Goethe: Life as a Work of Art

Biography & Memoir, Literary
Cover of the book Goethe: Life as a Work of Art by Rüdiger Safranski, Liveright
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Rüdiger Safranski ISBN: 9780871404916
Publisher: Liveright Publication: May 16, 2017
Imprint: Liveright Language: English
Author: Rüdiger Safranski
ISBN: 9780871404916
Publisher: Liveright
Publication: May 16, 2017
Imprint: Liveright
Language: English

This “splendid biography” (Wall Street Journal) of Goethe presents his life and work as an essential touchstone for the modern age.

A masterful intellectual portrait, Goethe: Life as a Work of Art is celebrated as the seminal twenty-first-century biography of the writer considered to be the Shakespeare of German literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), a remarkably prolific poet, playwright, novelist, and—as Rüdiger Safranksi emphasizes—a statesman and naturalist, first awakened not only a burgeoning German nation but the European continent with his electrifying novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. Safranski has scoured Goethe’s entire oeuvre, relying exclusively on primary sources, including his correspondence with contemporaries, to produce a “fresh and authentic” (Economist) portrait of the avatar of the Romantic era. Skillfully blending “artistic analysis with swift, sharp renderings” of the great political and intellectual figures Goethe encountered, “[Safranski’s] portrait of the prolific genius leaves the reader with lasting awe, even envy” of a monumental legacy (The New Yorker). As Safranski ultimately shows, Goethe’s greatest creation, even in comparison to his masterpiece Faust, was his own life.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This “splendid biography” (Wall Street Journal) of Goethe presents his life and work as an essential touchstone for the modern age.

A masterful intellectual portrait, Goethe: Life as a Work of Art is celebrated as the seminal twenty-first-century biography of the writer considered to be the Shakespeare of German literature. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832), a remarkably prolific poet, playwright, novelist, and—as Rüdiger Safranksi emphasizes—a statesman and naturalist, first awakened not only a burgeoning German nation but the European continent with his electrifying novel The Sorrows of Young Werther. Safranski has scoured Goethe’s entire oeuvre, relying exclusively on primary sources, including his correspondence with contemporaries, to produce a “fresh and authentic” (Economist) portrait of the avatar of the Romantic era. Skillfully blending “artistic analysis with swift, sharp renderings” of the great political and intellectual figures Goethe encountered, “[Safranski’s] portrait of the prolific genius leaves the reader with lasting awe, even envy” of a monumental legacy (The New Yorker). As Safranski ultimately shows, Goethe’s greatest creation, even in comparison to his masterpiece Faust, was his own life.

More books from Liveright

Cover of the book Fear Itself: The New Deal and the Origins of Our Time by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book On Politics: A History of Political Thought: From Herodotus to the Present by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book The Prison Letters of Nelson Mandela by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Grinnell: America's Environmental Pioneer and His Restless Drive to Save the West by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Daphne: A Novel by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Shortest Way Home: One Mayor's Challenge and a Model for America's Future by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Pontius Pilate: Deciphering a Memory by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book The Lost Founding Father: John Quincy Adams and the Transformation of American Politics by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Malcolm: A Comic Novel by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Preparing the Ghost: An Essay Concerning the Giant Squid and Its First Photographer by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Toscanini: Musician of Conscience by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Bad Jobs and Poor Decisions: Dispatches from the Working Class by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Chaplin & Company: A Novel by Rüdiger Safranski
Cover of the book Diaries by Rüdiger Safranski
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy