The Martin Buber Reader: Essential Writings / Edition 1

by A. Biemann

Overview

Martin Buber was professor of the history of religions and Jewish religion & ethics from 1923 to 1933 at the University of Frankfurt. He resigned in 1933, after Hitler came to power, and immigrated to Israel where he taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Buber wrote numerous books during his lifetime (1878-1965) and is best known for I and Thou and Good and Evil. His philosophy of dialogue-that is, the 'I-Thou' relationship which affirms each individual as being of unique value-is extremely well-known and has influenced important Protestant theologians like Karl Barth, Emil Brunner, Paul Tillich, and Reinhold Niebuhr. There is truly no genuine understanding of contemporary Jewish and Christian theology without reference to Martin Buber. His appeal is vast - not only is he renowned for his translations of the Old Testament but also for his interpretation of Hasidism, his role in Zionism, and his writings in both psychotherapy and political philosophy.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780312292904
Publisher:	Palgrave Macmillan US
Publication date:	11/22/2002
Edition description:	2002
Pages:	303
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.03(d)

About the Author

ASHER BIEMANN teaches modern Jewish thought and intellectual history at Harvard University. He is the author of a study on Martin Buber's philosophy and is co-editor of the first critical edition of Martin Buber's collected works in German.

Table of Contents

Introduction The Bible Hasidism Judaism and Jewish Religiosity Dialogue Philosophy and Education Community and Politics Zionism and Nationalism

Editorial Reviews

'...[offers] the general reader a refreshing broad perspective on a powerful thinker...' - Booklist

From the Publisher

Martin Buber, one of the greatest Jewish thinkers of the 20th century, had a career that spanned more than six decades. How, then, to gather the most representative pieces of his work into a collection that is still accessible? In The Martin Buber Reader: Essential Writings, Asher Biemann collects 32 essays and excerpts from all periods of Buber's career, from his 1903 article "On the Jewish Renaissance" to a 1956 treatise on "Hasidism and Modern Man." Biemann organizes Buber's writings topically, including sections on the Bible, Jewish religiosity, Hasidism, dialogue, philosophy, community and Zionism. This is just a small portion of Buber's corpus, since he also dabbled in fiction, poetry, playwriting and aesthetic criticism. However, it is a fine tribute to Buber as we are most likely to remember him today: as a major Jewish philosopher. Biemann's introduction is a rather dense intellectual history, but helpfully places the various works in context.

Publishers Weekly