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Reviews

"“[Eilenberger's] energetic, multilayered group portrait reveals that these celebrated thinkers were real people whose ideas, as contradictory as they may seem, developed in response to shared social or political circumstances. This fascinates.” —Publishers Weekly “With the same acumen as he displayed in Magicians, Eilenberger draws compelling narratives around these women’s lives while ably synthesizing much of their core thinking . . . An absorbing, well-grounded study.” —Kirkus ""What was it like to be alive during Hitler’s ascent? To read this vivid, gripping book is to relive that time through four of the century’s most original minds—not just their evolving ideas but their daily frustrations and fears for the future. To them, philosophy was as concrete and urgent as food or safety, and Eilenberger shows you why.” —Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help Praise for TIME OF THE MAGICIANS: “Splendid.” —Financial Times “[Eilenberger] patiently draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings, which often tend toward complete opacity. The result is not a book of academic philosophy but rather an intellectual history that largely succeeds in bringing philosophy to life.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] vibrant group portrait of four philosophers during a turbulent decade . . . Eilenberger is a terrific storyteller, unearthing vivid details that show how the philosophies of these men weren’t the arid products of abstract speculation but vitally connected to their temperaments and experiences.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times   “[A] fascinating and accessible account . . . In his entertaining book, Mr. Eilenberger shows that his magicians’ thoughts are still worth collecting, even if, with hindsight, we can see that some performed too many intellectual conjuring tricks.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A group portrait of four brilliant young philosophers in the aftermath of the first world war . . . Eilenberger tells it with free-wheeling gusto.” —The Guardian “Spirited [. . .] this comprehensive and well-informed treatment deserves credit for bringing four major philosophers down from the heights of abstraction.” —Publishers Weekly “An exemplary work . . . [Eilenberger's] lucid presentation of his characters’ often hard-to-comprehend thinking and the muddy language in which they expressed it make this book invaluable for anyone seeking to learn about these extraordinary figures.” —Kirkus (starred review) “A fascinating tour through the lives and thought of some of the most challenging philosophers of the twentieth century: Benjamin, Cassirer, and those two matching gnomic magi, Wittgenstein and Heidegger. It is a book of riches, full of stories as well as ideas, all brought together with a fine, light touch.” —Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer   “A tour de force . . . Eilenberger’s beautifully written history of the pivotal decade in 20th century metaphysics is as hard to put down as a good novel.” —Susan Neiman, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil “In this meticulously researched narrative, Wolfram Eilenberger brings to life the intertwining fates of four of the 20th century's most influential thinkers, illuminating their ideas as well as helping to explain the era they inhabited. Packed with personal stories as well as erudition, this is a book that teaches us both how to live through a time of crisis, and how to think about it—skills we now need once again.” —Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning-author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and Gulag: A History “New times bring new disasters—and new disasters bring new ways of thinking. Wolfram Eilenberger's Time of the Magicians recalls an age when philosophers reinvented a world in full meltdown—a world that needed to be remade down to its very punctuation. He makes difficult concepts accessible without dumbing them down, and turns famous names into unforgettably human—all too human—characters.” —Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work “Wolfram Eilenberger mixes history and biography to produce something truly unusual: a page-turning book about philosophy, told through the lives of four of its most controversial and confounding figures. Their lives were in many cases as chaotic as their work was profound, but he brings them all to life on the page with passion and clarity. Time of the Magicians is both an education and a delight.” —Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life"

