desperate flight from the Nazis and Stalin, Walter Benjamin is a concise and concentrated account of a capacious intellect trapped by hostile circumstances.

Genres: Biography, Philosophy

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Bertrand · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm ambivalent about Benjamin: a lot of his influences (Lukacs, Brecht, Jewish Mysticism, damn: even Klages!) fascinate me, but I also get annoyed with his relentless attempts to find (or imagine) the subversive potential in a popular culture: I can imagine this was a daring step to take in his day, but our world is so permeated with it today that I struggle to see it through his eyes. Thus I knew I was likely to be more enthusiastic about his early work (of which I have read nothing) and about his biography, which tragic and synoptic as it is, did make for an entertaining read.
I also have the Bataille and the Borgès "critical lives" (Im on a 'B' spree, apparently) and I am of two minds about this format. I like the idea of combining a biography and an introduction in a relatively short format. It is pretty good provided you are already somewhat familiar with the ideas of their objects, insofar as it places them in a chronological perspective, and at the best of times give them some historical context. But other than that, I wouldn't recommend them as 'pure' introduction: to that end, turn to the 'very short introductions' which are more properly introductory (and shorter still!).

[Rosa Ramôa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Walter Benjamin (1892 – 1940)=vítima do nazismo'
Mente brilhante do início do século XX!

Filósofo.
Escritor.
Poeta.
Crítico.
Erudito.
Excelente.
Sensível.
Refinado.

Judeu!!!

Fugiu do nazismo,acompanhado pelo azar.Matou-se com morfina...
Em tristeza e transtorno*

[Paul Helliwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

esther leslie's biography, really a chronology, of walter benjamin.

'benjamin told scholem that there where places where he could earn a minimum of money and places where he could exist on a minimal amount, but the two did not coincide.' - p.137.

it is tempting to identify oneself with benjamin here, in the struggle to make ends meet.

'benjamin continued to cultivate unpredictable alliances. in december 1930 he sent a letter and a copy of the baroque book to the authoritarian theorist carl schmitt, for he had used schmitt's political theology to expound the doctrine of sovereignty in the seventeenth century.'

benjamin was greatly exercised by radio, as his 1931 'reflections on radio' shows.

horsemouth always wondered about the connection between benjamin and schmitt. (via schmitt we get to agamben but also to the other side of that weimar politics).

here is benjamin the unworldly academic cast out into the world as a refugee, still trying to live and work as an academic while darkness gathers (visible to all) around him. he makes the mistake, he is too committed to european culture, he does not flee to israel, and eventually this kills him.

he could have got lucky, adorno, horkheimer, hannah arendt, even kracauer, got lucky and ended up in the united states. but luck was not with him.

nonetheless he managed to make it work for a number of years. he leaves germany for the last time march 17th 1933. he dies at port bou in spain 25th or 26th september 1940. probably a suicide in police custody, they had caught him and planned to deport him back across the border to france where he would probably be interned again and then deported to nazi germany.

he decided not to give them the satisfaction.

[Hu Sang · Rating 3 out of 5]

not deep.

[Jim Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not the most comprehensive book on WB, but it’s my favorite. It examines the coherences—and incoherences of his politics with a eye for detail and clear-sighted understanding of Marxism.