Political Crumbs
Since the appearance of Hans Magnus Enzensberger's first essays in the 1950s, his work has provided an incisive and eloquent commentary on the progress not only of Germany, but of western societies as a whole. Political Crumbs shows Enzensberger at his best, popularizing intellectual debate with a sharp wit and a willingness to make links between apparently disparate subjects and approaches. From reflections on the delusions of intellectuals, the unpredictability of the political process, the creativity of everyday life, the mysteries of German politics and the anarchy of the normal, two major themes emerge: the consequences for left politics of the breakdown of dogmatism, and the 'ungovernability' of complex institutions.
Reviews
[Enzensberger] is a writer who has been poet, editor, playwright and essayist. I think it is in the last art that he has been the most influential: he carries out experiments on the essay form with the intensity and iconoclasm that poets apply to forms in verse.
Probably the nearest thing there is to a Renaissance figure among contemporary writers. He is a restless adept, bringing qualities of learning, intelligence, spleen and surprise to an extraordinary array of different literary enterprises.
He has a sharp eye and an even sharper ear. He is also blessed with a beautifully fluent English translator.