The Essential Frankfurt School Reader [Paperback]

Andrew Arato (Author), Eike Gephardt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 1982 | ISBN-10: 0826401945 | ISBN-13: 978-0826401946

The Frankfurt School of philosophers, aestheticians, sociologists, and political scientists (including Theodore W. Adorno, Walter Benjamin, Max Horkheimer, Erich Fromm, and Herbert Marcuse) represents one of the most interesting and unique intellectual events of the twentieth century. Editors Arato and Gebhardt offer major introductions to the three sections that comprise the Reader, in which they seek to place to historical development of the School's thought and to deonstrate its complexity, while investigating its influence on various disciplines. Paul Piccone has written the General Introduction.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This anthology...reprints important writings that are not readily available in English...and covers a wider range of contributors than Americans usually associate with the Frankfurt School....This collection will not only deepen American interest in critical theory but reveal many of its unsuspected facets. It goes without saying...that the work of the Frankfurt School is absolutely indispensable to an understanding of neocapitalist society, its culture, and its impact on personality.'"--Christopher Lasch

"Arato and Gebhardt have done a magnificent job of collecting the works that matter and of providing introductory material that explains their significance and places them in a historical context. Likely the most complete introduction to these thinkers and their influence on modern critical theory." --Frontwheeldrive.com, July 6, 2006

"Arato and Gebhardt have done a magnificent job of collecting the works that matter and of providing introductory material that explains their significance and places them in a historical context. Likely the most complete introduction to these thinkers and their influence on modern critical theory." –Frontwheeldrive.com, July 6, 2006

About the Author

Product Details

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (August 1, 1982)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826401945
• ISBN-13: 978-0826401946
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,569 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Flawed, but best collection available, July 29, 2005

By 

CK Dexter Haven (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Essential Frankfurt School Reader (Paperback)

There are, surprisingly, few solid collections of the Frankfurt School out there. This is unfortunate, since often the essays produced by these thinkers are more useful to the general reader--even a general academic reader--than the longer works. And, unfortunately, none of them are very satisfying. All of these collections lack essential essays, and all of them include numerous throw-aways that are unimportant or unuseful. And none of them have particularly helpful introductions for the uninitiated.

Nevertheless, this one is probably a better bet than the other two major collections, "Critical Theory: the Essential Readings" and "German 20th Century Philosophy: the Frankfurt School." If only because it includes Adorno's "Fetish Character of Music," which the others don't. Its principal flaw is the same as the others: the mysterious absence of Walter Benjamin's "Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." But overall, its selections are representative and give the reader a good general overview, moreso than the competition at least.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, but not as an introduction, January 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Essential Frankfurt School Reader (Paperback)

This book was my first exploration into the Frankfurt School; although it immediately struck a chord within me, I was unprepared for the scholarly vocabularly (classic sociology, etc.) expected of the reader. Advice to the bold, impetuous novice: if you read this book, begin with the essays themselves, not the editors' introductions.