The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton
A unique look at Thomas Mann’s intellectual and political transformation during the crucial years of his exile in the United States

In September 1938, Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize–winning author of Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain, fled Nazi Germany for the United States. Heralded as “the greatest living man of letters,” Mann settled in Princeton, New Jersey, where, for nearly three years, he was stunningly productive as a novelist, university lecturer, and public intellectual. In The Mind in Exile, Stanley Corngold portrays in vivid detail this crucial station in Mann’s journey from arch-European conservative to liberal conservative to ardent social democrat.

On the knife-edge of an exile that would last fully fourteen years, Mann declared, “Where I am, there is Germany. I carry my German culture in me.” At Princeton, Mann nourished an authentic German culture that he furiously observed was “going to the dogs” under Hitler. Here, he wrote great chunks of his brilliant novel Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns); the witty novella The Transposed Heads; and the first chapters of Joseph the Provider, which contain intimations of his beloved President Roosevelt’s economic policies. Each of Mann’s university lectures—on Goethe, Freud, Wagner—attracted nearly 1,000 auditors, among them the baseball catcher, linguist, and O.S.S. spy Moe Berg. Meanwhile, Mann had the determination to travel throughout the United States, where he delivered countless speeches in defense of democratic values.

In Princeton, Mann exercised his “stupendous capacity for work” in a circle of friends, all highly accomplished exiles, including Hermann Broch, Albert Einstein, and Erich Kahler. The Mind in Exile portrays this luminous constellation of intellectuals at an extraordinary time and place.

1139825061
The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton
A unique look at Thomas Mann’s intellectual and political transformation during the crucial years of his exile in the United States

In September 1938, Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize–winning author of Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain, fled Nazi Germany for the United States. Heralded as “the greatest living man of letters,” Mann settled in Princeton, New Jersey, where, for nearly three years, he was stunningly productive as a novelist, university lecturer, and public intellectual. In The Mind in Exile, Stanley Corngold portrays in vivid detail this crucial station in Mann’s journey from arch-European conservative to liberal conservative to ardent social democrat.

On the knife-edge of an exile that would last fully fourteen years, Mann declared, “Where I am, there is Germany. I carry my German culture in me.” At Princeton, Mann nourished an authentic German culture that he furiously observed was “going to the dogs” under Hitler. Here, he wrote great chunks of his brilliant novel Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns); the witty novella The Transposed Heads; and the first chapters of Joseph the Provider, which contain intimations of his beloved President Roosevelt’s economic policies. Each of Mann’s university lectures—on Goethe, Freud, Wagner—attracted nearly 1,000 auditors, among them the baseball catcher, linguist, and O.S.S. spy Moe Berg. Meanwhile, Mann had the determination to travel throughout the United States, where he delivered countless speeches in defense of democratic values.

In Princeton, Mann exercised his “stupendous capacity for work” in a circle of friends, all highly accomplished exiles, including Hermann Broch, Albert Einstein, and Erich Kahler. The Mind in Exile portrays this luminous constellation of intellectuals at an extraordinary time and place.

26.95 In Stock
The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton

The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton

by Stanley Corngold
The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton

The Mind in Exile: Thomas Mann in Princeton

by Stanley Corngold

Paperback

$26.95 
  • SHIP THIS ITEM
    In stock. Ships in 3-7 days. Typically arrives in 3 weeks.
  • PICK UP IN STORE

    Your local store may have stock of this item.

Related collections and offers


Overview

A unique look at Thomas Mann’s intellectual and political transformation during the crucial years of his exile in the United States

In September 1938, Thomas Mann, the Nobel Prize–winning author of Death in Venice and The Magic Mountain, fled Nazi Germany for the United States. Heralded as “the greatest living man of letters,” Mann settled in Princeton, New Jersey, where, for nearly three years, he was stunningly productive as a novelist, university lecturer, and public intellectual. In The Mind in Exile, Stanley Corngold portrays in vivid detail this crucial station in Mann’s journey from arch-European conservative to liberal conservative to ardent social democrat.

