Harry Cravers rich and nuanced study revisits Kracauers nonconformist views and underscores the religious context in which they emerged In portraying Kracauers reections on religious concepts as emblematic of postWorld War I German intellectual life, Craver sets the stage for a novel, intriguing discussion of Weimar modernity and its crisis. American Historical Review
Reluctant Skeptic opens a window into a moment and a place in time through in-depth analysisof Kracauers polyphonic engagement with pressing contemporary questions and the role of the critic in assessing them. It makes no claim that Kracauers perceptions of secularization and religion offer the paramount vantage point from which to take the measure of the crises we associate with Weimar, and it acknowledges that Kracauers attentiveness to religion ebbed in the later 1920s. It succeeds admirably in creating an intellectual milieu analogous to the socio-cultural or socio-denominational milieus explored in studies of Weimar political culture It also offers a fresh perspective on the intellectual uncertainties of the post-war era. German History
In great and fascinating detail, Craver guides his readers through the confused intellectual landscape that was Weimar Germany and the confusing currents that swirled through Kracauers deeply fissured consciousness. Journal of European Studies
Unpretentiously written and based on a judicious interpretation of a wide range of materials, Reluctant Skeptic contributes to our understanding not only of Siegfried Kracauers intellectual development, but also of Weimar culture as a whole. Martin Jay, University of California, Berkeley