“[Eilenberger's] energetic, multilayered group portrait reveals that these celebrated thinkers were real people whose ideas, as contradictory as they may seem, developed in response to shared social or political circumstances. This fascinates.” —Publishers Weekly “With the same acumen as he displayed in Magicians, Eilenberger draws compelling narratives around these women’s lives while ably synthesizing much of their core thinking . . . An absorbing, well-grounded study.” —Kirkus “What was it like to be alive during Hitler’s ascent? To read this vivid, gripping book is to relive that time through four of the century’s most original minds—not just their evolving ideas but their daily frustrations and fears for the future. To them, philosophy was as concrete and urgent as food or safety, and Eilenberger shows you why.” —Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help “This is intellectual history at its best—lucid, rigorous, and readable. Interweaving the work of four extraordinary thinkers and the lives of four extraordinary women, Wolfram Eilenberger takes us on a journey into the dark heart of the twentieth century, showing how that darkness shaped some of the brightest minds of the moment and inspired their respective visions of the good society. The Visionaries is a gripping group biography, but most importantly a much-needed reminder of the power of philosophy in the face of rising authoritarianism. Not to be missed.” —James McAuley, author of The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France “An exhilarating journey through the lives and thought of four exceptional women whose effort to make sense of the dark times in which they lived is an essential compass for understanding ours. Deeply researched and intimately written, Eilenberger’s book is an intellectual feast.” —Lea Ypi, author of Free Praise for TIME OF THE MAGICIANS: “Splendid.” —Financial Times “[Eilenberger] patiently draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings, which often tend toward complete opacity. The result is not a book of academic philosophy but rather an intellectual history that largely succeeds in bringing philosophy to life.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] vibrant group portrait of four philosophers during a turbulent decade . . . Eilenberger is a terrific storyteller, unearthing vivid details that show how the philosophies of these men weren’t the arid products of abstract speculation but vitally connected to their temperaments and experiences.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times   “[A] fascinating and accessible account . . . In his entertaining book, Mr. Eilenberger shows that his magicians’ thoughts are still worth collecting, even if, with hindsight, we can see that some performed too many intellectual conjuring tricks.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A group portrait of four brilliant young philosophers in the aftermath of the first world war . . . Eilenberger tells it with free-wheeling gusto.” —The Guardian “Spirited [. . .] this comprehensive and well-informed treatment deserves credit for bringing four major philosophers down from the heights of abstraction.” —Publishers Weekly “An exemplary work . . . [Eilenberger's] lucid presentation of his characters’ often hard-to-comprehend thinking and the muddy language in which they expressed it make this book invaluable for anyone seeking to learn about these extraordinary figures.” —Kirkus (starred review) “A fascinating tour through the lives and thought of some of the most challenging philosophers of the twentieth century: Benjamin, Cassirer, and those two matching gnomic magi, Wittgenstein and Heidegger. It is a book of riches, full of stories as well as ideas, all brought together with a fine, light touch.” —Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer   “A tour de force . . . Eilenberger’s beautifully written history of the pivotal decade in 20th century metaphysics is as hard to put down as a good novel.” —Susan Neiman, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil “In this meticulously researched narrative, Wolfram Eilenberger brings to life the intertwining fates of four of the 20th century's most influential thinkers, illuminating their ideas as well as helping to explain the era they inhabited. Packed with personal stories as well as erudition, this is a book that teaches us both how to live through a time of crisis, and how to think about it—skills we now need once again.” —Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning-author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and Gulag: A History “New times bring new disasters—and new disasters bring new ways of thinking. Wolfram Eilenberger's Time of the Magicians recalls an age when philosophers reinvented a world in full meltdown—a world that needed to be remade down to its very punctuation. He makes difficult concepts accessible without dumbing them down, and turns famous names into unforgettably human—all too human—characters.” —Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work “Wolfram Eilenberger mixes history and biography to produce something truly unusual: a page-turning book about philosophy, told through the lives of four of its most controversial and confounding figures. Their lives were in many cases as chaotic as their work was profound, but he brings them all to life on the page with passion and clarity. Time of the Magicians is both an education and a delight.” —Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

“[Eilenberger's] energetic, multilayered group portrait reveals that these celebrated thinkers were real people whose ideas, as contradictory as they may seem, developed in response to shared social or political circumstances. This fascinates.” —Publishers Weekly “With the same acumen as he displayed in Magicians, Eilenberger draws compelling narratives around these women’s lives while ably synthesizing much of their core thinking . . . An absorbing, well-grounded study.” —Kirkus “What was it like to be alive during Hitler’s ascent? To read this vivid, gripping book is to relive that time through four of the century’s most original minds—not just their evolving ideas but their daily frustrations and fears for the future. To them, philosophy was as concrete and urgent as food or safety, and Eilenberger shows you why.” —Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help “This is intellectual history at its best—lucid, rigorous, and readable. Interweaving the work of four extraordinary thinkers and the lives of four extraordinary women, Wolfram Eilenberger takes us on a journey into the dark heart of the twentieth century, showing how that darkness shaped some of the brightest minds of the moment and inspired their respective visions of the good society. The Visionaries is a gripping group biography, but most importantly a much-needed reminder of the power of philosophy in the face of rising authoritarianism. Not to be missed.” —James McAuley, author of The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France “An exhilarating journey through the lives and thought of four exceptional women whose effort to make sense of the dark times in which they lived is an essential compass for understanding ours. Deeply researched and intimately written, Eilenberger’s book is an intellectual feast.” —Lea Ypi, author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History

