"Illuminations includes Benjamin's views on Kafka, with whom he felt the closest personal affinity, his studies on Baudelaire and Proust (both of whom he translated), his essays on Leskov and on Brecht's Epic Theater. Also included are his penetrating study on "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction," a cultural assessment of the interrelation of art, technology, and mass society; an illumination discussion of translation as a literary mode; and his thesis on the philosophy of history. Hannah Arendt selected the essays for this volume and prefaced them with a substantial, admirably informed introduction that presents Benjamin's personality and intellectual development, as well as his work and his life in dark times." -- from back wrapper.