Within Four Walls: The Correspondence between Hannah Arendt and Heinrich Blucher, 1936-1968 FROM THE PUBLISHER
Here is the life story of two exceptional people, two Germans who fled their country for different reasons. It is the story of their life in exile in Paris and in New York, their dependence on each other and deepening love, their continued exchange of ideas, Arendt's teaching and writing, her involvement with Jewish life in Europe and in Israel, and Blucher's years at The New School and at Bard College. It is also an important document of the '30s in Germany and France, of World War II, and the post-war life in ravaged European cities.
Meanwhile, there is love of food and drink, and of friendship-both intellectual and affectionate-with Karl Jaspers, Mary McCarthy, Alfred Kazin, and the complex relationship with Martin Heidegger and his wife. Within Four Walls is an extraordinary personal and historical record.
About the Authors:
Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) taught political science and philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York, Brooklyn College, and the University of Chicago.
Heinrich Blucher (1899-1970) was born in Berlin. He taught philosophy at Bard College from 1952 to 1967. He also taught at The New School for Social Research.
Lotte Kohler was born in 1919 in Rostock, Germany. She has a Ph.D. in German literature, served as a professor of German at the City College of the City University of New York, and is the trustee of the Hannah Arendt Literary Trust.
FROM THE CRITICS
New York Review of Books
The record of a great love affair and a lifelong conversation-a love and a marriage that were the 'safe haven' for two hunted fugitives in dark times.
Publishers Weekly
In the 1930s Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) was a Zionist activist and Heinrich Bl cher (1899-1970) was a Communist. Each had escaped Nazi Germany to Paris, where they met, and then moved on together to New York City, where they spent their married life until Bl cher's death. Various editions of Arendt's letters are currently available (exchanges with Heidegger, Karl Jaspers, Hermann Broch and others), but this very fine collection is special because of Arendt's relaxed and unconstrained relationship with her husband. In these letters one senses that Arendt is most fully herself, for better and for worse, than in her other, more formal or otherwise strained relationships (Heidegger was her lover in the 1920s). She and Bl cher speak their minds freely. Their letters contain a few recurring themes that amount to ongoing subplots. One is their gradual and mutual discovery of the United States and its universities, prompting a sense of cultural and intellectual superiority to Americans. Yet while many German exiles longed for return to Germany, Heinrich and Hannah did not; they chose to remain, though Hannah often traveled in Europe because of the fame her writings brought her. Another major subplot in these letters is the conflicted and difficult triangles with Heidegger (her mentor and lover-turned-Nazi) and Karl Jaspers (her dissertation adviser and friend, jealous of Heidegger's greatness and of his relationship to her). Constantine's translations are exceptional, not only accurate but also able to catch the tones and idiomatic nuances of Hannah and Heinrich's private world. Serious students of the history of ideas will be eager for this inside look at an important thinker like Arendt. (Nov.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Hannah Arendt met her young Communist second husband in Paris in 1936 (while they were both married to others), and their frequent separations over 30 years provided ample opportunities for a correspondence that was passionate from the beginning. Scholars will look for the details about Arendt's relations with Heidegger (about whom she was frequently bitter but defensive) and Jaspers (whom she admired without reservation, though he could be exasperating at times). The letters also richly document the lives of two German scholars (one Jewish) who escaped Nazi Germany and found that the United States fulfilled many of their hopes. But it is the human side of Arendt, whose reputation as one of a handful of major women philosophers of the 20th century continues to grow, that will attract most readers. Her books sometimes seem distant and chilly, but these letters will change that impression. Terms of endearment do not always translate comfortably, but Constantine has done well, and the growth of an affection that was obviously permanent makes a charming story. Worthwhile for all large collections.--Leslie Armour, Univ. of Ottawa Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
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