“[Eilenberger's] energetic, multilayered group portrait reveals that these celebrated thinkers were real people whose ideas, as contradictory as they may seem, developed in response to shared social or political circumstances. This fascinates.” —Publishers Weekly “With the same acumen as he displayed in Magicians, Eilenberger draws compelling narratives around these women’s lives while ably synthesizing much of their core thinking . . . An absorbing, well-grounded study.” —Kirkus “What was it like to be alive during Hitler’s ascent? To read this vivid, gripping book is to relive that time through four of the century’s most original minds—not just their evolving ideas but their daily frustrations and fears for the future. To them, philosophy was as concrete and urgent as food or safety, and Eilenberger shows you why.” —Larissa MacFarquhar, author of Strangers Drowning: Impossible Idealism, Drastic Choices, and the Urge to Help “This is intellectual history at its best—lucid, rigorous, and readable. Interweaving the work of four extraordinary thinkers and the lives of four extraordinary women, Wolfram Eilenberger takes us on a journey into the dark heart of the twentieth century, showing how that darkness shaped some of the brightest minds of the moment and inspired their respective visions of the good society. The Visionaries is a gripping group biography, but most importantly a much-needed reminder of the power of philosophy in the face of rising authoritarianism. Not to be missed.” —James McAuley, author of The House of Fragile Things: Jewish Art Collectors and the Fall of France “An exhilarating journey through the lives and thought of four exceptional women whose effort to make sense of the dark times in which they lived is an essential compass for understanding ours. Deeply researched and intimately written, Eilenberger’s book is an intellectual feast.” —Lea Ypi, author of Free: Coming of Age at the End of History Praise for TIME OF THE MAGICIANS: “Splendid.” —Financial Times “[Eilenberger] patiently draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings, which often tend toward complete opacity. The result is not a book of academic philosophy but rather an intellectual history that largely succeeds in bringing philosophy to life.” —The New York Times Book Review “[A] vibrant group portrait of four philosophers during a turbulent decade . . . Eilenberger is a terrific storyteller, unearthing vivid details that show how the philosophies of these men weren’t the arid products of abstract speculation but vitally connected to their temperaments and experiences.” —Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times   “[A] fascinating and accessible account . . . In his entertaining book, Mr. Eilenberger shows that his magicians’ thoughts are still worth collecting, even if, with hindsight, we can see that some performed too many intellectual conjuring tricks.” —The Wall Street Journal   “A group portrait of four brilliant young philosophers in the aftermath of the first world war . . . Eilenberger tells it with free-wheeling gusto.” —The Guardian “Spirited [. . .] this comprehensive and well-informed treatment deserves credit for bringing four major philosophers down from the heights of abstraction.” —Publishers Weekly “An exemplary work . . . [Eilenberger's] lucid presentation of his characters’ often hard-to-comprehend thinking and the muddy language in which they expressed it make this book invaluable for anyone seeking to learn about these extraordinary figures.” —Kirkus (starred review) “A fascinating tour through the lives and thought of some of the most challenging philosophers of the twentieth century: Benjamin, Cassirer, and those two matching gnomic magi, Wittgenstein and Heidegger. It is a book of riches, full of stories as well as ideas, all brought together with a fine, light touch.” —Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer   “A tour de force . . . Eilenberger’s beautifully written history of the pivotal decade in 20th century metaphysics is as hard to put down as a good novel.” —Susan Neiman, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil “In this meticulously researched narrative, Wolfram Eilenberger brings to life the intertwining fates of four of the 20th century's most influential thinkers, illuminating their ideas as well as helping to explain the era they inhabited. Packed with personal stories as well as erudition, this is a book that teaches us both how to live through a time of crisis, and how to think about it—skills we now need once again.” —Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning-author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and Gulag: A History “New times bring new disasters—and new disasters bring new ways of thinking. Wolfram Eilenberger's Time of the Magicians recalls an age when philosophers reinvented a world in full meltdown—a world that needed to be remade down to its very punctuation. He makes difficult concepts accessible without dumbing them down, and turns famous names into unforgettably human—all too human—characters.” —Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work “Wolfram Eilenberger mixes history and biography to produce something truly unusual: a page-turning book about philosophy, told through the lives of four of its most controversial and confounding figures. Their lives were in many cases as chaotic as their work was profound, but he brings them all to life on the page with passion and clarity. Time of the Magicians is both an education and a delight.” —Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

