The Frankfurt School
Its History, Theory and Political Significance
This widely acclaimed book is a comprehensive and authoritative
account of the history and ideas of the Frankfurt School - the most
important and influential group of leftist intellectuals,
philosophers and social theorists in Germany this century.
Wiggershaus traces the history of the School from its
establishment in the early years of the Weimar Republic, through
the period of exile in America, to the post-war phase in Frankfurt
and the emergence of a younger generation of critical theorists in
the 1960s.
He combines biographical profiles of the key figures in the
Frankfurt School - including Horkheimer, Adorno, Benjamin, Marcuse,
Fromm, Neumann, Pollock, Kirchheimer and Habermas - with a rigorous
analysis of their main theories and ideas. Through the careful use
of documentary material, much of which has only recently become
available, Wiggershaus is able to shed new light on internal
disputes and controversies among members of the School.
The Frankfurt School will be welcomed by students and
researchers in the social sciences and philosophy, modern history
and German studies, as well as anyone interested in the history and
influence of the Frankfurt School.
1. Dawn.
2. Flight.
3. In the New World I: An Independent Institute of Critical
Social Research.
4. In the New World II: Productive Decay.
5. Gradual Return.
6. Critical Ornament of a Restoration Society.
7. Critical Theory in Contention.
8. Critical Theory in a Period of Upheaval.
Afterword.
Notes.
Bibliography.
Index.
its scope and its reliability both on historical details and on
broader questions of interpretation." William Outhwaite,
University of Sussex
"This is not just the most comprehensive and illuminating book
on the Frankfurt School, it is by far the most sensitive and
sympathetic." Frankfurter Rundschau
"Widely and justly acclaimed as the most thorough history of the
movement ... the volume will unquestionably be essential for anyone
concerned with the intellectual history of the period." Times
Literary Supplement
"Wiggershaus's monumental, extensively researched study ... will
surely become a classic in this area." David Frisby, Professor
of Sociology, University of Glasgow
"This book is an absolute must for anyone interested in
contemporary social theory and politics." Professor Douglas
Kellner, The University of Texas at Austin
