Ernst JUnger - A Portrait is a book about Ernst JUnger (1895-1998), Germany's greatest author since Goethe. This is a popular JUnger biography for the English speaking world, a personal portrait painted by an avid JUnger reader. The book starts out with a thorough biography of JUnger's life. Then the author examines the controversial aspects of the man, and discusses JUnger's role as an outsider, mentioning the reception of his works in the modern post-war era.
After examining JUnger's books on war, the author proceeds to describe JUnger's other literary works such as The Adventurous Heart, On the Marble Cliffs, Heliopolis, and Eumeswil. Moreover, there are chapters on JUnger's perception of art, history, and philosophy. There are also sections on JUnger as a Science Fiction author, and comparisons between JUnger and other authors, both dead and living.
In the introduction to Ernst JUnger - A Portrait the author states that:
"My aim in this study has been to look at what JUnger represents rather than at what he is, in this respect striving to highlight the fruitful aspects of his work, the neglected sides such as the esotericism and the idealism, the vitalism and the life-affirming traits. At the same time I don't deny that JUnger in the 20s was a radical nationalist dealing with fire; I have chapters covering that too. Wishing to write a book that's simple and hands-on I sport "simple but not facile" as my ideal."
About the Author: Born in the north of Sweden in 1965, Lennart Svensson took a BA in Indology in Uppsala 1998. While working as a freelance writer he published the novels Antropolis and Camouflage. Ernst JUnger - A Portrait is his debut in English.