Praise for TIME OF THE MAGICIANS: Splendid. -Financial Times [Eilenberger] patiently draws these four intellectual magi out of the shadows of their writings, which often tend toward complete opacity. The result is not a book of academic philosophy but rather an intellectual history that largely succeeds in bringing philosophy to life. -The New York Times Book Review [A] vibrant group portrait of four philosophers during a turbulent decade . . . Eilenberger is a terrific storyteller, unearthing vivid details that show how the philosophies of these men weren't the arid products of abstract speculation but vitally connected to their temperaments and experiences. -Jennifer Szalai, The New York Times [A] fascinating and accessible account . . . In his entertaining book, Mr. Eilenberger shows that his magicians' thoughts are still worth collecting, even if, with hindsight, we can see that some performed too many intellectual conjuring tricks. -The Wall Street Journal A group portrait of four brilliant young philosophers in the aftermath of the first world war . . . Eilenberger tells it with free-wheeling gusto. -The Guardian Spirited [. . .] this comprehensive and well-informed treatment deserves credit for bringing four major philosophers down from the heights of abstraction. -Publishers Weekly An exemplary work . . . [Eilenberger's] lucid presentation of his characters' often hard-to-comprehend thinking and the muddy language in which they expressed it make this book invaluable for anyone seeking to learn about these extraordinary figures. -Kirkus (starred review) A fascinating tour through the lives and thought of some of the most challenging philosophers of the twentieth century: Benjamin, Cassirer, and those two matching gnomic magi, Wittgenstein and Heidegger. It is a book of riches, full of stories as well as ideas, all brought together with a fine, light touch. -Sarah Bakewell, author of How to Live: Or A Life of Montaigne in One Question and Twenty Attempts at an Answer A tour de force . . . Eilenberger's beautifully written history of the pivotal decade in 20th century metaphysics is as hard to put down as a good novel. -Susan Neiman, author of Learning from the Germans: Race and the Memory of Evil In this meticulously researched narrative, Wolfram Eilenberger brings to life the intertwining fates of four of the 20th century's most influential thinkers, illuminating their ideas as well as helping to explain the era they inhabited. Packed with personal stories as well as erudition, this is a book that teaches us both how to live through a time of crisis, and how to think about it-skills we now need once again. -Anne Applebaum, Pulitzer Prize winning-author of Twilight of Democracy: The Seductive Lure of Authoritarianism and Gulag: A History New times bring new disasters-and new disasters bring new ways of thinking. Wolfram Eilenberger's Time of the Magicians recalls an age when philosophers reinvented a world in full meltdown-a world that needed to be remade down to its very punctuation. He makes difficult concepts accessible without dumbing them down, and turns famous names into unforgettably human-all too human-characters. -Benjamin Moser, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Sontag: Her Life and Work Wolfram Eilenberger mixes history and biography to produce something truly unusual: a page-turning book about philosophy, told through the lives of four of its most controversial and confounding figures. Their lives were in many cases as chaotic as their work was profound, but he brings them all to life on the page with passion and clarity. Time of the Magicians is both an education and a delight. -Ruth Franklin, author of Shirley Jackson: A Rather Haunted Life

Author Information

Wolfram Eilenberger is an internationally bestselling author and philosopher. He is the founding editor of Philosophie Magazin and hosts the television program Sternstunde Philosophie on the Swiss public broadcasting network SRF. In 2018, he published Time of the Magicians in Germany. The book instantly became a bestseller there, as well as in Italy and Spain, and won the prestigious Prix du Meilleur Livre Étranger in France. It has been translated into thirty languages. Eilenberger has been a prolific contributor of essays and articles to many publications, among them Die Zeit, Der Spiegel, and El País. He has taught at the University of Toronto, Indiana University Bloomington, and Berlin University of the Arts, among other schools. Shaun Whiteside is a prize-winning translator of fiction and nonfiction from German, French, Italian, and Dutch. He also translated Wolfram Eilenberger's Time of the Magicians.

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