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Walter Benjamin
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Illuminations Paperback – January 1, 1999

by Walter Benjamin (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 216 ratings
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The literary-philosophical works of Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) rank among the most quietly influential of the post-war era, though only since his death had Benjamin achieved the fame and critical currency outside his native Germany accorded him by a select few during his lifetime. Now he is widely held to have possessed one of the most acute and original minds of the Central European culture decimated by the Nazis. Illuminations contains his two most celebrated essays, 'The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction' and 'Theses on the Philosophy of History', as well as others on the art of translation, Kafka, storytelling, Baudelaire, Brecht's epic theatre, Proust and an anatomy of his own obsession, book collecting. The essay is Benjamin's domain; those collected in this now legendary volume offer the best possible access to his singular and significant achievement. In a stimulating introduction, Hannah Arendt reveals how Benjamin's life and work are a prism to his times, and identifies him as possessing the rare ability to think poetically.
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  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pimlico
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1999
  5. Dimensions
    5.31 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0712665757
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0712665759
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pimlico; New Ed edition (January 1, 1999)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0712665757
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0712665759
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.75 x 8.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 216 ratings

About the author

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Walter Benjamin

Walter Benjamin

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Walter Bendix Schonflies Benjamin (1892 -- 1940) was a German-Jewish Marxist literary critic, essayist, translator, and philosopher. He was at times associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory and was also greatly inspired by the Marxism of Bertolt Brecht and Jewish mysticism as presented by Gershom Scholem.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
216 global ratings

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Customers find the book's recommendations excellent and challenging. They also appreciate the writing style, describing it as clear and wonderful.

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7 customers mention "Recommendation"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book's recommendation excellent and challenging. They also say it's worth the effort.

"...Great stuff." Read more

"This was a pretty excellent (and challenging) survey of Benjamin's work, with included pieces mostly concerning storytelling and particular literary..." Read more

"...In clear translations. Highly recommended to those interested in memory, Proust, and insights into a troubled political and social environment" Read more

"...Other than that the book is great." Read more

3 customers mention "Writing style"3 positive0 negative

Customers find the writing style wonderful and clear.

"...Literature, Art, Politics and more are discussed in such a wonderfully clear manner. Great stuff." Read more

"...Then, suddenly, one tilts, and the extraordinary reach, eloquence and power of this man's reading hits home...." Read more

"...In clear translations. Highly recommended to those interested in memory, Proust, and insights into a troubled political and social environment" Read more

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Top reviews from the United States

Ronnie Tyler
5.0 out of 5 stars Superb essays.
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2020
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What a brilliant collection. Literature, Art, Politics and more are discussed in such a wonderfully clear manner. Great stuff.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Worth the effort
Reviewed in the United States on May 28, 2000
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Walter Benjamin put everything he knew into everything he wrote. It all resonates. This makes for challenging reading - at times, it seems like what he is saying is simply too much at a tilt with everything one thinks one knows to seem comprehensible. Then, suddenly, one tilts, and the extraordinary reach, eloquence and power of this man's reading hits home. Benjamin is difficult in the only legitimate way - because what he is trying to say can be said no other way.
32 people found this helpful
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Cody Franklin
4.0 out of 5 stars A Helpful Introduction to Benjamin
Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2013
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This was a pretty excellent (and challenging) survey of Benjamin's work, with included pieces mostly concerning storytelling and particular literary figures (e.g., Kafka, Proust, Leskov). I'd say this collection is particularly helpful in that it proceeds, as I read it, thematically. The editor's introductory piece isn't really worth reading--mostly just a reflection on Benjamin's "continuing importance", pretty standard (though I will say his criticisms of Benjamin, like his reluctance to give in to Scholem, amount more to complaints than critiques). In contrast, I found Arendt's essay incredibly enlightening. She relates not only much of the content of Benjamin's thought, but offers insight into his personal life (e.g., his experience in the Parisian Arcades, his collective impulses) that assists greatly in understanding the experience motivating some of Benjamin's analyses (e.g., of the crowd, of the collector, of the character of the flaneur). In some retellings, as in his chronic financial/employment troubles or the unfortunate coincidences leading to his suicide, a sense of melancholy or "bad luck" is almost palpable, particularly given Arendt's close relation to Benjamin.

