Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Adler ranges with equal mastery across several fields besides literature, placing Goethe the poet convincingly at the center of the intellectual and scientific culture, of his own day and ours."--Jim Reed, Queen's College, University of Oxford "Camden New Journal" "Adler's aim . . . goes beyond giving an overview of the world that made Goethe (the Enlightenment, Leibniz, Spinoza). Its larger subject is Goethe's impact on shaping modernity itself. . . . Each chapter suggests an astonishing variety of individuals and concepts that Goethe's writings are said to anticipate. Entire books have been devoted to the influence on figures from Karl Marx to Oswald Spengler, but Adler includes references to the structure of the double helix, chaos theory, modern sociology, labor under capitalism and Impressionism, to name just a few. . . . Adler's extensive endnotes show how far and wide he has ranged to make the case for Goethe being our forebear in these areas. As he writes, it is no accident that we speak of the Age of Goethe."-- "Times Literary Supplement" "An erudite and at the same time passionate book on Goethe. It offers the general reader a highly stimulating opportunity to be introduced to his life and work, especially the latter. . . . An exciting and brilliant book. Such scholarship and passion are not often found together. They are a great gift to any reader."-- "Camden New Journal" "Beyond its lively biographical account and incisive readings of Goethe's major works, the true originality of Adler's brilliant contribution lies in its impressive contextual background and often startling insights, which only a scholar steeped not only in literary and philosophical history but also the natural and social sciences could provide--from Homer, Dante, and Shakespeare down to Einstein, Freud, and Weber."--Theodore Ziolkowski, Princeton University "Camden New Journal" "Goethe was a polymath, not least in the areas of art history and criticism, who combined practical abilities as a draughtsman, painter and scientist. Adler focuses on Goethe's influence on modernity."-- "Art Newspaper"

Jeremy Adler is Professor Emeritus of German and Senior Research Fellow at King's College London. He has published numerous books, and writes and reviews regularly for The New York Times Book Review, The Times Literary Supplement, The London Review of Books, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the Neue Zurcher Zeitung.

Introduction 1 The Birth of a Poet 2 Sturm und Drang 3 First Years in Weimar 4 The Italian Turn 5 The Classical Centre 6 The Intellectual Capital of the World 7 The Faustian Age References Select Bibliography Acknowledgements Photo Acknowledgements