Word: wohl
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...Wohl's definition of generation is unique. A generation consists of those who view themselves as members of that generation. Presumably, Wohl's unifying theme is justifying presenting dozens of European intellectuals with completely different viewpoints on the war and society, who all, view themselves as being of the younger generation...
...Wohl organizes his book nationally. He devotes chapters to France, Germany, England, Italy and Spain. In the very first chapter, Wohl presents a cluttered montage of the French intellectual scenario around...
...wonder that the men Wohl presents share their outlook--they are of the same class. Wohl's French are sons of the university professors and bankers. Before the war they sit in cafes and contemplate their youth because they have little else...
...Wohl presents ten intellectuals in this chapter ranging from Henri Massis, whom he describes as "not an original thinker," but "an aspiring man of letters who throbbed with the ill-conceived ambition of becoming a French leader of youth and spiritual guide," to Henri de Montherlant, who described himself as "a Knight of nothingness...
Herein lies the frustration of Wohl's book. Amidst portraits of arrogant intellectuals who contemplate the dilettante theories of their predecessors lie intriguing portraits of exciting thinkers like Montherlant. Wohl devotes only three pages to Montherlant, an author whose heroes "enjoy the sensation of being able to dispose of their lives the way they chose." This "knight of nothingness" shines as the only important thinker in the first chapter, and he is an obvious predecessor of the existentialists. Yet Wohl makes no attempt to draw out the connection with existential thought. The analysis of Montherlant is a concise summation devoid...