Russell A. Berman

Whether we describe our current condition in terms of postmodernism, neoliberalism, or globalization, the core problem is the loosening of traditional social bonds and institutions. The impact of social media and the transformation of the public sphere by the internet have surely accelerated this . . . . Continue Reading »

Thomas Mann’s 1929 novella Mario and the Magician describes the performance of an ominous hypnotist at a seaside resort. The magician entertains his gullible audience by placing individuals in a trance before making them humiliate themselves by dancing ludicrously on stage. The setting . . . . Continue Reading »

A year before the end of his long life (1895–1998), the German author Ernst Jünger converted to Catholicism, a late change on a tumultuous path of searching and adventures that were far from exclusively spiritual. Born into a Protestant family, he attended conventional boarding schools, but at . . . . Continue Reading »

The Original Folk and Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm by jacob and wilhelm grimm translated and edited by jack zipes princeton, 568 pages, $35 F or two hundred years, the Grimms’ fairy tales have charmed the world. Yet their wide circulation has gone hand in hand with a systematic dilution. . . . . Continue Reading »