Ernst J?nger - A Portrait

Ernst Jnger - A Portrait is a book about Ernst Jnger (1895-1998), Germany's greatest author since Goethe. This is a popular Jnger biography for the English speaking world, a personal portrait painted by an avid Jnger reader. The book starts out with a thorough biography of Jnger's life. Then there's a look at the controversial sides of the man, plus a discussion of Jnger's role as an outsider, mentioning something about the reception of his works today.



After a look at Jnger's books on war there's a survey of central Jnger works such as The Adventurous Heart, On the Marble Cliffs, Heliopolis and Eumeswil. Moreover there are chapters on Jnger's way of looking at art, history and philosophy, on Jnger as a Science Fiction author and comparisons between Jnger and other authors, dead or alive. In the introduction to Ernst Jnger - A Portrait the author says:



My aim in this study has been to look at what Jnger represents rather than at what he is, in this respect striving to highlight the fruitful aspects of his work, the neglected sides such as the esotericism and the idealism, the vitalism and the life-affirming traits. At the same time I don't deny that Jnger in the 20s was a radical nationalist dealing with fire; I have chapters covering that too. Wishing to write a book that's simple and hands-on I sport "simple but not facile" as my ideal.



About the Author: Born in the north of Sweden in 1965, Lennart Svensson took a BA in Indology in Uppsala 1998. While working as a freelance writer he has published novels like Antropolis and Camouflage. Ernst Jnger - A Portrait is his debut in English.