Once viewed as an outsider, Norbert Elias has come
to be regarded as one of the key social thinkers of the twentieth century. His
book The Civilizing Process has been acclaimed as a modern classic
throughout the world. Reflections on a Life includes a detailed interview
with Elias in which he discusses different stages in his life and career: from
his upbringing within a middle-class family to his experiences as a soldier
during the First World War; from his student days in Heidelberg to the beginning
of the Nazi period, when he emigrated first to France and then to England, where
he taught for many years at the University of Leicester. The second part of the
book is an intellectual autobiography in which Elias discusses the connection
between the development of his theories and his life experience. Reflections
on a Life will be essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the
work of one of the most original thinkers of our time.
Source: Polity Press book announcement