Ernst Kantorowicz: A Life

(Hardback)

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This is the first complete biography of Ernst Kantorowicz (1895-1963), an influential and controversial German-American intellectual whose colorful and dramatic life intersected with many of the great events and thinkers of his time. A medieval historian whose ideas exerted an influence far beyond his field, he is most famous for two books--a notor

Reviews

"A richly illuminating study ... [and] a timely meditation on the vicissitudes of abstract, purist ideals under the pressure of savage real-world events."--George Prochnik, New York Times Book Review "[A] finely grained portrait."--Robert E. Norton, Times Literary Supplement "A thorough and fascinating chronicle."--Brendan Simms, Wall Street Journal "Robert Lerner ... relates this amazing story with both carefully researched detail and engaging verve."--Michael D. Bailey, Montreal Review "A labour of love inspired by youthful sightings of its charismatic subject... Lerner's admirable study suggests that our understanding of the mind of the 20th century might be enriched by looking back at Kantorowicz's brilliant, if recondite scholarship, alongside this tribute to its author."--Stoddard Martin, Jewish Chronicle "Lerner's accessible, conversational tone and deft use of quotation bring Kantorowicz to life, showing the man behind the scholar and the development of a brilliant mind over a lifetime. Throughout, Kantorowicz's voice is sharply present. Lerner admits that, posthumously, motivations are impossible to discern, but his discernment is a gift in this unflinching treatment of Kantorowicz's legacy."--Letitia Montgomery-Rodgers, Foreword "[Robert Lerner] sets Kantorowicz in the context of his time, uniting heroic archival research, including numerous interviews with Kantorowicz's associates and friends, with discerning judgments to trace his remarkable odyssey. The result is a valuable contribution to modern European and American intellectual history."--Jacob Heilbrunn, The National Interest

Author Bio

Robert E. Lerner is professor emeritus of history at Northwestern University, where he taught medieval history for more than forty years. The author of many books, he is a fellow of the Medieval Academy of America and the American Academy in Rome, and a former member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton.