Benjamin is one of the few 20th century philosophers who can convey profound thoughts in language that isn't at all opaque. His sentences are always perfectly clear - no pretentious literary or Marxist jargon (thank God). The only thing that makes it slow reading is that you always want to stop, put the book down, and think about what he's just said.

For example, a passage from his essay on Kafka:

'The definition of it which Kafka has given applies to the sons more than to anyone else: "Original sin, the old injustice committed by man, consists in the complaint that he has been the victim of an injustice, the victim of original sin." But who is accused of this inherited sin - the sin of having produced an heir - if not the father by the son? Accordingly the son would be the sinner. But one must not conclude from Kafka's definition that the accusation is sinful because it is false. Nowhere does Kafka say that it is made wrongfully. A never-ending process is at work here, and no cause can appear in a worse light than the one for which the father enlists the aid of these officials and court offices . . . '

This is not opacity for the sake of being opaque; he is trying to get at something incredibly complex, something that (unlike most literary criticism) actually helps you appreciate Kafka and understand him a little better. Benjamin doesn't peel away layers of an onion to arrive at a single shining insight; he presents a simple idea, expands on it a little, and lets you put on the layers of complexity yourself. Read these essays carefully, and it will be obvious why entire schools of thought have sprung up around single paragraphs, why people have devoted their lives to figuring out the ramifications of a single sentence . . .

Benjamin accomplishes something rare: in writing about art, he succeeds in telling us something about life in modern times. And his insights never seem forced; they flow naturally from what he is discussing. For example, his essay on Leskov, "This process of assimilation, which takes place in depth, requires a state of relaxation that is becoming rarer and rarer. If sleep is the apogee of physical relaxation, boredom is the apogee of mental relaxation. Boredom is the dream bird that hatches the egg of experience. A rustling in the leaves drives him away. His nesting places - the activies that are intimately associated with boredom - are already extinct in the cities and are declining in the country as well. With this the gift for listening is lost and the comminity of listeners disappears. For storytelling is always the art of repeated stories, and this art is lost when the stories are no longer retained."

A simple little paragraph on storytelling, but soon you start thinking about how the art of writing has changed since Benjamin's time, and what effect television and the movies have had on the way we live, on "boredom" and mental relaxation . . . anyway, I'm probably starting to get pretentious which Benjamin, thankfully, never does.

Above all this entire collection is filled with something increasingly rare nowadays, a genuine love of books. Forget all the Marxist stuff in other reviews, all Benjamin is really doing, finally, is talking about some books that he likes. That he succeeds in doing much more is a testament to his brilliance.

This is the only theoretical text that I have read, with pleasure, in recent memory. Given the conventional prolixity, obfuscation, and circumlocution of contemporary academic prose in the humanities, the fact that you can read Benjamin with pleasure marks him as outstanding.

Benjamin's project was itself outstanding. He aimed at a synthesis of Marxism, mysticism, German romanticism--in a sense, theology, materialist philosophy, and poetry. His critical approaches and thinking embodies the characteristics he praises in literary texts; Benjamin thinks poetically.

This eclectic collection of material, emphasizing Benjamin's later (and more Marxist) ideas, is not unlike a sampler of related but different confections. It's mistaken to think of Benjamin's various intellectual leanings as discrete ideologies or outright contradictions; instead, to borrow from Wittgenstein, consider his ideas to be different members of a family that resemble one another and are clearly related but live different lives in different contexts.

Benjamin's essay "Unpacking my Library," for example, looks on the surface like a confession of self-indulgence, but (in my opinion) deals in a clever and powerful way with the ways in which we inherit, buy, trade, classify, and value our heritage and cultures. This is truly fascinating material!

For Walter Benjamin, the defining characteristic of modernity was mass assembly and production of commodities, concomitant with this transformation of production is the destruction of tradition and the mode of experience which depends upon that tradition. While the destruction of tradition means the destruction of authenticity, of the originary, in that it also collapses the distance between art and the masses it makes possible the liberation which capitalism both obscures and opposes. Benjamin believes that with the destruction of tradition, libratory potentialities are nonetheless created. The process of the destruction of aura through mass reproduction brings about the "destruction of traditional modes of experience through shock," in response new forms of experience are created which attempt to cope with that shock.