As for the essays themselves, anyone who has read Benjamin is aware of how challenging the prose (if we may call it that) is. As Arendt notes in her introduction, Benjamin is a poetic thinker, and tends both to assume a fair amount of foreknowledge and employ sophisticated (and often extended) figurative devices, e.g., simile, to relate his points. Contrast this with the geometric prose of Spinoza and other modern philosophers, with their numbered axioms, definitions, propositions, etc. In his essay on Proust, for example, Benjamin likens the weight of scent in memory to the weight of the fisherman's net by which he gauges his catch, and sentences to the physical labor required to haul it up. There is also some evidence of his on-again-off-again Marxist tendencies (which embarrassing fact, combined with his ambivalence between this commitment and Zionism, is acknowledged in the introduction to the collection), as in his late essay on art modified by mechanical reproduction, plus the more obvious shoehorning of concepts like "class struggle" and "proletarianization". Nevertheless, this is a fantastic collection which ought to attract both old and new readers of Benjamin--I know I'll be buying Reflections, Illuminations' spiritual companion, and at least some of his standalone work.
27 people found this helpful
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Juan Jose Morales
5.0 out of 5 stars The translation, a masterpiece
Reviewed in the United States on November 9, 2010
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The translation by Harry Zohn must be acknowledged as a masterpiece. Fitting in a work that contains Benjamin's essay "The task of the translator", I wonder if our author wrote in German as beautifully as has been rendered into English. If so Walter Benjamin must be counted as a great literary mind besides one of the finest intellectuals. The introduction by Hanna Arendt crowns the jewel of a book that speaks to everyman and for all times.
9 people found this helpful
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Tom Paine
5.0 out of 5 stars Great writer-thinker
Reviewed in the United States on January 2, 2014
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Good selection of Walter B's between-the-wars brilliant insights. In clear translations. Highly recommended to those interested in memory, Proust, and insights into a troubled political and social environment
3 people found this helpful
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Danlin Zhang
3.0 out of 5 stars Kindle ver.: incorrect page numbers
Reviewed in the United States on September 18, 2019
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On the kindle version: my electronic copy is complete and I enjoyed reading Benjamin’s essays. But the page number in the book is messed up. From the fourth essay (“Franz Kafka”) onward it is all incorrect. The book says that this essay is on p.109, and all the rest of the book is on p.110, which I suppose is a mistake in digitization. This poses great problem when I try to cite this electronic copy. Other than that the book is great.
6 people found this helpful
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Howard F. Mandel
5.0 out of 5 stars one of great thinkers of the 20th century.
Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2017
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A must read if your interested in philosophy.
One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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dolma
5.0 out of 5 stars Interesting book. Excellent introduction by Hannah Arendt.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 1, 2022
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Great introduction to some of Benjamin’s essays.
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Corinna
5.0 out of 5 stars sehr gute Bewertung
Reviewed in Germany on July 8, 2014
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Ich bin sehr zufrieden mit der Bestellung, alles hat reibungslos funktioniert. Das Produkt war wie geschildert und ist pünktlich bei mir angekommen.
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David
5.0 out of 5 stars Classic collection
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 26, 2021
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Great introduction to an indespendable, brilliant, lovable and inaccesible fellow.
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tim whiting
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 16, 2015
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Looks better than one way street. More readable
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giago
5.0 out of 5 stars What can you say?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 1, 2013
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Walter Benjamin man. With an intro from Arendt. I mean. Wow. I mean. Ya know? Rather
Also saw someone say he was a member of the Frankfurt School in one of the reviews. He wasn't.
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