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Ralph Freedman
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HERMAN HESSE BIOGRAPHY Hardcover – December 12, 1978

by Ralph Freedman (Author)
See all formats and editions
Freedman explores Hesse's life to discover what led to his absorption in certain themes and traces the author's impassioned quest for meaning in a fragmented era filled with crises that posed philosophical contradictions for the artist
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  1. Print length
    432 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Pantheon
  4. Publication date
    December 12, 1978
  5. ISBN-10
    0394419812
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0394419817
  7. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pantheon; First Edition (December 12, 1978)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 432 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0394419812
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0394419817
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.95 pounds

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Ralph Freedman

Ralph Freedman

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4.8 out of 5 stars
8 global ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

  • Antoine J. Bachmann
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best biographies I have read, ever
    Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2002
    This book is not only a very thorough biography of Hermann Hesse.
    It is also one of the best biographies I have ever read. Among other things, it does a very impressive job of blending Hesse's life and work, explaining how precise parts of a given book were influenced with events in his life, and so on.
    I do wish all biographies were as well researched, and as well written, as this one.
    33 people found this helpful
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  • Keith Murray
    5.0 out of 5 stars Necessary for any serious student of Hermann Hesse
    Reviewed in the United States on October 13, 2000
    Ralph Freedman ranks with Joseph Mileck, Theodore Ziokowski, and Mark Boulby in his importance to Hesse scholarship. Freedman previously published an important study comparing the fiction of Virginia Woolf, Andre Gide, and Hesse. This biography is a standard against which any future biographies are likely to be judged, composed by a man who has studied the author for many years.
    29 people found this helpful
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  • Gordon Morris
    4.0 out of 5 stars Spotlight on a writer of genius
    Reviewed in the United States on August 5, 2014
    Verified Purchase
    Hesse was one of the truly great writers of the 20th century. And like many highly gifted individuals he was also a troubled soul, tormented by the guilts stemming from his childhood and youth. The Glass Bead Game was his now much neglected masterpiece, his magnum opus in which he worked out the spiritual and intellectual ideals that resulted from his long search for fulfilment. Ralph Freedman takes us on a fascinating journey through Hesse's inner struggles.
    9 people found this helpful
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  • colotes
    4.0 out of 5 stars Informative But Dated
    Reviewed in the United States on October 27, 2012
    Revised 3/25/13. This was the first biography of Hesse that I read and at the time found it very informative. It provided ample biographical material to help understand the genesis of his works. I consider it to be the best English language biography of Hesse. The only other one that approaches it is Joseph Mileck's Hermann Hesse: Life and Art which is more an analysis of Hesse's works than biography. However for understanding Hesse's inner life there is no substitute for reading Hesse himself. In the acknowledgements page Freedman makes reference to the use of previously unpublished material, especially letters. Since then (1978) a 20 volume collected German edition of his works has been published (recently made available in paperback in two divisions: ISBN 978-3518062128 and ISBN 978-3518062135) and also the first volume (ISBN 978-3518423097) of a projected 10 volume German edition of his letters. This new edition will supplement rather than repeat the 4 volume German edition already published (ISBN 978-3518098134). Also a remarkable collection of letters between Hesse and his second wife Ruth Wenger (including a short reminiscence by her) has come out (Liebes Herz! Briefwechsel mit seiner zweiten Frau Ruth - ISBN 3-518-41725-8) providing much insight into Hesse's frame of mind for the writing of Steppenwolf. Finally there is a "biography" of Hesse's third marriage to Ninon Doblin by Gisela Kleine: Zwischen Welt und Zaubergarten (ISBN 978-3518378847). I have not entirely reread Freedman's book since my first perusal but have dipped into from time to time for background information. Recently I was disappointed to discover confusion regarding the names of the characters in his discussion of the novel Gertrude. Freedman mixes up Kuhn for Muoth (p. 138). I believe this is a minor mistake that is not indicative of the rest of the work. Also Freedman, through no fault of his own due to lack of relevant primary material at the time of his writing, is necessarily vague about the blossoming relationship with Ninon during the Steppenwolf period, a failure corrected by the Kleine book mentioned above. English readers frustrated with my review because of my references to German language books (all of the ISBN mentioned volumes are available on the Amazon Germany site) have my sympathies. There just aren't any English language biographies of Hesse that are based on recently released material, some of which is significant. A more complete biography probably awaits the publication of all of his letters. Meanwhile the Freedman volume is the one to get in English.
    32 people found this helpful
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