On the knife-edge of an exile that would last fully fourteen years, Mann declared, “Where I am, there is Germany. I carry my German culture in me.” At Princeton, Mann nourished an authentic German culture that he furiously observed was “going to the dogs” under Hitler. Here, he wrote great chunks of his brilliant novel Lotte in Weimar (The Beloved Returns); the witty novella The Transposed Heads; and the first chapters of Joseph the Provider, which contain intimations of his beloved President Roosevelt’s economic policies. Each of Mann’s university lectures—on Goethe, Freud, Wagner—attracted nearly 1,000 auditors, among them the baseball catcher, linguist, and O.S.S. spy Moe Berg. Meanwhile, Mann had the determination to travel throughout the United States, where he delivered countless speeches in defense of democratic values.

In Princeton, Mann exercised his “stupendous capacity for work” in a circle of friends, all highly accomplished exiles, including Hermann Broch, Albert Einstein, and Erich Kahler. The Mind in Exile portrays this luminous constellation of intellectuals at an extraordinary time and place.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780691232577
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication date: 11/19/2024
Pages: 280
Product dimensions: 6.12(w) x 9.25(h) x (d)

About the Author

Stanley Corngold is professor emeritus of German and comparative literature at Princeton University. His many books include Walter Kaufmann: Philosopher, Humanist, Heretic and Lambent Traces: Franz Kafka (both Princeton).

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Abbreviations for Mann Citations xix

1 Thomas Mann in Princeton, 1938-41: A Man of Qualities 1

2 Reflections of a Political Man 25

Prologue 25

"A Brother" 29

"I Believe" 35

"Mankind, Take Care!" 39

This Peace 45

Contra Thomas Mann the American 53

"America and the Refugee" 78

This War 81

"Mediators between the Spirit and Life" 92

"The Problem of Freedom" 94

"The War and the Future" 101

A Typical Evening's Reading: Nizer and Mumford 106

The City of Man (1940) 114

"War and Democracy" 125

"I Am an American" 130

"Denken und Leben" (Thinking and Living) 133

Listen, Germany! 136

3 A Roundup of Political Themes 145

4 Professor Thomas Mann, Nobel Laureate 151

Lotte in Weimar 158

Richard Wagner and The Ring of the Nibelung 175

"Freud and the Future" 180

Introduction to The Magic Mountain for Students of Princeton University 186

The Transposed Heads-A Legend of India 189

Joseph in Princeton 195

Joseph, Part One: "The Second Pit" 198

Joseph, Part Two: "The Summons" 207

5 Toward a Conclusion 212

Acknowledgments 217

Notes 219

Index 251

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

The Mind in Exile is a remarkable achievement. Written in a vivid and wonderfully readable style, and combining personal reflections and impressions with political and literary history, this book discusses one of the most prolific periods in Thomas Mann’s American exile. Stanley Corngold introduces readers not only to a fascinating biography, but also to a broad cultural context. With a seemingly effortless yet sensitive and profound analysis, he follows the links between Mann’s literary fiction and political essays and speeches. Corngold’s intimate knowledge of Princeton’s history and spirit, and his deep familiarity with Mann’s work, revive the atmosphere of an extraordinary place and constellation, with a significance both historical and contemporary.”—Heinrich Detering, Thomas Mann Edition Project, University of Göttingen

“This meticulously researched and sympathetically drawn portrait of Thomas Mann during his three-year sojourn at Princeton offers yet more evidence of the great German novelist’s return to a place of distinction in our cultural memory. The copious political commentary that Mann produced during those dramatic years, his psychological analysis of Hitler and his astute critique of the America-first mentality, resonates powerfully with the tensions of our present moment." —Hans Rudolf Vaget, Smith College

From the B&N Reads Blog

Customer Reviews