The Work of Art in the Age of Its Technological Reproducibility, and Other Writings on Media

This compilation of Benjamin's famous--and not so famous--essays is brilliant. The best translations I've seen, and I've read them all. Excellent, intelligent commentary, and clearly presented format. Essential for anyone interested in the granddaddy of post-modernism, the most humane and exciting of the cultural philosophers of the twentieth century.

It's o.k., a rehash of old Benjamin stuff with some bits and pieces I haven't seen. Nothing great about the translation though I'm sure it plods accurately along. Jim Ryan

This is one of the most comprehensive collections of his writings, it really a wonderful book! Anyone interested in contemporary or modern art should have this in their library.

This is the classic text everybody has to read to understand not only the history but the functioning of the contemporary media, too.

A very good collection of essays by Benjamin, and a lot of the stuff he says eerily have been progressively coming to fruition. Specifically his thoughts on art, literature, and even media. This is a useful tool for any philosopher, social critic, or chronicler seeking to understand how a movement can drastically change from one to another, and how sometimes it is necessary, and other times, greedy and corrupt. The translations are excellent, although some of the essays have only this translation, regardless, it is still easy to read and very informative. To educate oneself to history and understand how things came to be, and to understand that history is written by those in power is to understand society better than most, this is the goal, this is what Benjamin seeks to say, and this...is what needs to be understood.

Why did I buy this