Allegoresis and collection are the twin foci around which the elliptical writings of Walter Benjamin orbit. The former, as a mode of criticism, transforms the latter practice into a version of materialist historicism. Instead of constructing further barriers between his own practice and the practices of the historical moment he would transcend, Benjamin embraces the underside of his own theories in "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction." There he proclaims the disintegration of the aura and champions the revolutionary potential which is thus released. It will be of use therefore, to look at some of his other references to the aura. It's as though Benjamin takes more seriously than Marx the notion that capitalism contains its own subversion--the path to subversion is not to resist and revolt, but to accede and accelerate...

This book is a good introduction to the basic terminology of the Fourth Way tradition. What is most essential to understand is the irreplacable and unavoidable necessity of objective self-observation; the ability to see ourselves as we really are, not as we THINK we are. Unfortunately, self-observation and self-remembering are grossly misunderstood these days and the Fourth Way is rapidly degenerating; but this text can be helpful for the serious student who is willing to genuinely seek self-knowledge, not mere book knowledge. We must be on guard moment to moment, in clear observation of the mind, the false sense of self, and be remembering ourselves, our consciousness, by being fully present, rather than being identified with thoughts, feelings and sensations. This text can help the reader understand what this means. For more information on how this is done, feel free to contact christianart@hotmail.com.

EVERYBODY'S GUIDE TO NATURE CURE

By Harry Benjamin, published by Thorsons, ISBN 0 7225 0703 8, 481 pages

This is a superb book. It is a thorough and comprehensive treatment of natural methods of building health, preventing illness and curing disease. The book starts with a clear exposition of the difference between the traditional natural methods of health care and the modern chemical based medical approach. Each topic is discussed in a simple forthright manner. Benjamin is an experienced author and has a clear style devoid of technical or mystical verbiage. A large portion of the book is concerned with simple ways that people can use to enhance their health. Children's ailments are covered and each "system" of the body has a chapter with Nature Cure advice as appropriate. There is a particularly useful chapter on Fever. Current medical attitudes mandate that fever be suppressed - Nature Cure holds that fever is a method that the body uses to cleanse itself of toxins. The discussion is clear and the reader can decide for themselves.

This is an important book. It compares with "Philosophy of Natural Therapeutics", by Henry Lindlahr, but is simpler to understand. It is a "must" for those interested in the natural treatment of illness and for the cultivation of health.

As a homeschool mother, I want my child to enjoy the learning process. I have been delighted with the Step-Up series and Benjamin Franklin has been no exception. They are written in an straight forward, but not dumbed down, manner. My daughter and I got the high points of Franklin's life, as well as the ideals he stood for, in a lively, interesting format.

I would have preferred more pictures; but that's just me!

This is a great book for any child from 2nd grade to 4th grade to read. It is in large print which makes it easy for children to read. This book highlights all the main accomplishments and events of Benjamin Franklin's life. It is very interesting and will hold a young child's attention from the begining until the end of the book. I really enjoyed the way it covered his whole life, not just when he started making great inventions, like most books. It was one of my favorite books when I was in elementary school.

While this book does contain a good amount of information, it is seriously out of date (as is the Harry Benjamin Gender Dysphoria Association, which is based on his research and beliefs). For instance, the real life "test". For some this can be the worst thing. What this book does show is how many hoops we as transsexuals have to jump through in order to finally be happy. For our surgery (it is basically nothing more than cosmetic surgery) we have to "pass" tests and fit into stereotypes. If we have to, then why do people wanting other cosmetic surgery like breast enlargement not have to go get 2 letters? Seriously out of date, and high time it be taken out of print and someone write a new book. Times have changed, and this book would have us stuck in a time warp. I only recommend this book as something as a basis, to help understand, but not as gospel.

Although there are many in-depth and up-to-date books and information out there today, this book basically started todays awareness of the problem and laid the groundwork for standarized treatment of the transsexual. It is still a helpful reference but also provides a historical look into transsexualism. Highly reccomended.

This book provides a wealth of information on the TS world. It is useful both for the TS and their family and friends. Somewhat dated today, but still useful.